Accord Type R- What do I need to know?
Discussion
5th gear synchro issue: most will have been done by now.
Clutch (expensive)
Cambelt and tensioners
Otherwise just the usual stuff. ATRs are terrific. I'd rate them higher than an ep3 civic and even a dc5 (and ive owned all three). Front lsd, comfortable ride, tremendous steering and handling and addictive vtec performance. Not very torquey at the bottom end but that's not what you're buying it for. One of the most entertaining cars I've owned (and look at my garage...)
Clutch (expensive)
Cambelt and tensioners
Otherwise just the usual stuff. ATRs are terrific. I'd rate them higher than an ep3 civic and even a dc5 (and ive owned all three). Front lsd, comfortable ride, tremendous steering and handling and addictive vtec performance. Not very torquey at the bottom end but that's not what you're buying it for. One of the most entertaining cars I've owned (and look at my garage...)
I recently sold mine after almost 3 years with it. Absolutely fantastic cars, every bit as good as the DC2 that I had for a couple of years previous to it, with (in my opinion) an even better sound.
Things to look out for:
-5th gear synchro, many will need replacing/will have been replaced. That said, mine was on 143,000 miles and had managed to escape this issue so I imagine it will depend how the car has been driven.
-Rust on the rear bulkhead. Can be difficult to properly identify, but if there is any sign of rust anywhere else on the car it's highly likely the rear bulkhead will be suffering. In my experience they do seem to resist the rust surprisingly well mind- mine was a 1999 car and had lived outside for all it's life as far as I was aware, and used in all weathers. It didn't have a hint of rust anywhere except around one of the clips holding one of the brake lines, and when up on the ramps the underside looked like a 5 year-old car. So don't think you will need to accept rust as part of the deal- there are a lot of clean examples out there.
-Check when the timing belt was last done. The intervals are 70,000 miles / 6 years but on higher mileage / older cars I'd personally want it to be done more regular than that. The belt change is not a particularly cheap one, when I was researching before buying the general consensus was to budget around £500-£600 for the job. I got mine done a fair bit cheaper (mate's rates) but it's not a quick job.
-Clutch is also not a cheap job (my mechanic reckoned around min 5 hours labour).
-Check the V-Tec engages as it should. The changeover is very binary- the buyer of my car was an EP3/DC5 owner who had never experienced one of the older V-Tec Type Rs and to say he had a smile on his face at 5,800 rpm is an understatement!
-The engines are very strong if looked after, so I'd want to see evidence of regular servicing or at least oil changes. I had mine serviced annually (doing approx 8,000 - 10,000 miles per year) with an oil change every 6 months in between. Meaning it had an oil change at least every 6 months. Probably excessive, but at 143,000 miles it was still pulling as well as it should, and I'd I've seen examples with almost 200,000 on the clock still being used regularly with no problems. Plenty out there with decent service history so if a seller can't provide you with it I would look at another.
-It will get through tyres fairly quickly (particularly fronts) depending how it's driven, but I ran Toyo T-1Rs on mine which at £90 a corner fitted isn't exactly expensive.
-Many will have been modified in some way or another, but not to the extent of the Integras. The most common mod is probably the K&N Typhoon air intake. Do not be put off by this- many ATRs will have this (mine did too) and it sounds absolutely glorious! After-market exhausts are also common, mine had a Mongoose cat-back system which was at the louder end of the scale, but I quite enjoyed having something that sounded like a baby touring car at 7,000 rpm
I don't personally believe it needs any suspension mods unless it's going to be a dedicated track car- the standard setup is very good. Bigger front brakes wouldn't be a bad shout though, the standard ones are 'functional', but the ones on my 2004 2.4 Accord Tourer feel like racing brakes by comparison...
-As for models there was the pre-facelift and post-facelift models. Mainly distinguishable by the slightly different front grill and rear bumper. I can't remember the rest of the differences (if any) but I don't think it was anything mechanical. Either way, I was set on the pre-facelift as I preferred the more aggressive looks over the softer looking later models.
-The main optional extras to look out for are air-con (make sure it works!), 6-CD changer (a boot mounted Pioneer unit), and the RARE center arm-rest. Very few had the arm rest, and it's not a cheap job to retrofit one as the arm rest itself goes for good money on the occasions that one does come up for sale. I traveled up to the other end of the county to get my ATR, partly on the basis that it had those 3 optional extras and I was set on getting one with the arm rest!
Overall they are extremely good cars. As I said, I think I actually enjoyed mine slightly more than I did my DC2. Whilst not quite as 'hardcore' as the DC2, the bigger capacity engine means it is a far more enjoyable drive outside of V-Tec, making it less of an all or nothing car. That said, it still has the 'on or off' V-Tec changeover that characterizes the older Type Rs. The steering I would also rate slightly higher than the DC2, but not by much- they are both superb. And obviously the gear change is as good as any ever made.
It's not going to be the fastest thing on the road in terms of straight line acceleration, and indeed my 2004 2.4 Tourer actually feels faster up to about 4,000-5,000 rpm! But that's not really what the ATR is are about, it's handling is up there alongside the DC2 as one of the best FWD platforms ever made. It is also surprisingly lightweight (and feels it), weighing only around 70kg more than an S2000 if I recall.
It does give you a decent amount of practicality being a 4-door saloon, but not as much as you'd expect. The presence of the rear bulkhead in the ATR (the standard car doesn't have this) means that the rear seats don not fold- so whilst it has a decent sized boot, you can't carry any decent sized loads as anything has to either go in the boot or on the back seats- not a combination of both.
Therefore stuff that I got in my DC2 no problem (a dishwasher, a cooker, a washing machine etc) are impossible in the ATR. For example when we collected the decking planks for our garden we managed to get just 7 in my ATR (with the front seat down), the remaining 34 went in my mate's Clio Sport 182... Best to think of it as a screaming hot-hatch with a saloon body shell.
Fantastic fun and I miss mine loads. I think the highest complement I can give it is that I will definitely have another one at some point- rather than another DC2.
Oh and Pirates Black (which is actually a gorgeous midnight purple in the sun) is definitely the best colour
Gratuitous pictures
And with my 2.4 Accord Tourer that replaced it.
Things to look out for:
-5th gear synchro, many will need replacing/will have been replaced. That said, mine was on 143,000 miles and had managed to escape this issue so I imagine it will depend how the car has been driven.
-Rust on the rear bulkhead. Can be difficult to properly identify, but if there is any sign of rust anywhere else on the car it's highly likely the rear bulkhead will be suffering. In my experience they do seem to resist the rust surprisingly well mind- mine was a 1999 car and had lived outside for all it's life as far as I was aware, and used in all weathers. It didn't have a hint of rust anywhere except around one of the clips holding one of the brake lines, and when up on the ramps the underside looked like a 5 year-old car. So don't think you will need to accept rust as part of the deal- there are a lot of clean examples out there.
-Check when the timing belt was last done. The intervals are 70,000 miles / 6 years but on higher mileage / older cars I'd personally want it to be done more regular than that. The belt change is not a particularly cheap one, when I was researching before buying the general consensus was to budget around £500-£600 for the job. I got mine done a fair bit cheaper (mate's rates) but it's not a quick job.
-Clutch is also not a cheap job (my mechanic reckoned around min 5 hours labour).
-Check the V-Tec engages as it should. The changeover is very binary- the buyer of my car was an EP3/DC5 owner who had never experienced one of the older V-Tec Type Rs and to say he had a smile on his face at 5,800 rpm is an understatement!
-The engines are very strong if looked after, so I'd want to see evidence of regular servicing or at least oil changes. I had mine serviced annually (doing approx 8,000 - 10,000 miles per year) with an oil change every 6 months in between. Meaning it had an oil change at least every 6 months. Probably excessive, but at 143,000 miles it was still pulling as well as it should, and I'd I've seen examples with almost 200,000 on the clock still being used regularly with no problems. Plenty out there with decent service history so if a seller can't provide you with it I would look at another.
-It will get through tyres fairly quickly (particularly fronts) depending how it's driven, but I ran Toyo T-1Rs on mine which at £90 a corner fitted isn't exactly expensive.
-Many will have been modified in some way or another, but not to the extent of the Integras. The most common mod is probably the K&N Typhoon air intake. Do not be put off by this- many ATRs will have this (mine did too) and it sounds absolutely glorious! After-market exhausts are also common, mine had a Mongoose cat-back system which was at the louder end of the scale, but I quite enjoyed having something that sounded like a baby touring car at 7,000 rpm
I don't personally believe it needs any suspension mods unless it's going to be a dedicated track car- the standard setup is very good. Bigger front brakes wouldn't be a bad shout though, the standard ones are 'functional', but the ones on my 2004 2.4 Accord Tourer feel like racing brakes by comparison...-As for models there was the pre-facelift and post-facelift models. Mainly distinguishable by the slightly different front grill and rear bumper. I can't remember the rest of the differences (if any) but I don't think it was anything mechanical. Either way, I was set on the pre-facelift as I preferred the more aggressive looks over the softer looking later models.
-The main optional extras to look out for are air-con (make sure it works!), 6-CD changer (a boot mounted Pioneer unit), and the RARE center arm-rest. Very few had the arm rest, and it's not a cheap job to retrofit one as the arm rest itself goes for good money on the occasions that one does come up for sale. I traveled up to the other end of the county to get my ATR, partly on the basis that it had those 3 optional extras and I was set on getting one with the arm rest!
Overall they are extremely good cars. As I said, I think I actually enjoyed mine slightly more than I did my DC2. Whilst not quite as 'hardcore' as the DC2, the bigger capacity engine means it is a far more enjoyable drive outside of V-Tec, making it less of an all or nothing car. That said, it still has the 'on or off' V-Tec changeover that characterizes the older Type Rs. The steering I would also rate slightly higher than the DC2, but not by much- they are both superb. And obviously the gear change is as good as any ever made.
It's not going to be the fastest thing on the road in terms of straight line acceleration, and indeed my 2004 2.4 Tourer actually feels faster up to about 4,000-5,000 rpm! But that's not really what the ATR is are about, it's handling is up there alongside the DC2 as one of the best FWD platforms ever made. It is also surprisingly lightweight (and feels it), weighing only around 70kg more than an S2000 if I recall.
It does give you a decent amount of practicality being a 4-door saloon, but not as much as you'd expect. The presence of the rear bulkhead in the ATR (the standard car doesn't have this) means that the rear seats don not fold- so whilst it has a decent sized boot, you can't carry any decent sized loads as anything has to either go in the boot or on the back seats- not a combination of both.
Therefore stuff that I got in my DC2 no problem (a dishwasher, a cooker, a washing machine etc) are impossible in the ATR. For example when we collected the decking planks for our garden we managed to get just 7 in my ATR (with the front seat down), the remaining 34 went in my mate's Clio Sport 182... Best to think of it as a screaming hot-hatch with a saloon body shell.
Fantastic fun and I miss mine loads. I think the highest complement I can give it is that I will definitely have another one at some point- rather than another DC2.
Oh and Pirates Black (which is actually a gorgeous midnight purple in the sun) is definitely the best colour
Gratuitous pictures
And with my 2.4 Accord Tourer that replaced it.
Good couple of posts above, I'd also add that they can be prone to head gasket failure, my pre facelift went, alebit in a low key fashion but did result in a hefty bill!
Mine became difficult to start on random occassions, was mixing oil and coolant ever so slightly (tiny flecks of oil in the coolant) but on the whole ran pretty well considering the gasket had gone, I got a local company to do it and re-fresh a lot of the top end components.
Engine felt super strong afterwards though!
Power steering pumps can become noisy too as the bearing fails, easy to change though and there are normally a car or two being broken on accordr.org
Mine became difficult to start on random occassions, was mixing oil and coolant ever so slightly (tiny flecks of oil in the coolant) but on the whole ran pretty well considering the gasket had gone, I got a local company to do it and re-fresh a lot of the top end components.
Engine felt super strong afterwards though!
Power steering pumps can become noisy too as the bearing fails, easy to change though and there are normally a car or two being broken on accordr.org
Another gratuitous pic
Bought new in 1999, sold in 2009 to make way for refreshed successful internet auction site bid on a Monaro.
Fabulous chassis, this is what sold the car. 5th gear synchro was poor on high rpm upshifts, double declutching is an easy fix. It was only after selling the car that I found out this was a fault rather than a characteristic!
Used a bit of oil, especially after making progress. Keep an eye on yours, low oil = big bills. Not unusual for VTECs. Also has an appetite for front tyre inside edges. Even when properly set up - lots of -ve camber or toe IIRC, a small price to pay for the handling.
Very comfortable front seats despite their simplicity. Look for A/C, heat soak is an issue after 400 miles or so - yearly trips to the Highlands exposed this. Cambelt AND tensioner replacement essential. A rev proportional whirring is a sign,
regards, and get it bought
Jet
Yadizzle1 said:
Can anyone say how they compare to something like a Clio 172 (cup), it's the other car I've been looking at. Much cheaper purchase price but seemingly expensive belt changes as well as dodgy electronics. Apparently fast though.
My mate had a 172/182 cup (can't remember which) whilst I had both my DC2 and my ATR.The ATR has a far better driving position, much lower down and you feel as though you are sat 'in' it rather than 'on' it like you do the Clio.
Steering is also feels sharper in the ATR than the Clio, and the gear change in both the Hondas is better than 99% of cars out there full stop.
The Clio is a lot of fun though, and I would say also feels faster (it probably is slightly), but in my opinion just doesn't have the sense of occasion that the ATR has.
To me the Clio still feels like a Clio, albeit a quite hilariously quick one. Whereas the ATR feels a lot more like a dedicated sports car (or whatever the term is), everything just feels that bit more special. And whilst it might not have 'quite' the outright grunt of the Clio due to the slightly lower torque, the engine itself in the ATR is leagues ahead of the one in the Clio in terms of character/sound etc.
I would also argue the Clio is (bizarrely) the more practical of the two cars despite being smaller & 2-door. In my experience the back of the Clio with the seats folded is something akin to a Tardis, where anything will fit regardless. See also my note about decking planks- 7 in my ATR vs 34 in my mates Clio... There are also a lot more Clios out there than ATRs so it will be easier to find one.
Both cars are great fun though, you wouldn't be disappointed with either. But given a choice purely for enjoyment I would take the ATR every single time, no question.
Squirrelofwoe said:
I recently sold mine after almost 3 years with it. Absolutely fantastic cars, every bit as good as the DC2 that I had for a couple of years previous to it, with (in my opinion) an even better sound.
Things to look out for:
-5th gear synchro, many will need replacing/will have been replaced. That said, mine was on 143,000 miles and had managed to escape this issue so I imagine it will depend how the car has been driven.
-Rust on the rear bulkhead. Can be difficult to properly identify, but if there is any sign of rust anywhere else on the car it's highly likely the rear bulkhead will be suffering. In my experience they do seem to resist the rust surprisingly well mind- mine was a 1999 car and had lived outside for all it's life as far as I was aware, and used in all weathers. It didn't have a hint of rust anywhere except around one of the clips holding one of the brake lines, and when up on the ramps the underside looked like a 5 year-old car. So don't think you will need to accept rust as part of the deal- there are a lot of clean examples out there.
-Check when the timing belt was last done. The intervals are 70,000 miles / 6 years but on higher mileage / older cars I'd personally want it to be done more regular than that. The belt change is not a particularly cheap one, when I was researching before buying the general consensus was to budget around £500-£600 for the job. I got mine done a fair bit cheaper (mate's rates) but it's not a quick job.
-Clutch is also not a cheap job (my mechanic reckoned around min 5 hours labour).
-Check the V-Tec engages as it should. The changeover is very binary- the buyer of my car was an EP3/DC5 owner who had never experienced one of the older V-Tec Type Rs and to say he had a smile on his face at 5,800 rpm is an understatement!
-The engines are very strong if looked after, so I'd want to see evidence of regular servicing or at least oil changes. I had mine serviced annually (doing approx 8,000 - 10,000 miles per year) with an oil change every 6 months in between. Meaning it had an oil change at least every 6 months. Probably excessive, but at 143,000 miles it was still pulling as well as it should, and I'd I've seen examples with almost 200,000 on the clock still being used regularly with no problems. Plenty out there with decent service history so if a seller can't provide you with it I would look at another.
-It will get through tyres fairly quickly (particularly fronts) depending how it's driven, but I ran Toyo T-1Rs on mine which at £90 a corner fitted isn't exactly expensive.
-Many will have been modified in some way or another, but not to the extent of the Integras. The most common mod is probably the K&N Typhoon air intake. Do not be put off by this- many ATRs will have this (mine did too) and it sounds absolutely glorious! After-market exhausts are also common, mine had a Mongoose cat-back system which was at the louder end of the scale, but I quite enjoyed having something that sounded like a baby touring car at 7,000 rpm I don't personally believe it needs any suspension mods unless it's going to be a dedicated track car- the standard setup is very good. Bigger front brakes wouldn't be a bad shout though, the standard ones are 'functional', but the ones on my 2004 2.4 Accord Tourer feel like racing brakes by comparison...
-As for models there was the pre-facelift and post-facelift models. Mainly distinguishable by the slightly different front grill and rear bumper. I can't remember the rest of the differences (if any) but I don't think it was anything mechanical. Either way, I was set on the pre-facelift as I preferred the more aggressive looks over the softer looking later models.
-The main optional extras to look out for are air-con (make sure it works!), 6-CD changer (a boot mounted Pioneer unit), and the RARE center arm-rest. Very few had the arm rest, and it's not a cheap job to retrofit one as the arm rest itself goes for good money on the occasions that one does come up for sale. I traveled up to the other end of the county to get my ATR, partly on the basis that it had those 3 optional extras and I was set on getting one with the arm rest!
Overall they are extremely good cars. As I said, I think I actually enjoyed mine slightly more than I did my DC2. Whilst not quite as 'hardcore' as the DC2, the bigger capacity engine means it is a far more enjoyable drive outside of V-Tec, making it less of an all or nothing car. That said, it still has the 'on or off' V-Tec changeover that characterizes the older Type Rs. The steering I would also rate slightly higher than the DC2, but not by much- they are both superb. And obviously the gear change is as good as any ever made.
It's not going to be the fastest thing on the road in terms of straight line acceleration, and indeed my 2004 2.4 Tourer actually feels faster up to about 4,000-5,000 rpm! But that's not really what the ATR is are about, it's handling is up there alongside the DC2 as one of the best FWD platforms ever made. It is also surprisingly lightweight (and feels it), weighing only around 70kg more than an S2000 if I recall.
It does give you a decent amount of practicality being a 4-door saloon, but not as much as you'd expect. The presence of the rear bulkhead in the ATR (the standard car doesn't have this) means that the rear seats don not fold- so whilst it has a decent sized boot, you can't carry any decent sized loads as anything has to either go in the boot or on the back seats- not a combination of both.
Therefore stuff that I got in my DC2 no problem (a dishwasher, a cooker, a washing machine etc) are impossible in the ATR. For example when we collected the decking planks for our garden we managed to get just 7 in my ATR (with the front seat down), the remaining 34 went in my mate's Clio Sport 182... Best to think of it as a screaming hot-hatch with a saloon body shell.
Fantastic fun and I miss mine loads. I think the highest complement I can give it is that I will definitely have another one at some point- rather than another DC2.
Oh and Pirates Black (which is actually a gorgeous midnight purple in the sun) is definitely the best colour
Gratuitous pictures
And with my 2.4 Accord Tourer that replaced it.
I chewed over getting in touch with you about your ATR when it was advertised, but in the end, the milage put me off a bit.Things to look out for:
-5th gear synchro, many will need replacing/will have been replaced. That said, mine was on 143,000 miles and had managed to escape this issue so I imagine it will depend how the car has been driven.
-Rust on the rear bulkhead. Can be difficult to properly identify, but if there is any sign of rust anywhere else on the car it's highly likely the rear bulkhead will be suffering. In my experience they do seem to resist the rust surprisingly well mind- mine was a 1999 car and had lived outside for all it's life as far as I was aware, and used in all weathers. It didn't have a hint of rust anywhere except around one of the clips holding one of the brake lines, and when up on the ramps the underside looked like a 5 year-old car. So don't think you will need to accept rust as part of the deal- there are a lot of clean examples out there.
-Check when the timing belt was last done. The intervals are 70,000 miles / 6 years but on higher mileage / older cars I'd personally want it to be done more regular than that. The belt change is not a particularly cheap one, when I was researching before buying the general consensus was to budget around £500-£600 for the job. I got mine done a fair bit cheaper (mate's rates) but it's not a quick job.
-Clutch is also not a cheap job (my mechanic reckoned around min 5 hours labour).
-Check the V-Tec engages as it should. The changeover is very binary- the buyer of my car was an EP3/DC5 owner who had never experienced one of the older V-Tec Type Rs and to say he had a smile on his face at 5,800 rpm is an understatement!
-The engines are very strong if looked after, so I'd want to see evidence of regular servicing or at least oil changes. I had mine serviced annually (doing approx 8,000 - 10,000 miles per year) with an oil change every 6 months in between. Meaning it had an oil change at least every 6 months. Probably excessive, but at 143,000 miles it was still pulling as well as it should, and I'd I've seen examples with almost 200,000 on the clock still being used regularly with no problems. Plenty out there with decent service history so if a seller can't provide you with it I would look at another.
-It will get through tyres fairly quickly (particularly fronts) depending how it's driven, but I ran Toyo T-1Rs on mine which at £90 a corner fitted isn't exactly expensive.
-Many will have been modified in some way or another, but not to the extent of the Integras. The most common mod is probably the K&N Typhoon air intake. Do not be put off by this- many ATRs will have this (mine did too) and it sounds absolutely glorious! After-market exhausts are also common, mine had a Mongoose cat-back system which was at the louder end of the scale, but I quite enjoyed having something that sounded like a baby touring car at 7,000 rpm
I don't personally believe it needs any suspension mods unless it's going to be a dedicated track car- the standard setup is very good. Bigger front brakes wouldn't be a bad shout though, the standard ones are 'functional', but the ones on my 2004 2.4 Accord Tourer feel like racing brakes by comparison...-As for models there was the pre-facelift and post-facelift models. Mainly distinguishable by the slightly different front grill and rear bumper. I can't remember the rest of the differences (if any) but I don't think it was anything mechanical. Either way, I was set on the pre-facelift as I preferred the more aggressive looks over the softer looking later models.
-The main optional extras to look out for are air-con (make sure it works!), 6-CD changer (a boot mounted Pioneer unit), and the RARE center arm-rest. Very few had the arm rest, and it's not a cheap job to retrofit one as the arm rest itself goes for good money on the occasions that one does come up for sale. I traveled up to the other end of the county to get my ATR, partly on the basis that it had those 3 optional extras and I was set on getting one with the arm rest!
Overall they are extremely good cars. As I said, I think I actually enjoyed mine slightly more than I did my DC2. Whilst not quite as 'hardcore' as the DC2, the bigger capacity engine means it is a far more enjoyable drive outside of V-Tec, making it less of an all or nothing car. That said, it still has the 'on or off' V-Tec changeover that characterizes the older Type Rs. The steering I would also rate slightly higher than the DC2, but not by much- they are both superb. And obviously the gear change is as good as any ever made.
It's not going to be the fastest thing on the road in terms of straight line acceleration, and indeed my 2004 2.4 Tourer actually feels faster up to about 4,000-5,000 rpm! But that's not really what the ATR is are about, it's handling is up there alongside the DC2 as one of the best FWD platforms ever made. It is also surprisingly lightweight (and feels it), weighing only around 70kg more than an S2000 if I recall.
It does give you a decent amount of practicality being a 4-door saloon, but not as much as you'd expect. The presence of the rear bulkhead in the ATR (the standard car doesn't have this) means that the rear seats don not fold- so whilst it has a decent sized boot, you can't carry any decent sized loads as anything has to either go in the boot or on the back seats- not a combination of both.
Therefore stuff that I got in my DC2 no problem (a dishwasher, a cooker, a washing machine etc) are impossible in the ATR. For example when we collected the decking planks for our garden we managed to get just 7 in my ATR (with the front seat down), the remaining 34 went in my mate's Clio Sport 182... Best to think of it as a screaming hot-hatch with a saloon body shell.
Fantastic fun and I miss mine loads. I think the highest complement I can give it is that I will definitely have another one at some point- rather than another DC2.
Oh and Pirates Black (which is actually a gorgeous midnight purple in the sun) is definitely the best colour
Gratuitous pictures
And with my 2.4 Accord Tourer that replaced it.
Kicking myself slightly now!
TheJimi said:
I chewed over getting in touch with you about your ATR when it was advertised, but in the end, the milage put me off a bit.
Kicking myself slightly now!
I was actually this >---< close to pulling the advert as I had managed to negotiate storage for it over the winter. I figured I could store it in the workshop over xmas, get the clutch etc done in the new year, then enjoy it as a weekend car over the summer and sell this time next year for closer to £2-2.5k. I wouldn't have made anymore money on it as it would have cost me the difference to sort the clutch and the two bodywork scratches, but it would have meant I'd have enjoyed it for another 12 months. However, literally the exact same day that I got the go ahead for the storage, (and just before I was going to pull the advert) the eventual buyer messaged me and agreed to take it for the full asking price- he came down the following weekend and that was that.Kicking myself slightly now!
It was certainly a sale I didn't really want to make but I knew I would only be keeping it for one more year at most as it would still need to go to help my house deposit next year- the guy who bought it was a proper enthusiast having owned a DC5 and a current EP3 owner, so at least it went to a good home.
The mileage was a complete non-issue in my opinion, it had a fully stamped service book up to around 116,000 when I purchased it- I then got a full service and another timing belt change done, then 6 monthly services thereafter. I was fortunate that a good mate of mine who's a mechanic at Mazda has a colleague who used to be a master-tech at Honda, and is also a massive Type R enthusiast- he knew the ATR inside out and he looked after my car with an even greater amount of OCD than I did! It still drove like a car with half it's listed mileage, but then as long as they are looked after they really do go on & on.
I probably did let mine go cheap and with the clutch and the two bodywork scratches done it would easily have been £2k - £2.5k car, but I got pretty much got back what I paid for it so I wasn't too unhappy. I've always had the attitude of 'under promise and over deliver' with car adverts as it solves a lot of the time wasting- consequently I think many people saw my ad mention that the clutch would need doing soon and took that to mean it was going to be a non-runner, when in fact it still drove fine, had just had it's MOT (had 11 months left) & service, and been given an otherwise clean bill of health. I'd wager most sellers wouldn't even have mentioned the clutch as the only giveaway was the high biting point.
I actually saw two other examples advertised for similar money to mine listed as "spares & repairs"!!
This has just reminded me I have my 2001 197k car in my mums garage, new house with a double garage means that I can get it back on the road. Everything above is spot on.
I will be getting wheels refurbished, new tyres and complete suspension replacement as it all original. I need to new doors as they can rust at the tops. Above the wing mirrors where the rubbers split. £500 new from honda that's assuming they still do them.
They are amazing cars hence refusing to sell it.
I will be getting wheels refurbished, new tyres and complete suspension replacement as it all original. I need to new doors as they can rust at the tops. Above the wing mirrors where the rubbers split. £500 new from honda that's assuming they still do them.
They are amazing cars hence refusing to sell it.
I owned a phase 2 a couple of years ago and now own a non cup 172. The 172 are common and you would save a grand on getting a simile mileage and condition 172 compared to an accord.
Clio pluses:
-folding seats
-better mpg
-slightly faster but only a little
ATR pluses
-better build especially the interior
-4 doors with better seating space in the back. Pisses me off having to put a child seat in the Clio
-momo steering wheel v melting stage coach wheel
-recaros v bobbley suede and s
te pretend leather
-sometimes hate the seating position of the Clio
-quite rare these days
-normal clutch unlike the stiff Clio one
-RS clios run rough as fk when cold due to the warming up map, the ATR didnt.
The rear seats discolour due to the sun. Mine was rusting around the bung near the front subframe mount and the sump was rusting inside out. Gearbox could be stiff when cold but was fine when it warmed up. Drop links are a pain in the arse to change too!
the phase 2 also had the radio antenna moved near the roof/rear window.
I may know of a low mileage black for sale. If it was red or silver id be interested.
Clio pluses:
-folding seats
-better mpg
-slightly faster but only a little
ATR pluses
-better build especially the interior
-4 doors with better seating space in the back. Pisses me off having to put a child seat in the Clio
-momo steering wheel v melting stage coach wheel
-recaros v bobbley suede and s
te pretend leather-sometimes hate the seating position of the Clio
-quite rare these days
-normal clutch unlike the stiff Clio one
-RS clios run rough as f
k when cold due to the warming up map, the ATR didnt.The rear seats discolour due to the sun. Mine was rusting around the bung near the front subframe mount and the sump was rusting inside out. Gearbox could be stiff when cold but was fine when it warmed up. Drop links are a pain in the arse to change too!
the phase 2 also had the radio antenna moved near the roof/rear window.
I may know of a low mileage black for sale. If it was red or silver id be interested.
Squirrelofwoe said:
To me the Clio still feels like a Clio, albeit a quite hilariously quick one. Whereas the ATR feels a lot more like a dedicated sports car (or whatever the term is), everything just feels that bit more special. And whilst it might not have 'quite' the outright grunt of the Clio due to the slightly lower torque, the engine itself in the ATR is leagues ahead of the one in the Clio in terms of character/sound etc.
Eh?148lbs/ft @ 5400rpm for the 172 vs 158lbs/ft @ 6700rpm for the ATR and 148lbs/ft @ 5250rpm for the 182.
Matt_N said:
Squirrelofwoe said:
To me the Clio still feels like a Clio, albeit a quite hilariously quick one. Whereas the ATR feels a lot more like a dedicated sports car (or whatever the term is), everything just feels that bit more special. And whilst it might not have 'quite' the outright grunt of the Clio due to the slightly lower torque, the engine itself in the ATR is leagues ahead of the one in the Clio in terms of character/sound etc.
Eh?148lbs/ft @ 5400rpm for the 172 vs 158lbs/ft @ 6700rpm for the ATR and 148lbs/ft @ 5250rpm for the 182.
Squirrelofwoe said:
Matt_N said:
Squirrelofwoe said:
To me the Clio still feels like a Clio, albeit a quite hilariously quick one. Whereas the ATR feels a lot more like a dedicated sports car (or whatever the term is), everything just feels that bit more special. And whilst it might not have 'quite' the outright grunt of the Clio due to the slightly lower torque, the engine itself in the ATR is leagues ahead of the one in the Clio in terms of character/sound etc.
Eh?148lbs/ft @ 5400rpm for the 172 vs 158lbs/ft @ 6700rpm for the ATR and 148lbs/ft @ 5250rpm for the 182.
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