Not questioning your mechanical prowess here... I've read your posts in the past and was quite impressed with your abilities. But.... whatever happened to thinking like the average consumer... you know, that 99% you just mentioned?

If I were an Acura Tech, I would probably drive an Acura for a beater... come to think if it, If I was a Hyundai tech, the same would apply. I'm pleasantly suprised you own so many Nissan products... I'm sure you have access to parts and daignostic equipement + intimate familiarity with a knowledge base that the avg consumer does not. Your statement that you can get the oil ring job done in 35mins and still charge 6 hours simply means someone is getting ripped off and it aint the dealer!

We agree that Vigor lacked sales...it also had a very short production run... Why would I want a beater that I can't find parts anywhere other than the dealer$hip for? Remember, a beater/hoopty is not going to get the best care in the world and is expected to be able to stand up to it. Now if someone is looking at the Vigor like we look at Q's here.... then be my guest.

"Sure Vigor is not going to be cheap on gasoline, but you discounted the car as being a unreliable expenssive to maintain Acura from the 90s"

... Yeah... and I'll say it again. The Vigor was the least realiable Acura from it's time period. Comparing it's reliability to Accord, Legend and Camry is a joke...and I'm not talking new, I'm speaking of what has already ocurred. Excluding the Galant (ughhh), all the cars you mentioned have already trumped the Vigor.

"Stating facts bout Vigors without any real proof other than hearing from mechanics is pure BS. If you asked a Acura tech thats been with the company for lets say 10 years if the Vigor is a dependable car, and to name some problems I doubt he could come up with more than 5 problems which are nothing bad."

You're the one making assumptions... none of what I stated comes from mechanics, in fact, I'm probably a mechanic's worst enemy. See the other poster's comments...the car has a bad rep. I've dealt with family members and friends (avid Honda lovers) that owned Vigors and have spent some time driving and assisting under the hood of these vehicles and also hearing of the headaches...and these are people that own Legends, Integras, Preludes and Accords (still) after gladly selling the Vigor. Wish I had known you were so enamored by them as my cuz just sold a white 93 (automatic though)... he called me up to breathe a sigh of relief after the sale as the car was a leech in his pocket. Upon initial ownership, he was quite suprised once it came time to find parts and found that the dealership had him by the nutsack.

I love old cars too and have never paid a car-note. I'm not a tech but have done my fair share of wrenching.... The car you see in my sig is an almost 200K 90Q I've owned for 8 yrs and I can count on one hand the times I've had work done outside of my own abilities. I also have a 5.2L 93 Dakota... a monster with over 100K that I use as my "hoopty"... talk about a V-8 gas guzzlin monster?

Gas prices are on the rise again... My perfect hoopty would be a mundane Civic, Corrolla or 4- banger accord or camry. Better yet... any idea when the Prius will be considered a hoopty (drool)? I'm sure there will be a "hookup" somewhere on energy cell replacements by then...

...Drew....

Jesda wrote:Steering was way too stiff for my tastes. I'm sure I could have put another 200k on it with no problems.

Jesda,

Those accords are bullet-proof. You had stiff steering? Something must have been wrong... every Accord I ever drove had feather weight steering (too light) that seemed to be targeted for female drivers. It seemd as if they turned up the power steering assist a little too high for my tastes. Maybe targeting female consumers with one hand driving and the other slapping the kids in the back seat.

Funny thing about that Accord is that I originally flew out to an Acura dealer to pick up a 92 Legend, but the damn thing had a tranny failure the day I went to pick it up. I needed to get home, needed a car (my 929 was running on 5 out of 6 cylinders), and the Accord seemed mechanically very sturdy. Drove it 2000 miles home, changed the oil, sold it after 20 days, and got the Q.

I probably would have saved $5k over two years if I kept the much-lower-mileage Honda, but whats the fun in that?

Jesda wrote:Funny thing about that Accord is that I originally flew out to an Acura dealer to pick up a 92 Legend, but the damn thing had a tranny failure the day I went to pick it up. I needed to get home, needed a car (my 929 was running on 5 out of 6 cylinders), and the Accord seemed mechanically very sturdy. Drove it 2000 miles home, changed the oil, sold it after 20 days, and got the Q.

I probably would have saved $5k over two years if I kept the much-lower-mileage Honda, but whats the fun in that?

That tranny must have been severly abused. I'm not fond of Legend trannys due to weird shifts but they are very dependable. The death of my Q tranny scared my cousin into tking in his 94 Legend in for a flush... it was the first time touching the tranny in over 5 years! The mechanic said the fluid was black as freshly mined oil. He got scared while flushing it and ended up flushing it twice. He still runs it hard on his GA to Miami runs.

On another note... I've been driving his Legend for years and always admired the way it took a corner.... the legend's front fender flares are a thing of beauty and the car has a nice stance. It's only after fstb, new tie rods, rack bushings, wider tires and solid tension rods that I can finally say I have a handling advantge in the Q.

Enough rambling bout Vigors, Legends etc... I have my opinion others have theirs, its cool

My recomendation for a hoopty- early 90s Legacy 4 door. Practically indestructible car, Flat 4s in those things run like champs and do not need anything but plugs and timing belts to be changed. If you live in the snowy area Legacy is really tough to beat, when I was in Aspen Colorado this winter I think I saw more Legacy and Imprezas runing around than I have ever seen. Basically when I saw a Cop driving one I knew this town was weird bout Scoobies. My friend had a 91 Legacy L AWD AUTO and we ran that thing to the ground and it still ran great, got good gas mileage and was always ready for some rally action.

I am thinking of a VW Corrado. A VW sports car. I love those things. I would like a manual six clinder. VW are strong cars and perform well in all climates. Now if I could find one under a 1500.

Cali

The answer is NO.

Jesda wrote:The answer is NO.

Huh? ooh you dont like VW.

German cars make TERRIBLE beaters. Reliability is about the last thing you can expect from one--especially a "performance" oriented one.

Also, thanks for the Vigor discussion, guys. I've always sort of liked them from afar, without knowing much about them. There was one at the NOPI deal in Phoenix but I never had a chance to talk to the owner.

I say Accord or Camry or late model Stanza are the way to go.All-trac Camry would rock!

I like VW, but not as a daily driver/hooptie unless its a modern TDI. VWs are cars you have to really love to own, and your love -will- be tested.

Jesda wrote:I like VW, but not as a daily driver/hooptie unless its a modern TDI. VWs are cars you have to really love to own, and your love -will- be tested.

BUMP

Yes did some research not for me...

I think I am going to get a 1990 Toyota Supra. I like what I here and see. The car has grown on me.

Sounds like fun!

Q45CALIBER wrote:I think I am going to get a 1990 Toyota Supra. I like what I here and see. The car has grown on me.

Ahh, good choice. I love the MKIII.I was ready to buy one about a month ago but I couldn't find any in decent shape. This state sucks for used car buyers.Beware headgasket issues!

Just wait for everyone to chime in now and tell how they're too heavy or too big or too something...

Yes it is Offical! I will be pick

MinisterofDOOM wrote:
Ahh, good choice. I love the MKIII.I was ready to buy one about a month ago but I couldn't find any in decent shape. This state sucks for used car buyers.Beware headgasket issues!

Just wait for everyone to chime in now and tell how they're too heavy or too big or too something...

Yes it is Offical! I will be picking it up this week at black with grey interior. 1987 Toyota Supra 5 speed Mechanics car! for .......$750.00 I have seen and rode in the car.

Ha ha. I will eventually replace the engine or add a turbo setup. Some nice wide rims and tires.... Ministerof Doom I was supprised 3300 pounds. But the engine has 139,000 on it. It is a steal....

I really wanted to get a nissan and have a nissan family but I could not find a S14 for the price I wanted. And for the S13 I just am not sure it fit my style.