The Official "What's this DSM worth?" Thread

[sonik619]

How much for the car that make a big difference on if it is worth it or not.

If you read the post he says the owner is aksing 5500 obo.

 

[lostnsand1]

I was just looking at a GSX and ran into the same questions feel free to see my thread and it will give you some insight. Hope it helps you.

 

[talontsiboy24]

How much for the car that make a big difference on if it is worth it or not.

Edit: Sorry I missed that part. Sounds like a good car. But I have seen some 95-96 automatic awd's on the clasiffieds for under $2000

yes but i think it needs a wideband o2 and air fuel pressure rugulator to truly run right. what do u think?

 

[lacroixdp]

He says it was tuned professionally at AMS, which undoubtedly used the proper equipment to tune it in. Although I have to admit, I get nervous when modified cars don't have widebands on them personally.

yes but i think it needs a wideband o2 and air fuel pressure rugulator to truly run right. what do u think?

 

[tunethis]

A wideband and fpr will help. Other than that, it's a very clean, stock appearing car. It professionally tuned so, it should run good enough for now. There's a lot of things you should check before purchasing the car. For example, compression and turbo shaft play. If all is good, I think the price is fair and it is o.b.o. You can search here and find all the necessary information you desire.

 

[dsmproject1]

bring him down a couple grands for a good deal

 

[Lofty]

Well you are definitely going to want to check the turbo for any shaft play, I have a feeling you are going to need one shortly. Is there any receipts of the timing belt being changed? If so I would NOT trust what the previous owner says, if theres no receipts, I'd say it's safe you should replace it. Is the valve cover leaking itself? Or are the threads stripped out of the head? Valve cover gasket is not a big deal at all, don't sweat it. He could be lying about the whole AMS business, be leary about it. Hmm what to look for. Check for rust all over the underbody. Listen very closely to any noises you hear on start up. Make sure you know the difference between lifter tick and rod knock. Lifter tick is no big deal, it's not harmful. You are DEFINITELY going to want to do a BLT (Boost leak test) on it. A boost leak can potentially grenade the engine after a while, and you won't be maxxing out all the possible HP from the turbo. You also are going to want to do a compression test if you get it. You can find out how to make a tester on VFAQ.com, as well as many other useful information. Bookmark it!
When you get it make sure to just do a general any car specific tune up (Spark plugs, oil, oil filter, plug wires, etc.) Try to focus on maintenance before doing any more mods to it. People modding without keeping things in check are what make people say these cars are unreliable (Ignoring the age factor).
That's about all I can think of at the moment, good luck with the future purchase.

-Scott

 

[talontsiboy24]

bring him down a couple grands for a good deal

doubt that but i will offer him what i think is right.

 

[97ClipseDSM]

bring him down a couple grands for a good deal

Nope..I wouldnt pay more than $3000 for it..122k and automatic transmission is just not my taste. Ofcourse the car is perhaps due a timing belt, waterpump change, etc. Keep looking, the whole fun of owning a dsm is a 5 speed manual..if you cant drive stick shift then i understand..go for it

 

[talontsiboy24]

Well you are definitely going to want to check the turbo for any shaft play, I have a feeling you are going to need one shortly. Is there any receipts of the timing belt being changed? If so I would NOT trust what the previous owner says, if theres no receipts, I'd say it's safe you should replace it. Is the valve cover leaking itself? Or are the threads stripped out of the head? Valve cover gasket is not a big deal at all, don't sweat it. He could be lying about the whole AMS business, be leary about it. Hmm what to look for. Check for rust all over the underbody. Listen very closely to any noises you hear on start up. Make sure you know the difference between lifter tick and rod knock. Lifter tick is no big deal, it's not harmful. You are DEFINITELY going to want to do a BLT (Boost leak test) on it. A boost leak can potentially grenade the engine after a while, and you won't be maxxing out all the possible HP from the turbo. You also are going to want to do a compression test if you get it. You can find out how to make a tester on VFAQ.com, as well as many other useful information. Bookmark it!
When you get it make sure to just do a general any car specific tune up (Spark plugs, oil, oil filter, plug wires, etc.) Try to focus on maintenance before doing any more mods to it. People modding without keeping things in check are what make people say these cars are unreliable (Ignoring the age factor).
That's about all I can think of at the moment, good luck with the future purchase.

-Scott

he said he has stacks of records for the car since he became the 2nd owner and even has proof that all work was done at ams like reciepts and stuff....how would i check for boost leak and turbo shaft play? he said he used mobil 1 synthetic at all time and premium fuel. can we talk on aim? u seem to know alot.

 

[talontsiboy24]

Nope..I wouldnt pay more than $3000 for it..122k and automatic transmission is just not my taste. Ofcourse the car is perhaps due a timing belt, waterpump change, etc. Keep looking, the whole fun of owning a dsm is a 5 speed manual..if you cant drive stick shift then i understand..go for it

i can drive stick but i drive in town alot so i dont wanna keep shifting that will cause alot of wear on things i think....the car is worth $3950 in excellent condition in the kbb and thats without the mods...i was gonna offer him $4500 or $4000 i dunno what do u guys think?

 

[Lofty]

Sure we can talk on aim.

Scotttheskaterr. Go for it.

To check for play;
If the shaft wiggles left and right (ALOT) or the compressor wheel touches the housing/drags, it's bad. Some left to right play is tolerable, because the oil needs somewhere to fill on the inside of the turbo. But I mean a minimalistic amount.
Also check in and out play, it shouldn't move out at all. If it does, it means you need a rebuild/new one.

 

[scotyu]

i can drive stick but i drive in town alot so i dont wanna keep shifting that will cause alot of wear on things i think....the car is worth $3950 in excellent condition in the kbb and thats without the mods...i was gonna offer him $4500 or $4000 i dunno what do u guys think?

ppssshhhh... offer 3950,

 

[Lofty]

Also, don't be hating on the Auto.

Less turbo lag.

 

[talontsiboy24]

Also, don't be hating on the Auto.

Less turbo lag.

word

 

[2GA_AWD]

hmm seems nice just i don't like the asking price. i traded my old 1g non turbo for my 2g talon tsi awd and pretty much paid like $1,000 for mine. mine has 120K on it. the gsx does have a good mods but like other memebers say check for the normal problems. and btw the car has to be run on premium fuel .

 

[MilitaryTalon]

My car was listed for 5500 and I got it for 3k. So I would offer 3k or 3500 and see what he says. You may find out he needs to get rid of it quick. It never hurts to lowball, there are plenty of other choices out there if he gets his feelings hurt.

 

[copper]

I don't know how it is where you live, but over here, modded cars usually cost less due to people thinking that they have been beaten on.

If I were you I would just get a stock dsm, or one with very little mods and fix it up yourself. you can get one for a lot cheaper than what that guy is asking for and use the rest of the money for maintence and mods, in that order. plus you'll get the satisfaction of knowing you did everything yourself.

Oh and there's no possible way a 5spd will wear things out faster unless you don't know how to shift...

 

[Lofty]

I don't know how it is where you live, but over here, modded cars usually cost less due to people thinking that they have been beaten on.

If I were you I would just get a stock dsm, or one with very little mods and fix it up yourself. you can get one for a lot cheaper than what that guy is asking for and use the rest of the money for maintence and mods, in that order. plus you'll get the satisfaction of knowing you did everything yourself.

Oh and there's no possible way a 5spd will wear things out faster unless you don't know how to shift...

Agreed.
I think he means transmission wise, wearing out.

How many dsm A/T tranny's go out? Close to none.
How many 5spd? A lot, including mine, and I don't beat on it (Previous owner probably did)

 

[talontsiboy24]

Agreed.
I think he means transmission wise, wearing out.

How many dsm A/T tranny's go out? Close to none.
How many 5spd? A lot, including mine, and I don't beat on it (Previous owner probably did)

word

 

[Lofty]

So yeah, read over what we all said, and listen good.

Maybe write down some of the things we said to go and look at it.

Message me on aim if you still want, I have insomnia bad, I'm always on.

Good luck, Welcome to the forums.

 

[copper]

you are right about buying a stock one and building it up myself but this car doesnt look or seem to be beat on but who knows people can say anything....i will offer him $4k if he wants more i think ill pass i mean i am worried about the mods and if he was being ruff on it but he says he wasnt i mean hes 36yrs old but i dunno will see

ha... tell that to my 42yr old dad. he doesn't know the meaning of non-WOT driving

 

[97ClipseDSM]

Agreed.
I think he means transmission wise, wearing out.

How many dsm A/T tranny's go out? Close to none.
How many 5spd? A lot, including mine, and I don't beat on it (Previous owner probably did)

Agree on the a/t going out..I barely hear of any. However, this might just be my oppinion so no one should take it seriously, but automatic DSM's totally kill the mood..the 5 speed sounds so much better with the BOV blowing off..with the auto its just like yeah whatever..

And manual trannys should not go out any more than an A/T unless a person does not know how to drive it. Imagine at the track..you want a challenge, not brake boosting your way to the finish line..i want total control over my DSM.

Id say just wait it out for a nice manual car with lower mileage. But thats just me, you dont have to take my word for it.

However as a daily driver in heavy traffic, i always prefer an automatic car. It is so much easier. As far as building a DSM, 5 speed hands down.

 

[muckerpuck]

Well damit i offered 4k also..... . But im also having a hard time finding any cheaper gsx's. most are at 5k or more.... there are a lot at 8k even.

 

[talontsiboy24]

Well damit i offered 4k also..... . But im also having a hard time finding any cheaper gsx's. most are at 5k or more.... there are a lot at 8k even.

so u offered 4k? well it all depends i guess if it has money put into or not or if its been well maintaned and looks excellent. thats when prices jump.