FD what to look for buying guide???

[B.Martin]

Yeah its me again :Giggle
 
I\'m still looking at buying one blah blah etc etc,
 
I\'m going to look at one (an FD) later in the week and i\'ve done searches and couldn\'t find a buying guide/checklist anywhere on the website. So any of you FD veterans that have a half an hour (or less) or a administrator could find it in your heart to put together a buying guide, like what to check, what to look for etc. I would be forever in debted.
 
A \'sticky\' buying guide might also help others who come to the site looking to buy an FD if they know what to look for, no one wants to buy one that will cause to many problems that can be avoided. And often people who are looking at FD\'s don\'t buy it not expecting the odd problem, but paying the \'right price\' is always very important.
 
Anyway, really hope one or a few of you could put one together - or infact of someone knows where to find one, that would be reallly good.
 
I remember once looking at buying a DC2 Integra Type R and the DC2 forum had this on it - http://www.itr-dc2.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=79317&highlight=checklist it is really good. Great for anyone looking to buy an integra or any car i guess, but one for a specialist type like the RX7 would do wonders i think.
 
Anyway, enough babbling, hope this can happen.
 
Ben

[trotter]

Didn\'t look very far did you....

http://www.mazdarotaryclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=256

already exists hehehe

graeme

[B.Martin]

your joking. I guess thats what you get for using the \'search\' button and not doing it manually.
 
My bad. cheers though!

[Jit]

My advice would be to buy as late an FD as you can. I\'ve nothing against 92 FDs but they are all getting on for 20 years old now and 92 FDs came with really horrid interior panels which scratched easily. IMO a rebuild isn\'t the be all and end all. Buy one with a sound chassis, sound brakes and a nice interior. A compression test is handy but it\'s only an indicator of engine health and won\'t give you any guarantees. Try to avoid ones that have been resprayed in totally differnt colours. Nothing worse than opening an engine bay on a White car to see a red engine bay. It\'ll hurt you when you come to sell it. A "project" Fd sounds nice on paper but trust me you\'re better off with something you can get in and drive. If resale values are important to you then IME steer clear of silver FDs! They seem to be a nightmare to sell on! Best colours IME are White, Black or Red.

Have you got a link to the FD you are looking at? Maybe someone knows the car?

[B.Martin]

I\'m living in Cyprus now so unforunately no one will know it. They are asking a silly price at the moment so until that stumbling Block is sorted out it\'s a no play. Car is yellow and had a rebuild @ 12k before it was imported here from uk. Car is now on 60k, this is my major worry. I\'ve \'looked round it\' when I spotted it parked near my shop.

I think I\'ll pay closer attention to it when the massive €7000 price tag is lowered!

[dthebuk]

they\'re just like any other car really. make sure you drive a few so you get a feel for what they should feel like. If you havnt driven a few its a bit harder to tell if they\'re dogged or not.

Look for cars that\'ve had a decent service history. If not, chances are lots of things things such as brakes,tyres clutch and general serviceables are at the end of their life etc. Im a firm believer in going for a car thats clearly been looked after rather than a low miler.

As for the engine. Make sure it starts fine hot and cold, doesn\'t smoke, reaches correct boost levels etc.

good luck, so you finally moved out now?

[B.Martin]

Yeah dude I\'m out here now nearly all set up, seems like a good place. Dont know if your on Facebook or not, but hired a hummer out saturday and took it of road I put a fee pics on there.

[trotter]

no problem matey!

As said, the compression test is not the be-all and end-all of engine health checks, it\'s merely an indication.

If you want a quick cut-out-and-keep-guide then i\'d suggest the following:

1) Compression test
2) Check engine starts hot and cold - a little smoke is normal, lots is not
3) Check that the oil is clear and new - if it\'s black and thick chances are the owner hasn\'t been taking care of her - what else hasn\'t he done?
4) Go out for a blast, check the turbo switchover (assuming she\'s still got sequential twins) to make sure there are no problems. If standard and all is well you should see a 10psi-8psi-10psi pattern between 3.5-4.5k when the second one kicks in. It will be accompanied by a wee jerk that you will feel.
5) If you are particularly paranoid, go for a \'champagne test\'. Unscrew the middle filler cap (next to the alternator) and have a sniff - smells of exhaust/petrol are signs that the water seals are rubber ducked. Cut a plastic juice bottle in half and put it in top first. Fill it up with water/coolant and give the engine some revs. Any bubbles appearing show that the water seals are again, rubber ducked.

HTH

graeme