Parting with a Legend

My fabulous 1998 Integra GS-R is for sale, because I need a car I can actually transport my son in. That means four doors. This Acura is a truly sweet road car (“SRC”) and a great opportunity for the discerning enthusiast. This very red (the precise shade is Milano Red) example was adult-owned, never raced and well cared-for. I am the second owner and bought the car with less than 30,000 miles (it has less than 70,000 now). Maintenance has been kept up to date, and the car has had a new clutch and rear brakes about a year ago (we lived in San Francisco, this is a given). It has not been in any accidents.

This car has not been modified in any way – it is totally stock (a serious rarity – check www.traderonline.com ) and features Acura's excellent, extremely reliable 1.8 liter B18C VTEC 4-cylinder, which produces 170 HP and redlines at 8000 (that's eight thousand!) RPM. It is a joy to drive, with its racing-inspired all independent suspension and short-throw five-speed manual transmission. This car was expensive for a small vehicle, more than $21,000 in 1998 (equivalent to more than $24,300 in 2004 dollars*), and the money went for engineering, not massive sheet-metal and useless gimmicks. There is a six-speaker CD stereo system with tweeters in the door, but the mellifluous VTEC motor provides a lot of this car's soundtrack. Despite its' high-performance nature, the GS-R is extremely comfortable and was EPA-rated at 25 city/31 hwy. The GS-R features the following:

Front-wheel drive
Power steering
4-wheel anti-lock disc brakes
Driver and front passenger airbags
Double-wishbone independent suspension, front and rear
Rear anti-roll bar
Alloy wheels
Short-throw shifter (factory)
Quad halogen headlamps
Full instrumentation
Digital clock (the finest!)
Black leather bucket seats
Power moonroof
Power windows
Power locks
Floor mats
Rear wiper
Cargo cover
8-way adjustable driver’s seat with adjustable lumbar support
4-way adjustable passenger seat
60/40 split fold-down rear seats
Superman™ front license plate (negotiable – if you insist I will keep it)

Of course, there is a price for all of this goodness. In this case the exact figure is $12,500 OBO. Since there is exactly zero chance of your plan to buy and federalize an Alfa Romeo coming to fruition (I consulted on a project like that for in my last job – we determined it would have cost the client more than $30,000 to make his Maserati 3200GT street-legal in the US), this is your best option. Get it before I trade it in, and please see my profile for my email address.


*http://minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/index.cfm