drivetofive

Odometer (Fir Green SLX):  178,690

Odometer (Radiant Red SLX):  139,142

Because one is never enough, right?

As much fun as I’ve had with my 1997 SLX that I picked up in December, I’ve always had in the back of my mind that it was a “placeholder” until a better one came along.  Kind of like my 1992 Integra LS sedan was last year – I let it go when I found (or a friend found, rather) my now-current 1992 Integra GS sedan with a higher trim level and fewer miles.

Incidentally, this is the first time my blog posts have been back-to-back car purchase stories, since I just talked about the new del Sol a few days ago.  I didn’t ever intend on taking on 2 additional vehicles simultaneously, but the timing worked out that way.

As you can see, I’m sitting on “twins” briefly until the Fir Green Mica base model heads to its new home – which is already determined, so I don’t even have the trouble of needing to list it for sale.  More on its future owner/use to come in a later blog entry.

What about my latest 1996 is so compelling?

For one, it’s only the second “Radiant Red” I’ve ever seen – and I’ve never seen one in real life – only online.  My preferred colors were Radiant Red, and Ebony Black, in that order.  Back in December, I started a daily search across a variety of online vehicle classifieds.  I wanted the “Premium” trim for its special goodies, including power folding chrome sideview mirrors, heated leather seats, alloy wheels and other features.

My search was not fruitful for a very long time.  Geographic location-based buy/sell apps like OfferUp which can be difficult to get a nationwide grasp on.  AutoTrader has exactly zero SLXs listed.  Then there’s Facebook Marketplace, which can be especially tricky because it only allows a geographic search radius of 100 miles.  My strategy there was to pick a handful of major cities around the country each day to see what popped up.

On a Monday morning around 6:00 a.m. I decided to hit Chicago.  Boom.  Eyes lit up, all of a sudden I was wide awake.  A semi-truck repair company had taken this 139,000-mile example in on trade toward some repair work performed and was selling it, along with a handful of other mixed-bag cars (Chevy HHR, Ford pickup, and other randoms).  It had just been listed the day prior.

I sent an initial inquiry to the seller and asked for his phone number.  We spoke briefly, and I think he was a little uneasy about dealing with someone about 1,700 miles away.  I tried to ease the tension a little by later sending a photo of my current SLX via text.  I got the VIN on his, ran a Carfax, and proceed to make payment and transport arrangements.  By 11:00 a.m., the deal was done and transport driver pending assignment.  That was easy!  I arranged transport via a company called Montway.

Pick-up – coincidentally, in a suburb of Chicago called Phoenix, Illinois.

Arrival in Phoenix, Arizona about a week later.

The SLX arrived on Memorial Day, May 27th.  Come with me as I take an initial walk around and see exactly what we are dealing with.  The funny thing was, when I Google street-viewed the address on the vehicle title, I saw the SLX parked there in August 2017.

Check out the video below if you dare see this Illinois rust bucket in all its glory.

Ad inquiry

Photo from the ad

Photo from the ad

Would it have made the trip from Chicago to Phoenix?  I sort of doubt it.

Clean two-owner Carfax.

The new Acura SLX:  Designed for people with a well-developed sense of adventure, and an equally well-developed sense of taste.

First pics

That duct tape interior, though!

3.2 V6 rated at 190 hp

#Chicago – this is what we knew to expect!

The antenna was a series of Phillips head screwdrivers and hose clamps.

First wash

A visit from Jack as I begun my initial detail efforts

More to come on how this played out!

Side note, go see the video that Ethan from Hello Road put together on Radwood Las Vegas.

My Legend GS makes an appearance at about 3:05 in!

Odometer (NSX):  113,832

Odometer (SLX):  178,359

Oh no I didn’t.  Oh, yes I did.  Roll those eyes!

On August 18, 2017, I got an email – as I often do – from someone who heard of me through the Jalopnik article on my crazy obsessed garage / collection.  This one came from a guy named Wyatt in southern California who had a 1997 SLX.  It reads as follows:

Pretty sweet.  Well, cutting to the chase, Wyatt only kept that SLX for 16 months and put about 2,000 miles on it, and now it’s mine.  Funny how things work out sometimes.  It’s no mystery I’ve kind of had a hankering for one of these quirky vehicles for a while.  I first wrote an article about it back in March 2014 where I introduced my blog audience to this creation of badge engineering.

You see, this isn’t an Acura at all.  Or a Honda, for that matter.  It’s an Isuzu, and in light of the surging demand for SUVs in America in the late 1990s, Acura’s new MDX wouldn’t be ready for 5 more years, so they slapped an “A” emblem on a Trooper and went with it.  The vehicle only sold about 6,500 units in its 4-year lifespan, making it even more rare production-wise than the generation 1 (1991-05) NSX.  The shaded center section here reflects annual sales between 1996 (at bottom) and 2001, totaling 6,590.

Wyatt’s SLX was a bit of a rarity – a 1997 base model in Fir Green Pearl over Light Silver Metallic two-tone paint.  The base trim level meant it had no alloy wheels, no heated seats, no leather (though someone had later added it, aftermarket), and no fog lamps.  Still, its original MSRP was somewhere in the mid $30’s.  It was originally sold via a dealership called Acura 101 West, in Calabasas, California.

Its first owner was named Jeff and he kept it for an impressive 18 years after his purchase in September of 1997, always registering it in the southern California region where it was kept free of inclement weather and probably rarely driven off pavement.

But the off-pavement potential is specifically what attracts me to having an SUV, especially a cheapo one that I don’t mind beating up from time to time.  In all my car comings and goings, I’ve never owned a 4×4, despite the fact that sometimes I drive my poor front-wheel-drive cars like they’re rally machines.  So the fact that I could have a large, high-clearance vehicle on standby for the occasional camping trip is pretty appealing.  And, the price was (very) right.  So I bit.

Due to an intermittent slipping transmission issue in 4th gear, we decided it would be best to have the vehicle transported as opposed to driving it the 400-someodd miles from Los Angeles to Phoenix.  I later asked my mechanic about the transmission, and he said, “This vehicle has the 4L30-E transmission, which is perhaps the most problematic trans ever built.  It’ll be $2,800 to rebuild.”  That’s encouraging, haha.  It took about a week for the SLX to arrive via transport carrier.  Wyatt sent this pic while it was being loaded.

Here’s a pic while it was being unloaded at my house.

My first dose of reality came when I took it to the Honda dealership down the street to have the oil changed since it was 2+ years old.  “Your belts need changing, but we can’t get parts,” the service advisor told me.  “Same a few other things. About all I can do for you is get you new tires and change your fluids.”  So this is what it’s like owning a vehicle based on a chassis from a manufacturer that’s been out of business for 10 years.  In fact, almost exactly 10 years.  Isuzu pulled the plug on all U.S. market operations on January 31, 2009.

A couple of friends correctly guessed which vehicle I’d acquired based on some of my prior mentions of wanting an SLX.  Jason solved the puzzle after seeing a comment I made on Facebook just a couple of days after getting it.

Woody was thrilled that I finally followed through on this February 4, 2011 Facebook post saying that “one day” I’d get one.

We’ll see where I go with this one!  It’ll be like no Acura I’ve ever experienced before, I am certain of that.  Here’s a 7-minute video introduction.  I’ll keep you posted.  Thanks for reading and watching as always, and Happy New Year!

First day!

A YouTube viewer also suggested I need an Acura SUV.

Ready to unload from the transport truck.

This is what they call the “safari sunroof.”  It’s massive!  And still works – most of the time!

Paperwork and manuals.  This SLX was sold with a lot of “Total Luxury Care” (TLC) materials.  That was Acura’s roadside assistance program back in the day.

Detail work has started but is not yet fully underway.  I did clean up the chrome center caps to the wheels with some Mother’s mag & aluminum polish.  Here is the before:

And here is the after!

First fuel up.

A great deal of maintenance was done on this vehicle (per Carfax, anyway) at a place call H&H Motors in Van Nuys, California.  I was able to look them up and about to reach out to inquire about getting service records, but then I saw that Yelp says the place has closed.

Chillin’ in the backyard while waiting for the new garage floor.

A few photos from an evening at Dreamy Draw Park off the 51 freeway & Northern Avenue in Phoenix.

Not bad!

Comparison with 2019 Acura MDX A-Spec.  Vehicle design has come a long way in 22 years.

Wyatt was happy to hear that I’m enjoying the vehicle.  He posted this to his Instagram story.

Initial detail underway – console before.

Console after.

Wax job in the garage.

Stay tuned!

Closing note here:  I’d like to put in a plug for my friend Rick who has been a garage inspiration of mine for many, many years.  Rick has a channel on YouTube called RAD Garage (which, incidentally, just surpassed 3,000 subscribers yesterday – congrats, Rick!).

His content centers around his incredible garage – the tools, the decor, the supplies, and vehicles that inhabit it.  Rick’s attention to detail – and I mean, the most fastidious attention you’ll ever see – is a total inspiration to anyone who’s ever obsessed over his or her vehicle’s cleanliness.  Thanks Rick for featuring my garage on your blog.  Here’s the link so my readers can check it out.

Link to Rick’s YouTube.