To Buy or Not to Buy
#1
Turbo GTUs Est. 1999
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To Buy or Not to Buy
I'm using my friends username because well, it won't allow me to start a new thread under a new username(understandably so :-D).
Today I test drove a 1990 FC. This would be my 2nd FC that I've owned, my other FC was an 88 that was painfully totalled about 2 years ago.
Upon first encountering the car I notice that it has been repainted Red, the original color being red. There is a tad bit of oversray on some areas. A few dings and small dents on the passenger and drivers doors, nothing too bad. No rust on the car, and other than the mufflers I didn't see any rust underneath the vehicle(FL car). There is some overspray and run on the front bumper below the passenger side turn signal...its kinda ugly but I could live with it.
I popped the hood and immediatly noticed the aluminum hood, car is bone stock as you will see from the pictures below.
The interior is pretty nice for its age. The leather wrapped steering wheel has a little wear, but nothing to bad. The shift-**** is worn, and the boot needs to be replaced or re-stiched at the top. The shifter bushings are worn, that will need to be replaced. The plush seats are in great shape, and the lumbar support is installed. It has full carpet no obvious tears.
The gas gauge doesn't work, yet the oil pressure does(wow...)
The sunroof pops up, but does not slide back. The motor runs, but it does not move out of the closed position. The man at the lot told me the car was broken into the previous night and the CD player was stolen, along with 3 other cars. The MX-3 a few cars down had the window smashed...eeek.
The power locks work fine. The power windows are ehh. The roll down fine from the drivers side control. The passenger side does not roll down from the passenger side. The driver's side does not roll up without a little pushing, it clicks, must be off it's track a little, my old FC had manual windows.
I started the car up and after the cold-start assist ran its course it sputtered a little bit at 750 and died. I started it again, gave it a few revs and let it drop down to idle, it sputtered and died. I started it up again, backed out and took it out on the road. I drove a half-mile gently, had to stop for a red light and it died when I slipped it into neutral. I was going about 10 mph, so I put it in 2nd and slipped the clutch out and it jumped back, made the turn and cruised down the next road.
I took a right onto Hoffner Ave, went about half of a mile and pulled into a side street. Well what do you know...a house with a NIICE CYM FD and a blue FB in the driveway. I drove past it with a smile on my face and turned back on to Hoffner. At the stop sign to get back onto Hoffner the car was idling now, the temp gauge read just under half-way(but we know how reliable those are )
It idled at 750 with a tad bit of movement, which is nicer than my 88's old idle.
I turned the AC on and the idle jumped to 900, the A/C ran for about 5 minutes and didn't really get as cold as it could have been.
I pulled back into the lot and stopped the car. Looked over it again, popped the hatch and hood to take some shots with my camera phone. This time when I attempted to close the hood it didn't latch all the way. I gave it a few firm pushes and it still didn't latch, couldn't get it to lock into place
The price is 2795 with 113,000 miles on a 1990 GXL.
I'm a little hesitant. It would be nothing to replace the shifter bushings, shifter and now broken radio surround, and the idiot lights surround.
How hard is it to fix the associated problems with the sunroof(not opening) and the power windows problems?
How hard to would it be to fix the broken gas gauge?
Pictures:
Sorry if the quality isn't the greatest, I had to use my cell phones camera.
Today I test drove a 1990 FC. This would be my 2nd FC that I've owned, my other FC was an 88 that was painfully totalled about 2 years ago.
Upon first encountering the car I notice that it has been repainted Red, the original color being red. There is a tad bit of oversray on some areas. A few dings and small dents on the passenger and drivers doors, nothing too bad. No rust on the car, and other than the mufflers I didn't see any rust underneath the vehicle(FL car). There is some overspray and run on the front bumper below the passenger side turn signal...its kinda ugly but I could live with it.
I popped the hood and immediatly noticed the aluminum hood, car is bone stock as you will see from the pictures below.
The interior is pretty nice for its age. The leather wrapped steering wheel has a little wear, but nothing to bad. The shift-**** is worn, and the boot needs to be replaced or re-stiched at the top. The shifter bushings are worn, that will need to be replaced. The plush seats are in great shape, and the lumbar support is installed. It has full carpet no obvious tears.
The gas gauge doesn't work, yet the oil pressure does(wow...)
The sunroof pops up, but does not slide back. The motor runs, but it does not move out of the closed position. The man at the lot told me the car was broken into the previous night and the CD player was stolen, along with 3 other cars. The MX-3 a few cars down had the window smashed...eeek.
The power locks work fine. The power windows are ehh. The roll down fine from the drivers side control. The passenger side does not roll down from the passenger side. The driver's side does not roll up without a little pushing, it clicks, must be off it's track a little, my old FC had manual windows.
I started the car up and after the cold-start assist ran its course it sputtered a little bit at 750 and died. I started it again, gave it a few revs and let it drop down to idle, it sputtered and died. I started it up again, backed out and took it out on the road. I drove a half-mile gently, had to stop for a red light and it died when I slipped it into neutral. I was going about 10 mph, so I put it in 2nd and slipped the clutch out and it jumped back, made the turn and cruised down the next road.
I took a right onto Hoffner Ave, went about half of a mile and pulled into a side street. Well what do you know...a house with a NIICE CYM FD and a blue FB in the driveway. I drove past it with a smile on my face and turned back on to Hoffner. At the stop sign to get back onto Hoffner the car was idling now, the temp gauge read just under half-way(but we know how reliable those are )
It idled at 750 with a tad bit of movement, which is nicer than my 88's old idle.
I turned the AC on and the idle jumped to 900, the A/C ran for about 5 minutes and didn't really get as cold as it could have been.
I pulled back into the lot and stopped the car. Looked over it again, popped the hatch and hood to take some shots with my camera phone. This time when I attempted to close the hood it didn't latch all the way. I gave it a few firm pushes and it still didn't latch, couldn't get it to lock into place
The price is 2795 with 113,000 miles on a 1990 GXL.
I'm a little hesitant. It would be nothing to replace the shifter bushings, shifter and now broken radio surround, and the idiot lights surround.
How hard is it to fix the associated problems with the sunroof(not opening) and the power windows problems?
How hard to would it be to fix the broken gas gauge?
Pictures:
Sorry if the quality isn't the greatest, I had to use my cell phones camera.
Last edited by JAPSPECGTUs; 03-05-06 at 02:22 PM.
#4
Turbo GTUs Est. 1999
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Is my description too thorough? I wouldn't think that would scare people away from helping someone out
The remedial problems though, are they easy to fix?
I'm not sure how hard it would be to fix the gas guage or the sunroof, or the hood not closing all the way.
The remedial problems though, are they easy to fix?
I'm not sure how hard it would be to fix the gas guage or the sunroof, or the hood not closing all the way.
#5
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id say try to talk him down a bit. i overpaid for my gtu (3150) i just can see myself payin close to 3k again for a n/a FC. especially when i just picked up a vert for 200 that just needs some TLC and a trans.
#6
Turbo GTUs Est. 1999
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Yeah I hear ya. There isn't anything MAJORLY wrong with car. Just a few things stand out such as the A/C not being very cold(its Florida, thats important). The gas guage stuck on empty. Of course the wiper's do not work intermitently(sp?). I'm gonna shoot for 2400. The paint is cheap...I can tell...don't even know if it will survive a 1200 grit wetsand and some polishing compound to get rid of the orange peel look in some spots.
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#8
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i actually paid 450 for an 87 fc w/81000 miles.......but if wasnt running at the time. however, istill think the price can come way down. a radio surround brand new is probably about 100 bucks alone not to mention the other issues.
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