What is this car worth / Is this car a good deal?

[Devilsfutbol17]

I found a 1996 Spyder GST for $4900. It is a 5-speed, 91,000 miles on it, white with black top, 17 inch rims. There is 80% tread left on the tires but the guy has a brand new never used set of tires for the car that is included in the price. He says the top doesn't leak, but it had a rip and was repaired, but he didn't like it, so he bought a brand new oem top that isn't installed and is included with the car. He says the interior is really nice, everything inside works, but you have to help the top up a little bit. He doesn't know if the timing belt has been replaced or not. It has a 3 inch cat back exhaust, 16G turbo, apexi intake and a greddy bov. He says it runs great and has no issues. He says he just wants to get rid of it because he doesn't drive it and its taking up space in his garage, which sounds good to me because he kept it garaged at least. he also said that the paint is good on it, no clear coat coming off, no body damage or dents. I'm going to check for crankwalk be looking at the clutch pedal when I turn left. I have been talking to the guy over the phone and I'm suppose to go drive for 4 hours to go and buy it if it checks out on Thursday. Does it sound good? Should I ask him or check for other things on it?

 

[WES_393]

Here in CO that guy would be asking $3,000 for that car so of course it seems like a good deal to me. But I wouldn't suggest building it if you already have a better DSM that works. Like said above, 2 dsm just means twice as many headaches. Use it for parts or find one in better condition.

 

[eric72549]

yeah true i think im just gonna see if he will sell me some parts off it then..

 

[Kurptk]

I am by no means a DSM expert so correct me if im wrong but isn't all the 2G GST FWD? and the GSX AWD?

 

[eric72549]

yes sir thats right

 

[Kurptk]

I always wanted a 97-99 2G eclipse but up here they are rare and if you do find a clean one, be ready to pay a lot for it. A lot of Talons here but the grey interior thing is a turn off for me anyways

 

[jcart953]

i wouldn't do it. Just another headache.

^^+1

 

[Tiki2777]

I would go ask for some of the parts, because like people have said, two DSMs can be murder to your wallet. Still not a horrible price for what he's asking, but you might still be able to lower it too
GL

 

[WES_393]

yeah true i think im just gonna see if he will sell me some parts off it then..

Well if you beleive the parts to be worth more than he is asking, then I say buy the whole car. He will definitely try to sell the parts for more than the whole shell. He obviously wants to get rid of it so take the whole thing if you can and maybe even for cheaper than he wants

You also have to think, a DSM is a machine and all machines wear out. When things start breaking, wouldn't it be nice to have one sitting out back with the part you need? Or maybe some parts to sell? 2GB Eclipse bumpers are pretty popular now days. But this is all assuming the car actually has good parts on it besides the aftermarket, that's for you to decide.

 

[eric72549]

yea true you guys have some good points i will try too talk him down tommerow. but if i had the choice i would buy a talon over a eclipse how much are they up there

 

[Kurptk]

Why a Talon over an eclipse?

Here a clean 95-97 Talon TSI AWD goes for 5K+ for a clean mostly stock one
A genuine Eclipse will go for more then that, seen them from 6-14K

That's for a decent road worthy car

You can find beat one's really cheap since there are handfuls of riced out clunkers around and rusted out strut towers

 

[eric72549]

yea you are right i mean i have a really clean 2g gst but there is somthing about a 95 tsi that i love

 

[lancedsm]

i have 2 dsm and the one that runs murder my wallet. having 2 that runs is fun but good parts car is always nice you almost need a parts car to keep them running

 

[scottdsm4g63t]

i wouldnt buy it either...the reason hes selling it is cause hes had a headache to long with this car i been down thsi road before! bought a gst with a "blown head gasket" turned out it had 2 snapped rods jumped timing and to top it all off was crankwalked. save ## money and buy yourself a 4k gsx you'll be happier in the end then with this gst

 

[WES_393]

yea true you guys have some good points i will try too talk him down tommerow. but if i had the choice i would buy a talon over a eclipse how much are they up there

You could always buy and Eclipse and convert it to a Talon. They are the same car other than bumpers and lights. If you found a 95 Eclipse it would be insanely easy to make it a Talon.

I have a thing for 95's as well, but that's just because of the EPROM, VLSD, and vented rear brakes that the early 95's came with. The fixed CAS is a pain, but it's a small price to pay.

i wouldnt buy it either...the reason hes selling it is cause hes had a headache to long with this car i been down thsi road before! bought a gst with a "blown head gasket" turned out it had 2 snapped rods jumped timing and to top it all off was crankwalked. save ## money and buy yourself a 4k gsx you'll be happier in the end then with this gst

I have seen this happen with 5K DSM's and seen 1K DSM's just have a bad coil pack and run like hell for years after it's replaced. It's not just one dollar amount over the other. Sure, that's a sign of the condition of the car, but not always the most important factor.

 

[DSMlover2011]

I wouldn't do it. Just another headache.

Agreed. I'm not saying saying it isn't a good deal for a project or parts car but that's about it.

 

[eric72549]

Thanks everyone car was a POS i mean i had good parts thats all. i had the apex safc but idk what that is worth also it has a greddy bov and some rims, dejon untake other than that it was a pile.. thats everyone

 

[Tiki2777]

Thanks everyone car was a POS i mean i had good parts thats all. i had the apex safc but idk what that is worth also it has a greddy bov and some rims, dejon untake other than that it was a pile.. thats everyone

IDK i just but a great condition 98 gsx, but i might have to go look at this and try an offer cause i think it would be awesome to rebuild a motor, i just want to have a running one at the same time and i live where you are so.. sup...

 

[mx730md]

back again i keep dipping my feet back in the dsm's saw a 93 talon tsi fwd guy wants $1000 for it.

here the details

140,000 miles
5speed
fwd
crower 280/280 cams
dsm link v3 lite
new head
arp studs
needs timing belt

now what im scared about is if it has a new head and needs timing belt it could very well have broke a timing belt and had a few valves playing around with pistons. can you do a compression test . if this happend he could just be saying it has a new head . and if it doesnt could end up needing head,piston,rods or even a new block if the cylinder wall were damaged right?

is there any way to calm my fears. would really like to get a dsm and this seems like a good deal i guess i have to at least try and pull valve cover to check for cams. how do you check for the dsm link? i figure if it at least has those i could proable get most of my money back with those two items and part the rest out and sell the shell.

thanks for helping out a newbie

 

[duecevr4]

jump on it, no doubt

 

[scottdsm4g63t]

a 1g ya i would for sure jump on that! yes you could do a compression check on it also but if the valves are bent/snapped and you start her up your gonna lose the whole motor. your better off just ripping the head off and checking it that way and save yourself alot of trouble. and if the valves are bad you already have the head off!! but yes buy it it not a bad deal 1g's are like unicorns now

 

[airmail96]

The easiest way to check for link is make him show you the program the cable and it plugged into the ECU and working . With the 280s i would check to make sure the springs were upgraded too those are some pretty big cams to be running with stock springs.

 

[96_killer]

man i would get it....

 

[kccombs]

It may be a good deal but also to good to be true deal. You need to find out why it has a new head in the 1st place. Like you said. Did it break a belt? And if he could have got a new head in sure he could have been able to afford a 50 dollar timing belt sel. Really the only why to chip for a dsm link is to look at the ecu under the dash behind the sterio. Unless you pull the ecu and crack it open to varity. But im sure he wont want you to do that unless he has the cash in his hand. But it may happen to be a good deal. But sounds shady to me. Since our dsm's just so happens to have the interference engines

 

[scottdsm4g63t]

You could always buy and Eclipse and convert it to a Talon. They are the same car other than bumpers and lights. If you found a 95 Eclipse it would be insanely easy to make it a Talon.

I have a thing for 95's as well, but that's just because of the EPROM, VLSD, and vented rear brakes that the early 95's came with. The fixed CAS is a pain, but it's a small price to pay.



I have seen this happen with 5K DSM's and seen 1K DSM's just have a bad coil pack and run like hell for years after it's replaced. It's not just one dollar amount over the other. Sure, that's a sign of the condition of the car, but not always the most important factor.

i was just saying for 4 grand you can get youself a desent everyday driver gsx to get around with but ya i know thats true there always them guys out there trying to rip someone off just gotta make sure you check everything before you buy it

 

[mx730md]

if it has the 280 cams what else would be easy to look for turbo injectors? how do you tell if it has larger injectors? turbo should be pretty easy to tell. think i might go look at it about 40miles away and if worst comes to worst looking at Craigslist i should beable to get my money back selling the motor out and selling the chasis . picture he sent looked clean had a big front mount intercooler as well which really isnt that big of a deal i guess

also what kind of hp range are the 280 built for with suporting mods? turbo injectors tunes?

but like you said how do you put a new head on but no timing belt? the ad make it sound like he needs money though so it could have been a project that he has to let go of fast he seem like a eager sellers i asked if price was firm and he said yes but then he text me back saying if i was still intrested maybe we could work something out.