Thoughts on this s13

[bebopbo]

Hey Nico club,

New member here and soon to be 240sx owner. I have been looking at a few and found this one..

http://phoenix.craigslist.org/cph/cto/4617664085.html

It's close to my price range and its almost stock. What do you guys think? The few cons that it has does not seem to be a big issue. I looked up the lifter tick fix on here and it looks easy enough. Guy claims it runs pretty good and he stopped driving it around June after buying a new daily. Potential buyer?

-Brandon

[rwlesher]

I would definitely negotiate on the price. Is this your 1st 240? There are a lot of things to consider when pricing a car. I would thoroughly investigate it before even making an offer. And I wouldn't let the few things it has justify an unreasonable price. Test drive it. Inspect the frame rails, engine, trans, diff. Look for leaks, rust and damaged rails. I don't know the extent of your mechanical knowledge but look at every part you can access. Chances are that trunk is infested with rust under the spoiler. Check trunk under carpet(assuming it's there) for rust. Being an sunroof model check behind the door (towards the rear)on the bottom for rust.

[bebopbo]

Yes this would be my first 240. My mechanical knowledge isn't all that great but im trying to learn all that i can. I can handle looking for rust and leaks but I wouldn't know the first thing about the trans besides the grinding gears. I would probably try to get him to 1800-2000.

Also if anyone on here is in the Tucson/Phoenix Arizona area that has some mechanical experience on this and would like to come along to check it out I wouldn't mind paying for your time.

[bebopbo]

Bump.

So I went to check it out today. The frame rails looked to be in decent shape, no rust. I checked under the spoiler in the trunk under the carper for rust and I didn't spot any rust however it was kind of wet from a possible previous rainstorm so i can see how it could develop.

I asked about any leaks and he pointed out that sometimes there is a small oil leak because one of the hoses was rubbing up against one of the pulleys, but other than that no. I checked as much as i could and everything seems straight. Car is mostly stock. I took it for a test drive and the clutch is damn rough. When we first took off the car was like bogging and he told me i basically had to dump the clutch (the clutch pedal had almost no resistance) or it would continue so i did and he was correct, but it concerns me because that would get pretty annoying to drive daily that way. I would want to swap out the clutch asap. It has a short shifter and was pretty hard to decipher whether i was in gear or still in neutral, not sure if thats part of the clutch as well. Other than that engine sounds pretty good, idles at around 800. Definitely needs a tune up and some parts.

I brought him down to 2000$ What do you guys think my budget was 3400$ i figure i can spend a little to get it running nice.

[rwlesher]

So you got it? 1400 is a nice chunk to start with some small cheap upgrades.

[PapaSmurf2k3]

Not bad if its rust free. It looks pretty good.

Does the E-brake work? He's got a block behind the wheel in the picture.

[rwlesher]

Good eye I missed that s*** lol

[bebopbo]

Yea I think im gonna seal the deal this weekend. Yea the e-brake works, how well i'm not positive. I did notice the blocks in the pic, not sure.

He did mention in the past it overheated a few times, but not recently. Could that be a faulty cooler?

[rwlesher]

Thermostat Water pump Coolant sensor

[bebopbo]

So i'm still deciding whether i'm going through with this deal, im looking at new listings and came across this..

http://tucson.craigslist.org/cto/4686832025.html

This one is actually in town. Not much done to it however it is a salvage title. 240 and salvaged title in the same sentence just seems wrong off the start but what do you think? Guy says everything has been "pulled and fixed" the frame wasn't damage just the front cross beam by the radiator.

[rwlesher]

I'm thinking "OBO" due to salvage title. check it out, assuming you can evaluate the condition. every car could be critiqued but at the end what's it worth to you? My thoughts would be physically (dents) and mechanically sound. If it all good shoot him an offer.

[bebopbo]

Thanks man going tomorrow to check it out. Originally wanted an s14 so this would be a great find if he takes my offer.

Thanks for all the replies guys.