JaeZTT

Hi all, I'm new here and looking for some advice. I need to buy a car pretty soon, and randomly came across a 03 CL-S. It was really random since I never thought of getting this car but it's priced well and pretty clean.

It's a manual Night Hawk Black with navigation and on star. It's got about 85,000 miles on it, original owner, no mods at all. I will get it inspected at a local Acura dealership (should I get it done somewhere else?), and probably buy it if all is good. I got him down to $9250.

The two bad things I noticed was that at the front of the dash, where the air for the defogger comes out, the dash was coming off a bit and I could see the yellowish underneath. I'm not sure if this is common or not. Also, someone backed into his rear quarter panel so it's dented in probably about the size of a ruler and the bumper is a bit scuffed. I think it should be under $1000 to get this fixed.

Now is there anything specific I should check? I didn't look at it too detailed today and drove it for like 5-10 minutes. Any common problems I should be on the look out for? I'd appreciate any advice as I'm pretty much set on buying this car.

Thank you!

MarbleGT

The dash coming apart is just old age...mine was like that.

The dent in the quarter (and probably on the front 2 quarters and other rear panel) can be noticed on most CL's. Don't know why its there.

SlickShiftNall6

iTrader: (4)

The only major common problem with this car is the automatic transmissions. But since your looking at a 6speed you don't have to worry about that. However not so major but still a problem are the stock brake pads and rotors. They generally suck, and were warrantied all the time when the cars were new. You need to upgrade to better quality because it will just keep happening with the oem stuff. Other than that small stuff breaks from time to time on these cars, but overall this car is very reliable. The engines are solid, and don't break unless abused. I basically have the same car (no navi) so I must recommend that you buy it. Good luck with the purchase.

CL6

Also the ballasts on the headlights go out sometimes so that's about $300 for each one. A solid car. Have a compression test run on the engine and change the transmission fluid as well if you buy it and have the alternator tested as well. The OnStar doesn't work but there are kits to use the Navi screen as a monitor. It's a great car overall and in the 45,000 miles since I've had mine only had one headlight go out.

victorvu

iTrader: (1)

im at 145,000miles got it at 127,000 on original stock clutch, salvage title, hit also in the quarter panel on the gas tank, and front end damage. I've gone through 2 tl type s, 1 audi a4, a e430 4matic and nothing is better then the motors on these cars. The only thing that is bad is as everyone says auto transmission but you wont have that problem. If you have a problem with the hid's pm me and we can talk about it. We're all here to help and hope you get the car. Its a reliable fast car.

GrandeInter10

What these guys said

Great car. Especially since you're getting the 6speed. Slap some headers and an intake on it and you got yourself a G35/37 eater. These cars are very reliable as well. I've put almost 40k miles on my car and no major problems (minus tranny replaced, but I'm auto) and it's even handling the supercharger like a champ. Hope you join our brotherhood

fuzzy02CLS

iTrader: (2)

Buy it!

The defroster vent thing is not a problem. That's the way it is. You will see that yellow around the vents.
You could get a paint less dent guy to take the dent out for under $200.

JaeZTT

Thanks guys. I'm about to get it inspected soon and hopefully come back home with it.

How does the price look? He had it listed it at $10.5k at first, but that was when I didn't know about the dent.

SlickShiftNall6

iTrader: (4)

The price sounds pretty good. The fact that he has come down on the price already see if he'll take it down to $9000 even. Tell him that the big 90k service is coming up and thats going to cost you more than $250. Its worth a shot. Then you could use the money you saved on dmv fees, insurance, a tank of gas whatever.

Accord_V6_400m

iTrader: (1)

SOHC reliabilty FTW!!

Swapped the same motor/trans in my car, now my car is fast and reliable (got rid of the crappy 4spd auto).

Make sure the car isn't abused, like valve noise that might be unusual (more then a simple valve adjustment). Definitley just interact with the motor and trans and see if they both feel good.

Elijah J

buy buy buy buy buy buy buy buy buy great car!!

GreenMonster

Price looks good... for a buyer...

If you're an original owner who paid 29.4K for it 5 years ago, the resale value is bad

There's not much that can go wrong on the 6spds...