legend921

Hey everyone,

I wanted to officially post my pictures now to outline my build for my UL that I had picked up back in June. I bought this without seeing the vehicle personally from California. I had some friends go look at it and they said that the vehicle overall was in good condition and I trusted their words more than some of the dealers out here. I had a bad experience when trying to pick up a silver '04 UL with Ecru interior in New Jersey at an Acura Dealer. The sales person kept stating that the car was clean and very well taken care of and also dealer maintained. I live about a 4 hour drive away and almost decided to take a train up there to pick up the vehicle that day, however, in the back of my mind I said to myself that I should just drive up there and inspect it before I fork over a few hundred dollars in train fare for my wife and I. Well, once I got there to look at the vehicle noticed numerous issues with the car which explained why it sat on the lot for so long. Some simple things like the mirror didn't work, but I already knew that issues would have been the mirror switch. Another was the steering wheel stopped telescoping automatically and the front door panel pocket for the passenger was completely broken. Headliner had a stain in it and the exhaust tips had been all mangled up so they put on some temporary chrome tips that were all pointy it made the car look really tacky.

So on to the next search (which I was glad that I did) led me to this Flint Mica. Overall the vehicle had great dealer records. Everything was maintained at a Penske Lexus dealer including replacements of the air struts and timing belt. The car does have some cosmetic issues such as the front bumper where the clear started to peel at the top where the grill meets due to the garage door closing on it. Also, there was damage to the driver side corner where the bumper and fender meet which caused an indentation. The hood had some work done as well but the paint seeped into the primer causing a wavy look. Lastly, rear bumper was slightly scratched and had license plate screws indents due to a minor rear bump which was outlined in the car fax report.

Well, I finally got the car back from the shop and wanted to post some before and after pics, and here it is:

This is the day after I had the car delivered to me. Took a lot bugs on the way.


Had her cleaned up shortly after the previous picture and took her out for a drive.




Here is the damage of the bumper close up:


Here are the progress of the repairs:








Here she is all finished up and cleaned:




Giving the leather a good Leatherique application:



Leatherique Rejuvenator oil all cleaned off now giving the leather a more supple feel and a matte look.




Definitely have more plans for her. Going to have to clay the whole care and give her the proper paint treatment and get rid of the fine scratches. Also, in need of replacing the outer rear passenger door handle color trim, and then some visors, wheels, and light tint on the car. Overall, I really enjoy driving this thing. I also am a big Acura Legend guy as I own two 94 Legends one in each body style and transmission type.

Here are my Legends.




I have since replaced my CF Hood on the coupe with a stock hood and also replaced the white face gauges with the stock background again. As for my sedan, she is a 6 speed and is pretty much going to stay stock.

e60bmw

iTrader: (1)

Looks great man, I'm a huge fan of leatherique, its awesome!!

yoitskenn

iTrader: (4)

Other than saddle interior.....this is my favorite color combo.

legend921

Leatherique is awesome. So far the experience that I had is really good with them. The wife even noticed that the leather is a lot more soft than before. I was worried for a bit because one of the guys on the TL forums complained that leatherique made his foam hard and thus resulted in cracking leather.

Yoitskenn, I agree. I definitely like the look of the saddle with the black interior. I tried finding one but no luck.

legend921

So I wanted to provide an update to my car as I am slowly getting her situated the way that I want her.


Just got the car tinted on this weekend, and went with the 3M Crystalline CR 50. (This is the second to the darkest tint for this series darkest this line will go is 40 percent) I decided with the CR50 to stay completely legal in case if I were to have the car registered in any other state that requires to pass an inspection. Wouldn't want to tear up the tint since it was not exactly the cheapest option.




Decided to give her a clay job as well and polish and wax by hand. Never will I do that again as my arms got really tired. This paint was very dirty when I had purchased it from the previous owner in California. It took about 30-45 minutes of claying per panel especially the roof and trunk. Luckily the hood didn't need it since I had the paint worked on when I had my bumper painted recently to correct some cosmetic damage.

Got more stuff on my to do list.

aypues

Looks nice! I have a 04 UL with the 17" chrome wheels but i far prefer your chrome 18's. I sometimes fantasize about switching but am worried that the ride wouldnt be as supple as with my 17's.

legend921

Aypues, the 18s do not ride harsh at all. With how well built the LS430 was made, it is still whisper quiet with little road noise coming through dependent on tires of course. Definitely fills out the wheel well much better.

empringham

Car looks great Jimmy, cant wait to see what you do with it. The legends are cool, dont seem to see too many of them now a days!

achadha100

Hi Legend I am in process of fixing up the car to my liking as I had my car shipped from California. The dealer said the car was in great shape and no tears... the passenger side had 3 tears and mine had the same indentation on bumper and some noticeable scratches on the front and back bumper.

My question was did you pick all costs yourself or did you use insurance?

also if you don't mind how much did the body work run you?

legend921

I redid the front and rear bumper plus a respray on the top of the hood for 1100. I did it without insurance and I would advise against it as well. The reason is that just by calling in a filing for a claim it adds to your claim history with the insurance company and also, they will more than likely deny the claim since the damage didn't occur under your ownership... I definitely understand about the frustrations with the dealer. If you have any pictures you should post up some pics!

achadha100

That is not bad at all...thanks for the info I was going to pay out of pocket was wondering what you did...I see you are in md..I am in va any recommendations on body shop...

thanks

achadha100

i got estimate of $3250 for the front and back bumper and the front grill replacement.

the parts were costing $1650 and the same for labor. coming out to 5 days of work.

that is really expensive to come up with out of pocket.

legend921

Achadha100, are your bumpers not repairable? Most minor bumper damage are repairable by a reputable shop. If the repair time costs more than $300 then I would look into purchasing new covers as they run around that price. I had both my front and rear bumper repaired alongside with my fender as well. All parts are still original as they came off the assembly line minus the paint. I would also go around and get a bunch of estimates. I had estimates ranging from 900 - 2400 and had at least 5 estimates completed.

legend921

Replaced the license plate lamps and added the visors.

legend921

Added the Vaistech MML that I recently acquired! Also utilized the same USB outlet like Tom57 did to give it that clean factory install look! Thanks for the tip Tom57.