My Camry was stolen last Thanksgiving, and the junker I bought to
replace it finally died, so I'm in the market again for a new-to-me
vehicle. This time, I have a little more to spend, and I want to find
a set of wheels that will be reliable and last me for years to come.

I'm in L.A., and wading through all the swindlers in the classifieds
is driving me crazy. I finally found one guy who answered all my
questions willingly, and didn't even bat an eye when I said I wanted
to take the car in to a dealership to get it tested.

The car is a '91 Acura Integra, manual transmission, with <140K miles
on it. He's the only owner, has had regular servicing done on it, and
has kept all the records. Sounded good. So we took it in to the
Acura dealership.

The buyer's safety inspection came back fairly clean, except for
"crunchy" radiator hoses. The engine compression test, though, didn't
go so well. Of the four cylinders, one was within good range
(170-180psi), but the other three were at or below the minimum range
(in the 120s and 130s). The service guy said that one being off
wasn't uncommon, but three? That made him nervous. He says a valve
adjustment could fix it, but might not.

Normally, I'd just say forget it. And I'm tempted to do so now, but
for the fact that I'm having so much trouble finding anything
reasonable in the <$3K range. So I thought I'd ask around a bit
first.

What problems can these engine compression results indicate? How will
they affect the reliability and lifespan of the vehicle? Can you
offer me any other helpful information or suggestions?

Thanks,
Bad Luck Shleprock