The seller of today’s Nice Price or No Dice RSX Type S says that its VTEC valvetrain “kicks in like a mule at 5,800 rpm.” Let’s see if it would take being as stubborn as a mule to dislike its price.
If you’ve ever seen a middle-aged dad-bod rocking a Speedo then you know how totally un-self-aware some people can be. Also, here’s your eye bleach. A similarly controversial aesthetic hampered yesterday’s 1988 Mercedes-Benz 560SEC. Its failing paint and a questionable combo of white-spats tires mounted on chrome wheels did not find favor among the comments. A $5,500 price tag proved an even less popular look, dooming the big Benz to an 82 percent No Dice loss.
You know, perhaps what was really wrong with that Mercedes coupe was that it was just too big, both in price and in driveway dominance. Today, let’s look at something that should prove a little less onerous on both accounts.
This 2002 Acura RSX Type-S hails from the era when Honda really seemed to know what its upscale brand was all about. The entirety of Acura’s lineup at the time, from the entry-level RSX to the super-smooth NSX had it going on. Today’s Acura is a bit of a mess. Aside from the standout NSX, it’s hard to tell one current Acura car or crossover from another.
We’re not here to solve Acura’s problems, however. Thank goodness for that. Our actual task at hand is to decide if this older, cooler Acura is worth the price its seller has set for it. Let’s dig in.
The Type S was the hotter trim edition of the RSX line. An even more aggressive Type R was made available, but compared with the Type S those models are unicorn tears and political promises kept.
With 200 horsepower on tap from its 2.0-liter K20A2 inline-four, the Type S was pretty randy for its day. Matched with a close-ratio six-speed manual and the S’s taut suspension, the little Acura could be an extremely engaging ride.
It seems that this one’s current owner is over the engagement. The ad notes that the car has had a total of three owners so far, and that over the course of the years and those three owners, it has racked up almost 210,000 miles.
That might seem a daunting number, but the seller claims the car to have “No mechanical issues at all” despite the high mileage. That being said, the ad does go on to describe a number of, well, issues.
Those include an occasional O2 sensor Check Engine Light and a rear wheel that wobbles due to a bent rim. The seller notes that a third-gear sticking issue endemic to the model was rectified by a prior owner by way of a rebuilt transmission with carbon synchros. There don’t seem to be any other mods or changes under the hood, not even by way of a cold-air intake or fart-can exhaust.
The car rides on its factory wheels, although as the ad notes, that one does need replacing. Behind those sit Tein lowering springs. Those, fortunately, don’t seem to drop the car too aggressively.
Aesthetically, the car has seen some better days. The Competition White paint seems serviceable but does exhibit some chipping and crazing on the back bumper. The interior likewise shows its age. The leather on the driver’s seat is failing on both the bottom cushion and backrest, showing the foam beneath in multiple places. The seating surface on the passenger seat isn’t far behind. A Pioneer double-DIN head unit provides the tunes and apparently moderns things up with Apple CarPlay and a phone charger built in. Overall, the car presents as used but not used up. A clean title seals the deal.
Now, I mentioned that this Acura was smaller than yesterday’s Mercedes in both stance and price. You can see that it’s appreciably more compact in the pictures. As for the price? That’s $5,000, which is fully $500 below the asking price for the Benz. The question for you, of course, is whether that’s a decent asking price for the RSX as it sits.
What do you think, is this little Acura worth that $5,000 asking? Or, does that price make this a Type S that you’d tap-out?
You decide!
Atlanta, Georgia, Craigslist, or go here if the ad disappears.
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