hi all
i live in France and need another car but don't dare buy the home product (all ugly, unreliable and appear to be cobbled together between strikes - just like the old days, eh?). I am thinking of sticking with RHD and buying a Honda Legend 3.2 coupe I found in UK. I had a 2.7 Legend coupe for years and it was brilliant except for British Leyland bodywork. The one I fancy is 95M, very low verified mileage, full dealer history, looks like a minter, with new ticket and six months tax. Guy wants £5k for it and I am very tempted. Questions are: is there anything I should know, does this sound about right or am I the dreamer? PS: super unleaded is 64p a litre over here at the moment so economy is not a huge problem - although my 2.7 coupe never did less than 30mpg.
Hope somebody out there can tip me off the fence - one way or the other!
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Beautiful car. Terrible price. Luxobarges like this are selling for peanuts at the moment. Nearer £3k would be more like it...
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£5k is over the odds, Mike. Honda's are absolute jewels as far as I'm concerned and I know from past experience that the Legend has quite a creamy motor under the hood.
But...it's a high price for an eight year-old boulevard cruiser, and I wouldn't regard a very low mileage as a good thing; under-used cars can have just as many problems as over-used ones. Against that, you know yourself that Honda's build is as solid as they get.
I wonder where you'd get it serviced, too. I wouldn't take a car that old to a dealer, and I don't imagine for a minute Honda sold many Legends in France. Unless you know different, getting a comparatively high-tech car fettled might be less than straightforward
£5k would also buy you a very respectable old generation BMW 525 tds turbo-diesel and if I was living permanently in la France I'd be heading for the diesel pumps every time.
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Thanks for the help so far chaps.
You're probably right about the servicing, Morris Ox (btw, I've got a Wolseley 16/60 still tucked away in UK)- 'technicians' don't inspire much confidence, although they are cheap. A popular tool often seen for sale over here is an 'electrician's hammer'!
When I went to the Pug dealer to price a new 406 coupe I mentioned the electrical problems etc I had heard of the salesman said 'yes they are working on it - but it isn't just the 406, it affects them all'!
I'm not too worried about the low mileage thing - I bought my last Legend at 10 years old with genuine 50k and a patchy history of care by its one owner, but I put another 70k on it flogging it all round Europe without problems. It was a delight to drive till the day I let it go...
ps: I've had civics, accords (one new), a prelude and a legend. At the moment, as a standby, I'm running a 15-year-old 100k but very tidy Shuttle - which I suppose I'll have to push over the hedge when it dies...or bury it at the bottom of the garden, a la francais...
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Mike
I've been keeping an eye on Legend coupe prices with a view to replacing my wife's 2.7. The £5K is an average ballpark asking figure for a 3.2 of that age although hard to say what these actually go for without digging deep. Could be worth ringing round a few of the Loot advertisers to get a feel for it.
Points for debate are whether you (a) want a RHD car in France (b) level of servicing available (c) a catalysed and very computer-dependent 3.2 engine not used in any other car.
My own views are that a LHD Honda or Acura would be better for long-term use. There are two Legends on www.webcarcenter.com/cgi-bin/findex?http://www.web...l but getting a good LHD coupe might mean looking to Switzerland or a nearby country. I would also favour the 2.7 on spares and replacement grounds; no catalyst, used in similar form in Rover 800 and 2nd hand spares in breakers etc. Honda France's website has full info on the whereabouts of their dealers so finding an authorised servicing agent won't be difficult. Finding a specialist with knowledge and access to spares for the 3.2 might be trickier.
One other thought for Continental use would be the state of the air conditioning. I don't know if the 3.2 uses the new style refrigerant and what French law is on replacement if it is the older material.
Incidentally, Haynes or Chilton repair manuals for the Legend or Acura are available through Amazon in 3-4 days from the States. Allegedly, some spares are also freightable at less than you would pay in the UK. The Legend is still a hot favourite with youngsters in the US and there are many after-market accessories available for lowering and tuning, particularly the 3.2 and 3.5.
HTH
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