First one was a 93, black/black. Fairly modded. Ugly sideskirts, spoiler, and bumper. Exterior shape was poor. Had an Apex'I intercooler SMIC I think, intake, Apex'I AFC on the dash, some nast huge stero system. Paint was in OK shape, 65,000kms on chassis, and 9,000 on a new motor. I 'heard' it was a rebuilt car... could explain some things. Asking 23,000 CDN. Also had 18" wheels with new rubber. Not bad..

2nd car, completely stock 93 base/touring. Sunroof. Stock except shift **** and exhaust, some Matrix big tip thingy. Exterior paint was in BAD shape. Lots of scratches, couple dents. Nothing a new paint job and some TLC couldn't fix. No smoke at startup, after a couple minutes looked like some steam coming out (its fairly cold here, 10c maybe?) 140,000kms (85,000mi). Stock engine and turbos from what the guy tells me. They are asking $20,900 CDN.

So the first car is a NO. 2nd car a maybe. If the compression checked out fine, is there anything I can check before getting a full inspection done? If the car wasn't bagged too hard what can I expect from the engine?

Thanks.

 

w/ 85k original engine/turbos you're looking at putting in a few grand in the near future...a good paint job down here is big $$$ also...so, you're looking at like 5k for good paint job and another 4k for the engine and turbo. make sure you're willing/able to fork the that money over....

 

Neither of those cars sounds all that great, but maybe you are just more discerning than normal (you personally don't seem that impressed). If the compression test works out good for the second one it could have 20k miles or more left. Lucky you, you live in Canada so there is much less of a chance of prior overheating. I wouldn't expect much more than 100k miles out of the motor though, definitely don't expect more than 120k, even if it was well kept. The first one is the one I'd go for if the motor is a good one, EXCEPT the possible rebuild title, I'd get to the bottom of that. Maybe you can negociate a better price without the stereo too if you don't like that. Also, keep in mind that the little things add up to more than the big things, so don't judge the car by just the engine and paint. Example: torn leather on the seat? Want new covers from Mazda? Prepare to pay $1000. Leaky OMP? $1200. Shot turbos? $2700. Hell, even a shift **** is $80. These are expensive cars so try and find one that'll need the least amount of fixing, you'll save a lot more money in the long run, unless you're a master of the ghetto mods and fixes (some of us are but not me).

 

Neither of those cars sounds all that great, but maybe you are just more discerning than normal (you personally don't seem that impressed). If the compression test works out good for the second one it could have 20k miles or more left. Lucky you, you live in Canada so there is much less of a chance of prior overheating. I wouldn't expect much more than 100k miles out of the motor though, definitely don't expect more than 120k, even if it was well kept. The first one is the one I'd go for if the motor is a good one, EXCEPT the possible rebuild title, I'd get to the bottom of that. Maybe you can negociate a better price without the stereo too if you don't like that. Also, keep in mind that the little things add up to more than the big things, so don't judge the car by just the engine and paint. Example: torn leather on the seat? Want new covers from Mazda? Prepare to pay $1000. Leaky OMP? $1200. Shot turbos? $2700. Hell, even a shift **** is $80. These are expensive cars so try and find one that'll need the least amount of fixing, you'll save a lot more money in the long run, unless you're a master of the ghetto mods and fixes (some of us are but not me).

 

check out www.bcrx7.com , I think there are a couple listed on there...

msg BFS on there, he might be selling his too

 

The first car sounds like a car that sold for around $18k CAD. Rumor has it that is was ragged on, although I have no hard evidence to substantiate that. Run the VIN.

What color was the second one?

thesaint

 

They are both black/black.

Ok, I found out the first one has:
4 salvage titles,
1 rebuilt title,
1 theft title

And the guy sold it to the dealer for 13k!!!

Thanks for the bcrx7 link! I'll look into that.

 

Why are you considering buying a car that is in such 'poor' shape? There are good FD's out there. Just have to be patient and persistent about finding them. I got mine about 6 months ago. Paid 16.500us. Car was stock with 49K miles. So far only thing I have had to do is replace a coolant hose. Keep looking. You will know the car when you see it.
Jason - Seattle

 

I agree completely. IMHO, a car that looks like it hasn't been taken care of on the outside (and both of the cars in the original post seem to fit this description) is generally an indicator of the car's overall condition. Have you ever seen a car that looked like **** on the outside but was in tip-top mechanical condition underneath? Me neither. I'd avoid both of these cars like the plague unless you're looking for a "project".

 

Thanks for the advice. You're all right, I will just be patient and find the right now. I'm just worred it'll take forever finding a black FD, good shape, in CANADA! I mean, there were less sold in Canada overall right? So it will be harder..

 

I would just wait. Be patient a good FD will find it's way to you. A little patience before the purchase will save you a lot of headache afterwards.

 

I would be much more concerned about the condition of the car, as opposed to the color. Does it HAVE to be black? If so, you may have to be a lot more patient. Even if I really, REALLY wanted a black FD, if a red one in excellent condition at a nice price suddenly appeared in front of me, I think I'd take it. You can always repaint the car, y'know.

 

I would just settle for a nice running FD!! I did a mistake of rushing into buying one rather than waiting and I had to spend big bucks just to have it run right! Goodluck!

 

If you had to go for one of the two, It would be the first one because of the new engine. Although Im sure its been a rough 9km on it thus far, from what youve described.