Integra: Good first car?

Hi, I've just signed up for the forums here! :)

I'm in the market to buy my first car. My price range is around $10-12k and I'm looking for something that's sporty, fun to drive, reliable. I can't go for something *too* fast, such as a Camaro Z28 or Mustang GT, because my parents wouldn't approve and wouldn't help me pay for it.

Anyways, in my search, I came upon the Integra. It looks great: very sporty look and feel, pretty fast (but not TOO fast), and since it's from honda/acura you know it's reliable. I've done my research, and from what I heard it's a very viable option for me.

Since I'm seriously considering getting an Integra for my own first car (I'm 18), I thought I'd ask you guys what you think about the car. What year or trim would you recommend? What are the things you like/dislike the most? What kind of Integra can I expect to get for $10-12k?

Any help is much appreciated! :D

dude thats so much money!!! if you want to spend 12k why dont you get a 95 or 96 than vtec it than turbo charge it... total sleeper!! you can get a 97 for around 7k good luck!

Think there's something better I could get for that amount of money?

Think there's something better I could get for that amount of money?
Yeah dude, I dunno if you like old cars or not, but for 11k you can get a FULLY restored nova. And depending whats under the hood it may not be too fast for ur parents. However if you want to stick with imports, I love my 95 integra GSR. It only has intake exhaust and headers, and i'm already taking out v8 stangs. For that much money however, you cold pretty easily get an integra type R! Mayb even JDM (straight from japan). Just giving you some options to work with. my 2cents

if you meant "stangs" as Mustangs then how the hell do you think that you could take out V8 Mustangs with just I/H/E....unless the V8 drivers don't know how to drive...there's no way you can outrun a V8 with a 4 cylinder.... :screwy: is V8 cobra??? B18c1's true lack of torque will not get you a win against V8 stangs.......but correct me here if I'm wrong.....there's a fine line between 4.6 and 1.8 even with VTEC.....

with 12K, I don't think you could find a Type R easily nor a JDM R but I'm sure you can find one but it's not going to be easy with 12K....but once agian correct me here if I'm wrong.....

If I were you...I would get an old civic and drop any B line engines and turbo it....or if you are not into speed than I would just get an Integra..yeah integra is a great car... :2cents:

if you meant "stangs" as Mustangs then how the hell do you think that you can take out V8 Mustangs with just I/H/E....unless the V8 drivers don't know how to drive...there's no way you can outrun a V8 with a 4 cylinder.... :screwy: is V8 cobra??? B18c1's true lack of torque will not get you a win against V8 stangs.......but correct me here if I'm wrong.....there's fine line between 4.6 and 1.8 even with VTEC.....

with 12K, I don't think you could get a Type R easily nor a JDM R but I'm sure you can find one but it's not going to be easy with 12K....

If I were you...I would get an old civic and drop any B line engines and turbo it....or if you are not into speed than I would just get an Integra..yeah integra is a great car... :2cents:

WOW slow down little newbie. Who in the hell said all mustangs are v-8 and he never said that he even raced v-8s maybe it was a v6 mustang. eh?? Think before you say some dumb ass comment like that. ANd also with 10-12 THOUSAND dollars i am sure you could find a type R integra from the us. And if you looked really hard im sure you could find in the states someone getting rid of one for realy cheap. Just check out ebay and such, and also check out local police auctions where the auction off the impounded cars!

all right I'll slow down since I'm a newbie....but you read his reply carefully he said he was already taking out V8 stangs....so I assume he had raced V8 stangs before.....

I said correct me if I was wrong....and I never said he couldn't find one I said it was going to be not easy....If I had a Type R, I would not try to get rid of for cheap....

actually look at the specs on my car. i have raced most mustangs and can easily beat the base models, barely beat the GT's and the Bullit GT's are V8's, i can hang with them but not beat them.(yet):evillol: 4 cylinders can hang with V8's with I/E/H, i can do it. as with the money, i would buy a gsr in good condition and upgrade it with the left over money. try to find one in the 96-98 years. youwon't be disappointed.

Like I said before....correct me if I'm wrong...I'm here to learn and share information about cars not argue....if I wrote a dumbass reply than I apoligize....I thought he meant that he could outrun V8 stangs easily....and I thought that was not possible....outrun means beat....

Ok guys a GSR with I/H/E can take a v8 stang easily up to the newest body stly with the 4.6. The 4.6 gt's are alot faster than the 5.0 mustangs. But the GSR can still beat it with those mods if the driver is good.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I've heard newer GS-Rs do about 7 seconds 0-60, and newer Type Rs run about 6 seconds flat (both manual tranny).

Ok guys a GSR with I/H/E can take a v8 stang easily up to the newest body stly with the 4.6. The 4.6 gt's are alot faster than the 5.0 mustangs. But the GSR can still beat it with those mods if the driver is good.
thank you whtteg. I've raced 2 v8 stangs. 1 was a 95 so the 5.0 and the other was a 98. I took out both fairly easy. I consider myself a good driver, and considering i haven't had my car long, it's only gonna get faster :).

all right I'll slow down since I'm a newbie....but you read his reply carefully he said he was already taking out V8 stangs....so I assume he had raced V8 stangs before.....

I said correct me if I was wrong....and I never said he couldn't find one I said it was going to be not easy....If I had a Type R, I would not try to get rid of for cheap....


Okay first of all creepingdeath said he could take out v8 mustangs and he did. So why question that???? If he took them out well duh hes raced them. ANd i/h/c will kick a lot of v8 mustangs. Plus people who are usually leaving the country, divorce settlement, or need some quick cash will sell type rs really fast. Well and if you had a type r duh u wouldnt get rid of it fast. Some people just have them because they think they will be cooler to get one or dont know anything about cars.
My friend got a jdm type r, he got it at an estate auction where the teenager who owned it got killed and the people who are doing the estate just wanted to get rid of it and get the money so they sold it at the blue book of a usdm type r.

boy did the people that bought it get a deal or what

This is all very encouraging, but this wasn't quite the intent of my original question. So far, I've been told it's great because it can be easily upgraded, but the fact is I'm not going to be installing any mods at this point in time. Even with this in mind, is the Integra going to be a relatively fast, fun to drive, sporty car? If not, what kind of car fitting that description could i get for $10-12k?

PS. To get an idea for what, in my experience, I consider fast: I usually drive one of my parents cars, a 2004 Infiniti G35 Coupe and a 2003 VW Jetta 1.8T. The Jetta's turbo kicks in at about 1800-1900rpm, and that makes it feel like twice as fast as it really is. The G35, while it has no turbo, has quite a beastly NA engine getting it from 0-60 in about 6-6.4 seconds. I'm sure this sounds pretty slow to a lot of you, but In my experience, I would be satisfied with a car that is as fast as either of these (or feels like it, in the case of the turbocharged Jetta).

Ok i know what you mean, see if this helps...
I personally would get a:
97-01 US TYPE R(B81C5 ~~~195hp)
94+gsr(engine code=b18c_~~178hp)
92 GSR(engine code=b17a1~~160hp.)

The 90-93 tegs(exc.92+gsr) has a b18a1 which has about 130-138hp.(dont quote me on that) They are great power but DOHC non vtec. OH well.

The 94+ teg(gs, rs, ls,...) have good power a little more than the 90-93s. Still DOHC non vtec.

The 94+(2001) teg(gsr only) B18C great power ~178hp. A lot of go and a lot more dough. lol, not as much as a type r but great power. DOHC VTEC!!!

The 97-01 US TYPE R. B18c5, a LOT of power, 195hp DOHC VTEC. You get what you pay for.

DISTINGUSHING MODELS:

Special edition badge on back+rims=LS
hubcaps= (any model exc. GSR, TYPE r.)
5lug suspension= ONLY TYPE R
RIMs(4lug) and LEATHER SEATS= GSR
rims(4lug) w/o spec. edition badge=GSR

DONT ANYONE TOTALLY QUOTE ME ON EVERYTHING>

Integras= simple bolt ons yield high power gains., affordable, fun to drive sporty, IM not sure youll beat the 250hp G35(depending on model of teg) but you should be satisfied with the power for a reasonable price.

Cool! That helps a lot :D

Think its the best one in the price range I'm talking about? Maybe I shouldn't ask in a car-specific forum :)

For your price range i would problay get a 97-99 GSR.

Bluefire Here is my opinion(my integra is my first car really too) While it's not a sports car i think the integra would make a great first car, good handling, good acceleration, and it's still stylish even though the model started in 94. for 10-12k you can get a nice integra probably 97-00 i would look for a GSR they come with honda's v-tec technology making them faster. If you dont care about speed though and want to save money go with an LS they arent much slower and they are definatley more cost effective. I drive my LS everyday and it's incredibly reliable I've had it for a year now and i havent had a single problem( and its a 94 with 150000 miles!) Either way if you get a 5speed it is definatley a fun car. One otherthing you might want too look into Since you are willing to spend a decent amount of cash why not upgrade to the "ITR" or integra type r with a 200hp engine instead of 178 in the gsr and 140 in the ls IT hauls and comes with numerous other upgrades. You can probably find a nice one for around 10-12k if you really like speed the type r is definatley fast.

I test drove a '00 Integra LS (automatic) today! The handling was very smooth, owing to its relatively low weight. I wasn't all that impresssed with the acceleration, but it is also a low-end Integra. Anyone have confidence that a GS-R would be significantly faster than an LS? 0-60 Numbers?

Also, I'd like a GS-R but I've never driven stick, and the GS-R supposedly was ONLY made with manual transmissions. I mean, I know how it works and stuff, but I've never had a stick shift car to practice on. This being the case, should I get the GS-R and then learn on that, or save the learning experience for another time and get an auto LS?

No matter what you get if you are into performance you need to learn how to drive a stick! :2cents: