2000 Honda Accord EX Coupe

·         2.3L VTEC DOHC – Performance upgrades

o   Forged pistons and aftermarket camshaft and crank $1500

o   Magnaflow exhaust $700

o   MSD spark system $600

o   Weapon-R cold air/ram air combo $200

o   Weapon-R Header $600

o   AEM Race pulleys

o   Sway bar

o   Skunk2 Racing adjustable independent suspension-all four $400

o   Has 1k miles since ALL belts replaced

o   600 miles since all seals and rings replaced

·         17in Drifz 202MB Jade rims $1500

o   Low profile Class Z (149mph+), All-season tires

·         114,575miles

·         Interior and exterior Underglow Neon $180

o   1million colors with 7 color specific settings

o   14+ Patterns with Sound Sensing

·         Aftermarket Premium Sound System with iPod direct link $1600

o   Professionally Installed

o   Entire car is sound-dampened with Dynamat

o   Allows you to control your music from the Alpine 400W head unit

o   1200W JL Audio Amp

o   6 Alpine components. JL audio 13in subs

§  2-non-powered tweeters

§  4-9.5in components powered 100W each

§  2-13in, powered 600W RMS each from amp

o   It is an EXTREMELY clean sounding system in all ranges and mid to loud volumes.

o   This system currently optimized for clean sound and high quality and will currently shake all mirrors and give everyone in the car a nice massage. However, it is not producing anywhere close to its limits so that it will last a very long time. I usually listen at about 1/3 volume when alone in the car. Others typically find this volume uncomfortable for extended periods.

·         Full Body Kit $1000

o   AIT Racing VS2 Front Bumper

o   Spyder Rear Bumper and Side Skirts

o   Genuine Carbon Fiber hood with pins

·         Headlights/taillights $250

o   Eurostyle Taillights

o   HID Projection Headlights (Extremely bright and hooded low beams. High beams will let you easily blind anyone who cares to look head on at you.)

General History of my story:

I have owned this car since 2008 when it had 80k miles. I lived on a farm in NW Kansas at the time. I used to race go-karts on the Nationals circuit in the junior division. I raced starting at 6yrs old, joined Nationals at age 12, and was involved in a deadly wreck just before my 16^th and Mom couldn’t take any more wrecks. We sold the racing stuff, but I still wanted to own a tuned and customized vehicle to my driving style and preferences. Shortly after turning 17, I bought this car. I am not your typical teen who tears up vehicles and goes 100mph through town. Growing up on the farm and my history in racing, I developed discipline and treating equipment with respect and to their intended use. I kept this car in the shed whenever there was snow or ice since I had a work pickup to take to school when the weather was bad. I take great pride in caring and maintaining my equipment, dirtbikes, and car. I changed the oil most months while definitely not going longer than two months between oil changes. I replaced the oil filter every two changes. I had a friend at an auto shop in town inspect my oil filter every time I replaced it since this was my first personally owned and bought completely on my own vehicle. As stated in the above engine description, I just had all the seals and rings replaced because I planned on having this fine vehicle another several years. I did have a Honda dealer perform the belt replacements that Honda recommends after 100k miles with all of their inspections and checks. The car passed, and is ready to go another 100k miles. I will get into why I am selling the car at the end.

About 2 weeks after buying the car, the check engine light came on and the engine would not go above 3000rpm. The computer was giving a Cylinder Position error and a Cat2 Efficiency (exhaust) error. Honda dealers didn’t want to touch it because of all the mods, so I was left to troubleshoot these problems with the help of my Dad and our friends who run two different body shops and maintenance shop. We tried to replace the Cylinder sensor. I replaced the Distributor Cap and wires. We then found a dealer who would take the job and look at it as long as we were okay with it not being “officially Honda repairs”. [Lesson learned: you need to be mechanically savvy or know people who are because most dealers will not do anything beyond a basic oil change. I have found much better help at independent shops, but you have to take their advice on changes with a grain of salt and do your own research! Of course, I’d say change your own **** oil…] The dealer gave us some suggestions and options. We replaced the computer (also added in performance code directly into the computer at this time too) but nothing worked. Through a lucky alternator breakdown and subsequent troubleshooting a year later, we found out that because of the much larger current draw of the MSD system, the current alternator was not being spun fast enough to produce enough juice to run the MSD, headlights, and sound system at full power. The MSD system suffers because it cannot provide the voltage needed to the spark plugs. The cylinder misses a firing, which causes the sensor to think something is wrong with the cylinder positioning. When the engine is above 3000rpm, the alternator is spinning fast enough that there are no errors. I will include a $100 OBD-II scanner to clear the code when it causes a problem for free with the car. Because the alternator has a built in regulator, my guess is that a larger pulley on the alternator would permanently fix the Cylinder Position error. As for the Cat2 Efficiency error, the Magnaflow exhaust does not have the oxygen sensors needed for the computer and this creates the error (this car would not currently pass a California emissions test, but is good to go in all the other 49 states).

I will almost guarantee that you will have to repair the front fender within the first 2 weeks after you buy the car. You need to always keep in mind that you are driving a modified vehicle and never get lax in watching out for dips or curbs. I had owned the car for a week the first time I pulled into a Sonic stall to get my happy-hour drink. In a split second, I heard the pop and scraping sound of fiberglass as the front fender hit the curb, hopped on top of the curb, and continued to scrape it until I let out an expletive and slammed the brakes. The damage was just a crunched 2inches which took a $40 fiberglass repair kit and 3hrs of my time to fix. If this happens to you, I recommend going to a body shop and asking them to show you how to do these types of repairs properly. Because of my racing experience, I have had extensive experience in working with fiberglass. You will notice from the pictures that the car is in impeccable condition; this is the care and effort I have put into this car.

I am selling this car simply because I have had my experience with the effort it takes to own and maintain such a nice looking car. Then in a few sickening moments, I slid off a gravel road after a county-correction curve that came up while I was changing a song on the stereo. I never go over 40mph on the gravel because of what it can do to the rims, body kit, and underglow. I just about got around the curve, but in the last 10ft of the curve I slid off into the ditch rear-end first. Since the car is FWD, I was trying to make use of both the brake and engine to get going away from the ditch, but my moment of inattention has cost me a lot of money, time, and frustration in working on the cosmetics of this car all over again. I have decided to sell my first car and buy a pickup and supermoto instead. The pictures of the car ARE of the current condition. It is an extremely nice car that turns heads wherever it goes. Impress everyone with the sound system, styling, and performance during the day and additionally the interior and exterior lights at night. If you are a teen who is looking for their first car or an individual with more experience, this car will serve you well.