hey guys, i wanted to buy this car and i was wondering if 16k would be a reasonable price assuming he has all receipts and eveerything was A ok.

96K miles on the chassis, about 1000 miles on rebuilt engine (ported and blueprinted motor)
New rotor housings, new turbos, new fuel injectors, new fuel pulsation dampener,
new O2 sensor, new fuel filter, new passenger side door handle.
SS downpipe,
HKS Super Mega Flow Intake,
Fluidyne radiator,
ACT S/S clutch and lightweight aluminum flywheel,
Greddy blow-off valve,
Greddy hard pipe kit w/ Greddy elbow,
silicone vacuum lines Mild streetport on intake and exhaust ports,
port matched upper and lower intake manifold,
polished engine bay,
Eibach springs,
Tokico 5-way adjustable shocks,
carbon fiber dash trim,
Greddy turbo timer,
Alpine detachable head unit and 6-disc CD changer,
boost gauge.

 

sounds like my car minus a few gauges, powerFC, and greddy FMIC

err, wheels, and a few more things

anyways, i wouldn't sell my car for less than $20k

so...if it helps...

does he have receipts for the motor? who rebuilt it? wouldn't it still be in it's breakin period? who the hell would sell a car when he hasn't even had the chance to drive it properly yet...be wary of that

 

yeah he has receipts and was done by sidepex engineering in Southern cal. He's selling it cuz he's using the money on a new car he just bought. Like i said..assumng the body and everything was running how it should be, would it be an honest buy? I like the fast that it isn't a reman and it was the oem motor with new parts ya know? any thoughts?

 

There are such things as "bad rebuilds". So a rebuild isn't necessarily better than a reman.

However, as with any car, get a compression test. Check the paint, check the interior for wear, etc... If all that checks out, the price looks real good.

 

yeah def gonna get a test ...he seems like a pretty good guy...nonetheless compression test is very important...thanks for the advice guys...i use to own a 97 240sx with an s14 sr20det...wanted to try something new...the fd's handling just can't be beat....awesome car...

 

if everything is A okay, it sounds like a good buy!, and welcome to the rotary world!
adam
P.S. make sure you save up room on your credit card!!
mods and repairs are costly

 

you didn't say ECU? you better make sure its either new or remapped

 

As far as the ecu, i mean wouldn;t that be obvious?With all the intake and exhuast porting, wouldn;t the ecu HAVE to be remapped for it to run properly? I would know right away if there was a problem.

 

Find out about the ECU, because that would add another $1300 for a really good, ECU, which you probably should have considering the condition of the car.

But other than that, yeah $16K is a lot less than you would spend to do all that yourself. Figure you can buy a stock one for $14k or so, and that probably has $15k in mods on it. Looks like a good deal to me

 

Looks like a good deal assuming the compression is good, and he has some sort of fuel management (ecu). If he doesn't, don't touch it. Ask for reciepts for everything and a full documentation of maintenance.

 

so as far as the ecu, what should i be looking for?

 

so as far as the ecu, what should i be looking for? this is awesome advice guys! thanks

 

also, as far as the compression test, can i just go to a dealer or dioes it have to be a specialist?

 

Ask him if the ECU has been reprogrammed, if he says yes, ask to see the unit. Chances are it will have M2 or Pettit or the like stamped on the casing. If it's not on the casing, request reciepts that fully describe and leaves you with no doubt that it has been reprogrammed. Any reputable shop would provide this.

If it's not a remapped ECU, ask if he has a stand-alone such as a Power FC, Microtech, AEM etc. Ask to see the unit if he says yes and confirm that it comes with the car. Also be sure to ask him who tuned it and if he could provide some contact info for the tuner.

If he has no ECU modification (stand-alone or remapped) then just walk away. If at anytime you feel like the deal might be a little shady then either walk away or come back and ask more questions. Don't be afraid to let this one slip thru your fingers as there are many many more out there just like it or better. Patience and research are the key to buying a nice FD.

 

I wouldn't worry about looking for an ECU. If the guy was smart (and I'm sure he is), he probably sold his aftermarket ECU separately and stuck the stock ECU back in the car.

Most aftermarket ECU's run around $1000 or so. However, they don't necessarily add an extra $1000 onto a used car so that would be money he could get quick by selling it (and maybe some other parts like a aftermarket IC) separately.

Plenty of people have done engine break-ins for ported motors using the stock ECU. However an aftermarket ECU should be in the plans for a car like that for the next owner.

As far as a compression test, the dealer can do one. I think usually run around $65 or so...

 

aaight, ill ask him and see what's going on with that. I know for a fast he doesn't have a stand alone or power fc, so we';ll see if's the stock ecu...he might have sold the upgraded unit....ill keep you guys posted. He also mentioned he took the pills out and he's only running 8psi of boost but feels like 255 at the crank with all the porting done to it. When i asked if i could go higher boost he said he could put the pills back in to run at 12psi with no fuel modifcations and on the dyno, just check my a/f on the wideband at 10
and 12 lbs. any thoughts on that? could that be done with the stock ecu? i alsop have pics if you could leave an email. thanks guys