Buying my first car. What do you guys think about it? [Archive]

kyo_death

Mar 5th, 2006, 08:26 PM

I'm really interested in a 1992 Nissan 240sx SE trim that i've tested out and seen.

Here's the sellers ad, which contains all the info:
1992 NISSAN 240SX.
167K.
~Sunroof
~pw steering
~pw locks
~pw windows.
~ 5 speed manual
~ Engine & Body in Great Shape
~ Cloth Interior
~ White
~ Bought on Vancouver Island 1 year ago
~ Well maintained, garage kept ~
All maint. records.
~ Timing Chain, fuel, air filter done recently
~Oil change every 5k.
~If want test drive contact seller at least 2 bus. days in advance as no insurance on car currently.
~Must sell to pay tuition asap
$8000

A nice rfder helped me check out its carfax info and everything seems good. I plan to go get the car looked at. Anybody have a reccomendation for a mechanic and autobody shop in Vancouver or Burnaby? I'm planning to have this done on Wednesday morning (March 9th?)

I've got the price down to 6150 considering some things that need to be touched up:

- Rear brakes (seems like there's rust on the rotors)
- a little rust on the roof and some paint needed for another spot on the roof,
also a little rust around where the spoiler is connected to the hatch.
- leaks some oil, about 1 litre for around 10,000-15,000 km. Has something to do with the timing chain which has been replaced already
- driver seat shows wear, damaged on the left side from enter/exiting (do i consider this?)
- wheel top plastic layer is peeling off (do i consider this as well)

Some nice things tho:
- engine does seem to be in good condition
- clutch seems good, no slippage while i was driving
- gear box seems solid
- aftermarket cd deck with auxilary input, ipod ready ^^
- all lights seem good, doesn't seem to be fading

Considering this, and the lack of airconditioning, do you think this is a fair price?

My dad told me to check the value and see how it depreciates (i kinda didn't believe him but i worked it out): 1st year 20%, then 10% every year after that, then 5% after 10 years. So:
original dealer price: $17,435 USD
SUPER rough price now after crazy calculation: $5069 USD or 5750 CAD

What do you guys think? Feel free to leave responses, I'm new to this so I'm trying to learn as much as possible. No help from my parents so I gotta spend my money wisely

Thanks

kbjy11

Mar 5th, 2006, 09:16 PM

6k is not a bad price considering the prices on the 240sx are quite inflated due to the "drifting" craze and the potential this car has. Personally i love this car, and i plan picking on up in a couple years.

It sounds like it's in good cond, which is hard to find... but paying 6k for a 14-15 year old car i think there are safer choices... but definately if you want it, i say go for it.

I say try to get the price down more if you can, an asking price of $8k is ********. If you get it in the 4-5k might be a good buy.

just my 2 cents.

UrbanPoet

Mar 5th, 2006, 09:20 PM

corrupt123

Mar 5th, 2006, 09:22 PM

check for rust in/on the underbody, if the braklines or fuel lines are dieing they're pain in the ass to replace, and very expensive if you cant do the work on your own.

although in vancouver you guys probably have less rust issues.

kyo_death

Mar 5th, 2006, 09:29 PM

but arent NA 240sx's FWD? seems more poser/import show like...
I know peopl elike the swap the SE20DET in for good power/speed.

NA 240sx are still rwd. Just stuck with the weaker engine. At least 91's and up have a limited slip diff.

Still trying looking for a bodyshop/mechanic/both in one place? haha

Yeah... i do think the asking price is too high, and even the price i have it at now is pretty high. But nothing else on the market right now that's even close to comparision in price (they are listed from $4500-5000). Mostly 200kms+ and from smaller dealers. And auto... yay.... auto..

My friend's cousin is planning to sell her 90 240sx with only 127kms on it, but she's been so busy i haven't had a chance to take a look at it

TenzoR

Mar 6th, 2006, 12:07 PM

I'd keep on looking for a better

6k for 1992 /w problems is a lot.

I just did a quick search and found a 95 for about 7k (probably can negotiate more), granted I did the search in Toronto, but you are in BC, shouldn't be too hard to scout another with similar spec

- Rear brakes (seems like there's rust on the rotors)
- a little rust on the roof and some paint needed for another spot on the roof,
also a little rust around where the spoiler is connected to the hatch.
- leaks some oil, about 1 litre for around 10,000-15,000 km. Has something to do with the timing chain which has been replaced already
- driver seat shows wear, damaged on the left side from enter/exiting (do i consider this?)
- wheel top plastic layer is peeling off (do i consider this as well)

looks like you have a list of things to fix on top of the 6k you are spending.

- Brakes, should be changed, you need to check all the seals, calipers, brake lines, brake pump etc
- If rust is minor it should be easy to fix, as I recall BC don't get much snow, so less salt on the road? but maybe salt from the sea water?
- Leaking any fluid from any car should already tell you this car has not been properly taken care of. It doesn't really matter how old the car is, it just means the owner doesn't spend the time and money to take care of his car, that should already tell you something
- This is normal wear and tear, but if its excessive ..then reconsider
- I don't really get what you are trying to say here so ....

I'd look for a better deal, unless you like to fix it up yourself and learn about the car

FastFokker

Mar 6th, 2006, 12:44 PM

Sounds scary to me.

Some young kid bought it 1yr ago, and is now claiming they have to sell it for tuition? Sure, I wonder what the real reason is. And you should expect it's been beat on.. most kids do.

As long as you can manage high maintenance costs, go for it. But don't buy it if you're already stretched on the purchase price. Also, how does insurance look?

TrevorK

Mar 6th, 2006, 01:09 PM

6K for a car that has rust and an oil leak is not a good deal. I think even in Alberta, where cars are much more than BC, we can find a 240SX in better condition for that price.

Whatever you do - take it for an inspection and get the mechanic to quote you on the price of ALL the repairs. Then decide if you still really want it.

Spray

Mar 6th, 2006, 01:10 PM

Alvito

Mar 6th, 2006, 05:49 PM

I think it is too much.

Makaveli2k

Mar 6th, 2006, 10:19 PM

I think it is too much.
yeah, I think it is a bit expensive. I would really urge you to keep your options open, even though the car may be in somewhat good condition you could probably find an S15 for just a little bit higher, probably. 240's are great cars just really can't justify paying 6g's + for a 92. Good luck man

RastaManMax

Mar 6th, 2006, 10:30 PM

I think that's far too high a price for that many problems. I would be expecting a mint condition car for that kind of money. The car is 13-14 years old too.

LEMAR

bunga

Mar 6th, 2006, 10:39 PM

so how much money do you have saved up in the piggy bank to repair a 14 year old car? you're going to need a lot...

these things are huge rust buckets for one, every square inch on these cars starts to rust pretty much. Next you're faced with the problem that it's FOURTEEN years old. Suspension, motor, general electrical items all become a question mark around this time. What maintenance history does it have? Considering he's trying to sell it with an oil leak, I doubt it's anything too great. The seller will probable just toss some silicone around the timing cover so you won't notice the leak for a few weeks. Think realistically, it's a fourteen year old car who's body is in poor shape (trust me, it doesn't go up from here, things go downhill very fast, some bondo isn't going to fix it), likely poor mechanical, and age is not on it's side. I'd understand if it was a Porsche or some collector item, but it's a Nissan. Sure, sure, if you have some deep pockets you can make these things go like stink, do you? Do you have the time and resources to do that?

Or are you, as likely as the kid that's selling it, dreaming of dropping a SR20DET into it and fixing it up into a show winner? That kid woke up and smelled the leaking oil, time for you to do the same before you make the mistake

as someone that spent way too much money on a junker that I loved as my first car, I'm trying to save you from the very expensive bills that I've had to endure.

For the same amount of money as you're willing to blow in this junker, buy a 8 year old Civic, it might be base with no power options, and you might not have any drifting dreams of it, but it will be a much wiser choise than that.

As mentioned if it was maybe a true collectors item or at least worth it, you can pick up a Porsche 944* in much better shape for about the same amount, at least then you'll be able to justify all the repairs to people without them giving you an awkward look. I'd maybe take it for $1000 just to beat on and then flip as this kid has done, but as a real car to invest money into repairs, etc. it's just a losing battle

*please note that I in no way belive the Porsche 944 to be a collector car or a good investment

ViperZ

Mar 6th, 2006, 10:55 PM

240sx's engine was (and still is?) one amazing machine... I remember looking at one of these around '94... Guess where the car was?? In Berlin!!! Still has great looks :)

B0000rt

Mar 6th, 2006, 11:04 PM

I think it was 91 when they started to put the 4 valve engine in there, and the front fascia has some cosmetic differences. The 90 and older have 3 valve engines.

FreeSpinnz

Mar 6th, 2006, 11:15 PM

They price is way too high, car prices are way tooo high out west, my friend just bought a 95 240 for 1000 no rust no problems and carfax was good. if ur really interested you should check out some cars east like toronto and just drive it back, u will save money and its a AWSOME road trip

http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/details.aspx?vlotid=468503&adid=4947840

check that one out, very nice about same mile's as the one u have seen and 4 years younger,

kyo_death

Mar 6th, 2006, 11:35 PM

Yeah. I'm starting to think that cars back west are expensive. I've been combing the used car ads like crazy trying to find something that will peak my interested. Initially wanted to stay away from a civic since my bro just bought one (and got ripped off as well >< ) but i'm starting to think of one. I wanted a 240 since it kinda peaked my interest ever since i started driving but its hard to find one in good shape. A good sleep and some talking with others and reading this topic made me tell the guy to lower the price.

Gave him a call this morning and left him a msg, but he has yet to get back to me. Prolly got angry since he thought we were done discussing price (i told him 5500). Sigh...

After reading the replies, i slapped more sense into me. Thanks guys.
Maybe he'll drop his price but i'll keep looking for more. Any suggestions? Was thinking along the lines as 96+ civic/integra/accord?

I made a budget for myself and am trying to stay below that $5000 since i need a means of transportation. Feel free to leave some stories, i'm sure others will appreciate them as well

BTW, anybody from Vancouver area know any good mechanics where i can get a car checked and safety tested? Preferrably burnaby/vancouver area?

kyo_death

Mar 6th, 2006, 11:44 PM

i'm having so much "fun" looking around at cars. Some other one's i've tested:

95 240sx le: asking 11000, lowest i got was 9500. 150,000kms. Rust in wheel well, spreading to the paint (paint was bubbling), scratched bumpers (no paint scratched off but scuff marks), quarter sized dent above front left wheel (the heck did that?). Usual wear and tear on the leather driver seats, engine and transmission seemed in good condition. Just comparing prices online, i gave him a low number of 5500 to start off with considering some of the wear and to let me know what he thought and for him to give me the lowest he would like to sell for since i would be interested in purchasing. He got angry and told me to piss off (told me to find a sucker ^^; ). Apparently a dealer had offered him 6000. Guess he thought i was just jerking him around for fun.

98 Accord Coupe: asking 10300, lowest i got was 9600. Very scary car.... Keyed on both sides, dents on driver door from someone kicking it, rear bumper was loose, left turn signal fading, 127000km, engine sounded ok at low speeds, at hwy speeds, pretty loud. Timing belt and clutch had been done at a "friends" garage. After i drove it, just walk away. Price was too low to be any good condition

TenzoR

Mar 7th, 2006, 01:41 AM

here are some decent suggestions just my opinion

Acura Integra GS/GS-R 94-97, very reliable, one of the best handling fwd around, easily modded or "riced" up, cheap on gas, 4 door model is available for cheaper insurance

Honda Prelude SR-V 93-96, very reliable H22 block, and fun to drive. The "V" is the one you want. I saw one for about 6k in Toronto which looks pretty clean

Infiniti G20T 95+/-, again very reliable, very nice handling, although not as powerful as one would hope, but nice on gas

Infiniti J30T, the odd one in Infiniti car, style is unique (I personally like it), rear wheel drive, shares the engine with the 300ZX/Maxima, quality is top notch if taken care of,

Subaru Imprezza 93-98, nice little car, great handling, do get teh AWD version if you are buying one, harder to maintain due to boxer type engine

Toyota Paseo, Short lived, but one of the most reliable vehical, cousin to the tercel, it's small, nimble, good on gas, but due it's small engine you won't be going too fast, though that might help cut back on speeding issues

Toyota Celica GT/GT-S/GT-S AWD Turbo, hell if you can source out a cheap and good condition AWD Turbo, go for it, but it's probably impossible to find a good condition one now a days, the GT and GT-S are decent performer, but nothing spetactular, I'd rather get the Prelude SR-V or Integer GSR, but a choice is a choice

Well these are my recommandations, take it as you want

weedb0y

Mar 7th, 2006, 02:23 AM

Acuras and Preludes are higher on insurance as well. (when compared to other brands in the same class)..

I am paying $50 less a month just cuz I went with Mazda lol..eventhough it has more HP then the civic was I was getting.. then again, the rice factor does increase the risks..

kyo_death

Mar 7th, 2006, 02:56 AM

here are some decent suggestions just my opinion

Acura Integra GS/GS-R 94-97, very reliable, one of the best handling fwd around, easily modded or "riced" up, cheap on gas, 4 door model is available for cheaper insurance

Honda Prelude SR-V 93-96, very reliable H22 block, and fun to drive. The "V" is the one you want. I saw one for about 6k in Toronto which looks pretty clean

Infiniti G20T 95+/-, again very reliable, very nice handling, although not as powerful as one would hope, but nice on gas

Subaru Imprezza 93-98, nice little car, great handling, do get teh AWD version if you are buying one, harder to maintain due to boxer type engine

Toyota Celica GT/GT-S/GT-S AWD Turbo, hell if you can source out a cheap and good condition AWD Turbo, go for it, but it's probably impossible to find a good condition one now a days, the GT and GT-S are decent performer, but nothing spetactular, I'd rather get the Prelude SR-V or Integer GSR, but a choice is a choice

Good suggestions, just right on the mark of what i was looking for.
But it seems these cars aren't as avaiable as they are in Ontario and I do "like" the price difference as other members have pointed out. I am willing to branch out to 6-7k but quick searches on buysell.ca/autotrader.ca dont' give me much to go with. I guess i'm gonna have to wander the lots of some places with a few interesting cars.

I did see a 95 impreza awd in the paper, seemed pretty good 113k, and a manual, but wasn't sure how it would be since it was the first year the impreza came with awd ( just going by info i got from car sites through google ). Guess i will check it out

awesome-o

Mar 7th, 2006, 03:24 AM

if ur really interested you should check out some cars east like toronto and just drive it back, u will save money and its a AWSOME road trip

not too sure about that plan...so many things can go wrong. breaking down in the middle of manitoba, for one.

gh05t

Mar 7th, 2006, 05:05 AM

Uh..am i missing something? My friend bought a 93 240sx for 2500...mint condition, 170km

Theres several on autotrader for that price right now

Heres a nice one:
http://www.trader.ca/powerpage/details.aspx?vlotid=516901&adid=5063760

Possibly because of cheaper Insurance rates in BC(public run insurance) than in Ontario where lots of young uns have to off load their 2 doors because of Insurance gouging and continually rising insurance prices in Ontario.

bunga

Mar 7th, 2006, 10:04 AM

you're getting closer, but not close enough

if you're looking for reliability, look for a car that's under ten years. Maybe age is a bit kinder to cars in BC due to milder weather, but cars really start to show their age in Ontario by ten years

FastFokker

Mar 7th, 2006, 11:49 AM

Buy a car from a granny/grandpa... those are some of the best deals around.

Shockey

Mar 7th, 2006, 01:36 PM

If you're gonna spend that much money on a Nissan of that vintage, how about one of these:

90 Skyline - $6800 (http://vancouver.craigslist.org/car/139188403.html)

95 240SX - $6999 OBO (http://vancouver.craigslist.org/car/137574018.html)

Ultimate Pimp-mobile (http://vancouver.craigslist.org/car/138940275.html)

I'd suggest the 3rd link :cheesygri

Lots of other activity on http://vancouver.craigslist.org/car/

TenzoR

Mar 7th, 2006, 01:41 PM

kyo_death

Mar 7th, 2006, 11:20 PM

thx for the reminder of that site. I checked it out a couple of weeks ago but no action from then but it looks like more ads have popped up since then

Um... i called the guy for the 95' 240sx... unfortunately... its has been in an accident. He was up front about that right away. I'm gonna check it out tomorrow morning and see how it runs, but i usually hear that its best to stay away from these ones. He says it was about $2000 damage...

Update from the 92' 240sx guy. He called me back today, was kinda disappointed that i'm backing down, but he wasn't willing to drop the price anymore from where we started off. He's an older guy, and he bought a 90's 300zx with only 70k kms on it, so that's why he was selling his 240. His plan was to fund his Europe trip with the money, but unfortunately i can't help him there ^^. Thx guys for all your help.

I'm slowly learning the trade of scoping out used cars and trying to weed out the lemons. Keep the advice/lectures coming ^^

superdsi

Mar 8th, 2006, 09:25 AM

This car is a Nissan and it is 15 years old.
Keep your money. Buy a nice Honda Civic 7 to 8 years for the same amount of money.
You won't be the cool guy but you will be able to afford it and not just look at it through the garage window.
THIS IS A 15 year old NISSAN. What are you thinking?

kyo_death

Mar 8th, 2006, 03:07 PM

Actually, i've always kept my options open but this was the first car that i was really interested in considering the condition of the toehr cars that i've checked out. I admit, i was foolish and biased towards it because i've always been a fan of these cars. But these models were known for their reliability and can last a long time when taken care of as well ( i know some friends with 240s, as well as other cars) , thus i kept looking for a good condition one and when i find one, this one still needed some work on and the seller wasn't willing to drop the price for his own reasons.

I know that cars seem to show their age a lil faster back east where salt is used on the road and the difference in weather is pretty big. Here the weather isn't as extreme besides the usual splashing of rain.

Right now i'm trying to balance the fact that there are more ppl back east, higher insurance, different weather conditions, and a lot more cars available over there, which may lead to the fact that cars back west are a lot more then the ones back east.

As for the "cool guy" comment, u gotta know that i'm not buying the car for that reason (like drifting and racing). I need a means of transportation that's not gonna die on me and has low maintenance costs (of course which vary again). I don't want to go and buy a 500 dollar beater each time one breaks down.

kud0s69

Mar 8th, 2006, 04:45 PM

I had a 1990 240SX. I liked the car. Be carefully though! Timing chains on those things are a nightmare. If the car you are looking at, appears to have a problem do to the changing of the chain. I would be sceptical. My timing chain was not installed properly. After about 20k the timing chain wore through the cover. Oil mixed with Rad fluid. Cost me 1200 installed (from a backyard mechanic charging 25/hr) Not a cheap part and it is not easy to find (or get from a wrecker).

kyo_death

Mar 8th, 2006, 07:01 PM

are you saying the timing chain was not installed properly when u bought it or when it was replaced? Good info tho ^^ Glad to hear from a 240sx owner, they are so much fun to drive ^^.

Though, nobody's mentioned anything about a garage/mechanic that can check out a car that i'm interested in. I'm still waitin on admins over at revscene to assign me an account. I also saw an ad for a mechanic that will check things out for you at a charge of $50. Or should i go to a dealership and have them check it out, but i'm worried about the cost. I'm not having much fun looking around, testing and haggling so far. Haven't even reached the point of having a car checked out yet...

Anybody have a ballpark figure that i should aim for when i look at a 98' honda civic hatch dx (no aircon), manual, alarm, reg. maintenance, no accidents? Gonna check one out later today. It only has 80k kms on it. Seems pretty good in my eyes, he's asking 8500obo. A bonus is that he works at EA just down the block from my house. A first time that i dont' have to drive half way across the city to check out a car ^^
---> UPDATE just got back from testing out the civic. Car seems to be in very good condition. Regular maintenance from receipts, body in pretty good condition. Only thing that needed to be replaced was the tires, he openly told me that right away. Unfortunately he won't move from his 8500 price since he meant to have it as a firm price.