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

[sptbkfn01]

I already had it looked over by a shop that specializes in DSM tuning in the area. He said it is in very sound condition and feels that it is worth $10,000. So if this is true, he's only $1,000 away from what I should spend. I just gotta decide if it's worth it to me since I know where the car is coming from. We added up the receipts of all of his parts and the total comes to around $28,000 excluding the cost of when he bought the car. I know he will never get anywhere near the amount that he put into the car.

 

[housegsx]

why would you be wary? Just asking ### i'm new at the tuner scene. I just know that I want an eclipse due to the fact that I'm a Mopar guy and they teamed up with Mitsubishi on the eclipses for awhile.

Just because those cheaper lsds(meaning not quaife) are more for strait line grip and I've read some have done major transmission damage. I'm just pointing that out off the top of my head because of the numerous posts I've come across, not because I actually have any experience with them. So please, I'm just saying do some research on them before deciding to install.
The lights are just cheesy in my opinion, that's all. You want our opinion if the car is worth that. I wouldn't pay extra for any show pieces and those headlights most likely use h4 or h1 bulbs, not the 9005/9006 and you won't be able to see a thing at night. I had a free set I put on my Prelude because I cracked the glass lens on my original ones. Needless to say I fixed the originals and reinstalled them a week later.

 

[sptbkfn01]

Just because those cheaper lsds(meaning not quaife) are more for strait line grip and I've read some have done major transmission damage. I'm just pointing that out off the top of my head because of the numerous posts I've come across, not because I actually have any experience with them. So please, I'm just saying do some research on them before deciding to install.
The lights are just cheesy in my opinion, that's all. You want our opinion if the car is worth that. I wouldn't pay extra for any show pieces and those headlights most likely use h4 or h1 bulbs, not the 9005/9006 and you won't be able to see a thing at night. I had a free set I put on my Prelude because I cracked the glass lens on my original ones. Needless to say I fixed the originals and reinstalled them a week later.

I greatly appreciate all your insight into this. I really like the car, but not enough to get totally raped on the price. Thanks.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

And that's the main problem with buying a modded car. The car has been modded by someone to suite THEIR taste, not yours. Plus given the fact that you don't exactly know everything that's been done, or the quality of their work/where they might have taken shortcuts, it could leave the door open for a lot of headaches.

Sure, you mentioned that it was looked at by someone that knows DSMs, but trust me, there will be problems. The mechanic is just good insurance that you're not buying something that will fall apart before you make it back to the house.

The biggest things to consider would be:
1. Can you afford it?
2. Can you work on it?
3. How much are you wanting to take off the car for it to suite YOUR taste?
4. How much are you going to ADD to the car to suite YOUR taste?

As stated, and you have already seen, modding a car is definitely NOT an investment.

 

[sptbkfn01]

Believe me FORMONTOYA, I am restoring a 1969 Charger. I know plenty about net getting what you put into something. I can afford it as well as work on it. I was a mechanic for a few years at a dealership before I realized that I love working on cars, but in the spare time. Like I said, I'm not too familiar with imports, but I can learn (besides all cars a composed of nothing more than nuts and bolts in their simplest form). There isn't much that I would change on his car except probably taking off the vinyl flames on the side of the car and removing the green backup lights. I'm not huge on the neons, but I can always just not flip the switch on.

 

[FORMONTOYA]

Cool.

Well one thing I can tell you is that the GS-T is one hell of a fun car (maybe not as much as the AWD, but still a lot of fun), and looks good too. Turbos are one of the best power adders to come along IMO. I personally wouldn't own another "toy" without one. And it sounds like you will not have any problems working on the car, especially after purchasing a shop manual for the idiosyncrasies that every car has.

Good luck to you if you purchase it, and give us some photos afterward.

 

[97gstkat]

alright... first off wtf is wrong with your friend. if i were ever to pressure my BOYFRIEND... not fiance, or husband... into selling his car PLEASE SHOOT ME. the car sounds nice but like everyone is saying... not quite worth it. i personally prefer to mod my cars myself. not buy modded. now back to my point... is your friend insane?? does he plan on marrying this girl or is he just... whipped?? selling your car for your significant other is a big step and seeing as you refer to her as his girlfriend only... shes not worth that big step. i know married men who wont even take that step, nor should they have to. please please please tell your friend to really mull it over alot more. and if his chick gets pissy about it taking so long. she can eat it. thatd be like him asking her to shave her head... or to stop wearing pink but you get the point. i wish you the best of luck in your own decision tho. dsms are an addiction and DO cost alot more then any other addiction known to man. i must say so myself... if you want to get into the dsm world... buy LIGHTLY modded first and learn everything from experience, that includes breaking things atleast twice. *Kat*

 

[FORMONTOYA]

alright... first off wtf is wrong with your friend. if i were ever to pressure my BOYFRIEND... not fiance, or husband... into selling his car PLEASE SHOOT ME. the car sounds nice but like everyone is saying... not quite worth it. i personally prefer to mod my cars myself. not buy modded. now back to my point... is your friend insane?? does he plan on marrying this girl or is he just... whipped?? selling your car for your significant other is a big step and seeing as you refer to her as his girlfriend only... shes not worth that big step. i know married men who wont even take that step, nor should they have to. please please please tell your friend to really mull it over alot more. and if his chick gets pissy about it taking so long. she can eat it. thatd be like him asking her to shave her head... or to stop wearing pink but you get the point. i wish you the best of luck in your own decision tho. dsms are an addiction and DO cost alot more then any other addiction known to man. i must say so myself... if you want to get into the dsm world... buy LIGHTLY modded first and learn everything from experience, that includes breaking things atleast twice. *Kat*

WELL SAID!! And from a women no less.

I was thinking the same thing.........eh. But you're right. I'm married and my wife wouldn't even consider asking me that (she already knows it would NOT happen anyway). We all have our own addictions/vices, and some are better left kept to avoid potential repercussions later on down the road. I can think of the resentment that would come from "having" to sell my "toy" because my wife insisted I do it. I was into cars before I meet her, and that's just part of the package...........live with it or leave it.

 

[sptbkfn01]

I've tried talking him out of it many times. He seems to be content selling. The only thing keeping them from being engaged/married is money. Neither one of them has a decent job. I don't want to get into that though. If he wants to sell the car and we come to a reasonable agreement, then cool.

 

[GSX0rzzz]

I'm looking at a '95 black very good condition gsx listed at $6200. The girl said she bought if from some other girl a year ago. Has 110k on it though. Is that too many miles? Seems well maintained. I'm going to take the bus down there and test drive it tomarrow morning before the 4 other people that have already replied to her ads (that she JUST put up) can buy it. Also, best of all, it's completely stock.

I just discovered that mitsubishi made an awd turbo model of the eclipse, and have spent the last 24 hours reading everything I could about them. I really want one, and I would love black. With some minor tuning shouldn't that engine be roaring just fine? I talked her to 6k. It's a 3+ hr trip down there, but there's none like this in my area. What do the experts think?

 

[JayRolla]

Pull the intake and check for in and out shaft play on the turbine wheel. It should barely move or not at all. Also have a compression check and see if the timing belt has every been replaced. If everything seems ok then low ball the price and work from there.

 

[GSX0rzzz]

I was thinking about just taking it to a local mechanic and having him look at it, the $100 would be worth it I think, as I don't know that much about cars...yet.
Is 6k too much for 110k though? How much lower would you expect the price to be?

 

[theycallmedalgo]

there was a bunch of threads before this, a few of which were started by me and got locked

Personally i wouldnt buy the car even though it has a ton of money put into it. You also didnt mention how many miles were on the body ( unless i missed that )

its up to you though, but dont buy it because your anxious. i know how you feel but dont let desire get the best of you

good luck

 

[GSX0rzzz]

anyone else want to comment before i buy a bus ticket?

 

[GSX0rzzz]

I read the FAQs and have learned the technical differences. But would like to know your opinion:
6 bolt vs 7 bolt...7 bolts use smaller rods and are prone to crankwalk (right?), but which is better?
Also, 2Gs have the different t25 turbo, and higher compression ratio and ABS
(that info was from
http://72.14.253.104/search?q=cache...gcomparison+1g+vs+2g&hl=en&gl=us&ct=clnk&cd=3 )

Right now I'm looking at buying a 95 gsx with 110k for $6k, completely stock, female owned. I'm wondering is it worth getting the 2G? Is the upgraded leather int. a difference between generations as well? Check out my last post on The Official "What's this DSM worth?" Thread if you wanna give more advice on considering buying that car.

 

[gsxeclipse97]

depends on what you are going for. Looks or straight power. There is nothing wrong with the seven bolt but im getting a six bolt installed in my 2g right now but its your choice

 

[Deadmoans]

If your going to take it to a mechanic they should pull the upper timing cover and get a better look at the timing belt. They should also be able to look at the surrounding components and get a good idea if the timing belt has been off. That's a good indication if it's been done.

For $100 bucks they should do a pretty thorough exam - including turning your head and coughing .

Look at the oil on the dipstick - this sounds simple but it can reveal a lot!!!!

Check the coolant tank - again tells a lot.

Also, if they do a compression or leak down test - tell them you want it written on the ticket. You don't some bull crap "average" of all four cylinders. You want what EACH cylinder has.

The compression should NOT be more than 14psi difference from each cylinder. PSI at 250 rpm for 92-94 should be minimum of 145 all other years should be 133psi minimum.

 

[Deadmoans]

Is this a Talon TSi AWD or Eclipse GSX.

The talon will be cheaper. Same car, but still cheaper.

 

[Apeximprt2nr]

Don't worry about crankwalk. Looks is up to you. I think 2g's are sexy, but a black on black 1st gen. is just pure sex as well. Mean as hell looking too.
6 bolts have the stronger rods, while the 2g's have the stronger pistons. Etc. There's a lot of this info all over the net so there's no point in my going through it all.
As long as the car was well maintained I see no problem in getting that 2g.
I bought my 95 GSX bone stock with 31k miles on it last year for $10k.
The price on KBB for that is ~$4k. I would say try to bump it down a little.
Good luck.

 

[Semprini]

Ive found a few 2nd gens in my area, but they are priced high compared to edmunds, nada, and kbb. I found a 97 GST spyder thats in really good condition with 96586 on the clock and the price is $8995 Edmunds has the private value at $6100. I emailed the dealer and asked if it was stil available and they said it is with 2 offers of $9K on it already. Theres no way Im paying that much over book. I also found a 99 GS with 101K on it asking $8190. Book on that one was in the 5s. Im just curious if these cars sell for more than they are worth often. I would really like to get a turbo model but I will go with a GS if I cant find a reasonably priced GST/GSX.

Thanks

 

[pbrclc]

these cars do usually sell for more than their book values, but those prices seem excessive. You would be right to either wait for a better deal or haggle those prices down. Offer the dealer less for the gst, I doubt if they had two reliable offers for 9000 they would still have the car. The gs just seems way more expensive than its worth.

 

[Semprini]

Yeah he said hes waiting for their payment to clear, but he also be saying that so I hurry down. I know dealerships arent stupid, they know if a car is popular or not of course. I also found an all black GS spyder for 5999. Its also a 99 with 116K on it. I just got off the phone with the guy making sure its still there and asked a few questions. The pics look good and he said its mechanically sound so Im gonna go check it out. Atleast that price is much closer to the book value.

Also, how long is "long" that a used car sits at a dealership? On one site that Ive looked at it states how long ago the ad was posted, Ive read the tips on Edmunds.com and I can use this to my advantage.

Thanks!

 

[silvah_gsx]

There will always be something on the market, so don't rush to the first good-ish deal. Also if you drove a GS-T, you'd realize that GS and GS-T aren't even close to the same category (no offense to the N/T guys), and shouldn't be considered together.

 

[cotsi95]

trust me wait and buy a turbo model. try looking for talons they usually go for cheaper and if you dont like the looks you can always just swap the bumpers...

 

[Semprini]

See thats the only thing, I cant wait. Im only home next week and the car I have now, well Im not even sure if its gonna get me home. Either way I need to buy a car then. I have a 4 hour drive to school, and I cant rely on the shit box I have now to make a couple more trips.. Thanks everyone for your responses!