5k: Pre-Purchase Remorse: 1998 Integra GS-R sedan

The Acura Integra GS-R is the best car that you can’t really enjoy. Even with 1990s Honda engineering (multilink suspension, VTEC inline-four revving to 8,200 rpm, one of the best shift feels this side of a 911) crammed into one compact sedan, it’s a struggle to come up with what exactly you’re supposed to do with it. Find this 1998 Acura Integra GS-R sedan for $4,500 in Salem, OR via Craigslist.

For a late-model Japanese four-cylinder sedan, it’s not a wise financial purchase. High insurance costs (although a bit cheaper to insure than the hatch) are due to high probability of theft because of how easily broken into it is and Honda’s parts interchangeability guarantees a market for inexpensive, superior GS-R parts with no questions asked. Plus, the mandatory use of premium gas for the B18 engine that only returns 25 combined miles per gallon means it isn’t a gas saver. As it sits, it’s not capable enough to be a weekend or track car, and you won’t want to employ the enormous aftermarket because you finally found a stock one.

I’m not done. Look at the interior. You may adore light tan leather, but if you’re shopping for a sedan, you probably have passengers who don’t share your anal-retentive protective qualities. Invite young humans or careless coworkers inside and your precious leather seats become a no-longer-blank canvas.

And yet, the Integra allure remains. How many other 2,700-pound sedans rev to 8,200 rpm combined with sharp handling and legendary reliability? For the Fast and Furious family, this four-door is ideal – on paper. In the real world, it’s a conundrum. At least maintenance costs won’t let you down. Look at that long list of replacement parts. The buyer should have years of trouble-free ownership of this Teggy… if they figure out what to do with it.

See a more confusing sport sedan in a better color? Email us at tips@dailyturismo.com

PhiLOL still drives a slow car and is evidently stuck on Japanese sedans lately, presumably due to unresolved childhood trauma involving sushi and a lot of doors. So… many… doors…