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?

 

[davidmutchler]

money is reallly tight right now and i just need to get the car running and on the road. our truck broke 210miles away from home this weekend and we need to get a new altinator and belt for that. and im trding in my civic and what i paid on a engine for it towards parts for the car to get it running. and if it dont work Rocky'll give me another one. hes a good guy like that. i know its probally not the best. but itll have to do atleast for now =/

 

[Broken TSI]

All the 420a cars should have the same rad, it wouldn't make sense for them to have to make all kinds of different parts so yeah you should be alright to pull a rad from any 420a car.

 

[davidmutchler]

ok thnx

 

[Broken TSI]

Ok I did some cross referencing to back my answer about the radiator. Avenger and sebring 420 motors have the same part number. The DOHC neons do not match, nor do the single cams, prob has something to do with fitment. Plymouth breeze and cirrus rads will not work either, so stick with avenger and sebring.

 

[Redwidow]

Also because your car is an automatic you will need to get the automatic radiator because it has a transmission cooler in it and you have tranny lines that go into your radiator. Keep that in mind as well

 

[davidmutchler]

ok i know Rockys has a bunch of Avengers and a few Sebrings. atleast i hope he still doea. thanx guys

 

[Tanro]

Good deal on the car. You could easily get 2k off it if you get it running well. Or you could keep it as a DD.

 

[davidmutchler]

we got it running. all it needed was a battery . got that. just needs a radiator now and a few misc things. door handles, window . and were gunna paint her in the spring. so itll be pretty decent im hoping anyway the motor sounded strong though. no oil leaks. 143k miles. the fuel gauge dont work though but ohwell. im loving it more and more everyday. idc if its not perfect. but its mine so im happy

 

[One Equals Two]

Hey guys,

I am the guy that screwed himself over pretty recently with the GST TSi trade. But, I decided that the DSM daily driver idea wasn't a really good one in my opinion. So, I have got a chance to get my hands on a what seem to be good cars now, so I want to redeem myself. But this time I want to make sure I run the deal by a bunch of people to see what they say.

First off, I have a chance to get a pair of cars, one is a 95' Jetta III with 121,000 miles (manual) with a new timing belt, water pump, thermostat, and a coolant flush with fresh coolant for the winter. Original owners manual, 6CD, sunroof, AC, etc. Paint is so so. It runs and drives great, just the dash lights and the power mirrors and wipers are out and it has a cracked windshield so it fails safety. Passes emissions though. The guy has pictures, receipts and proof that the new parts were installed and were done by a VW mechanic. I have the mechanic's name too.

Second car is a 96 Mazda Protege (from the same guy) automatic, 1.5 liter (NO GUTS), 140,000 miles, the engine has had all new gaskets installed on it (head, intake, cam seals, main seals), and it doesn't leak at all. The car drives well and it has no issues and passes I/M. It's an ugly turquoise color, but it runs great. The tranny fluid was also flushed and has a new filter. He again has all receipts and proof of the work too.

He's going to give me both cars for $2,000 total, what do you guys think? Any input is appreciated. Thanks!

P.S. The Jetta has new hubcaps and side trimming too if that really matters.

 

[FUNWHEELDRIVE]

buy them, sell one and buy a cheap 1g tsi and build it
than u have a daily driver and a talon

 

[RayBan GST]

both cars are ugly and not worth 1 USD in my opnion sorry for that by this how i feel about these 2 cars, for 2K you can get a beautiful and clean 2G N/T if you want a daily driven car without any issues.

if you are looking for a NT cars then just go for the 2g N/T


good luck

 

[knochgoon24]

I think that DSMs make good DDs. It all depends on your goals with your car.

I'm personally not a fan of either of those cars.

 

[HurleyTSi]

DSMs can be good DDs if you know how to work on them.

$2k for both of those cars? So $1k each? Eh....sorry man but you take your own chances with $1000 dollar cars. Took me 2 tries before I got a good one. Good luck.

Honestly I'd recommend buying a Subaru or Nissan before buying those 2 cars. $2k could get you a decent AWD Legacy. Good in snow(Utah), good mpg, tough as hell.

But hey you get yourself 2 in this deal so when (not if) one breaks you got the other one to drive

 

[RedZonePR]

umm for 2k you can buy a new 4g63t motor.... and make it runs as it should... dont you think?? cuase i mean spending 2k for 2 cars that even though you got receipt for parts might not last or break after a week... on the other hand.. if one breaks you got the other.. but what if both break?? will you have the $$ to repair it??

 

[anmGST]

Yea man stay away from those. Don't kill yourself again. Keep the 2k and put it in you car.. I have had many DD DSM's. just have to take care of them.. If you really do not want the DSM as a daily, then keep looking there are tons of good cars out there for 2k, IE Hondas and Toyotas. If you lived near me I could have hooked you up with one already,

 

[Colt4G63 also]

A twenty year old DSM is a better DD than both of those cars put together IMO. "95 Jetta?!?" Nice car in 1995, pretty decent in 1996, plastic garbage in 2010 . Don't even get me started on the Protege'. The gayness factor makes it beyond consideration.

 

[Doubleot]

Doesn't sound too bad. But if you want em grab em who cares? Yes this is a dsm site but he didn't ask you guys if you would recommend a dsm for 2g's he asked if those two cars were worth 2g's. Hurls?! When did you get on here?

 

[ClevelandDSM]

Sooner or later it sounds like you will be trading all the way down to a happy meal, three buffalo nickles, and a spool of thread.

Just stand back a minute, and look at your situation again, before jumping into anything.

 

[Beemer92]

Well...here's my 2 cents. The Jetta would be good for a normal DD. However, it sounds like the car has some major electrical problems. Which can get very expensive very quickly. Good luck with that. The Mazda is a TOTAL piece of crap. Might be able to sell it to some idiot who doesn't know any better. I'd have to agree with anmGST and COLT. Put the 2k into the GST. Fix what you can and move on. Good Luck.

 

[4g63eagle]

But, I decided that the DSM daily driver idea wasn't a really good one in my opinion. ouch well imo a car is only as good as its mechanic. i know im building a dd dsm and lots of people have in the past its all about wrench time and quality if you put good in your gonna get good out if you put bad in your gonna get so i would not take the deal but i would never trade or sell my dsm for anything really but the end decision will be yours just make sure you dont jump in to anything head first again

 

[One Equals Two]

Thanks for the input guys. I actually bought the Jetta yesterday for $450 because I had the chance to get it that cheap. I am still not going on the Protege, and looks like I probably wont. He'll give it to me for $900. The Jetta ended up having three fuses that were old and cracked. Has no issues now.

About the 2g N/A's, I've been looking for freakin ever to find a clean one that's 5 spd. I am willing to drop the money to buy a clean 2g N/A, but no one has a clean one. I seriously haven't found anything worthy or reasonably priced. There's a 99 RS for $5,700 and that's the cleanest one, but it's riced out too. Then there's a 97 GS that is $3,600 so, I am not paying that. Everything else is either riced out or beat to hell or a combination of both. Unless someone has some hookups for a good 420a here in Utah, I think I may just search for something else.

Also, it may just be me, but some cars just don't hold together like others. I had a Honda Accord with 348,000 miles, and besides maintenance, it was just fine. Then I've had other cars like a BMW 530i and a Mazda RX8 that would randomly leave me stranded due to something stupid like a sensor or ECU issue. My last 2 turbo DSM's were that way. Stuff would randomly die and leave me stranded, and I think this is how they are. Yeah, a good mechanic knows how to keep his stuff running, but I don't think you can prepare for some things. I still like em' don't get me wrong, but I've never been able to depend on either of my DSM's for anything. The TSi wont start anymore, and the GST never seemed to run right.

So, I am looking for something that (although may be not so manly or slow) will get me where I need to go. As long as it's not a Honda, I hate Honda's. I wont go back!

 

[EclipticalGS]

Well, there good for haulin' stuff.

 

[HurleyTSi]

One Equals Two you're hopeless.

Are we gonna see another thread in about a week or two with you saying the Jetta is a POS and you got ripped off? I think you expect too much form 10+ year old cars.

 

[One Equals Two]

One Equals Two you're hopeless.

Are we gonna see another thread in about a week or two with you saying the Jetta is a POS and you got ripped off? I think you expect too much form 10+ year old cars.

Of course! Why not have high expectations? . Nah, no more complaining threads, I just wanted to run by the deal to see what people think. I'm convinced against the Protege now, which I guess is a good thing. I was very tempted to buy it.

Anyway, I've owned well over 50 cars, and I believe that older cars are the most cost effective. A lot less depreciation, and when they break, I don't care. My dad bought a Civic in 99 for $16,000 and in 02 it was worth $7,500. That's just too much money to lose in my opinion. So, I may as well buy two used cars, and when one breaks, I'll drive the other and fix the first.

 

[DSMDriver69]

i guess they would be ok to buy and then sell for more, but you can find a 2g eclipse for $2000. I bought my 98 gst for $2200. But that was at a dealers auction