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?

 

[DreamChaser7]

Lifter tick or A ROD KNOCK??? Sometimes it is hard to tell. An old timers trick is to pull a plug wire from the motor while it is running and see if it goes away. If it does, it is a rod.
Single lifter tick on a 4g motor isn't something I have experienced, and our motors use a roller design. Usually it is all or none in my cases but I do have one 1990 TSI that has a "tick" and I am pretty sure it IS NOT a lifter, I believe it to be the start of a rod bearing so I parked it IMMEDIATELY. I hope others will chime in to give opinions and try and help you in decision making!

Mine had a horrible tick before I tore it down. I was told many years ago it was a timing belt issue by a mechanic but not sure how that makes sense. Never did enough research or figured out what it was before I tore it down. I do remember it went away when I revved the motor. Any thoughts anyone on what that probably was?

 

[1990TSIAWDTALON]

Timing tensioner arm on a wore out tensioner possibly.

 

[97egl]

So after some time, I've got the funds and set up a meeting time for a different car. I think it looks like its in good condition. No idea what's in the passenger airbag spot, but not a big deal. For some reason, however, I'm not seeing the air filter? Post says it runs and drives. Gonna head up and test it out on Sunday probably. The post is in Spanish, but he basically said the inside is 99% and outside is 90%. Listed for 8k, I talked him down to probably $5,400 if everything goes good on the test drive and I confirm the title is clean. I did notice the dent on the driver side just behind the door. Thoughts? Did I just not see the air filter? Any input is appreciated!

Check the strut towers and rocker pinch welds and wheel well lips for rust. It looks to be in good shape rust wise but pics are small. 5400 isn't a bad deal for a mostly rust free car. If it's a GSX that's a very good deal IMO.

As far as the dent that's not a great spot but if the paint isn't cracked it may be able to be fixed using paintless dent removal. Even if it does require body work beyond paintless I would rather deal with that than rotted out strut towers or rockers.

No air filter in the picture. Just an open turbo. That doesn't mean it wasn't taken off to clean the filter. Hopefully there's one on there when you go to look at it.

Looks like the drivers seat was replaced with a seat from a different model car and appears to be missing the trim around the base of the seat. Also missing the driver door sill.

 

[SixBolt_16G]

Thats a tough spot for a dent. A PDR guy can make it look better but might still need some conventional work. Such a hard impact at that spot most likely forced the energy to the edge and split the paint along the seam (I think I can see where the color changes to bare metal at the edge). Would need to pull some that from the outside, which would require attaching glue pucks, which will pull the paint off if that is a split in the paint, close to the pull area.. If the rest of the paint is good on the quarter panel, might be able to do a blend to keep the cost down, but im not as familiar with paint, only in the areas when I needed a paint guy to cover my f***up .

Just keep in mind... its a 25+ year old go-fast car that someone has modified. It can idle and drive great right now, but the maintence money is destined to be calling for you sooner than later. So factor that into your decision.

 

[99dsmer4g63]

FWIW anytime I see an ad that is in Spanish I close it immediately and look elsewhere. For the record Im not a racist I hate all races and people equally including my own.

One the interior looks like a bay of rice personally. Spray painted interior panels are a red flag to me.

The engine dipstick is snapped off in the tube. Exhaust manifold is missing bolts at the head.
The o2 sensor wiring looks like a chotch did it

Judging by the junk under the wiper cowl and the green mildew in the crevices, the car sits under a tree more than anything and doesn’t move much.

Probably someone’s project that just needs a “tune” and the CEL is on because of an o2 sensor is bad.

That’s just from the pictures. I promise you it will be worse once you get there.


-Daniel

 

[sxcculents]

Hey guys, apologies if I am resurrecting a dead thread but I wanted to get a ballpark on what my 1g Eclipse GSX might be worth.
It is a 1991 Eclipse GSX Panda 5 speed with 59,750 original miles. I purchased it from a family who had it stored in their garage for the past 15 years or so. 100% stock and completely rust free. No check engine light and everything works. Clear coat great all across the car. Interior is perfect except for classic 1g airbag/dash peel on the right side. I just put new Continental DWS06s on it and changed the power steering and alternator belts along with new copper plugs. I feel like this car is a bit too much of a time capsule for me to put miles on or modify so I am tentatively planning to sell it in the spring. I wanted to get some ideas for what it is worth private-party or on BAT. Thanks guys.

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[DreamChaser7]

I’m thinking 12-15k on BAT if it’s that nice and up on maintenance items.