i found a 98 gst convertable for sale, fully loaded, leather, 60k miles, 250+hp, body kit, z3 fenders, on chrome 17's. but the only thing is its kinda fishy... i was talking to her and she said that a 02 sensor is bad, but thats all thats wrong with it, well they are willing to trade me my 90 Galant gsx (non turbo) $2,000 car max plus UP to a grand max straight up for this car... im hoping to get some info on maybe some general ideas or problems that occur with the 98 gst as to why it might be so cheap. I dont think they are going to come out and say it, lol. I dont have the vin yet to see if its a totoal/rebuild, but am going to go test drive it this weekend, does it seem to be a good buy even if it is a total? only 3,000 -3,500 for the car. this is the car

 

I was bored so I thought I would give you a big answer.

A dealer would pay anywhere between $6,500-$7,500 and retail it between $8,500-$10,500.
The cars book value is actually more than that. The book shows it having a retail value of around $11,000 and wholesale of about $8,900 (and thats if its a 5 spd. More if its Automatic)
I've been in the car business for a while now, going to car auctions and such (7yrs) I know a little about what a dealer would give for such a car. A dealer would probably pay less if buying this car because of the body kit and any engine mods (which I'm assuming it has since you said it had 250 HP). Why? Not everyone wants a race car. The reason I'm bringing all this dealer stuff up is to show that this is a VERY good deal. Even if the engine did have to be replaced or rebuilt you'd still have in it what its worth in retail and if you didnt mind going through the hassle of doing that then its still a good deal. You could actually pay to have the engine built stronger
and still be in good shape investment wise.

If it is a rebuilt vehicle then make sure it is sound mechanically. If it is'nt, then you will be putting a lot of money into an engine of a car that will have a low value in most peoples eyes if you ever decide to sell it. And most banks will not loan money on a rebuilt car so you cut alot of people out of the picuture when selling it. If it does check out ok, and your're going to hang on to it for a while, then I would consider it still a good deal. Rebuilt vehicles are really valued by who owns them. I'd say theirs about a 50/50 ratio as to people who dont mind owning them and those who do. Those who do usually flip out and are like, "A rebuilt vehicle, ARE YOU CRAZY??????????????? I'm not buying that". People think because something has a rebuilt title then it must have been cut into a million pieces before being put back together. I've bought a lot of cars that had a clean title at dealer auctions that were smashed just as bad, if not worse, than some salvage titled cars and its all because of what mood the insurance company was in and what they wanted to mark it as. The insurance company decides weather or not a car is marked with a salvage title which turns into a rebuilt title when it is bought and fixed by usually a bodyshop (who are allowed to have dealers license). The fact is that almost any used car you buy from a lot will have had some body work done to it. To me, if it looks good and sounds good after being rebuilt, I dont mind owning a rebuilt vehicle. Just know that when selling it, you will turn some off because of it. I put my wife in a rebuilt Isuzu rodeo that I actually rebuilt and she nor I really care.

If the car is in your area, ask to see if you can have it checked out by a mechanic.
The only problem I would be really leary of is the dreaded crankwalk. Heres a link to some info on it and how others describe it http://www.roadraceengineering.com/w...crankshaft.htm
Theres alot of good posts here on mitsubishiforums about it to. Just go to search and type in "crankwalk".

So run the VIN for sure and have it checked out mechanically. $3,500 is cheap for this car. If you dont buy it then let me know who has it so I can........!