what's up guys, well i finally made it. i bought a red fd with 76 k.
i paid a pretty penny for it and i am going to do an thorough inspection on it today.
i am not new to rotary's but i am new to fds is there any thing i should look for when doing my inspection

i am going to do a compression test
check diff and tranny fluids
i am going to do a block test for hydrocarbons in the coolant.
hoses
oil leaks
check suspension
lights
etc...
whats the best way to check out the twins?

thanks guys

 

Congratulations!! Welcome to the money pits!! You seem to have everything under control! Do post pics! Are you getting a compression test after you purchased the FD?

 

I wanna see!

 

Congrats! Where the pictures man?

 

i purchased the car with a contingency to return it if it doesn't pass my inspection.

so far i can tell the motor has been rebuilt at one time, because the irons have been painted. there is a oil leak coming from the top of the engine that i cannot see. it is seeping down the left side of the motor. it is hard to tell how big the leak is because the car was pressure washed.

i cannot see any body damage
it has a racing beat cat back some sort of springs and koni shocks. ss brake lines and a k&n filter. and turbo timer

the leather seats are in great condition as is the interior.
the interior drivers door handle is a little loose and the door lock feels worn, (the key is hard to turn)

hoses are all original
rad is original

the transmission grinds in first gear when down shifting above 15 mph

i checked out the twins and don't see any major leaks. there are trace amounts of oil seepage on them but i don't think it is an issue.

picks coming soon as long as the compression test turns out good

 

well bad news 75 lbs on each rotor. i really wanted at least 100
i dunno what to do

 

well a rebuild is going to cost at least $2000+ assuming you do everything yourself, or up to $9000 if you have someone else do it. not to mention that it's going to take anywhere from 1 to 3 months to have the car running.

if you cant afford it and don't want to wait that long then i would say take it back.

also....your sig is very confusing...

followed by
???

 

yeah it was running smooth untill it blew all of the oil out lol. i should change it

 

this guy must have been one hell of a salesman. if its still running on the stock twins, can almost gaurentee they need replaced. to check them i'd wire up a boost gauge and check pattern. also check to see wat color smoke is comming out your exhaust, that usually gives away turbo problems.

how much did you pay for it? i think your allowed 3 days to keep the car, before you cant take it back for a refund.

 

Sounds like the same thing I went through. I got mine for 11k and didn't go through the pre-purchase FD checklist of things to look for (this was before I got on the forum) and turned out I had low compression. The sequential system also was not working properly and was only seeing about 1psi of boost. I went through getting all the small problems fixed to get it back to normal, then fixed by going non-sequential. Spent a good amount of money on that.

But I finally decided to get it all taken care of with a rebuild and going single (more money).

If I could give you any advice, here it is. Find someone who is either certified, or just knows everything about the FD to look through the car (interior, suspension, engine). Find what parts are missing, what things in the engine and suspension are about to go out that will need to be replaced...etc. Basically you should identify all your problems right now before proceeding with your car (spending money). Once you do that, come to a conclusion of what you are wanting to get done to your car in terms of performance, body, suspension, interior. Now you should have a compromise between what needs to get done and what you want to get done without having spending the money on one part of that....then having to change what you have already spent money on fixing.

I hope this makes sense...I'm just trying to help.

 

i am an certified auto mechanic. and i have owned a 88 t2 for the last 3 years and have rebuilt many engines so thats not an issue.
they want 20k for the car, kbb says exelent condition is 21k. the privat party value in good condition is 18k
i figure if they will give me 3 or 4 grand off the price i will take it
i can still return it if i have to

 

Return it...unless they give you a BIG price break...

 

$20k for an FD with 76k miles? You need to look around the classifieds on this board. For $20k I'd expect something with closer to 30k miles. I realize that it is a dealer - but there is no particular advantage in buying from a dealer since they are even more likely to be clueless about FD than your average owner.

And with a blown engine, $8-$10k is more likely.

 

$20 grand is WAY TOO HIGH for an FD with the problems youve listed, much less one with 76000 miles.

id agree with the 8-10 thousand figure......leaning more toward 8.

 

20k is too much, 78K miles on turbos is pushing it unless it was rebuilt.. Kelly Blue Book prices are for normal wear/tear and who drives a FD like that!. Was it maintained like how you would do it?

Looks like they pressure washed it to hide something, but may be wrong assesment? Give them a cost estimate on labor/material expenses to rebuild transmission, engine rebuild and other things that need fixing. Otherwise return it, there are better bargains out there.

 

i paid 17k for a 94 fd with 52k ORIGINAL miles. and its great, hardly any problems so far. car was in mint cond, and btw...noone uses kbb any more. its over rated and banks no longer use it either because it doesnt calculate prices correctly. the one i used said my car was rated (in perfect condition) at 15,500. 20k is WAY overpriced for wat your getting, you can get much more for your money

 

I always have cars forsale

 

I'm still waiting on another deal like that silver/black base you had for sale a while back.

 

Hello

Thats way too much. There is or just was a one owner Black 94 or 93 on Ebay with records for a buy it now price of 22K.

As well I am in the process of buying a 93 Silver with Red Leather Touring edition with Bose. It only has 14000 original miles for about the same price. I only want it if ALL the paint is 100% original. Car is in the US east coast. I had posted some pics on another post. If that doesn't work out for what ever reasons maybe I can direct you to the seller (I have had one PM already asking me if I don't buy it to pass it to them so I would honor that person first).

Bottom line for all that you mentioned and I am by far no expert that is too expensive for the issues outlines and miles reading. It should be a 1OK to 11K car if requiring turbos and engine rebuild.

Max

 

well they took 5 grand off the price for the repairs.

 

FD with blown engines sell for about $8k. So now they want $15-$16k.

 

This is obviously a DEALER selling at full retail plus dollars.

So now you pay 15K at best from what you say and then add 5K plus dollars to rebuild it. THen you have the Turbos to deal with plus what ever else you haven't given thought to such as tires and breaks etc... You will be in excess of 20K easily for a car with 70 plus K miles and a price not matching if you were to resell it. Think of this. If you owned that car today with the rebuilt engine and turbo. Would you get 25K for it? I understand these cars hold their own and do so more than any other model regardless of brand. I don't think I know of any other car that holds more than 50% of it initial value after 15 years when it has yet to reach true collector car status at 25 Years of age. But thats still no reason to pay what you are paying when there are other examples out there that make more sense. Like said on on an earlier post. Look through the classified ads in this forum alone. THere are better deals. My 10 to 11K for a car that needs an engine rebuild was if EVERYTHING else was perfect. I am sure from what the car needs there is more to come.
I know its nice to look at with a clean interior and sexy lines but there are others. Just keep looking. Maybe your tempted because its close but transporting a car is easy and not expensive even if you factor the price to go and see it. Look more and farther or get more off the car. 11K should be your top offer if the rest is perfect. And thats pushing it as in the end you will end up with a price of 19K.

Regards

Max

 

well guys thanks for all of your advice. i am going to take the car back today. and wait for a better deal.
looks like i am gonna go back to the second gen section now
well at least i got to drive the **** out of it for a coupple days lol

 

Hello

Look around for the next few months. NOw is the time to buy as prices are down due to the winter season. If you find a Northern car that is stored the seller would be more willing to reduce the price. When summer comes the prices will go back up. I think you made a wise choice. There are other out there. Make your offer and leave your number. If the dealer calls you back you have nothing to lose if the price is in the 10K area or less.

Max

 

yeah i told them if it doesnt sell i would give them 10 grand and fix it up my self