White '92 in Trading Post

[McTaff]

To those of you who wish to go and look at this vehicle, don't bother.

Ticketed at just under ten grand, I was appalled at the condition of the car.

Short version:

• Interior
  Interior has been desecrated, all seats would need to be replaced (drivers) or re-upholstered (Passenger and rear).
  
• Exterior
  Exterior was poorly restored. It is obvious the vehicle has taken a BIG rear end hit, and the repair job was done by a backyard/amateur mob.
  
  
• Mechanical
  The mechanical condition was questionable, and I didn't bother testing. But it is painfully obvious that the odometer has been wound back (I suspect it was probably more than 300,000km, and the engine leaks oil while switched off..

The long version:

The car was up on a stand, at about shoulder height, so I was unable to see a lot of the interior, nor was I able to run or drive the vehicle.

The exterior from the front at first glance seemed tired, but upon closer inspection it was obviously tarted up (and badly) once you saw the rest.
The plastic sideskirts/fairing had at times become seperated and re-attached. The rear bumper was askew, was peeling paint badly.
The tailgate itself was obviously resprayed, and by an amateur; the keyhole had been sprayed over, and when I pushed at the key slot protector, the paint actually cracked (as if it was a recent cover up).
The indicator on one side was very faded/fogged, and the other side looked as if it was fairly new, which would indicate one of them was replaced during a repair of some sort.
I couldn't get a good look at the front, but it seemed intact.
The aftermarket rims didn't even have a brand name, so I doubt that they are even worth keeping, possibly being the wrong offset to begin with, and even if they were the right dimensions and offset are only cheap crap to begin with.

The interior was nothing short of a disaster.
The drivers seat had come completely asunder in the horizontal surface (big split across) and the leather was dry and useless. Many of the seams were stretched or split.
The plastic parts of the seat were not attached.
The rear seat looked as if it has completely deteriorated beyond restoration; the leather would need to be removed and replaced.
The interior bore many years of hard use; I would peg the car at at least 300,000kms worth of wear.
The sunroof (from the inside) appeared very well used, and far dirtier than any other. The plastic switchgear for the sunroof was worn and smooth, indicating extremely heavy use.
The steering wheel was completely worn, and needed some TLC.

As for the mechanicals, is very suspect.
Nothing on the vehicle indicates the reading of 84,000kms is true; in fact there is a very faded sticker on the bodywork indicating 175,000 for something (I assume a bodywork checkup or warranty on repairs or work done). There is no service history nor even a owners manual to support the cars history. Given the wear, it is laughable anyone would believe the odometer reading.
The car had a fair pool of oil on the crossmember and several droplets hanging down waiting to let go and stain the concrete. Without access to the engine bay, I couldn't ascertain where it was coming from exactly, but I'd suspect a rocker cover had busted a gasket, or maybe the crankshaft seal had lost the battle. Either way, you'd be pulling the whole lot out and doing a couple of grands' worth of work to get it to pass rego.
As I didn't drive it, I can't comment on the gearbox or engine actually running, but I'm doubtful.


So I wandered over to the guy, offered him three thousand, but made sure I sounded unsure of myself, this way he would think that he had an easy mark. His reaction indicated he was totally uninterested in bargaining at all - he didn't even try to tell me that I needed to go higher. He simply refused, which tells me he isn't going to come to the party for anyone else.

About the only things I noticed in the cars' favour was:
The undercarriage looked fairly ordinary (as in "not crappy").
The poor tired machine was actually registered for one month. My point here is that at least you can drive it home instead of having to tow it and spend more money.


This car would, I suppose, be halfway decent to make a rally car or race car out of. Short of that, it's not really worth a pinch of the brown stuff because I suspect the engine and possibly the tranny are shot, and it'd be pointless buying it for parts.

I hope this saves someone some trouble. But, if anyone wants to buy it for the frame, I'll throw some cash to them if I can have the interior bits - I want to re-upholster and replace some of my bits (and make some templates for all of us in the process).

[dynomatt]

thanks McTaff...the wheels are R32 Nissan Skyline wheels...pretty common and worth nothing.

Otherwise, shame about the condition.

M

[McTaff]

Originally Posted by dynomatt

thanks McTaff...the wheels are R32 Nissan Skyline wheels...pretty common and worth nothing.

All it said on them (on the hubs) was "We built with spartan air" or something completely random. I suspected that was Engrish, and that lead me to the conclusion they were crap.