ok i know i will get a lot of questions thrown at me and a lot of different opinions (or no responses to this post at all!)

anyway i was hunting on craigslist just for kicks and i stumbled across a great looking 95 Del Sol VTEC. the guy who wants to sell it was saying he would trade for an equally as nice 96-00 Honda Civic.
i gave him a call and told him i had a great condition 94 and he said to send him pictures and he would think strongly about it because he needs a 4 DR sedan. His also has a rebuilt engine and 190K miles (mine has 189 so i figure not that big of a deal plus my engine was just rebuilt too!!)

my question to you is, is this a good trade??

so far it all looks good, of course i will be meeting up with him and we will probably each test drive the cars and what not and decide for sure.
the only thing wrong with his is he has a black hood (i know it doesnt cost much to paint and i might go all black anyway)

he says VTEC but he also states 125 HP. i looked at his link that he gave me for the KBB info and it says Del Sol VTEC has 160 HP so id like to square that away but either way i really like the looks of it. just need a second opinion.

P.S. if i get some good strong supporting answers i can show this to my mom so she will actually go for the idea. so give me some good strong opinions on what you think i should do. and most questions can be answered.

OPINIONS PLEASE!!!!

The Del Sol

 

If that is in fact a Del Sol VTEC, then it has had the engine swapped.

I suspect it is a Del Sol Si, because that engine in that picture is a D16Z6 (125hp), and the Si was the model that came with that engine. I think the seller's confusion lies in the fact that the D16Z6 has VTEC, but there is an actual "VTEC" model name for the Del Sol, which came with a B16A3 DOHC engine with 160hp (the one you are speaking of). It will say for sure on his title what model it really is.

If the 4th, 5th, and 6th digits of his VIN are EG2, it's a "VTEC" model, and the car has had an engine swap. If those digits are EH6, it's an "Si". If they are EG1, it's an "S," and the car has a motor swap.

Since you don't have VTEC, and you have the D15B7 (102hp) engine in your car, then it would be a good trade powerwise, but if it's an Si you need to check the KBB value for it and if it's worth less than your car, get some cash for the value difference, and you could use that to go towards the paint job. If there's a value difference, you guys can work all that out with the cash for the difference, and don't mind getting it painted, i'd say it's a good trade. If you look online and find out that yours is worth less, and he doesn't want cash with the car, don't tell him if he doesn't know. If he knows yours is worth less, wants you to pay him the difference, and thinks his is a VTEC model, make sure you tell him his is an Si, so that you don't have to pay him as much for the difference.

I have a Del Sol. I love it. It's more fun to drive IMO.
Just make sure the roof doesn't leak water. Test it with a hose. Del Sols have been known to leak on the roof. Trust me, mine does. However, Honda had a recall in 1994 and after that they changed the weatherstripping design. That car will have the newer weatherstripping version and is less vulnerable to leaking. But you should still check to make sure. I have new seals coming in the mail, and they're pretty expensive.

 

its an Si for sure. i figured that out using another forum... anywho i cant really charge him for the paint job... my car has a bubbled up bumper from being near a fire as well as the back of the rearview mirrors. although i could talk to him about getting some money since replacing the bumper and mirrors could easily cost under $200 (not through honda of course) and painting a car (without getting a crappy paint job) could cost a bit more than that.... do you think $400 would be too much to ask on top of it??

 

A reasonable cash settlement all depends on what the difference of the values of the 2 vehicles is. I would rate his car as in "fair condition," and yours probably as "good condition" on KBB.

 

From what I put in KBB your car is worth $2745 and his is worth $2280. I think you should just go for the difference of those values which is $465.

 

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/Pric...uizConditions=

http://www.kbb.com/KBB/UsedCars/Pric...uizConditions=

the first is the kbb value for my car the second is the value for his. honestly i put mine at good because of jsut the bumper and mirror replacement. i put his at fair because of the need for a new paint job which i believe has to be done by professional in most cases. (thats what it says for fair) and my car can be fixed by yourself. so take a look and let me know

 

I put his as being in fair condition because that paint is sooooooooo mismatched. I also accounted for his "premium wheels," A/C, power steering, and CD Player. I assumed you have a CD player in yours, power steering, and A/C. I forgot to account for the sunroof the first time, i didn't know you had one. Below is the correct difference. I gave yours a good condition.

From what I put in KBB your car is worth $2775 and his is worth $2280. I think you should just go for the difference of those values which is $495.

 

awesome i will probably print those off and go ahead and show him so he doesnt think im cheating him out of money. ill go ahead and shoot him an email with the links so he can take a look.

 

hey can you actually just give me the links so that i dont have to try and match what you put?

 

Yea, i need your zip code though so I can get the exact values for your area. On KBB, the values can vary by zip code a little bit.
and is it 189k or 188k miles on your car?