It's funny, here in NZ the mark has traditionally been 100,000 as well, but it was 100,000km, or 62,000 miles, so our cars became "less desirable" sooner. Thankfully that attitude has waned over the years bit some people still baulk at anything with 6 digits on the odometer. My AP1 is at 64,000 miles and still almost like new.

 

2002 Suzuka, 131,564 miles, $9000
- clean title, but was bought by seller from auction 2yrs ago -- no CarFax available (considering purchasing)
- "I bought the car to keep I’m not sure why it was sold at a auction"
- seller bought at 115,000 miles 2yrs ago
- "Going to college in the city don’t need a sports car anymore"
- just put in new OEM clutch and new brakes (not sure what kind)
- oil changes every 3-5k; allegedly never driven on low oil; claims it only burns oil in vtec

The car looks very clean on both the exterior and interior. It does have the CompTech CAI under the hood, as well as a re-painted valve cover. There is also an aftermarket front lip, not sure what model.

Driver Side Exterior
Passenger Side Exterior
Front
Interior
Interior again
Engine Bay

What are your thoughts, fellas?

 

Priced fairly. Just be sure you'd be able to live with a suzuka. No offense to owners but I think the color is butt ugly.

 

My preferred combo is Silverstone /w full red interior, but I'm pretty open to either Silver /w any interior color, Berlina, GPW, Suzuka -- in that order. I have a Cool Blue Metallic '07 Accord which almost matches the Suzuka, so I suppose they can be friends lol. AP1 for sure though.

 

It is fairly priced. Looks to be in good condition. I can't see if the front bumper VIN tag is in tact, but the hood tag looks like it's there, which is a pretty good sign of minimal body work. The front lip may be masking some rash on the bumper, but that's not uncommon with that many miles and is easily repainted. You can pull the lip and paint it also with Suzuka. The interior is also a bit hammered, but again, with that many miles it's to be expected, and nothing a good cleaning, some Clazzio covers and a new set of floor mats can't fix.

Drive it. Go over it with the check points that are well documented in the stickies. Look for evidence of major work underneath and in the wheel wells. You can also pull your own Carfax if you have the VIN - you just need to pay for it. Mechanically sound is most important; engine and transmission particularly.

 

Few things that jumped out at me. Yes the car is priced well. My question is, did the seller mentioned anything about exhaust work? Even if it's just the tips, those are stock. Then there's the valve cover. It's not OEM red. I know it's a small thing. But what's on the car, what used to be on it, what has changed on the car, etc. etc., can clue you in on what the previous used the car for, and how it was maintained. Then it brings me back to the lack of carfax.

Someone also brought up the Suzuka Blue. While I do love the Suzuka Blue and I think it's such a cool color under certain lighting conditions, can you live with the all blue interior? I mean, you'd see that more than the exterior of the car...

So here's what I'll ask the seller:
- Hmm... those aren't OEM exhaust
- What happened to the stock red valve cover? Why is it black? What else did you do when you took off the valve cover?
- And you don't have a carfax for me
- What else are you hiding?

Here's what I'll ask myself:
- Can I really live with the all blue interior?

 

What's the better buy?
- 2002 with 95k miles, $13k. Looks to be in very good condition and well maintained with records. New tires and brakes.Think I could talk them down to $12k.
- 2001 with 58k miles, $16k. Tires are probably needing replaced soon (have tread but they are getting old). Has side strakes, spoiler, front lip. Excellent condition. Not sure if I could talk them down.

My only concern with the 2002 is it seems like the value really falls off above 100k in case I ever decided to sell. I wouldn't be driving it much (travel all the time for work) so the 58k mile example would probably never get to 100k during my ownership.

 

I would say the better buy is the '02 if you could get it for $12k. The 2002-2003 model AP1 has some nice enhancements over the '00-01, most importantly the glass rear windowed top. Tires are going to cost you $1k. What are the colors of each one and what kind of shape are each of the tops in (they are not cheap to replace)?

An '02 with that kind of miles in my neck of the woods is $15k all day.

 

'02 is Sebring and '01 is NFR.

The top is probably better on the '01. It's a replacement top with the glass window.. '02 is original. No tears though. Seats are a little more worn on the '02 but they aren't bad and with proper entry/exit they should be fine for years to come.

 

2002 / 95k miles @ $13k, Sebring Silver... Get it if you're going to track it
2001 / 58k miles @ $16k, NFR... Get it if you're going to keep and treasure it. Basically your cool and pretty car.