Darksyne

So I finally found a 6speed Manual 2003 CL for sale in my area with only 122k on the odometer. Dude was asking Over 10 grand but was willing to do $8500.
When I went to look at the car in person he explained that he repainted the car since he works at a body shop and the interior looked immaculate. However underneath the car was a different story, excessive rust on the suspension, exhaust and brake lines which was all poorly covered by rocker guard. The crash bars behind the bumpers were almost non existent and when I took off the oil cap to look inside, I saw a bit of sludge buildup.

The more I looked at the mechanical parts of the car, the more I suspected that it didn’t look like a car with only 122k on the odometer. My TL just hit 340k and has way less rust underneath with no sludge buildup inside the motor.

Do you guys think it’s likely that he somehow rolled the odometer back or is it just an example of a neglected car despite him saying it’s been “dealer maintained”?

I really want to pull the trigger on this car but I have a bad gut feeling that this thing will be a lemon considering it stalled while it was up on the hoist lmao.

Have you guys ever heard or experienced these cars getting their odometers rolled back and what are your thoughts on the CL?

zeta

iTrader: (1)

^
Get the VIN & pay the money to carfax (it can't be more than $25 ) to verify his 'dealer maintained' assertion.
That, hopefully, in turn will give you a better idea on accurate mileage versus a fraudulent odometer roll back speculation.
Though $8500 for a rust bucket is like .

Darksyne

Its because it’s a rare 2003 CL Type S with the 6 speed manual. Rare Honda’s have been exploding in value lately and I know he’s definitely trying to cash out. I also suspect this vehicle was in a front end collision at one point since the hood came off another CL when I noticed underneath was a different color.

Normally this car should’ve sold by now but its been sitting for a few months, I wonder if its even worth offering 5grand as a project car? Lmao Also I totally forgot to take a picture of the VIN, but the way the car looked definitely did not scream 122k garage queen.

thoiboi

@CLtotheTL32 !

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Send me the VIN and I’ll pull a CARFAX report.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

Just an FYI, not sure where you are in Canada; however, the guy below is in Michigan & has a CL-S6 for sale:

Darksyne

Are you talking about the one with the smashed up Nav screen? Haha I saw that one too 😂

Darksyne

I’ll DM it to you if you don’t mind. Really appreciate it!

zeta

iTrader: (1)

Does the one you are referring to have a black exterior or wheels like below?

Darksyne

Nah he put TSX rims on it. Last time I saw a CL 6 for sale was GNUT’s lmao

broly

i'd watch out for the subframes in the north east especially.

it's well known our cars sweat like hogs when we are using A/C in summer.

guys have spoken at-length about how the A/C condensation has resulted in badly rusted subframes that cannot be repaired.

• see here, here

since the car is from the northeast i'm betting you it's close to the point of no-return.

pretty happy i got all my shit from the prairies; surprised we even had two to plunder.

would like a new e-brake handle but oh well. i'll worry abut that later.

edit: it's easy to roll it back if you have the "xtool" OBD2 tool. if you're using something else, it's not going to help.

in terms of actual skill, it's not easy but it's not hard either. some soldering skills are definitely required and it's not a task where you can learn for the first time.

Igotissues666

If you take it to a mechanic to check it out, they don't charge much to hook up their expensive OBD2 readers that get everything. Plus, they check for signs of neglect and expensive shit that might be needing replacement soon. They don't usually charge much for a quick 1-hour “size it up” job.

Wait until you get word back from the VIN and if you decide, I'd definitely have the mechanic check it out.

Darksyne

There’s definitely rust on the front subframe but definitely not at the point of no return yet… I’m just lucky the oil leaks on my TL shielded the subframe long enough for me to start undercoating once I started driving it 😅 I try to keep on top of any suspension rust on my car whenever I’m working on it.

Darksyne

@CLtotheTL32 sent a dm with the VIN# honestly if the report checks out I might pull the trigger if he’s willing to go low enough on the price.

619rcr

Only takes a few phillips screws and quick diaconnects to swap the gauge cluster/odometer. I'd be suspicous of any low mile non original owner cars with poor maintenance. Body shops typically have connections to junk yards and auction cars to plunder for parts.

Technically all one would have to do is mark one little box on the title (not acutal miles) at time of sale.

Igotissues666

I don't suppose the true odometer reading is stored in the ECU and someone with one of those high-falutin $5000 OBD 2 scanners can read?

619rcr

Mileage may be viewable with a HDS or similar type scanner. However, if true mileage was stored on the ecu I would expect that changing ecus or running a standalone would affect the odometer.

Saudade

Mileage is typically stored on a chip in the cluster. That's why changing clusters, changes the ODO reading. Yes, they can be reprogrammed but doing so, with the intent to defraud, is a violation of Federal law.

Darksyne

I would assume it would be really difficult to find a CL manual transmission cluster unless you can actually change the tiny screen where the odometer is displayed from any other car. The car might be legit for all I know but I’m really suspicious of the heavy rust build up underneath and on the exhaust.

619rcr

This seller has 7x MT clusters for sale
https://www.ebay.com/itm/33474633149...id=Si69boZUS4C

619rcr

JuicyJ

I would assume there's more parted out 6MT CL-S's than there are good condition ones on the road. I'd think it'd be easy to find a cluster.

Many times, a cluster was pulled years ago, so the miles will be low, and sits around until someone needs it.

Your description of that CL-S sounds sketch AF. If the guy has a good hookup with junkyards (many people in the biz get a much better discount than Joe-blow can get) he could've found a good donor car or parts.

Back in the early 2000's I was able to score a mint, perfect condition full interior for my beat-up 1991 Integra GS, I think I paid $300 for everything, every bit too...door panels, side panels, seats front and back and mint floor mats. I swear it came out of a car with 30K miles or something ridiculously low.

Whether it's worth $8K is up to you. Contact your insurance and see if they'd pay you $8K for it if it gets totaled, just to cover your butt.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

That ebay seller could easily increase his sales volume, for the items listed, by just taking the time to include a searchable OEM part #.

Darksyne

Damn that’s a really good point. What really broke the deal for me was the fact that that the hood came from a different CL because he didn’t bother paint matching underneath it. He claimed it was from rust but I noticed the engine fan wiring wasn’t OEM and neither was the HID Ballasts. He claimed it was from rust but it just screams front end collision to me.

If I had a proper garage I probably would’ve entertained the idea of getting it as a project car but I need a low mileage daily with a clean body. Guess there’s a reason why this car hasn’t sold in months despite it being rare and desirable. So disappointing.

He definitely seemed desperate to get rid of the car because he was willing to give me a free set of 3G TL rims and a new clutch kit for free lol. He also had a lot of really beat up Acura’s including a 3G TL-S that they’re fixing up so it looks like they’ve been flipping these cars. Sucks passing up this car but I just known it’ll be a headache trying to daily it.

Igotissues666

Exactly what I was about to say. I purchased a used cluster way back in the day when one of mine shit the bed and they were CHEAP. And you got whatever the odometer happened to be whether it was high or low. BUT the guy online who sold it said that he had a “guy” who could adjust the mileage if I wanted to pay the extra fee. wink

Darksyne

Yikes… glad I checked under the oil cap for sludge buildup and indeed there was some. A car with that low KM shouldn’t have that type of sludge buildup if it truly was “dealer maintained”

Now I have a better idea how easy it is to fudge the odometer reading on these cars. Thanks guys!

Igotissues666

Though it's disappointing, It's better to learn of these things sooner rather than later.

zeta

iTrader: (1)

@Darksyne It looks like CLtotheTL32, in Charlotte, NC is selling his ABP CL-S6 project car if you are interested.
Reviving an ABP CLS6 - AcuraZine - Acura Enthusiast Community