Hi everybody!

I have a few questions that I need answered by you guys...

A friend of mine has a 1998 GS-T Spyder for sale. I've known the guy my whole life. It has only 115k miles on it and the carfax is clean besides a slight accident years and years ago. He is desperate to get rid of the car because he needs the cash and is willing to go as low as 3000$. The engine and the tranny on the car seem pretty good. The car definitely has power. It shifts pretty good.

Here's where my concerns come in.

- There is definitely a leak somewhere. The car has a musty mildew stench and I found some water located under the rear leather bench seat. It was never in a flood or anything like that but it's an issue that needs to be addressed.

- The airbag cover is peeling off. He was never in an accident with the car but the previous owner was. Honestly, it just looks like it's peeling.

- I would rate the exterior, body and paint of the car in fair condition. It honestly could use a whole new paint job and there are a few dents and dings that should be removed.

- When the car is started and the AC is turned on, a weird, loud noise starts up somewhere under the hood I believe. Could it be a belt?

- I can hear a flapping like sound occassionally when driving the car.


Overall, i'm not a mechanic by any means. When I pop the hood, the engine looks to have a little bit of rust on it but that seems to be what I notice in a lot of pictures of this car during this year.

As I've said, I've known the seller for a long time. We are friends. He's definitely not trying to pull a fast one on me. In fact, he's out of the loop when it comes to the value of these things.

With these issues I've mentioned, for 3000$ does it sound like a good deal?

I really really appreciate any and all advice.

 

most of those problems you listed are common. for one almost all the airbag covers on 2nd gen eclipse peal off. the noise you hear when the ac is on is either belt or pully, andits an old car so it is going to have some leaks, you might want to check the top for any kind of holes or small tears. Just so you know these eclipses take alot of up keep. It seems that everytime you fix a problem another one comes up. they are however very fun cars to drive and have alot of potential. 3000 dollars does not sound like a bad deal to me, but that is just my opinion.

 

yeah mine is a hard top and theres a leak somewhere, plus i found out thatone smell was some old long john silvers....

 

I have to say that all those things are typical DSM problems, but nothing TOO too bad, or so it seems. Not a bad deal if you ask me.
Like BestWiseguy said though, theyre a lot of keep up...
Dont be the 5-year-old-that-wants-a-puppy, and then wonder why things so go wrong. "This is a BIG responsibility, Timmy" lol

 

is it running a differnt turbo or wastegate? usually a flappy sound from under the hood is wastegate flutter. it sounds lke a decent deal to me for only 3k. personally, i'd buy it if i knew it was in good condition.

 

The only thing I can say for sure is that it is all stock. My main concern is getting rid of that musty water smell which may need me to replace the entire carpet. That could be only a few hundred though. For 3000$, I wouldn't mind putting another 1k into it for something more presentable.

 

is it the carpet that smells or just the foam under the bench seat? there are ppl parting our their 2g's ALL THE TIME and i'msure you could pick up a used seat in good condition for little to nothing... and loook at it this way. you get this good runnin car other than a belt or pulley for 3k, put a 1k paint job on it and a new belt.... you could turn around and sell this car for 5-6k easily!! so it sounds like a good investment to me.

 

I have to locate the exact position of the leak. I know some of it was coming through and building up in the back where the convertble folds in... which ended up running down and remaining under the rear seat. I hope that's the only source of the leak. I know around the ring of the cigarette lighter there also appears to be a tiny bit of rust unless it's the glue that was holding the ring in. (Is this a common problem as well?) The car was definitely never in a flood but I'm not so sure if he ever left the top down when it rained or what.

 

okay needless to say i got lucky w/ my eclipse its in good condition and it only has one issue it has one leak in the trans . i picked the car up for 5000 cash and have been tuning on it for a minute now , when i bought it in march i had to deal w/ one issue the tension straps on my top were worn out so i had to replace them but i just used the elastic cloth and no more issues except for the leak in the trans which i caused my car also only had 76,000 miles on it and the previous owner was like 60 some years old so i got a deal but for three grand you'd be an idiot to not buy it

 

no need for name caling now lol good that you found the leak, easy fix it sounds like. as for the cig lighter area, yes that is common b/c my 99 gs had the same problem. dude i would not let this opportunity slip by if worst comes to worst you could turn aroud and sell this car for 1-2k more than ur buying it form and even more if you get a paint job. go for it bro