38k Miles, Engine looks stripped n rust in FLorida? wtf?

[IronMan2003]

Is it just me or does this car look like its from up north? The engine Looks washed out and is that rust infront of it by the dipstick?

Car supposedly only has 35k miles on it!

What do you think? Oh 1 other thing... The car has a Hitch on it!?!?! WTF?! You think 35k miles of pulling something is enough to have a serious effect or not? Its @ a dealership now so I cant ask the orig owner what they pulled.....

I just think it looks heavily oxidized and I question if its possibly a Flood victim car. The CarFax/Autocheck says its not a flood victim, only a rear impact crash in the past which has nothing to do with whats under the hood, the car is fixed now. Also Says the car has never been registered up north. Its my First DSM so im not familiar enough with them to say thats normal or not.... Just look for a few opinions before I got check this car out n possibly purchase.

Thanks.

 

[gob4sho89]

That looks normal to me, It is much cleaner and in much better shape then any dsm i've ever seen here in michigan...

 

[blcknspo0ln]

Agreed, that's a pretty clean engine bay for being stock. Remember, though, looks aren't everything. Looking a little closer, that is a fine example of a completely unaltered stock car (stock BOV, stock hose, stock rear o2 heat shield, cruise control, etc.). Pretty cool find

 

[mitsuawd]

looks clean could use some more TLC though

 

[91tizzy]

yeah dude if you wanna compare engine bays we can take a look at my Cincinnati Ohio car and you will see what a car from up north really looks like that is a really clean bay imo...what are they asking for it/what did you pay for it?

Greg

 

[turbosax2]

That looks identical to my car from PA with 97k miles on it. It looks to be in good shape to me!

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[ranger2339]

Ya thats def not a car from up here, its clean..

 

[IronMan2003]

Lol I don't want to give it away because I might be purchasing it. So whether I decide to purchase it or not I'll put up the info after I take a look at it. (Probably tommarow)

Thanks for all the replies. I've been lurking for a long time(on/off) and hope this is a possible purchase. We'll see though....

 

[IronMan2003]

My low mileage find is pretty sweet but about it does have 1 noticible flaw. When I pull up the Vin # It says it has had a rear impact collision. Meaning someone rear ended them(most likely)

My question is what should I look for specifically when looking the car over and test driving it?
Im assuming bring a magnet looking for filler would be pointless since its pretty much plastic right? Look for stress marks? Its @ a Name Brand dealership(Ex. Bill herd Chevrolet, Orlando Mitsubishi, etc.) so I assume they looked for those kind of things allready? It looks like the rear fender was replaced but im not 100% sure. Going to look @ it tommarow.

Looking for any opinions and information. Thanks.

 

[ranger2339]

It should be fine, my car had some front end damage and was fixed before I bought it. They had the receipt and all the info from the body shop in the glove box, so I knew what was done to it.

I would look at the car really good and test drive it, maybe you will see/feel something that doesnt look right.

 

[mitsuawd]

Yeah that engine bay looks like mine stock, mine is cleaner though, GL on your purchase I finnally got my GSX in 99 and wanted one since oh 91ish you'll love it just take care of it. With such low milage on the clock I'd still get a new timing belt on it probably the original. Oh hitch ewww man, a GSX with a hitch, I'd probably keep looking just my opinion but it does look like from the engine picks unmolested.

 

[johnsonroda27]

i agree that looks pretty good but you never know .. a little pressure wash and some time of cleaning can make a engine bay look clean.. theres no way to know how many miles are on the engine based on the cleanliness of the engine bay..

 

[NB4G63T]

When your checking out the car again look the rear of the car over from the underside of the car with a flash light and see if you can notice any wavy metal that just doesn't look factory. Most likely is was fixed professionally and they would have used replacement panel which is fine.

Open the hatch and pull the spare tire out and try and see how severe the rear hit was by any signs of repair.

Regardless it's a good find I'd snapper up. You don't find them every day with that low of miles and a trailer hitch WTF. I think you can be well assured it wasn't beat it whole life, sounds like an older fela. I didn't even know you could get a hitch for an awd.

And thats a spotless engine bay

 

[blownturbotsi]

I'd say the oxidation and rust is probably caused by that person living close to the water. I used to live down there and the humidity and salt in the air is enough to do that little bit.

 

[meliketoball]

Thats nothing. But, do you self a favor and get a different car.

 

[noonan98turbo]

Looks clean to me. Here is a picture of my engine bay. Im from Mass.

 

[erald01]

Want to find out if it ever lived up north? CARFAX it and you will know for sure. The best way to find out these days.

 

[knochgoon24]

The hitch is probably just a little thing for towing around a cargo trailer, since you can't put a roof rack and a snail carrier on top.

Look at the weight rating on the hitch. That will help you figure out what it towed.

 

[ryanx99GS]

Heh, I will take some pics of my engine bay/undercarriage. I'm from STL and I went to chicago to buy this GSX, 69k. It will show you what really a up north car looks like. I do not really care though because I plan on never selling it and getting it all redone.

 

[r6speed]

when i bought my car it had 30k on it and looked identical to that one...same rust in the same spot. I took it off and cleaned it, sprayed it, and it looks great ever since. The hitch I'm not sure about...if it were any other car I would not buy it just because of that, although since its a dsm and finding one with low miles (such as mine and maybe yours) is so scarce I would buy it anyways.

Final though: Jump on it fast, don't wait

 

[drdouglas]

I would not only look at the engine bay on the car, but I would definately spend some time under the car looking at just about everthing.

 

[Zmann42087]

Is it just me or does this car look like its from up north? The engine Looks washed out and is that rust infront of it by the dipstick?

The rust by the dip stick you're talking about is actually on the front lift bracket and isn't on the engine itself. No worries. That engine bay looks very clean for a 10 year old car.

 

[Defiant]

It still has an original BOV. Grab it.

 

[btak]

That engine bay looks Great. You wanna see rust then i should add a pick im sure i could beat anyone. You have no idea how fast your car gets rusted up until your in the UP with all the winter salt and sand they put down.

 

[nitromaxx14]

my car is from up north, Im from Mass the car has had the strut towers and radiator support replaced due to rust and the car has 48K on it Northern winters are brutal on DSM's that car is super clean great buy!