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?

 

[Speedemon636]

Seems fairly clean.. Does the seller have receipts on all the work that is claimed to be done? Looks like the timing belt has a few miles on it. I would definitely get rid of that "GSX" painted on the center tail light section. The duct tape on the intake may be taped on heat shield to keep the incoming air from getting hot. It doesnt really make a big difference unless it's on a full blown race car. Looks like an HKS bov as well?

 

[bryanjenkins121]

Yes it is a 5 spd, and im trying to learn the ropes of working on cars. My dad is a mechanic and has been under the hood since he was my age. So i will have someone who knows cars in general, just not specifically DSM. (he has never touched one)

 

[jhicks92]

seems clean. make sure its not knocking or grinding and go with it. alot of these cars are abused. ive seen abused cars that look good and run good for a while then just take a dump later.

 

[jayson427]

Looks like a good buy. Just test drive it and look over everything or bring your dad to help. Overall looks worth it.

 

[slickers111]

Should be posted in "The Hangout"

Make sure theres fuel mods if hes running 20psi on a 16G. I saw no SAFC.
If youre not a mechanic, and you get the car, better be prepared to become one.
You will want to know all the mods done to the car, for reference on further mods/breakdown diagnostics.

Let the car run for a while, listen to it. Then take it for a drive. You gotta pay attention to the car.(Noticing any unmentioned hiccups) If the fuel system is stock, lower the boost.

I like the car. But then again, I like any DSM.

 

[Cdc1221]

I would definitely consider pulling the plugs and looking them over for a lean condition. Of course, he shouldn't be able to run 20 psi without hitting fuel cut. But if its runs decent, 2500 isn't horrible at all

 

[rydereclipse]

I would buy it for $2500

 

[eDeclpse92]

i would take a compression tester with you. Dsm's don't take that long to do a compression test. I would defintiely take your dad since he has been a mechanic for a long time. And he would know how to do a compression test if you don't. If the numbers are low, I'd steer clear of it, but if they are good, then I'd say it's a nice buy! Also look at the oil and see how that looks.

Like mentioned before, he needs to have the ability to control hid fuel and I didn't see anything that could do that. I would ask how he was able to avoid fuel cut which is about 15 or 16 psi on a stock turbo. Correct me if I'm wrong guys.

 

[markeski]

I have a newb question for the forums. I've never had to sell an eclipse before so I really have no idea what my car is worth. Obviously blue book value figures in somewhere with the car but it is modified and much cleaner and immaculate compared to the run of the mill car from 1995.

I have spent probably close to $20k over the past year building and restoring the car with the larger expenses being $4k on a paint job, the actual cost I spent on the car at $4k and about $7k on extensive maintenance and performance modifications and tuning (dsmlinkv3, mh1 16g turbo, ets fmic, thermal exhaust, injen intake, fic 1100cc injectors, 255 aeromotive pump, aem gauges, and a seibon carbon fiber hood and enkei wheels) tuning and installation of the parts was done by a reputable tuning shop (boostin performance). The car has very low original miles at 83000. A/C doesn't work and it an automatic (which is more a matter of preference, I actually sought out auto when I purchased the car)

I was asking $6999 for the car which is a very small percentage of what I've poured into this car, but my life has immensely changed since the cars build with having recently gotten married into a family with 2 kids I've adopted and 1 of my own now on the way. A van would probably be more ideal then a 4 seater sports car at this point. So am I on point for the work done or am I too high/low?

I posted the for sale ad here:
1995 Eclipse GST tuned by Boostin Performance - DSM Classifieds

Any help or suggestions/opinions would be greatly appreciated.

 

[airmail96]

The car looks good, the motor is the original motor? Whats the interior look like?

 

[boost97gst]

Youre not asking too much. Whats going on is most people look for manuals. The auto fwd is probably great but its not going to fetch your asking price. How do you have that much money in it without a fully built block and head? Did i miss that in the ad?

Ive got, im guessing, over 11k in mine. It looks great. Even if it didnt have a (prematurely) cracked ring(still mad about this) i wouldnt expect to get more than 3k out of it. You might have to settle for 5k, if the interior and wiring are in very very good shape.


Ooooooor, what a lot of people do is part it out. You might get more for it that way. I cant say for sure

 

[markeski]

the interior is pretty pristine, its original greyish blue interior cloth. I'm going to post up some pictures of it tonight.

a lot was spent in restoration costs, door seals, new glass and moldings and new paint job was a good portion of spending costs. the cost spent also reflects labor costs, not just part costs which were all purchased new, as this was mostly done by shops not myself.

 

[jhicks92]

clean. a$$. car. the end.

 

[koafallenangel]

If everyrhing is legit as he says go for it, just remember the more money you save, the more money you can invest in your DSM I live in hawaii so already this price is lower than what i would spend because everything is shipped here so its super expensive to build DSMs.

 

[Doubleot]

just remember the more money you save, the more money you can invest in your DSM

So true just bought my spyder 2 weeks ago for a steal and its almost ready for all the awd componenets. My birthday is coming up as well, lets see what kind of coilover deals the venders have for Christmas time

 

[fi3ndx]

Let me first start off by saying this is my first post so sorry for any mistakes I make. I am in high school looking to buy my first car. I found a 1997 eclipse for sale for $2000 not sure what trim yet (will update once seller messages me back). Its a Manuel and according to the posting has had the following work done New exhaust system from headers back with 4in exhaust tip
-just replaced o2 sensor on upstream
-brand new battery
-recent tune up and oil change, new coil pack, wires, and plugs
-had new fuel pump put in about 3 months ago
it has 135k miles
I know this isn't the most reliable most practical choice for a high school student but cars are my passion so i don't mind spending a little extra. Currently i don't know that much about cars because I am a hands on learner and need a car to learn with but if i did buy the car I plan on trying to do what maintenance I can myself. I am just curious if there are any deal breakers or anythings i should know about the eclipse before buying one. Any responses would be appreciated, thanks. here is a picture of the eclipse for sale

 

[crash89]

Looks like a non turbo. I mean, if it drives straight and doesnt have any strange noises or wobbles I think its a "decent" price.. I bought my 1g awd for less though.

 

[AK Maniak]

That's a non turbo RS. I had a 98 RS as my first car in high school and I loved it. Perfect 1st car IMO. mine was a 5 speed and in pretty good condition. Good lookin car and good MPG. Try talking him down on price a bit if you can although 2k isn't horrible, it's not great either.

 

[evoredy]

Looks like an RS. (2.0 /non-turbo).

While RS's and GS's should be OK if well maintained at 130K miles, what alarms me is that there has been some modifications to it (exhaust mainly). The car would be a good car for you to drive around and be reliable if it had no modifications, which this one has. The price is too high as this takes away from the value and honestly may even hurt the power that it makes factory.

I would keep searching. If power is your goal, an RS/GS would not be the car for you, but reliability will be the trade off say compared to a turbo model or another performance car. I know when I was in high school, my job was barely enough to afford gas and have some spending change to go out with friends let alone maintain my car .

 

[99ECLIPSEGSXDSM]

Doesn't look to bad at all. Make sure you check all the usual spots for rust. I had one for my first car and I made some awesome memories in/with it

 

[boost97gst]

Great car. Just like i tell everyone: Just cause it looks fast doesnt mean its fast. Dont romp on it and it will last forever. The biggest problem i see.... here comes the dad part: the crash tests on these little cars are just horrible. I mean, they are just unsafe, flat out. Being in HS im guessing youre 16 or 17 and when i was that age, i did get in a few wrecks. Nothign bad. Just something for you to consider

Other than that, if theres no leaks, funny noises, broken little pieces everywhere? Then 2k isnt that bad. Might be more like a 1300 car in my opinion.

 

[fi3ndx]

$2000 didnt seem too bad to me? This is the cleanest eclipse I have seen for that low. I dont know if it has something to do with where I live but all the eclipse in the $1000 range are on their last leg. The posting did say or best offer i think i will try offering like $1,500.

 

[boost97gst]

Yea, 1500 sounds good. I know what ya mean. Atleast with gst/gsx/tsi's around STL area. Price is higher than what i hear most of these guys saying they got theirs for. Also supply is low. I sold a 98 with iirc, 230 or 250k miles on it for 1350 a few yrs ago. Sold in 2 days. First caller bought it.

 

[fi3ndx]

Some guy wanted $1350 for a 98 gs with 250,000 miles and it had a problem with the o2 sensor.

 

[Silver99OZ]

The price is not bad at all, I would say its fair. These cars sell for higher prices in the northeast for some reason. The majority of the ones up for sale are shit boxes. Make sure to look over the car really good. Check the strut towers for rust, look down the back side of the engine and check for oil leaks as the N/T cars had head gasket issues from the factory.