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Re: Things to look for--buying used Posted by Ari [Email]  (#2847) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Ari) on Fri, 8 Apr 2005 05:46:17
In Reply to: Things to look for--buying used, Stalker, Thu, 7 Apr 2005 18:45:12 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
First, no TCS on the '96 - last year was '95 (assuming it's a 4-cylinder).
Check out Quasi's site on his comments (http://www.quasimotors.com/)
Get Maintenance Records. You want to see the coolant changed every 2-3 years, brake fluid flushed every 2-3 years, and oil changes no more than every 5K miles. Lack of maintenance is a real warning sign that the car has been neglected. And lack of maintenance can't be made up for.
The CS is the Low Pressure Turbo, so it's a pretty unstressed engine/tranny. That's nice.
Things to do -
Make sure the A/C works. After the car warms up, switch the heat to HI and Defrost, and sniff the vents. The smell of warm coolant implies a leaky heater core. Hit the AUTO and Vent (top right, bottom left) buttons at the same time for a second or three. The display should show '0', then you'll see the system moving through various settings as it does self test. Eventually it'll return to it's previous setting. That shows it passed. If it pops up a number (other than the temperature), it failed the self-test.
Make sure all the warning lights work (turn key to ON, don't start the car) and that they go off. Check operation of the brights. Intermittent brights operation isn't a big problem, most probably a bad headlight relay, but it makes a nice bargaining point.
If the remotes don't work, and neither does the dome light, it's a blown fuse. Pretty common. Almost all CS and CSE that I went looking at had just blown the fuse. Not that it's a problem, but you can either use it as a bargaining point, or show how smart you are about the car.
It should come with two remotes. If it has only one, you can buy a replacement on eBay for about $40, and you'll need a dealer (or indy with a Tech II) to program it in. I've seen charges from 1 hour to free to do the job. It is all of 10 minutes work, assuming they spend 5 minutes looking for the tech II.
The autotranny is always a worry point. You want records that the fluid and filter have been changed every 15-20K or so. You want to make sure it shifts smoothly, and at the right points. Accelerate smoothly to about 50 or so, and count the gears - there should be 4 forward gears. If it starts up in 2nd gear, or shifts prematurely, that's a sign of bad govenor seals. Shifts should be smooth, and not slam. Banging shifts is a very bad sign. There should be no engine reving between gears. Check the 4-3 downshift - find a nice hill, and accerate up it smoothly with a light foot, so it shifts into 4th (around 45-50 mph) - now, nail the gas, and see how it downshifts - it shoud shift smoothly, with no engine over-rev, and it will be firm, but shouldn't slam or bang.
Crawl under and inspect the exhaust, especially the mid-muffler where the pipes come in and out. Look for rust there. A new exhaust will run about $400.
Of course, check windows and sunroof (if it has one). The base CS is velour seats, no sunroof, no memory seats, standard stereo. Options included moonroof, leather (with memory seats), upgraded stereo. That can move the price up a bit, and are something to look for if that's what you want.
posted by 192.249....
, Fri, 8 Apr 2005 05:46:17 <-- Viewing This Message, Fri, 8 Apr 2005 07:52:19
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