Book's vehicles thread: Now with Two Different Wheels-Post 339

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Sounds reasonable. Looking, insurance doesn't seem too expensive-$950 for 6 months (yes, it's expensive, but I'm 16) , and I can probably get it for less than that. I've got $1450 in cash right now, and my dad owes me money-enough to where he can cover the difference. I think this might be a keeper...
 
How bad does rust effect things over there? I notice the ad says "small rust near drivers door", I'd definately be getting that checked before you get the thing. I don't know a whole lot about cars, but rust is bad emkay.

That sad, my friend has a 1993 Silvia, which looks the same as that one just without the pop up headlights, he hasn't had any major problems with it except for a couple of the electric things occasionally not working, such as the windows and mirrors. Though he took the wing off it and now, in my opinion, it looks like ass.
 
If it's "very small amounts of surface rust", then I could probably just sand it off and hit it with some touch-up paint. Good as new. (Go ahead and tell me if I'm an idiot for saying that.)

As for rust in general, the state and especially the city like to dump extremely large amounts of salt on the roads... but I'm not too worried about it, as I can drive the Blazer in the wintertime.
 
ty00123
If it's "very small amounts of surface rust", then I could probably just sand it off and hit it with some touch-up paint. Good as new. (Go ahead and tell me if I'm an idiot for saying that.)
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Don't worry too much about it. It would probably be fine. But it is a Nissan, so always keep an eye out. On the other hand, if the rust is bad on it, just walk away.
 
It sounds like it's not too bad. I'll give the guy a call tomorrow and see if I can get out there (it's an hour drive) to look it over, test drive it, and maybe even buy it.

Then again, it may be gone by now... it was posted on the 27th. 4 days, for that car; it may already be sold. Oh well, worth a shot.
 
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Craigslist is tricky like that, I've lost a good many cars on there for being a day short. Hell, even three hours short.
 
That car, over here, could easily go for 4 grand, with the drift craze and all.

Check it out, though with it being RWD might be a bit fun to learn driving on the snow ;)
 
And this car might be a bit easier than it... you know, less top-heavy. :lol:

I talked to my dad, and he doesn't seem too thrilled about this car. Actually, he doesn't seem too thrilled about ANY car I look at; says they're all "junk". I suppose I'll have to prove otherwise about this one... :banghead:
 
Re: Rust

If it is just surface rust, or even if it's a few bubbles, don't just sand it and touch it up, splash a bit of this stuff on too:

_11783_163896.jpg


It chemically changes the rust back to a solid surface, that won't rust again. After it hardens you just need to sand it down a bit so it's smooth and bingo, ready for priming/painting/laquering.
 
No, and I didn't use the picture to advertise a particular brand, it was just the first pic on google images.

Rust remedies do work, they do chemically change rust, and they do give you a surface that can then be prepped for painting. I've used them myself, albeit on steel railings, and it worked absolutely fine. I've seen them being used on programs like Wheeler Dealers (youtube it) and it worked better than fine there too.

Do your research before you start being sarcastic.
 
Leonidae
do you really believe everything what the ads and salesmen say? :rolleyes:
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Why to look the fool.

As stated, rust remedies do work. I know I will be using quite a bit here when it warms back up, on that old Celica of mine.

Keep us updated on the car hunt, a 240SX wouldn't be a bad first car at all, fairly solid motor and all that. If that falls through, well, you tried :p
 
240SX fell through. :ouch: Oh well.

Was talking to my dad, and he apparently didn't like the idea... something about them being "junk" and "expensive to fix". :indiff: He likes Toyotas, though; looks like I'll be looking for a Celica in the future.
 
Any '90s Celica is going to be a pretty solid choice. Their Camry engines are outstandingly solid (despite not making a whole lot of power), and the fuel mileage isn't bad either. I normally average about 28-29 MPG with mostly city driving, and truthfully, they are beyond awesome GT cars. Well, if you do that kind of traveling anyway...

Now that I have an ST204, and I have to admit that I'm interested in replacing it with an ST231, but that all depends these days...
 
YSSMAN
Any '90s Celica is going to be a pretty solid choice. Their Camry engines are outstandingly solid (despite not making a whole lot of power), and the fuel mileage isn't bad either. I normally average about 28-29 MPG with mostly city driving, and truthfully, they are beyond awesome GT cars. Well, if you do that kind of traveling anyway...

Now that I have an ST204, and I have to admit that I'm interested in replacing it with an ST231, but that all depends these days...
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In this case, the ST204/180 series would basically be my only choices here; they're the only ones cheap enough for me to afford. Still, I wouldn't mind having one. How well do they handle, for being (most of them) front-drivers?
 
The overall chassis design, I'd say, is up to snuff with most of the performance cars these days. It will dive in pretty hard, and hold on pretty well, but the back end will come around under the right circumstances... Or with a proper setup, it will do it even more easily. I haven't had a great opportunity to push the car all that hard, but nevertheless, I've managed to scare my friends quite a bit when driving the car at 85%.

The big penalty is the weight with the ST204. The 2800 lbs is pretty heavy for a car in that class.
 
I've driven my friend's ST184 GT-S, and it handles pretty well. Its let down by its engine not being very playful, but the gearshift is decent enough and the car is rock-stable-yet-fun. Its got a lot of grip, but it will come around on you if you push it too hard. I prefer dad's car, but the Celica wouldn't be that bad of an alternative.
 
YSSMAN
The overall chassis design, I'd say, is up to snuff with most of the performance cars these days. It will dive in pretty hard, and hold on pretty well, but the back end will come around under the right circumstances... Or with a proper setup, it will do it even more easily. I haven't had a great opportunity to push the car all that hard, but nevertheless, I've managed to scare my friends quite a bit when driving the car at 85%.

The big penalty is the weight with the ST204. The 2800 lbs is pretty heavy for a car in that class.
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I'm not too worried about weight, as 1) the Chrysler PT Cruiser I drove while I had my learners' permit weighs about 400 pounds more than that, and 2) I plan on shedding a bit of weight out of it after I get it.

I should've said earlier, I don't plan on keeping this car completely stock. I won't go overboard on anything (replacing parts with new titanium ones, putting massively grippy tires on or sticking a turbo in it), but I will probably do some playing around if/when I can afford it. Using the Celica, how is the "tuneability" factor in it?
 
Well, it uses the 5S-FE in the sporty trims, which is the 2.2 liter from the Camry. A fairly solid motor with a nice fat torque band, but not a screamer by any means. However, given the wonderful nature of Toyota's, putting in a 3S-GE would not be that tricky, and I do know the V6 that was an option on the Camry's will mount up to the transmission as well.

You can also source parts from the JDM market models, which had more performance versions, and keep the car on primarily OEM parts will bumping performance. The platform its self, from all I've seen, is fairly solid. Most any FF car will spin if you work it enough, as I use to be able to get my Tercel to step out a bit under heavy braking.

Just make sure you get the GT or GT-S models, as the ST came with either a 4A-FE or 7A-FE depending on generation, which is just rubbish for a car of that weight, even if you did swap out to a 4A-GE series motor of some sort.
 
Thanks for the advice. 👍

Azuremen
Just make sure you get the GT or GT-S models, as the ST came with either a 4A-FE or 7A-FE depending on generation, which is just rubbish for a car of that weight, even if you did swap out to a 4A-GE series motor of some sort.
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Question here: how much would I be able to pick a decent GT/GT-S model up for, and how bad would the insurance be on it?

EDIT: I used a sample '92 GT with 90,000 miles (about what I would want), and came back with $2,025 book value. Sounds decent enough. Still don't know on insurance, though.
 
ty00123
Thanks for the advice. 👍



Question here: how much would I be able to pick a decent GT/GT-S model up for, and how bad would the insurance be on it?

EDIT: I used a sample '92 GT with 90,000 miles (about what I would want), and came back with $2,025 book value. Sounds decent enough. Still don't know on insurance, though.
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I am not sure on insurance, though probably quite reasonable since they aren't really powerful cars or anything. YSSMAN can likely inform you more on the insurance costs though, since he does have a 6th gen and all that fun.
 
I bought my 1998 GT with only 76K on the clock for $7000. I overpaid a little, but the car was in outstandingly good shape. It looks like that in Michigan, you can get pretty decent 5th and 6th generation models for $4000 and under easily, although the 6th generation ones seem to be much more rare than its predecessor and its successor.

As far as insurance goes, I've got full coverage with low deductibles and I pay only $125 a month. Being a bit younger, I imagine that it would be a little higher for you, but overall, it isn't that bad. Shop around a bit, you might be able to get better rates in other places.

RE: The 5S-FE

Its not a screamer. Don't let the Toyota badge fool you. You're looking at a 6200 RPM redline, most of the power coming on in the low/mid range. What I love about the car is that I can leave it top gear and pass easily, or when going around corners, I rarely have to go lower than 3rd most times. It helps with the fuel economy, thats for sure.

...And generally, the reliability can't be beat either. Although I just had the problem with the EGR valve, any other time, it runs problem free. We had a '95 Toyota Camry with the same engine and that ran nearly 205,000 miles before the car was in a bad deer accident. All we ever had to do was change the oil, a seal or two, and the timing belt. Otherwise, it was completely trouble-free, and likely would have gone at least another 20K at the previous rate of use.

In my biased opinion, the 6th generation is by far the best-looking of the FWD Celicas, and considering that you can get them for pretty cheap, they aren't a bad idea. Thing is though, I'd recommend shopping around if you can. A Civic Coupe would be a decent alternative, and hell, you could have some fun with a regular-ass Corolla as well.
 
On insurance:

I looked at a Civic, too. A '95 would cost me $981 in insurnace if I paid it all at once, and a bit over $200 a month if I went that way. This isn't taking any other discounts into account, and I'm fairly sure a Celica would be fairly similar price-wise.

On the motor:

Reliable, without a whole lot of power. Enough to get me out of some sticky situations, though, and I'm pretty sure I could do some hopping up on the cheap if I wanted to. Sounds about perfect. 👍
 
I wouldn't bother will full coverage on a $2000 car. Adds quite a bit in cost and you'll effectively pay for the car in a year. Just do the liability standards that are reasonable. I would imagine the Civic's insurance for full coverage would be higher due to the higher theft rate, but I dunno.
 
Azuremen
I wouldn't bother will full coverage on a $2000 car. Adds quite a bit in cost and you'll effectively pay for the car in a year. Just do the liability standards that are reasonable. I would imagine the Civic's insurance for full coverage would be higher due to the higher theft rate, but I dunno.
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That IS the liability standards, no more. That comes to $1017.00. Adding a $1,000 deductible comprehensive coverage policy to it would bring the total to $1158.79.

Of course, this is using the Internet, so if I went to an actual insurance agency and/or got on my parents' policy, it could cost me a lot less.
 
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Even when I was driving the Jetta, I had full-coverage insurance on it. I think that overall, things like that come down to how much money you have, and how nice the car you're driving is. The Jetta, at the time, was running well and certainly was a clean example of what a car of that age should look like... That, and I'd have only been saving about $10 a month for lower level insurance.

Depends on the person, the car, and your income. I was thankful I had it when the car was involved in the side-swipe and such. It came in handy on the Celica when I had the deer problem too.
 
Not only that, if I buy a car from a dealer and borrow money to pay for it, most of them force you to carry full-coverage insurance-not something I can exactly afford; as Azuremen stated, I would basically be paying the car's value again in insurance in 12 months. Granted, on only liability, I'll have paid for it in about 14 months, but...

I hate insurance companies.
 

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