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What is this car worth / Is this car a good deal?

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Devilsfutbol17

15+ Year Contributor
407
47
Jul 27, 2007
Bellingham, Washington
I found a 1996 Spyder GST for $4900. It is a 5-speed, 91,000 miles on it, white with black top, 17 inch rims. There is 80% tread left on the tires but the guy has a brand new never used set of tires for the car that is included in the price. He says the top doesn't leak, but it had a rip and was repaired, but he didn't like it, so he bought a brand new oem top that isn't installed and is included with the car. He says the interior is really nice, everything inside works, but you have to help the top up a little bit. He doesn't know if the timing belt has been replaced or not. It has a 3 inch cat back exhaust, 16G turbo, apexi intake and a greddy bov. He says it runs great and has no issues. He says he just wants to get rid of it because he doesn't drive it and its taking up space in his garage, which sounds good to me because he kept it garaged at least. he also said that the paint is good on it, no clear coat coming off, no body damage or dents. I'm going to check for crankwalk be looking at the clutch pedal when I turn left. I have been talking to the guy over the phone and I'm suppose to go drive for 4 hours to go and buy it if it checks out on Thursday. Does it sound good? Should I ask him or check for other things on it?
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If you know the guy and the car it my be worth that much. All depends on the interior and body condition. Me personally I would not pay more then $2000 but that's me. I just bought a 95 gsx for $800 and all it needed was a clutch. I also just sold my 1998 gs-t with a lot of mods for 2800 but I paid $1500 3years ago. :hmm:
 
only $2000 even with all the extra parts the car comes with and it is in really great shape one of the cleanest I have seen in ohio though a 95 gsx for $800 would be sweet
 
Any car is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it, a Lambo is only worth 2k if no one really wants it any more than a Honda thats worth 2k. If you want the car and its as nice as you say it is then scoop it up, I see 1g's and 2g's around these parts regularly SELL within weeks for 5-6k if they are decent cars, that doesnt mean that you cant find a broken down one for $800 if the seller is not a car person and the car is just another old car to them, I have seen Porsche 911's go for $800 too and 928's go for under $1000 but that doesnt mean that any Porsche is only worth $1000, that only means that every once in a while the conditions are right and someone gets a steal on a car.
 
ok i get what you are saying. I know around here it seems impossible to find a decent car at a decent price thank you both of you for the help
 
In my opinion, it sounds like a good car/ parts (especially for a project/ toy) but might be on the high side price wise because it isn't running. How good of friends are you with this guy? Stuff like this can ruin a friendship if it doesn't pan out. What happens if you buy it and there is a lot more wrong with it than what he says? Will you be mad or just take it as "it happens"? I'm not trying to deter you, I'm just making sure you ask yourself these questions before buying it. The thing that would get me is that it hasn't ran in over a year and a half.

If you really want it, I would get it towed home. Find a friend with a truck and rent a trailer or just fork out the money for a tow. If the car has been sitting that long, you might run into more headaches on the way back and end up getting it towed anyways. Good luck with your buy!

But to answer your question, I would probably pay $2000. I haven't seen it though so that would probably change depending on what I think of it. Don't feel suckered into a buy just because he is your friend either. I've experienced that. It's not fun.
 
good points i know the car is an awesome car the price does scare me though he is a good friend that has never done wrong buy me technically im paying 2250 for the car and parts the dsm link and eprom ecu with speed density is brand new and he wanted $500 for it because he would need to buy it again for his laser project. If I can get the car within 30 miles of my house and something breaks AAA will tow it for me but I need to get it to that point and my frontier probably wont like pulling the car trailer combo even if its rated for it LOL
 
Hey guys thinking about getting back into the dsm scene after taking about 9 years off. Found this car for sale the guy wants 1600.00. The description is below, let me know your opinions what to look for when I go look at it this weekend.

Selling my 1991 Eagle Talon Tsi AWD Turbo. The headlights and tail lights been converted to 92-94. Bought this talon in TN so its rust free and moved back home.

Performance parts and new parts: I HAVE RECEIPTS FOR ALL WORK DONE TO MOTOR!!

-Built 6 Bolt Bottom End
Wiseco HD Pistons 8:5-1 compression
Manley H Beam Steel Connecting Rods
Brand New Crankshaft
ACL Race Mains
ACL Rod Bearings
Balance Shaft Eliminator Kit
Block bore .20 over
Block Acid washed & Pressure Checked
Block Blue Printed spun to handle 11,000 RPM and up to 850hp( bottom end only, not head or tranny)
~700~ miles on bottom end at the momment. Not even fully broken in yet!

-Brand NEW CX Racing TD05 BIG 20G Turbo (100miles on it at the moment)
-Felpro Engine Gasket Kit
-New Water Pump
-New Oil Pump
-New Super Premium Thermostat 180 degrees F
-New Felpro Head Bolts
-New Gates Timing Belt
-New Autolite Xtreme Performance Iridium Enhanced Fine Wire Spark Plugs
-Spec Stage 2 Racing Clutch
-Exhaust
-New Front Window shield
-NEW K&N Turbo Air Filter
-NEW Fluids
-Head and Tranny have 138,000 miles
-Body has 138,000 miles
-Also have 4 stock rims with crappy tires to go with car
-Blitz Blow Off Valve
-Extra cyclinder head

WHAT I KNOW OF!! THAT NEEDS FIXING!

<blah blah blah blah>

THIS CAR DOES RUN AND DRIVE!! It just needs a little work

Thats all of the issues i know of as of now. Car is SOLD AS IS!

ASKING PRICE: $1,600 FIRM!!!!!!!!! NO TRADES , CASH ONLY!!!



He says the reason he thinks it needs valve seals is there is a little blue smoke at startup and he took the exhaust manifold off and saw oil in the 2 and 4 port.


Why, oh why, would this guy put that much money into the short block and then screw it all up with shitty plugs and a Chinabay turbo?

ooo "super premium" thermostat. well then, that makes up for it.

Really, receipts prove nothing about what you're being sold -- just what was either built for somebody else, or written up by a friend falsely. That is, if the person is willing to risk that. Then again, maybe they know you have no retort even if you disassemble it -- your word against theirs. Depends.
 
good points i know the car is an awesome car the price does scare me though he is a good friend that has never done wrong buy me technically im paying 2250 for the car and parts the dsm link and eprom ecu with speed density is brand new and he wanted $500 for it because he would need to buy it again for his laser project. If I can get the car within 30 miles of my house and something breaks AAA will tow it for me but I need to get it to that point and my frontier probably wont like pulling the car trailer combo even if its rated for it LOL

Well if you are determined to drive it to within your AAA mile radius, one extra thing you'll need to do it to drain the old gas and put new gas in. Maybe a new battery if it isn't charged (a depleted battery isn't going to hold a charge if it's been a while). How long have you been working on DSM's? It does sound like a good car though especially with a spare trans, tcase, and 4 bolt rear end. The 4 bolt rears are woth quite a bit on their own. I would keep that for sure :thumb:
 
this will be my first dsm I have had many other cars like a 1989 mk3 supra turbo a focus zx3 turbod several jeeps a few trucks my 05 300c I had till recently that ran 12s at full weight and some other assorted stuff. I have a couple of friends that are big into dsms so they got me hooked on an awd turbo car. I am hoping to drive it all the way home but I need to at least make it 56 miles LOL. I may end up selling some of the extra stuff idk yet I like the idea of having spares but I doubt I need a spare 4 bolt for my anything I have yet planned. I want to get into the 10s with the hx40 at some point but really havent planned anything past that haha
 
this will be my first dsm I have had many other cars like a 1989 mk3 supra turbo a focus zx3 turbod several jeeps a few trucks my 05 300c I had till recently that ran 12s at full weight and some other assorted stuff. I have a couple of friends that are big into dsms so they got me hooked on an awd turbo car. I am hoping to drive it all the way home but I need to at least make it 56 miles LOL. I may end up selling some of the extra stuff idk yet I like the idea of having spares but I doubt I need a spare 4 bolt for my anything I have yet planned. I want to get into the 10s with the hx40 at some point but really havent planned anything past that haha

I wasn't trying to talk to you like you don't know anything so I apologize for that. I just saw you had 0 posts and you just registered for Tuners so that's what I was going off of. You probably know everything already from what it sounds like. Personally, I would keep that 4 bolt and spare drive train. I don't see (at least 4 bolts) them going up for sale that often and if you are planning on drag racing it, a spare will definitely come in handy! You never know when a launch will be too hard for the drive train. I drove a supra once, it was awesome...LOL way over priced for me though to want to own one.

For anyone looking for a good stock car, I came across this:
IMMACULATE 1999 Mitsubishi Eclipse GST

Figured someone here might want this. Also wondering if this price was fair?
 
I dont know everything that is for sure but I have some decent experience I just never owned a dsm LOL. I thank you for all your help I may end up just renting a uhaul trailer for it I am not sure yet also to add to the deal I am getting he filled me in on the engines rebuild and apparently it has a 6 bolt block 1g rods 2g pistons arp head studs mls head gasket bs deleted and a few more things so it sounds like an even better deal know. cant wait to pick this car up and start a build journal.
 
I'm trying to get into DSM and am in the Southwest Virginia region. There's not a lot of GSX or GST Eclipses that aren't overly molested around here. I found one that looks to be the best buy in the area. Could you guys give me your opinion on it, since I don't have any previous knowledge or history with these cars?

Here's a link to the Craigslist Ad; 96 gsx and 95 lifted jeep FT:

I did some research on what he had done. The full six bolt swap will save me some time and money in the long run. I've checked some upgrade paths online and most of the parts he's replaced from stock seems to be in line with what I've read. He's asking a solid $5000 dollars for the car. I was happy to find a GSX over a GST for the AWD. I'd love a second opinion from you guys out here who know a lot more about these cars than I do.

Thanks!
 
Check the front strut towers for rust. I know those have a tendency of rusting through from what I've read. I couldn't see them too well in the picture. Even though he says no test drive, I would still ask for one. I wouldn't buy a car (especially with that much done to it) without a test drive. Hopefully he would have an afr gauge in there. I would watch that to give you some idea on the how good of a tune he has on it (make sure it's not running extremely rich or lean). Looks like an ok car but you said you were wanting one unmolested, then I would keep looking. This has quite a bit done to it.

I have a feeling if you are just starting out in DSM's, this one being your first one might get you quite a headache when stuff goes wrong. I'm sure you are smart and I'm not saying you don't know anything about cars so please do not take that the wrong way. And you said you read up first which is good. How much car experience do you have? I'm just saying, it's taken me a lot of reading on these cars to actually be competent on them.
 
I have about six years of experience. I've never worked with anything turbocharged or supercharged. I'll be doing a ride along with him later this week. He was just really worried about someone test driving and pushing the car too much. Aside from what you mentioned, what else should I be looking for when I go out with him?
 
Besides what I mentioned, I would just look for the other normal stuff whenever looking to buy another car. Tread on tires, Wires hanging everywhere under the dash, anything leaking, if it smokes oil or coolant, just your basic stuff. DSM specific, I can't think of anything else. I would ask him to get on it and make sure it doesn't stutter or knock. And I would ask about compression on the cylinders. If he doesn't have those numbers, you can always check it easily.
 
Personally I'd pass on it. The dude had someone else work on it for him, and it is pretty well modified. You'd probably have to talk to his mechanic for anything technical.

I wonder about the Carfax too, the door/side skirts don't match..
 
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Hey guys, Im new to the DSM world, but i just sold my 07 sti to pay off my ford edge. Im looking into purchasing a 1990 Talon tsi AWD, not sure if it's a good buy or not, seller is asking 4.5k for the car, ill post the ad and some pics. What do you guys think?

1990 eagle talon eclipse awd gsx turbo dsm 4g63 partout/forsale



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That honestly looks like a good car. I usually don't like to buy things that had other people/ shops work on it, but RRE is a good vendor here and I would trust their work. $4,500 is reasonable to me considering everything he has done to it and it doesn't look like it's been hacked up at all. I would take a closer look at it though and test drive it of course. That's going to be a really quick car if it put 430 hp to the wheels...
 
That honestly looks like a good car. I usually don't like to buy things that had other people/ shops work on it, but RRE is a good vendor here and I would trust their work. $4,500 is reasonable to me considering everything he has done to it and it doesn't look like it's been hacked up at all. I would take a closer look at it though and test drive it of course. That's going to be a really quick car if it put 430 hp to the wheels...

I just dont understand why it has an IWG and EWG?
 
If you notice, the IWG has no vacuum line ran to it. My guess is that this would be the poor man's way of welding the flapper shut, just hold it closed with the actuator.

That would be my assumption also. ^^^ A lot easier than taking it apart and tapping and plugging the hole.
 
I went to see the car couple days ago, he was in the middle of switching out the cams, from hks 272's back to stock.
 
I don't think the car is worth $4,500. Especially if he is taking all the good go fast parts.
I was going to ask why it appears as though there are no bolts holding the valve cover on. But after reading the post about swapping the camshafts maybe he was in the process of doing that when he snapped the pictures.
 
What else is he planning on switching out? If he goes back to stock camshafts, he is going to need another tune and it will definitely not be a 430 hp car anymore...Thus lowering the price. I kind of wouldn't do it now because he is taking the cams out.

I think those cams are $790 on STM.
 
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