List of things to watch out for when buying a VR4/TT

[18_SSX]

Well, I did notice there are a lot of people asking the same questions all over again. I kind of compiled a list of things potential buyers have to watch out for when buying TT cars or pretty much any car in general. I bought my vr4 a year ago with a shot 1st gear syncro rings, bent rims, and smoking engine (which i did not know it was smoking yet after switching to synthetic oil i did started to smoke), so-so interior, not-working aero, with 94k miles for $11k..... do not make my mistake. thanks got 3si members have helped me quite a bit to get the car in order with minimum expense. I did not know about 3si yet at that point. I ended up investing a lot of money and time to get eveything fixed upHere is the list of things to watch out for.

I am not a mechanic and I do little work on the car. So I compiled a list for an average buyer who still uses someone elses hands to fix things.

Lesson #1: Do not believe any thing that a dealer says. Sometime they get mad for me not trusting them, but once I had to tell a salesperson that he is not my friend to trust him.

Engine:

a) take it for a test drive, pay attention to smoking when you just start a cold car (if there is blueish smoking = vavle seals are bad). After test drive, leave the car idling for a while. Press accelerator pedal till about 3-4k RPM while in the neutral... If there is bluish smoking then the headgasket or pistons rings could be bad.
b) make sure the car does not leak oil
c) Pay attention what kind of oil the seller uses. I have heard people using 10w70 oil.... that could be a sign that the seller tries to cover up lifter tick
d) Make sure that turbos are fuctional. Also smoking during driving could be a result of bad turbo
e) Watch out of ticking/any weird sounds while driving or idling: could be anything from spun bearings to lifter tick
f) watch out vacuum tubing, would recommend changing most of the once you get the car.

Transmission:

a) Make sure you can switch in all the gears. When I say all, I also mean also 5th and 6th gear. If the car does not go into gear, you could be facing $900 charge just ot find out what is wrong. A shop quoted me $1800 to change my 1st gear syncro rings. Dealer/ Certified Transmissions wanted $4500+ to swap tranny for a rebuilt one. Dealership and most of tranny shops would not even bother reparing these transmission. I ended up paying much less, thanks to a local 3si user.
b) Make sure the clutch does not slip (it is when you accelerate quite hard and the you fill the car gives up acceleretation and your RPMs go sky high)
c) make sure no reddish liquid leaks

Misc:

a) Make sure that features like ECS, active aero, sun roof are functional. Active aero stuff is quite expensive to fix, labor-wise.
b) Generally, the lest miles on the car, the better. Miles actually mean a lot in these cars because they tend to be abused quite a bit, like any other sports car.

Lesson #2: NEVER NEVER NEVER send somebody money without test driving the car unless your are 110% sure that the description is accurate. I am talking here about cars on Ebay. If you found the car you like, ask the person to pay the full ammount AFTER you test drive the car.

Lesson #3: Accustom using 3si where you can communicate with the other people and solve some of the problems with the car you may have. In addition, you can aslways find someone to have some work done on your car for a resonable price and with a much better quality than an average shop.


I am pretty sure other people will add to this list. So add-ons are welcome

[bnorris85]

bravo...sticky this shit

[Evil]

Originally Posted by blk93stealthes

bravo...sticky this shit

Look at the first thread in this section... its specifically made for things like this

Nice write up...

[bnorris85]

Originally Posted by Evil

Look at the first thread in this section... its specifically made for things like this

Nice write up...

who the hell looks at the sticky's

[stealthify]

Originally Posted by Evil

Look at the first thread in this section... its specifically made for things like this

Definitely a nice writeup 18_ssx, there's about three posts in the New Owner FAQ sticky addressing the same question - but yours is very well thought-out as well.

I've added a link to the FAQ directory to your post:
New Owner F.A.Q. Development Thread

[18_SSX]

Originally Posted by stealthify

Definitely a nice writeup 18_ssx, there's about three posts in the New Owner FAQ sticky addressing the same question - but yours is very well thought-out as well.

I've added a link to the FAQ directory to your post:
New Owner F.A.Q. Development Thread

Excellent!

[spfan]

there was a pretty good write up done on the same topic around this time last year. i'm sure a search would turn it up. i don't remember who posted it, but said that most of the points came from supra forums, but many of the points could be used for 3S cars as well.

[GreekPower]

very good write up some of these things i never looked at when i bought my vr4.makes me thank god i got away with out any issues

[xteekayx]

Originally Posted by 18_SSX

Press accelerator pedal till about 3-4k RPM while in the neutral... If there is bluish smoking then the headgasket or pistons rings could be bad.

Actually those are bad Valve Stem Seals also, my SL did that and after replacing them the somke was completley gone!... bad piston rings are when u drive around on a highway/street and your car is smokeing all the time thats a definite piston rings. One can also do a compression check to verify that. Like i said my SL never smoked when drove around only when it idled for a bit and then when i pressed on the gas a good amount of bluish somke came out ( kinda embarassing on drive thrus =P), did a compression check and compression was perfect (185psi on NA engine) on all cylinders.

[xyrus]

IMO, what brings down the value of the car is when it's obvious that it's been pimped out. You know what I mean...I would expect a car that looked pimped to be raced a lot, and it may actually be more psychological than real, but the mentality is there. Keep aware sellers of that mindset...