Just_Jim

Been wanting a 3rd gen tt for a while now. I have
finally found one in town put it has a few problems with it. Wondering what kind of offer if any i should make on the car.
1) The engine is done. It has very low compression. Do not know about the turbos.
2) The body is going to need repainting due to the cracked front bumper, plus the passenger side door handle to broken.
3) The interior is fair with a torn and hanging headlinder.
4) It has been sitting up for awhile now on flats not running.
So back to the question now how expensive will this be to fix knowing all above and as far as i know every thing else is okay. What offer should i make and what is a car like that in this condition worth?
Thakns Jim

Talek

Yow, it's painful just hearing about that car. :/ Figure at least 3-4k for a rebuild on the motor, about 1-2k for a paintjob, $800 for new tires and probably at least $500 for misc stuff. I probably wouldn't give more than 5k or so for it. :P

djantlive

$7-9k to get it in good shape so $5-7k would be a good starting point. BTW, all interior parts are very expensive. I wouldn't be surprised if a new headliner is $500 or more. I would pass on the deal unless you are willing to spend months getting it in shape and dumping lots of money. Also, I don't think there are any rotary shops in Mississippi so you'll have to work on your own or have it delivered hundreds of miles away. DONT count on your Mazda dealer to make the car better. They'll probably screw it up more than it already is.

Just_Jim

Yea there are no rotory shops here. More than likely i would have to work on it myself. I cant believe interior parts are so expensive, because it needs a small makeover. If a rebuild is $3-4k how much is a new motor, seems expensive. Maybe i could talk the guy into selling me the car for $1-2k then maybe i would buy it.

rynberg

Personally, I think the previous estimates were on the low side.

engine: atleast $2k just for the reman or rebuild, plus atleast $1k for r&r, so $3-5k for engine work

turbos: blown engine might have taken out turbos, about $3k for new turbos, don't know labor, assume almost another $1k

paint: a decent paint job will cost atleast $2k, a GOOD paint job $3-5k, an EXCELLENT paint job, $5k+

interior: a new headliner is about $450 from Mazda

front bumper: a new cover is about $550, if that's all that's wrong

You could easily spend additional thousands on other parts of the car, judging by the state the car is in now. You could have to replace parts of the cooling system, suspension, etc.

I would say your fix-it range = $8-15k. I would not pay more than $3-4k for the car.