Current Accord Driver, Looking at Buying a 97 GS-T

[greenc51]

hey ppl
i'm new, but not new to forums...i'm on plenty of honda forums. i currently have a 1997 accord that just requires too much maintenance for my wallet to keep up with. in the last month, i have spent almost 1000 alone on repairing shit. i wouldnt really mind since the car looks good and drives good as well, but its an automatic and its slow.
i've been wanting to sell it, and right now i'm interested in selling it asap b/c i recently found a 97 eclipse gs-t that i would love to have. i guess i just have a couple questions for u DSM ppl since i'm native to hondas...this car i'm lookin at has 120k miles...are mitsus still reliable with that amount of mileage or do they experience probs? can some of u list the common probs u have so i can know what to expect.
i'm also new to turbo applications, and i know i will have to read up quite a bit...but yea, have a look at the description the dealer gave of the car


Price $8,995 (on the site i found it on, it was advertised as 7,888)
Body Style Hatchback
Mileage 120,956
Exterior Color Black
Interior Color Gray
Engine 4 Cylinder Turbo
Transmission 5 Speed Manual
Drive Type 2 wheel drive - front
Fuel Type Gasoline
Stereo Premium Sound System
Doors Two Door
Stock No. 139541
VIN 4A3AK54F1VE139541

JUST IN!! 1997 GS-T!! TURBO!! 2.0L DOHC TURBO 210HP+ !! SLOWBOY RACING FRONT MOUNT INTERCOOLLER AND HARD PIPES!! TURBO BACK EXHUAST!! SAFC II!! GREDDY PROFEC B BOOST CONTROLLER!! GREDDY TURBO TIMER AND GAUGES!! LOWERED SUSPENSION!! HKS SSQV BLOW OFF VALVE!! AIR INTAKE!! A VERY CLEAN CAR!! DRIVES BEUTIFULL AND FAST!! STOP IN TODAY FOR A TEST DRIVE!! CALL US TODAY! COMPARE OUR PRICES & QUALITY!!! LARGE SELECTION OF HARD TO FIND CARS!!! EXTENDED WARRANTIES AVAILABLE BANK FINANCING AVAILABLE!! CREDIT PROBLEMS? CALL BILL REYNOLDS @ xxx-xxx-xxxx PRICE REFLECTS $1500 CASH DOWN OR TRADE IN

pics coming...

 

[JayRolla]

I would say a honda is going to be way more reliable than a mits, but it depends on how the car was driven and if it was maintained. Our cars get bad reps because people drive them to shit and dont maintain them like they should. Also if you jump in the dsm world I would reccomend getting an AWD as they are much funner and have more potential. FWD is wrong wheel drive as you should know owning a honda.

 

[greenc51]

yea i understand that about FWD, but this would be my second car if i do get it. wouldnt FWD turbo be a good intro for a newbie to boost? plus its so damn hard to find GSX's...this is the first gs-t i have found in good condition in 2 weeks...

 

[greenc51]

pics

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[diablos991]

BOV Venting = bad.

 

[95blackGsTurbo]

Aside it being venting there doesn't appear to be to much wrong with it. And the AWD over FWD is purely personal opinion. I've had 1 FWD and 3 AWD and like the FWD more. Personal preference. Sure AWD is fun but it tears things up faster and I like FWD more for autox anyways. I would test drive it alone if you can and take it to a shop to get it checked out. DSM's can be just as reliable as any other car. Just depends on the driver. Too many people on here just wanna bolt stuff on and have there car fast without taking the time to maintain or tune it.

 

[diablos991]

Be sure to do a compression test before you buy it. And if you can be sure to look under it at the suspension components and all of the boots and such. If you find anything that isn't too serious. Use it as bargaining ground to get the price down a bit.

 

[greenc51]

well i did a KBB and the price should be about 6500...i guess the dealer is trying to raise the price based on whats already done to it...?

 

[diablos991]

Aftermarket parts should not raise the price that much. You should be a hard ass with them and tell them that the parts only make it harder to sell because you know that it has been raced out.

But demand will raise the price. So depending on your area, that might be about right.

 

[TSIMonsteR]

Yeah, demand has def raised the price of DSMs in general.

 

[greenc51]

if i take it to get a compression test, what should the numbers look like

 

[diablos991]

http://www.dsmgrrrl.com/FAQs/compression.htm

There is some good info here. Plus you could do the test yourself. Just rent a gauge.

 

[Dragon TalonTsi]

Yeah, these guys are right. Check every little thing on that car, and be sure it is the one you want. Don't settle for less than your best, and dont take no for an answer. Money talks, bull shi* walks.... But yeah, that guy is high whoever raised that price that high, but yeah, demand is higher for our DSM's, extremely high....

 

[Perfect Tool]

Thats a very nice looking DSM looks like it was taken care of but I'd check it out myself before I bought a car.

 

[dr1ftx3]

I got my 98 gst with 50k miles for 10g and it already had exhaust and a few other things. I'd really try lowering that price..

 

[greenc51]

I got my 98 gst with 50k miles for 10g and it already had exhaust and a few other things. I'd really try lowering that price..

yea i figured the price was high

 

[slammed]

my gst is my first boosted car...owned it for a year and want to sell it for a gsx. I also go to the track regularly so that might have something to do with it.

 

[jibberishballr]

Price is high, you should probably start with a car with less mods, i wouldnt buy from a dealership...especially for that much money for a car with that many miles (maybe if it was AWD), I had a 97 honda accord before as well and dont regret getting my gst at all. The accord is like driving a go cart compared to this car. You will spend more money and more time on this car though, especially if you plan on modding it. Good luck and keep looking around for good deals and read up on the basics in the tech guide section if you end up getting the car!!!


Also i just noticed that it has a jpipe meaning its an upgraded turbo....so maybe you should look further into it (if you can handle a modded car..hehe), find out what its full mod list is, do a compression test if you can, and anything else to get the best out of the car. Haggle em and get the price down if you can. It looks nice and would most likely make a good first turbo'd car. Anyways id start reading up on everything you can. Tons of things can and probably will go wrong but thats part of the fun. Good Luck!!



-Josh