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

[awd93talon]

i wouldent buy it, sounds like a hack job to me. i agree with 1993eclipseGS do a compression test first!

one more thing what do you mean it had a problem starting up

 

[speedy13]

Well, even tho their are things wrong, I won't be fixing everything...I have no plans to repair the pop-ups or body damages anytime soon...Right away tho I plan on fixing up the stereo, buying synthetic oil, brake pads, and the t-belt cover...Do you guys think I can live w/out the pop-ups or a/c??? any other opinions on price..seems fair tho based on mods

sure if you don't mind driving it only in the day time,while it may look cool to drive with the pops down,you can't see nuthing at night.If youre gonna buy it anyways just use the manual mechanism to pop the lights up if your gonna drive at night.It will become a pain,but it's better then crashing your dream car.

 

[kraka]

well I am not sure what the problem with the starter is...the owner said it's a new starter that he just put in, and that I believe. But, 2 times the car would either crank and just not start, or it would just not do anything...the owner said it's because he just recently replaced the starter...Would it take a little while for the car to start up everytime if you just replaced the starter???

Also, I do not think it's a hack job, the car was modded nicely and maintenance was done on time...Any more opinions

 

[kraka]

sure if you don't mind driving it only in the day time,while it may look cool to drive with the pops down,you can't see nuthing at night.If youre gonna buy it anyways just use the manual mechanism to pop the lights up if your gonna drive at night.It will become a pain,but it's better then crashing your dream car.

Well hopefully that will work...I don't know if the motor's are just not working or if the car really just doesn't have the lights..the exterior pieces are there...Also, the owner said that driving w/ the normal headlights and the fogs make it bright enough..maybe not???

 

[Talonman]

starter sounds shady

 

[davelogan77]

$4000.........

Don't do it..

I just picked up a 91 talon, that was never touched (looks like it just came from the factory), (its an Arizona car w/70k miles) for $5000.....

The car your looking at sounds pretty scary to me, there are nicer cars out there for allot cheaper, that aren't beat on nearly as much.
I just raced a guy tonight that bought his 91 AWD for $1800, and it was pretty clean.
Heres the way I look at it, buy a non-beat car for about $2k, then invest the rest of the difference you planned on spending (about $2K) and have a fast, non hacked, AWD or FWD built just the way you want it...

 

[awd93talon]

he said it wouldent start because he just installed the starter?
there is your reason not to buy the car. just my 2 cents

 

[tstkl]

dunno if someone mentioned this, but my car has the stock steering wheel, and theres no air bag... i dont think it was even an option...

 

[speedy13]

yeah, i overlooked that,1g's don't have airbags,i don't know if i would trust this guy,if you don't know him,make sure to have the car checked by a friendly shop near you.

 

[mister2sw20]

personally i wouldnt buy it, but you probably want a dsm really really bad. keep in mind your buying a 90 so alot of the smart things arent compatable with the 91-94 1gs. if you look hard enough you will find a way better one than that. 4k will buy a pretty damn nice 1g. i paid 2500 for mine it was all stock with 85k miles, it had all the options i wanted. (lsd, no sunroof, no leather)

dave

 

[kraka]

Ya, i guess I could wait around for a better one with a better price, but the car besides the few minor problems includes everything I wanted in my 1g. It looks really race-like with the Grant steering wheel and gauges in every corner, and yet very comfotable and cool. I guess I could do somethings by myself anyway and that will save $$$ (brake pads, oil change, etc)..Plus, the guy lives one town over basically, he's really close just in case I need some information on the car. Also, the engine bay looks much neater and easier to work on w.out all of the mess from the A/C and Cruise control system's...I do not wish to wait any longer, I like this one, I just hope it's safe enough. Ne other opinions??/

 

[FullyBuiltDSM]

its possible to find somone thats modded a car such as that and hasnt beat it, but not at all likely, Not to stereotype but the best cars come from older people, there usually up to date on oil changes ect., and its true you may not get all the mods to go along with them but in the long run youll save your money doing it yourself.

 

[FullyBuiltDSM]

I know where there a 91 tsi sitting next to a barn the guy is selling for $750, it needs bearings they ran it low on oil. And maybe a few cosmetics things but hey i figure a rebuild kit and a rear bumper would still be worth buying for it.

 

[Spoolin4Ever]

This sounds like NOT a great deal.

As for the mods, that's all great IMHO.

What sucks is when somebody spends alot of money on mods, but the car is not maintained well, so the basics are not there:

Headlights not popping up?
Car not starting?
Oil isn't changed?
Only 8 lbs of boost (turbo going out?)
Oil leaks?
Stereo doesn't work?

All these great upgrades but yet half the things on the car don't work!

Wiring can be a nightmare to work with, you may never get everything working.

The starting issue is uncool. He needs to make it work if he's gonna sell it for that much. I'm sure he may be even losing money on it, but he needs to make it so it starts.

$4000 is too much for a car that may or may not start when you turn the key.

Frankly, I don't think I'd even give him $1500 for it, looks like too much effort and money required to get it working.

Alot of mods isn't automatically bad, but in this case you have people that have owned the car that don't know how to maintain it and keep it running trying to mod and that's a bad thing.

Run away!

PS If you do buy it, let us know we will still try and help ya.

 

[kraka]

Honestly, I never wanted a modded 1G, I wanted a stock 1 so I could mod it my way..But, after finding this car, I decided that it would be worth it just to buy it already modded to the level I was going to get it at, and then once I needed a little more, all I have to do is upgrade the turbo and tune.

To straighten the things out you guys say indicate bad things:

- The car doesn't need an oil change for another 1K but I volunteered to do it so I can practice.

-It's set to 8psi b/c the current owner is afraid of blowing the rubber i/c pipes and heatsoaking the sidemount.. i guess

- The other mechanical signs definitely indicate laziness and beating, but with the recent rebuild, I am not so worried of it dying on me anytime soon. I am happy to take it out of the current owner's hands anyway so I won't abuse it like he did by using 87 octane and letting it starve of fuel.. But, those are signs that he needs the $$ also, just as much as I need a DSM.

I am just worried that I will have to take it to professionals and mechanics to fix certain things...I hope I can do the brakes, but I don't know what is up with the mystery leak I didn't see or the nice stereo that just happen's to not work...Oh well, my parent's might not be happy b.c I am spending all of my savings away so fast on the car, parts and repairs, but I think in the end I will be...Any more opinions??

Oh yeah, and do you think I will be ok without running with a T-belt cover, spark plug cover and both the heatshields for a while?? or should I start looking at the classifieds right away for the parts?

 

[Da 1GcLiPsE]

The car your looking at sounds pretty scary to me, there are nicer cars out there for allot cheaper, that aren't beat on nearly as much.
I just raced a guy tonight that bought his 91 AWD for $1800, and it was pretty clean.
Heres the way I look at it, buy a non-beat car for about $2k, then invest the rest of the difference you planned on spending (about $2K) and have a fast, non hacked, AWD or FWD built just the way you want it...

Amen to that^^ I bought a 91 Talon AWD with 140K for $800. Spent 2K fixing the car and it runs flawlessly(and looks pretty damn nice too).

 

[gsnoturbo90]

Dude everyone knows you want this car, im the same way when i want something i have to have it right then and there, and thats not always the best. It took me forever to find my car, i didnt buy mine cause it was only a grand i bought it cause it runs pretty damn good. It had no problems and the last owner was a friend of my fathers who i know took good care of the car. All everyone is saying is buy a car that was beat on and not taken care of, i.e. leaks, and no headlights and your going to get what you pay for a car that was beat on, if you buy this car it will most likely give you more problems then your willing to deal with, i mean the guy is selling the car for a reason. See if you can get him down to like 1000 and if he says no tell him you dont have the money right now, then take your time and look for a car. if in a couple of weeks or so you dont find something better you can always go back to that guy im sure no one is going to buy it anytime soon for that much with that many problems. what ever you do good luck, just dont get ripped off.

 

[Rubberman2003]

I got my 90 gsx (ALL STOCK) with 130K on it for 1800. Very happy with this car.

 

[1993eclipseGS]

$4,000 is alot of money for that car, Even with the mods. I spent 10,500 on my last 1g and I coulden't even sell it for $4,500. I sold it for $1,700

I paid $2,400 for the car I have now. It's a 1 owner(50 year old lady) with only 60k miles. I coulden't believe it when I found it. The lady actually cried when everything was done. WTF

I'd keep looking, That guy is looking to get rich quick, Maybe he is a member on here.

 

[urcnjoe]

Most of the people in these forums know what they are talking about, so if 100% of them are telling you to stay away from this deal then I would listen. For $4000 you should be able to find a very nice 1g. Don't limit yourself to cars in your area. Be willing to travel for your dream car. Living up North decreases our chances of finding a 14-15 year old car in good shape. Keep an eye out in the classifieds here and on dsmtrader, and also e-bay. I had to drive 9 hours one way to find my current 1g. Do what everyone says and keep looking. By the way the cruise control in these cars is not very good. It does not keep your speed steady very well, and as someone already stated, airbags did not come in 1g's.

 

[Dream On]

Dude, save yourself some hassle and just wait for a better one. It took me a long time to find the right one, and I'm glad that I did. It is tempting to just get one cause I'm sure you want one and all, but buying one that hasn't been taken care of is a huge mistake. Good luck either way though.

 

[kraka]

Yeah, well the owner seems like a cool guy but he needs the money actually to buy a civic!! ...I emailed the guy and asked him a little about the mods and how much he thinks it will cost and also if he thinks he can fix any of the problems before we meet on tuesday...If I do not buy the car then there is no time to wait for others and then come back, he has lots of offers already including one other that he really wanted to do...I have been searching for a car like this for months and this is the one that intrigued me the most...Those amazing deals you guys hear of and got just don't happen around here apparently...And theres no way I am grabbing a car from a bunch of states over, it's just too far and if you add up all the money it would take to go over there + to buy a car, it would end being the same price as this..

I guess I am going to have to see what the mechanic says and if he thinks this is as bad as you guys think it is...Trust me, i too know lots and lots about DSM's and pricing, and If I knew that at the time when I saw the ad that the car would have these problem's, then I would've backed down...But, it also seems that a lot of times after people buy cars that seem to be taken care of and are really cheap, they end up having problems as soon as you start modding it..Well, with this one being modded already, I only now have to worry about a few little things (headunit not working, pop-ups, oil leak) instead of a bunch of huge things (timing belt, engine rebuild)...I really don't know anymore...this is hard...Any other opinions?? you guys are very helpful

 

[illinest]

just off the top of my head, your starting problems sound VERY similar to some of the stuff my brothers eclipse was doing, and that was ignition system related. The ECM had to be repaired and we are going to troubleshoot the ISC next. It wouldnt take very long to pull out the ECM and open it up. If it smells like fish, count on a MINIMUM of 100 dollars to repair it and over 1,000 if you want a new one.
Boost dialed down low, hard to start, definately get that compression test done too.

I think youre just going to inherit someone elses headache. You really should stop trying to make excuses for the car. A starting problem is not something that will go away and you should get an idea of what is wrong BEFORE you think about buying it.

 

[kraka]

hmm, I haven't thought about it being an ECU problem...I didn't know what to think, all that I am aware of is that the car just got a new starter in but it didn't fire up when I tried...It is a new battery so it is unrelated to that...I am looking forward (or cautious for) the compression test results b/c if it turns out that one of the numbers is off, then I will refuse to pay $4000 for a car with headgasket damage or head/valve problems..too expensive....man this is starting to sound pretty bad, the kid installed the starter himself...Apparently most of the other problems are from the previous owner where he got the rebuild done and installed all of the aftermarket stuff...the kid that owns it now just had it for a few months so he could have a car to modify to big hp level's but apparently he ran short of funds and is moving on to a honda...hmmm

 

[kraka]

Cool...I got the owner to bump down the price $300 and I am taking it!! I wanted 3500 for it, but 3700 is good enough for me...The oil leak apparently is just b/c the car needs a new oil pan gasket that I will do next oil change, and the starter problem is that it just needs to be lubed up a little apparently...The stereo problem is from a loose connection so it will need to be re-wired...estimated cost/???? dont no...any opinions b.c I am grabbing the tsi tomorrow