To Buy Or Not To Buy

[Jakey]

So tonight I test drove a '92 Red Laser AWD 5 speed. Runs well, turbo burns oil, 1-2 syncro is shot, and possibly has a balancer shaft bearing going out but the owner has a pile of receipts for work done in the last 20,000 miles a inch thick. The only modification is a K&N. The car only has 95,000 miles on it. The drivers side door has some damage along with the drivers side fender and rear quarter panel. Interior is in overall great shape and it has a non-leaking sunroof. He'd take $900 and throw in a new fender for the driver's side. It also has a clean title.

Whatcha all think?

[Jed]

Under a grand AND under a 100k? Not too shabby, I'd take it. :bounce: Plus, it's a "Laser"

[1slowdsm]

Originally posted by Jakey@Aug 16 2004, 08:08 PM
1-2 syncro is shot, and possibly has a balancer shaft bearing going out

Thats gonna cost some money to get repaired, but for only $900...thats not too bad. But then you'll have to spend like a few grand just to get everything fixed. And a Laser AWD, not to many of those around (atleast I havent seen many)...if I had the money and time..I'd take it. Just my opinion....

[JustROLLIN]

I would grab that one up. You could get everything fixed, or do it yourself and make it a real steal. Either way, I would still jump at that one.

[john]

Just because a car has a lot in repair work done it doesn't mean it is a good car. My car had $4800 in repairs at one shop in the prior 2 yrs before I bought it. It had a news turbo (16g which they charged her $1100 for), new transfercase (charged her $900 even though it would be covered in the recall), new clutch, etc. I drove the car 10 days before the clutch went out (not drivable) and it sat for a month until I could get together money to fix it. Now, things go wrong left and right on my car. 2nd gear synchro is shot (I pulled the tranny tonight), year old clutch is not holding any power, alternator went out, head gasket blew 2 days after fixing the alternator, etc. I wouldn't buy it soly on the thought that it has had maintainece done. Maybe the stack is because the car is a lemon.

I would do a compression test to see what is going on with the engine. Get a rebuild quote on the tranny and figure out all the money you are going to have to throw in the car and then add a grand for extra repairs. Add it up and see if it is worth it. You may be better off buying a decent running dsm for $3000.

[Jakey]

The compression what checked by a mechanic and was fine which is why the owner suspects the turbo is blowing some oil. The tranny is very driveable as it is.

[john]

I would do the compression test myself. A mechanic pretty much sees if the numbers vary or not across the cylinders. Unlesss he is a dsm mechanic, odds are he doesn't know what is good. My old integra hit ~92-92-92-93 or something. Those were good numbers. My dsm hits 150's across the board, 90's is a very dead engine on a dsm. I believe 130 is the rebuild range. A average mechanic would see 130 across the board as good as the numbers do not vary much. Just my opinion.

[john]

BTW, feel the turbo for shaft play. That will help you decide if it is a turbo problem.

[fievel]

could be bad valve seals.

[Jakey]

Any other opinions out there to assist me?

[SlowWhite]

Definetely check the turbo for shaft play. Could be the turbo's on it's way out.

if there is no shaft play or bent fins, etc. then the oil could be coming from the head. In which you'd have to rebuild that to some extent.

Syncro's are cheap enough - or you could just save a grand and ship it to Shep for him to rebuild.


92 lasers are the lightest of all years. Plus being it's AWD 5psd there wasn't that many made, let alone still driving on the streets. So that's a plus.

is the fender paint matched to the rest of the car? if not you'd have to pay for paint.

Figure:
-$1000 shep tranny
-$50 fender (what I sold mine for)
-$150 - Door
-$150+ for new turbo depending on what you go with
-$500 Head rebuilt
-$800 to fix rear quarter damage if it isn't to bad.


Honestly you get what you pay for. If it was me I'd start with a car with a clean/perfect body. Then go from there. Everything else is easy enough to fix/Change out.

-brian

[Jakey]

Well here's the maintenance record the current owner has...

Date Purchased Date Finished Mileage Item(s)
07/01/02 07/01/02 78000 Bought Laser
07/10/02 07/10/02 78799 Dealer Inspection
07/26/02 08/03/02 78843 Wiper Blades
07/26/02 08/03/02 78843 Valve Cover Gasket
07/26/02 08/03/02 78843 PCV Valve
07/26/02 08/03/02 78843 Hatch Supports
07/25/02 08/03/02 78843 Spark Plugs
07/25/02 08/03/02 78843 Magnecore Spark Plug Wires
08/14/02 08/14/02 78865 Transfer Case Recall
08/27/02 08/27/02 78882 New Timing Belt
10/09/02 10/09/02 79146 New Clutch, CV boots, Throttle body service
10/04/02 10/09/02 79146 Rebuilt Transmission
10/31/02 10/31/02 79573 Two New Front Tires, Alignment, Balance
11/15/02 11/16/02 79773 Fuel Injector Insulators
10/28/02 11/16/02 79773 New/Cleaned Injectors
07/26/02 11/16/02 79773 Oil Restorer
07/26/02 11/16/02 79773 Oil Filter
07/25/02 11/16/02 79773 KN Filter
12/10/02 12/10/02 80012 Transmission Leaking, New Fuel Filter
12/17/02 12/17/02 80051 Battery for remote locks
02/18/03 02/18/03 83000 New Oil Pan Plug & New Battery Terminals
02/18/03 02/18/03 83000 New Alternator
01/11/03 02/18/03 83000 MAS Replaced and Modified
05/23/03 05/23/03 84610 O2 sensor, Oil Pressure sensor, Inspection
05/28/03 07/11/03 85443 New Fuel Pump
08/06/03 08/06/03 85885 New Brakes, Sway Bar Link Ends
01/30/04 01/30/04 89000 Two New Front Tires, Balance

He also has the following parts which I bet I could get him to include the majority with the deal:

intake manifold.  very clean.
fuel rail
black top injectors (not sure what size those are)
rear panel lights for an eclipse
fuel door
drivers side rear side light cover
23 spline transfer case
pink top injectors (not sure of size.  also not sure i still have these)

also have, 3 sets of blue top toyota injectors.  have the size at home.  but i konw that these are NOT the same as blue top DSM injectors (not 450ccs), but they should fit in a dsm engine.

have a kn filter cleaner kit and a tornado air flow system.

[Jacek]

i hope that it didnt have as much shaft play as ians old car jakey. then again, the shaft was sheared

[Kracka]

I think you would be better off spending 3-grand to get a nice condition 1G. Lots of money in repairs could very well mean the owner beat the hell out of it...but it could also mean he babbied it and wanted it perfect. That is something that should become obvious after talking to the guy for only a matter of minutes. Nothing really extrodiany on the list of repairs he gave you with the exception of a rebuilt tranny....who rebuilt it and why didn't he have the 2nd gear grind fixed (warranty?)?

[Jakey]

From what I've been able to read, the current owner has absolutely babied the car. I've met with him twice and both times he was more than happy to tell me any and every detail about the car. As for the tranny, I didn't read my above post that close but the tranny wasn't rebuilt, it was from a junkyard.

hmy: do it man!!!

[A//// Guy]

If you dont mind doing work here and there and getting into thiings when they break then go or it. It is a pretty good deal and if I found a laser like that Id swap it up.

If you cant do the work yourself then have some change on the side to pay for repairs or parts.

[xrtdac]

Originally posted by Jakey@Aug 16 2004, 08:50 PM
The compression what checked by a mechanic and was fine which is why the owner suspects the turbo is blowing some oil. The tranny is very driveable as it is.

Just cause the compression is good, doesn;t mean the rings aren;t going bad. TRUST ME!

[SlowWhite]

So what you're saying Tyler, is that your motor is blown?

[Jakey]

Originally posted by EclipseTurbo@Aug 18 2004, 06:40 PM
If you dont mind doing work here and there and getting into thiings when they break then go or it. It is a pretty good deal and if I found a laser like that Id swap it up.

If you cant do the work yourself then have some change on the side to pay for repairs or parts.

Can I do the work myself? No. Would I end up doing the work myself? Yes. The whole reason I'd like a project car is so that I can take my time and learn the "how to's."