Starting a car for the first time in 3 years
 

S4 T2. I may be able to get it for 2500. Hasn't been started in 3 years. What do I need to do to start the motor? Obviously fresh gas in the tank, but what else? Directly put some oil in the lower spark plug holes and prey?

I just went through that with one that hadn't started in 6 years. Drain and replace all fluids. Replace oil and fuel filter. Like you said clean gas in the tank after draining the old gas. Then I shot the oil in the spark plug holes and cranked it a few times with the fuel pump cut off to spread the oile around real well. You will also get a bit of an indication of what kind of compression you have. Three good stong whooses from each rotor will be music to your ears. Hope this helps.

the best thing to do in my experience would be to first, go to store and get fuel stabelizer,2, gor marvels mystery oil and dump 1 oz per each plug hole [lower], you really have to be carefull on how much you dump. Take intake off and spray a bit of starting fluid in the chambers. But for gods sake drain oil immedietely after starting. Use only synthetic oils after all this. I started a 12a like this not long ago that sat for 6 yrs. It smoked like a bitch but ran flawlessly. For a extra pointer you might wanna use distilled water in the rad. Theres bound to be some corrosion in the water chambers. Hope you can get the car and hope you can get it running. Good luck

As soon as you can, give the cooling system a good detergent flush.
Old coolant can break down & form a gel that blocks flow & insulates heat transfer.

Search for some of Aaron Cake's posts on this topic. He's done some very good writeups on what you need to change before attempting to start a car that's been sitting.

-=Russ=-

I second that. If you search around under my name you should find several very detailed posts on how to store and unstore a car. We've covered this many times and I keep posting it because no one seems to know how to do it right. There are MANY steps before you even begin to think about starting the car...

find out why it hasnt been running for so long... i'm still working on my t2 that sat for 5 years... first, i found rust in the gas tank, then i found 0psi compression in the rear rotor. but hey, i got it for $600 so i got what i paid for.

Whatever you do don't pay $2500 for it!

Unless the exterior is freaking prefect.

Assume you'll haveta change out the tires at least, if not more.

Offer them $500 and pay no more then $800

If it's sat that long there is a reason. Don't get ripped off.

$2500 = GOOD to GREAT condition..RUNNING..

I might pay 2500 for a car that sat for 3 years. I don't know where you're from but $2500 doesn't equal Great running cond. in portland, OR. I paid 1900 for a good running 87 rx7 TII that ran for 3 mo's after I bought it(o-rings went). But after 3 years of sitting, I would change all engine fluids, and If they look bad(oil with water or vice versa) then there's a rebuild or new motor in your future if you buy. Also drain tank and change spark plugs and wires. But there could be some corrosion in there so the motor might not be rebuildable in the end if its bad on the inside. Good luck and with all hope that its in decent shape. 2500 isn't too much if the chassi/inteior is nice...

I was gonna purchase a fc from a guy as parts car last year. I brought a batt over and made sure electricals turned on and did some quick checks. Everything seemed fine, so I went to the bank to get the rest of my cash(mistake). The car had been sitting since 1995(I saw the inspection sticker). The owner thought he'd try to start "her" up. As a side note I was gonna have the car towed by flatbed to my house. He told me that he cranked it over three times it didn't start. On the fourth try he started it right up and he said it gased out his street. He actually moved the car a few inches.

After I got the car home I changed all the fluids and took her for a quick drive. The water pump went in about 5 mins.

But the whole thing is that my fc started up, the choice is yours if you want to give it a try or wait and double check everything.

I would say wait but I'm not you.