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?

 

[JosephSMendez]

I was in Car sales for a long time I recommend you make sure it has not had major damage like water damage or anything else run an Autocheck and Carfax on it then if it comes back clean make an offer. Check to see that it was serviced well. Watch out for rust throughs.

 

[JosephSMendez]

Before you spend cash on it take it for a test driver also have it inspected by a shop they usually charge $50 bucks or so but its worth it because if they find something wrong you missed with the vehicle then you can use that to bargain down the price

 

[Fireraven]

I got one for the group. Maybe not how much is this worth but how much you would charge. For it? Man it looks rough says its got 6.7k miles on it but who knows. Old guy I bought it from was a car builder of note. What you guys think?

 

[ChessmoDSM]

I got one for the group. Maybe not how much is this worth but how much you would charge. For it? Man it looks rough says its got 6.7k miles on it but who knows. Old guy I bought it from was a car builder of note. What you guys think?

Meh, DSM guys know what this is, as it's a one off "concept car", the only thing rough about it is the top which is being replaced from what I understand, so it's worth whatever someone will pay for this kind of "niche" DSM, to compare it to what the asking price is for non concept cars would not be fair or accurate. I don't think the owner is selling it anyway so we have no idea what he would be setting his asking price at, so it doesn't matter what we "think" it might be worth.

 

[Fireraven]

Of course it is a legit question. Am I selling it not really" but everything has a price" especially right before show season. I just know a less than 10k miles g1 tsi is valued at 25 ish. And not replacing the top just the Targa cover on the back for when the top is down. And "niche" is an odd term. It is one of the release cars for the model. It was built and shown a year before anyone had one. I was just wondering 110% value of a clean g1 tsi or 150% or some basic idea. I spent quiet a bit fine tuning the defect of what it was before I got it. Which was exactly what it is the release concept. That was only designed to move 50 miles under its own power. I would love an even trade for the N4S .

So I guess you could ask would you as a car person have bought it yourself?
If so what would you think is a fair market price for it?

 

[Daniel Sheffield]

Heys guys. I’m new to the DSM community. I’m going to look at a 1997 eclipse spider tomorrow evening. I am not sure if it is a gs or a gs-t Is there anything I should be looking out for to see if the car is worth it or not? Please let me know any help is appreciated

 

[Fireraven]

How much they asking for it? You should look for wires being messed up under hood for sure.

 

[AWD-Tony]

Heys guys. I’m new to the DSM community. I’m going to look at a 1997 eclipse spider tomorrow evening. I am not sure if it is a gs or a gs-t Is there anything I should be looking out for to see if the car is worth it or not? Please let me know any help is appreciated

That’s a GS non turbo. How much are they asking and is that what you’re looking for?

GSt comes with a turbo 4g63. I think that’s a 4g64

 

[Daniel Sheffield]

They are asking $500. He said that he thinks the fuel pump is broken. It does not run currently but it ran a month ago or so when he parked it due to the fuel pump

 

[Daniel Sheffield]

How much they asking for it? You should look for wires being messed up under hood for sure.

Thank you for the help

 

[AWD-Tony]

They are asking $500. He said that he thinks the fuel pump is broken. It does not run currently but it ran a month ago or so when he parked it due to the fuel pump

You can spray starter fluid into the manifold where the brake booster hose connects to, if it starts, it’s fuel related. If it doesn’t start, it’s not fuel related.

 

[Daniel Sheffield]

You can spray starter fluid into the manifold where the brake booster hose connects to, if it starts, it’s fuel related. If it doesn’t start, it’s not fuel related.

Thanks for the tip I will try that

Do you think it is a good deal for $500 if it is a fuel problem?

 

[AWD-Tony]

Do you think it is a good deal for $500 if it is a fuel problem?

You can’t expect too much from a $500 car. If the owner is indeed truthful and it only needs a fuel pump, it’s not a bad deal considering it’s a running/driving car. To be honest, it’s just not my style...but I’m picky AF

More important question is what’s your plan with it? Are you looking for performance or just you just want to own a non turbo 2g spyder?

 

[Daniel Sheffield]

You can’t expect too much from a $500 car. If the owner is indeed truthful and it only needs a fuel pump, it’s not a bad deal considering it’s a running/driving car. To be honest, it’s just not my style...but I’m picky AF

More important question is what’s your plan with it? Are you looking for performance or just you just want to own a non turbo 2g spyder?

Roger that. I’m just looking for something cheap to get into the car scene with while I save up for a better project.

 

[AWD-Tony]

Roger that. I’m just looking for something cheap to get into the car scene with while I save up for a better project.

If your goal is to get into the car scene, just save up, do your research and be patient. I don’t like this one if that’s your goal. Just my 2 cents. If you decide to pull the trigger, good luck with it. I don’t have any experience with that motor, but I’m sure some of the gurus here will help if you need it.

 

[Daniel Sheffield]

If your goal is to get into the car scene, just save up, do your research and be patient. I don’t like this one if that’s your goal. Just my 2 cents. If you decide to pull the trigger, good luck with it. I don’t have any experience with that motor, but I’m sure some of the gurus here will help if you need it.

Thanks for your 2 cents

 

[3g Hellhound]

hey i just came across a 97 gst for 2k but it has a blown turbo. Should I ask him to come down on price? He said he was driving it on the highway and it spewed white smoke. Also is the motor shot also or just the turbo? Or would I not know that with taking off the exhaust manifold. Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[Jimbo slice]

Hows it going im new to the site and trying to get back into the dsm world. I'm going to look at a 98 awd tsi this weekend and the car looks very nice and has a laundry list of mods and upgrades to the car the guy is asking 8k just for the car and has a "built" motor outta the car for extra is this price within any bit of a reasonable asking price?

 

[pauleyman]

hey i just came across a 97 gst for 2k but it has a blown turbo. Should I ask him to come down on price? He said he was driving it on the highway and it spewed white smoke. Also is the motor shot also or just the turbo? Or would I not know that with taking off the exhaust manifold. Any help is greatly appreciated.

My crystal ball is broken. Only way for you to know what's wrong is to run some tests. Compression, leakdown, coolant pressure etc. How does the owner know its just a turbo or is he guessing?

 

[3g Hellhound]

My crystal ball is broken. Only way for you to know what's wrong is to run some tests. Compression, leakdown, coolant pressure etc. How does the owner know its just a turbo or is he guessing?

I suppose I'm taking his word for it. He runs a dealership and it was his daily. The more I type the more fishy this feels. I don't think he will let do compression tests etc. Just say it is the turbo. Is it safe to drive home? Is the engine totaled?

 

[pauleyman]

I suppose I'm taking his word for it. He runs a dealership and it was his daily. The more I type the more fishy this feels. I don't think he will let do compression tests etc. Just say it is the turbo. Is it safe to drive home? Is the engine totaled?

As I said before. There is no way for any if us to know what you're asking. Think about it. You haven't even provided anything more than it blows white smoke. You're going to have to give us more information. Anything else is a wild ass guess.

 

[3g Hellhound]

I appreciate the honesty. I'll see what I can do.

 

[pauleyman]

I can tell you this much. Here is what we know based on what you said. It's blowing white smoke. This is usually indicative of "burning" coolant. As this is a turbo car and in stock form, it's water-cooled then it is possible for the coolant to be going into the turbo, turbo is not any good and the only symptom is really white smoke and of course, over time it will lose coolant. Here is what can be done. If the seller doesn't allow it then it's bought at your own risk. You can test the coolant in the car for combustion by-products. If coolant were only leaking into the turbo you may not find any. This test isn't foolproof because of course, you have exhaust going through your turbo. If this is a blown head gasket or cracked head then you will most certainly find combustion by-products in the coolant. Additionally, if you have a head gasket or cylinder head issue (both potential causes of white smoke) then the car likely won't run (idle) well.
So...all that being said what do we know about the car?
Does it idle well?
Does it rev freely?
Does the coolant or oil look odd/milky?
Does the radiator hose balloon or is it very stiff while the engine is running?
Does the owner have anything to add to the story "it just blew smoke on the highway"? Example...I was getting on it hard then.... Or it was literally on cruise then out of nowhere....smoke. Or I didn't notice the temp needle buried in the red then boom...white smoke. What does he know and/or is willing to tell you.
If you can't figure out for sure then assume the motor is hurt and price the car accordingly. My price would be 1000$ unless it's very clean or has some mods that can be sold or used etc. Depends on the condition of everything else that isn't broken.

 

[3g Hellhound]

I can tell you this much. Here is what we know based on what you said. It's blowing white smoke. This is usually indicative of "burning" coolant. As this is a turbo car and in stock form, it's water-cooled then it is possible for the coolant to be going into the turbo, turbo is not any good and the only symptom is really white smoke and of course, over time it will lose coolant. Here is what can be done. If the seller doesn't allow it then it's bought at your own risk. You can test the coolant in the car for combustion by-products. If coolant were only leaking into the turbo you may not find any. This test isn't foolproof because of course, you have exhaust going through your turbo. If this is a blown head gasket or cracked head then you will most certainly find combustion by-products in the coolant. Additionally, if you have a head gasket or cylinder head issue (both potential causes of white smoke) then the car likely won't run (idle) well.
So...all that being said what do we know about the car?
Does it idle well?
Does it rev freely?
Does the coolant or oil look odd/milky?
Does the radiator hose balloon or is it very stiff while the engine is running?
Does the owner have anything to add to the story "it just blew smoke on the highway"? Example...I was getting on it hard then.... Or it was literally on cruise then out of nowhere....smoke. Or I didn't notice the temp needle buried in the red then boom...white smoke. What does he know and/or is willing to tell you.
If you can't figure out for sure then assume the motor is hurt and price the car accordingly. My price would be 1000$ unless it's very clean or has some mods that can be sold or used etc. Depends on the condition of everything else that isn't broken.

I will definitely take all of this into consideration when looking at the car. I only got to speak to the owner about it briefly but im very excited about this car and I hope I can just swap turbos and move along. I don't have much experience but I'll report back with findings.

 

[pauleyman]

I will definitely take all of this into consideration when looking at the car. I only got to speak to the owner about it briefly but im very excited about this car and I hope I can just swap turbos and move along. I don't have much experience but I'll report back with findings.

hope for the best but plan for the worst.