need help quick!!

[clshoeMN]

Hey guys so I wasa little hesitant at first to post on here for fear of getting ripped a new one as I don't know a ton about cars and even less about tuners but I saw ludachris post and figured what the hell. Anyways, I've been partial to the 2g eclipses since my childhood when they first came out I just didn't see an affordable low mileage option in the near future. I recently came across a guy with a 99 spyder gst all stock (I believe so far) except fora lowering anda rear widening kit and aftermarket exhaust and rims (not sure what kind yet) that the guy was looking for a trade for an suv and I just so happen to have just finished paying my suburban off. Long story short I'm going to look at the car, 86xxx miles, on Friday and being the newbie I am I'm very nervous that there may be something wrong the owner may not know about (he did not even know what a tie rod was when telling him about my truck) he also referred to the car on a Honda forum he listed it on as being rwd which quite farfetched (at least on this "stock" $4500 gst as they don't come in rwd ) I just need help if any of you guys that know about these cars might have any advice what to look or listen for.i believe I also will bring it to midas for an inspection just would like to know as much as possible. Thanks a lot guys like I said decision time comes Friday so if I could geta few replies by then it'd be greatly appreciated and if I do get it I will be on this forum much more frequently figuring out what turbo setup I'd want and sri and other little starter mods. Thanks a bunch
Chris

 

[mustracetsi]

Its like any car you look to buy. Check for rust. Check for leaks. Look for smoke, hear how car idles, test drive, make sure boost during test drive,but shouldn't boost if he got regular gas in car but is just test drive . If manual check clutch engagement, shift all gears, perform the crank walk test. Hope some one chimes in post link. Is Test to see if the motor crank walking,

 

[1G Eclipse94928]

If he's claiming the car is rwd he probably has never changed a belt/pully, or any fluids so that would be good to check, also do a compression test if you want to know engine health. Google for the numbers it should be. I wouldnt buy it for more then 2,000 because he doesn't know anything about cars it seems.

This number is assuming the car is FWD.

 

[badbird]

Another thing to check for on a spyder is that the top works correctly and latches/doesn't leak or have any obvious holes... Just my 2 cents. Make sure the ebrake works, all the blinkers and reverse and all gears are smooth whether manual or auto. Take the intake pipe off and check the turbo for shaft play, wouldn't matter so much if it was getting replaced right away. Make sure it goes into boost and stays in boost, I would also go to autocheck.com and run an extensive vin history on the vehicle at hand, it will tell you most everything about the history of a car, owners, prior locations if and what accidents were... So worth the money.

 

[DogWhistle]

Where is this car listed? It's not on the Mpls CL -- I looked. If we could see the ad, we could help you more.

 

[wrencher]

Are you doing a trade for the suburban?
What year exact model, 2wd or/4x4 engine size, mileage ETC?
Just wondering what your burban is worth....

 

[cdubb79]

Test drive and visual inspection should take care of your questions. Make sure it is shifting properly and boosting smoothly. Make sure the steering isn't all over the road as well. It's a 99 expect some things not to work perfectly interior wise. Check the heat and the ac for sure. Inspect the belts for cracks, especially the timing belts. I wouldn't be too worried about any other belts except maybe the balance shaft belt. Definitely check for leaks under and around the engine, radiator, power steering pump ect. Make sure it has both radiator fans. I wouldn't expect everything to be perfect, but you can negotiate the price with what you see the car needs. It's a fun car.

 

[clshoeMN]

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/cto/4494595637.html the listing is here but it doesn't say or show a lot

 

[clshoeMN]

I'm taking it in when I testt drive it to geta thorough inspection at midas. Should that cover all belts or pulleys etc? I've never actually taken one in for one I just have my buddies normally do it but I would assume so

 

[clshoeMN]

And thanks everyone for the quick responses i didn't notice cuz myemail didn't inform me. I think since it's gonna be nice I'll take it through the wash when I test it. That should show any leaks.

 

[clshoeMN]

Are you doing a trade for the suburban?
What year exact model, 2wd or/4x4 engine size, mileage ETC?
Just wondering what your burban is worth....

it's an 04 suburban z71 fully loaded leather heated seats dvd in the back bose sound the thing is a beast and feel like a king driving it . Now downsides. 204k on it. Two bad tie rods. The leather and carpet are in poor condition. Drivers seat has a large rip. And it has the possibility of transfer case going bad. Although when I brought it in last they said they didn't think so it just sounded like it to me at one point and I know that year is known for it. Brand New tires and brakes though . I paid 4k for it although I know if I really tried I could still get about 6 for it with how those things hold value.

 

[cdubb79]

I see. Not a bad car. I would probably do it. Check around those hoses. I see where some radiator fluid has leaked or sprayed in the picture. But I couldn't imagine this car needing anymore work than your truck. - CW

 

[clshoeMN]

Thank you cw that's my thought on it

 

[DogWhistle]

In the pictures, the HVAC controls have been eliminated, or moved, from the center stack above the radio location. Where are they? Do they work?

 

[clshoeMN]

In the pictures, the HVAC controls have been eliminated, or moved, from the center stack above the radio location. Where are they? Do they work?

Sorry again took me so long to respond. Although I don't believe the hvac controls are removed or moved. He has a pop out touch screen cd player that's open and I would assume is just in front of the controls