Just went for a test drive in a 96 S-14 SE.......details inside

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

Ok people. I just drove a 240 for the first time. I'm planning to buy one soon and this was the only 5spd I could find96 SE5spd91000+clear cornersam/fm/cdsun roofcloth seats

The car is located about 2 hrs away so my I took my fiance' with me for the ride.

Got to the dealership and the dude came out, and said he's gonna go get it. So, I said, no man, let me go with you. (Iwanted to see how it started up when cold)So he we went tot he car and I did a walk around. It has a front air dam like the one in 95silviase's signature but it was chipped the hell up. The exterior looked good except for that. I popped the hood and he started the car. I turned like 5 times then fired up. It sounded sick to me.......ma civic sounds a lot smoother. I revved it a bit the engine looked like it wanted to jump out and bite me. I checked the air filter (stock) and it had what looked like mud in the bottom of the black box, the filter was dirty as s*** also.So we get in the car witht eh guy in the back. He's like 5'6" and he was scrunced up behind my girl. There was no rom behind me cause I'm 6'1" and I needed every inch to do the heel and toe downshift. The seats felt really good on ma poor back. I just sat there for a while fiddling with the instruments/shifter/E-brake, etc. I can't fit in teh back, It is not right to put man nor beast in there, I only feel pity for anyone sentenced to that spot. only short distances are ok. Groceries and a baby seat would fit perfectly. The Trunk is kinda small compared to the civic but this car isn't about those things. Dude said the previous owner was a girl,and he could find out more info for me. Th car looks like it belonged to someone who didnt know what they had, or jsut drove it cause they needed a car.

So i started it back up and headed out for a spin.

It has more torque than my civic but i thought it would have more. There is this rattleing sound coming from around the CAT, (at least i think that's where it's coming from), the car shook when i gave it gas, kinda like it surged forward. I got it up to like 5.5 K rpm at a light, and the thing shot off when released.The salesman in the back, "So I see you like the stick alot." I didnt answer but stared ahead lookinf for an open road. My girl said told him that's all I would drive. I got it up to 90mph and told em to hold on b4 i hot the brakes. BAM, the thing slowed down like I hit a wall with out any brake shaking or anything. <------me likes 4 wheel disc. :ylsuper Ok, next test, time to find some curves. I asked him and he pointed me to a 2 turn stretch with a U turn at the end. <---evil smile spread accross ma face, while my girl scrunched down in her seat and braced herself. Dude in the back yapping away about the 350Z. He shut up when I htit hte first corner in 4th, then H&T to 3rd. <---me likes the side to side stability a lot. no swaying like my civic does when pushed too hard.THe U turn coming up but I dont know how to E-Brake turn yet so i resisted the darkside and just took it in 2nd. Glanced in the mirror and dude's eyes are shut. :icesangel <----evil grin again, my girl smiling like she won the lottery.So i finally get back to the Dealership after about 25 -30 minutes driving around and lift the hood checking for smells and weird leaks. Didnt find anything.

SO the guy wants to sell me the car for $7495 AS IS/NO WARRANTY, and they wont budge on the price. I say I'll get back to you and walk out. He sees my car and asks me if I wanna trade it in, I said no so he went back inside, as i'm about to drive out, he comes backa nd says his manager want sot talk to me. So, being the bastard I am, went back inside. manager dude asked me what can he do to sell me the car, so I say $6500 b4 taxes and sheet. he say, ouchie that hurts.,,fiddles with his calculator, so I told him I'll call him back when I'm coming back to check it out with my mechanic friend.

THEY ARE NEVER GONNA SEE MY FACE AGAIN.

I only wanted the experience of driving a 240 to know what I'm gettign myself into. So whatcha think?

[stickgoat]

Their price sounds too high.

I'm buying a 5-speed '96 SE with 121k miles for $5000 even. Granted it's a private party transaction, not a dealership, but still. 'bout the only thing that needs replacing with mine is the muffler, and that's fine seeing as I'm going to be purchasing an Apexi exhaust here shortly.

Anyway....the one you looked at had about 10k less miles than the one I'm buying, but it sounded like it was in overall worse shape. If you do happen to still have interest in the car and go back, talk 'em down or walk away...

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

forget walking away, this brotha is doing the 100meter dash in the opposite direction.

[Tino]

you all are sounding like civic owners what phat bling bling stickers...

[MAXIMUS Nismo]

aww comeon bro.......dont bring the rice thing my way.there are no stickers on my car, all it has is an AEM CAI, and greenstuff brake pads. Tinted windows and that's it.Don't generalize every civic owner as a rice burner.

If you are joking, disregard this reply.

[UncleBen]

sounds like that 240 wasn't cared for like it should have. mine doesn't do any of that shaking, etc etc. my air filter was dirty when i bought my car, and i bought a new one and it ran better. mine has sqeeks and stuff from the motor every once and a while, but that dang POS isn't gonna be in there the whole time i have the car (i hope). SR baby

[y3llows14]

Wow....Im surprised that the guy at the dealer let you do those things with them in it. I remember this one time that I screw a dealer bad.I wanted to learn how to drive a stick so I went there to see if there was any car that was a manual and test drove it. I think it was 99 Mustang. I guess they have to replace the clutch after that because I didn't know how to drive a stick at all and my older brother was doing crazy donuts in it. (The salesman wasn't with us) That **** was funny. The only bad thing was that they kept calling my house to see if I wanted the car (got my number through insurance...damn)

[Xaev]

Even $6500 is quite high. I'm suprised they didn't keep you there after that offer hehe.

It's so hard to tell the worth of a 240 without actually being able to see it, though. So many of the problems you describe could very well be 5 dollar fixes or signs of problems to come.

-Xaev

[bruinbear714]

7500 is a little too high for that car for the condition that it's in. By the way you described it, I'd pay no more than $5,000 for it before taxes/fees.

Oh and that rattle near the cat you hear are the heat shields. All 240s have this problem and its easy to fix - just remove it and wrap it up in thermotec wrap

The more serious problem is the timing chain rattle which broken guides can end up stuck in your rockers/lifters.