More Tea, anyone?
Hi, Craig.
I'd be honored if you choose to keep the car with the name that I christened it with (strange what 'honors' people nowadays, eh?). If you are a custom license plate kinduv guy, I can recommend 'GRN TEA' and 'GREEN T' (both of which get the point across to the cognoscenti). I never went for custom plates (why give cops a reason to hate you more?) but was SORELY tempted...
I bought the car with 60k on the clock at Heubler Nissan in Indianapolis (the car was sitting at Huebler Acura, but a friend's salesman worked at the Nissan Dealership, so I bought it through him). Heubler got it from a Florida auction.
Since then, our local Acura dealers in STL (Saint Louis Acura and Leta Acura) have done all the major service items. Because the car was serviced at a local dealership, all records are in the Acura Database - a friend at a dealership can print the entire service history of the car for you. Of course, I have a few records that I can ship, too, including those from its life before me. I have done a few items (oil and filter changes, CD changer install, headlight bulb replacement, etc) and have tried to care for the car as best I can - with time, interest (and a lil $). Hit an Acura dealer and ask them to pull the service history of the car. If you need more after that, feel free to e-mail me.
Disclaimer: anyone who knows me, knows I am pretty anal when it comes to nitpicky things. Keeping that in mind, I think you will be VERY happy with your purchase. As far as quirks go, the car is really in pretty good shape. I stayed on top of any need the car might have, and had things immediately addressed and fixed:
I did a clutch, and all the belts and the water pump, etc. I JUST did new pads all the way around (OEM) and replaced the left rear caliper (was dragging more than it should). Please note: About a year ago, I did have the timing checked and adjusted a couple of times to remove a hiccup and rough running (symptoms of this was the car hiccuped or misfired under heavy acceleration when too much fuel was dumped into the engine, and the OBD-II 'Check Engine' light would come on the dash). My local Acura dealership (Leta) performed an emission recall no it (new coils and plugs for all 6 cylinders) which helped, along with a bottle of fuel system cleaner. Since that time, there has been little evidence of the issue resurfacing - and the car ran great for me for a year afterward untill the guys from Alan it drove away
Honestly, I think that the biggest issues (if there are any left after the dealer addressed them) are some interior cosmetic things you might want to look at: the shift knob (leather baseball) is the worst culprit showing wear (as you can see in the photos). The steering wheel is in VERY good/solid shape for the miles, but there were a couple of tiny smudges on it (dealership may have addressed). The radio knobs are in dire need of some attention, too (after a hundred thousand miles worth of listening, some of the black masking on the outer rings of the volume knob tends to wear). Lastly, a flap on the very back of the leather on the driver's side 'pad' where the fuel flap release lever is and the hand rest tends come unwrapped over time. Some hide glue (as in, animal hide) on the underside of the leather will fix nicely (again, if it has not already been addressed).
Though the course of its existence in STL, there were some minor body/paint things, but I fixed them to my satisfaction. There were a couple of remaining things to look at, but I pointed them out to the dealership, and they said they would take care of them. You might look at to make sure it was done to your satisfaction:
- there was a minor (3" long) paint rub on the passengers' side rear wheel flare (easily buffed and blended).
- there was a small (size of a quarter) paint rub on the driver's side rear corner of the back bumper (easily buffed),
- There was a 1.5" long tear in the seam of the driver's side outboard seat bolster (the photo on eBay shows this to be fixed).
- The radio antenna mast needed to be replaced. (I provided a new reaplcement mast AND motor to the dealership when they drove off in my car).
It may bear keeping in mind that I did virtually nothing to prepare the car for sale. The allroad became available (from the same dealership) and I found it was a good opportunity to sell the NSX. It happened so fast, however, that I had no time to bring the car up to showroom conditions. The dealership, however, did an amazing job prepping the allroad that I bought from them, so I feel very confident in their abilities. Rob Venlet was VERY helpful to deal with, and the dealership general manager (whom interviewed me about the NSX) was very knowledgeable. I would be confident in their work.
Again, from the description, it sounds as though the dealership addressed all these issues. When the car arrives, though you should look to make sure you are satisfied.
Frankly, I am sad to see the car go, but the cash helps offset the allroad, I no longer dread serious snowfall (the car was my daily driver, and an alternate to the bike) and now my girlfriend and her daughter have a place to sit comfortably.
Hmmn - you have a bike for sale, you say? (chuckle - I almost bought a Duc (748), but decided on the Honda (the 800) for a variety of reasons).
Let me know if you need more details, and happy driving. Keep the shiny side up for me, okay?
-Matt
01 allroad
98 VFR
and once proud possessor of Craig's new Green Tea.
