Buying a GSX that has mods -- can you tell me more about it?

[jg2012]

Hi, I've been searching for an unmolested GSX or TSi, and I thought I found the perfect one as it only had 85k miles and was in good shape/clean title. Unfortunately, it has a lot of under-the-hood mods which I honestly know little to nothing about. SO, I've created an acct on these boards and I'm hoping you guys can give me some honest advice about it.

Here's the mod list, copied from his text message:

"Front mount and piping bov turbo injectors struts and springs strut bars gauges fuel controller fuel pump full exhaust rims brand new clutch and light flywheel"

I only know what half of that is, and I haven't a clue on how it should affect the cost of the vehicle, or if there's potential for any of that to be installed horribly wrong and put the engine at risk. Can you guys help? I was hoping a stock GSX could be my gateway to learning more about aftermarket performance, and cars in general, but they're extremely hard to find in my area (KS) and I'm on something of a budget, so I might jump on this opportunity.

Thanks!

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edit: it costs 5k (altho I might be able to find some wiggle room)

 

[cdg7]

Sounds kinda shady. Most people that know about their car will post specific brands and more details than what you have there

ie. A'pexi N1 exhaust

Your best bet is probably going to be searching for a car a couple states away and making the drive to pick it up. If you want something with less mods and/or are worried about reliability, keep looking

 

[WES_393]

I agree, those mods are insanely generic. Send the seller a message and ask for more details such as:

What size injectors?
What brand/model of turbo?
What A/F controller?
What brand/type of clutch disk, pressure plate, and flywheel?

An engine bay picture speaks a thousand words too. But ultimately, mods decrease the value of the car for the exact reasons you stated. Were they installed right? Were they new when installed? These are all risks that don't exist with a bone stock car.

Also not sure if your aware, but the front bumper has been swapped to a 97-99 bumper. The side skirts and low-rise tell me its a 95-96.

 

[VR4 Kev]

Nothing in that list would scare me too much. I would ask him for more detailed specs on the parts though, what he is using for tuning, and who tuned it.

 

[jg2012]

I agree, those mods are insanely generic. Send the seller a message and ask for more details such as:

What size injectors?
What brand/model of turbo?
What A/F controller?
What brand/type of clutch disk, pressure plate, and flywheel?

An engine bay picture speaks a thousand words too. But ultimately, mods decrease the value of the car for the exact reasons you stated. Were they installed right? Were they new when installed? These are all risks that don't exist with a bone stock car.

Also not sure if your aware, but the front bumper has been swapped to a 97-99 bumper. The side skirts and low-rise tell me its a 95-96.

Thanks for replies everyone. I texted him with those questions.

Assuming he can provide a reliable auto shop that installed the parts, and they are quality parts, would it be safe to hope that this ride hasn't been driven into the ground already?

And yeah, his craigslist ad states it's a '96

 

[boost97gst]

The only way youll know if its been thrashed(which most have btw) is by meeting the owner. Im not saying ALL kids beat their cars but i know how i was when i was under 25, irresponsible as all hell . I think when you meet the guy you can get a good idea on what he knows, what hes trying to hide, and how honest he is in general. Also a compression test wouldnt hurt just to back things up!

 

[Cdc1221]

Exactly. Lack of parts description says he either has no idea (run) or its generic (fleabay) junk he threw on to sell to a kid with no idea. Either way, id be leary of it.

 

[AngelOfPassion]

Thanks for replies everyone. I texted him with those questions.

Assuming he can provide a reliable auto shop that installed the parts, and they are quality parts, would it be safe to hope that this ride hasn't been driven into the ground already?

And yeah, his craigslist ad states it's a '96

Did he ever text you back with answers to those questions? It will be a dead give away if he gives you a BS answer if you post what he says on here. We will spot it fairly quickly...

 

[jg2012]

Did he ever text you back with answers to those questions? It will be a dead give away if he gives you a BS answer if you post what he says on here. We will spot it fairly quickly...

560CC Delphi injectors, Exedy 3 puck clutch, Fedanza flywheel. As for the turbo... he says it's not the factory turbo (he doesn't seem to know what it is) and he also says he has a 16g turbo he could give with it...

 

[AngelOfPassion]

560CC Delphi injectors, Exedy 3 puck clutch, Fedanza flywheel. As for the turbo... he says it's not the factory turbo (he doesn't seem to know what it is) and he also says he has a 16g turbo he could give with it...

Those injectors are kinda small but nothing to be worried about (i've never heard anything good/bad about that brand though)

The Fidanza isn't bad. The super lightweight ones have some trouble overheating though. You should ask him what weight it was. The 7-8lb one I hear people have to let cool a little between runs. Where as the chromoly (?) one is a little heavier but doesn't have that problem.

I've never used that brand clutch... so idk. I have heard of it though.

It's really odd that he "doesn't know" what turbo he has. That is a little bit of a red flag. Also, it sounds like he is trying to make up for that by giving you the 16g to make you overlook it. What else does he "not know" about the car if he doesn't know what turbo he has?

Ultimately it is your decision. These cars require a lot of work and love. So you are going to learn a lot regardless. But buying a car that has problems could be inconvenient. So it's up to you if you think you can learn and fix one on the fly or if you want to wait for a "more flawless" one to come around...

 

[CountryDSM]

560CC Delphi injectors, Exedy 3 puck clutch, Fedanza flywheel. As for the turbo... he says it's not the factory turbo (he doesn't seem to know what it is) and he also says he has a 16g turbo he could give with it...

Most likely a Ebay turbo(Possibly not) . When I got my GSX it was close to stock as I could get it but still thrashed. It's so hard to know how the car was used but I assume it has been beaten on and go from there.

 

[Jesse2012]

Ask about maintenance too, how old are the timing belt and water pump etc

 

[DSM1G90]

Thing about a modded and customized vehicle is that there is no guidelines or price listing around to give a factual value reference to that vehicle. Original, stock vehicles do have a value set by the market demand.

Once a vehicle is both modded and customized, it really turns into a major loss since no factual value can be places on it. Thus the owner loses along with the buyer .. in the language of money.

Sure, having a customized vehicle is fun to put together, run and show off, but you just have to find the right buyer just to break even.

Thus, it's a total risk on buying something that is modded since not knowing how much more money you're going to pump , if needed, into the thing ... and for certain: You'll NEVER will get the money back spent when selling the vehicle.

If you really want fun, goto both the NADA National Automobile Dealers Association , and the KELLY Blue Book Official Kelley Blue Book New Car and Used Car Prices and Values sites to ge an idea on how much the vehicle is worth - both trade-in, standard retail value and high book value.

Thus, if you got $3500.00 cash in hand, flash it it front of him and see if he'll strike on that amount. But, $5000.00 is realistically just a bit too much for a 16 yr old 2G, esp with not knowing what he did to it...and why is he wanting to rid of the vehicle.

-DSM

 

[miguelmcv]

You should ask what he is using for tuning, those 560cc injectors needs some sore of tuning management to compensate, if he doesn't have any management, then that engine mighty be in his last days of life.

 

[brownie956]

Seems like a lot of red flags to me. He doesn't know what kind of turbo is on it and didn't mention any tuning medium tells me he doesn't know anything about the car and either bought it, ran like crap, and now is trying to get rid of it, or blindly threw some parts on it, ran like crap, and is now trying to get rid of it. I'd wait if I were you. If it's not what you want, don't settle, you'll be glad you didn't.

 

[EisHERE]

get a car fax, 86k miles on a car like that is hard to come by. And yes, you DEFINITELY need to ask about how he tuned that all. You should get it for a better price. like $4k, but then again, man those miles... those miles are to kill for if it's legit.

 

[Joethefallen23]

get a car fax, 86k miles on a car like that is hard to come by. And yes, you DEFINITELY need to ask about how he tuned that all. You should get it for a better price. like $4k, but then again, man those miles... those miles are to kill for if it's legit.

I'll take a well maintained 120k mile motor over a run down poorly maintained 86k mile motor any day. I've seen worse bearing wear on some lower mile motors in my day from these kids that can't simply do an oil change. In my case, I bought my GSX with 112k on the clock. One owner and a notebook of every minor and major maintenance. Motor looked as if it just rolled off the factory floor inside and out.

I'd walk away. You can easy find a well maintained DSM by widening your search to a few surrounding states. So what if you have to drive a couple of hours to pick it up? It just means you'll have fun on the ride back. I can almost guarantee you'll be disappointed if you buy this one.

 

[dsmspick]

Jg2012, Hey my dad and I live in KC area, Overland Park to be exact. If you want us to take a look at the car with you send me a pm. Also idk what your looking for but the is a 1g gsx eclipse for 1200.00 and a 95 gsx eclipse 5 speed for 1500.00 both are red and in the Wichita craigslist.

 

[jg2012]

It just means you'll have fun on the ride back.

Haha, that's a good point

I guess I have a daily driver now so I don't need to be in a huge rush to find one.

Jg2012, Hey my dad and I live in KC area, Overland Park to be exact. If you want us to take a look at the car with you send me a pm. Also idk what your looking for but the is a 1g gsx eclipse for 1200.00 and a 95 gsx eclipse 5 speed for 1500.00 both are red and in the Wichita craigslist.

Yeah, I think I was too quick to pass over that 2g. I'm not really that interested in a 1g unless it's just a crazy find, e.g. low miles and 1 owner or something like that (extremely unlikely). It says it needs hydraulic clutch work, that's probably not an expensive fix right? And how leary should I be of a car that has a dead battery? At most I'd be worrying about a new alternator/starter right?

Thanks a ton for all the help guys, you've been way more useful than I ever imagined. I'll definitely be sticking around this forum if I get a DSM!

 

[dsmspick]

Dead battery could mean different things. Worst could be bad alternator. Best could be hasn't been started in a while. I don't know what your looking for I just saw them both and they look pretty clean. For those prices you can't complain a whole lot. Up to you, but if you want to look at anything just pm we will be more than happy to ride along.