Drove 96 LSi on Ebay today - WARNING

[EveryShadeofBlue]

Hey everyone:

I took a 30 mile plus trip today to see this car:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eB...tem=2418457060

Sounds nice, a '96 LSi and from the ad you would think it's "Super nice" as the ad implies. I wanted to get another SVX as a second car and was hoping this car with only 64K (so it says) would be the perfect garage queen that I could wash and wax and drive to church on Sundays.

The car in the ad and the car I saw seemed to be two different animals. The headlights were the most shocking to me, they look nice and clear in the ad. However, they were a disgusting putrid yellow and one had white paint on it and a big blemish of small cracks. The grille was yellow as well with all of the coating peeling off. Here's a rundown of the other things:

1) Check engine light went on 2 minutes into the drive
2) Rearview mirror loose and flopped all over
3) Guy selling it went to get out of the car and the driver's side kick panel fell off
4) Paint scratches and blemishes EVERYWHERE
5) Trunk basically ripped part with all light covers strewn all over and spare tire parts laying all over
6) Shift flare between 2nd and 3rd gear. The beginning of the end of the tranny?
7) Center console has a chunk missing off of it toward the top rear.
8) No remotes and the the security system appears broken. Security light stayed lit when car was off and would blink once about every 10-20 seconds.
9) Wipers and black plastic piece below them spray painted (very crudely) black again. Rear wiper was missing the wiper blade and housing.
10) Couldn't get the cruise to work
11) Generally dirty and it was apparent that whoever owned the car last took little care of it.

Overall, this car was ABUSED and I'm sure someone in the end would pay for the lack of care unless they got the car cheap enough and are handy with fixing things and have lots of spare trim pieces.

If you had any other questions, just let me know!

Jeff

[ensteele]

Thanks for sharing that with us. It is very hard to know what these cars are like without someone checking them out first. No wonder some cars keep coming up on auction over and over again.

[Alycone]

Poor ebony

Jeff,

I'm sure you've been jonsin' to replcae your old one. Sorry this wasn't it!

How can someone do that to any car especially this car!

Randy ii

[EveryShadeofBlue]

Looking at the ad again, the pictures must have been doctored for the front headlights. They look so nice in the ad when in reality they are the worst SVX headlights I've ever seen!

I'm off to look at the '97 SVX tomorrow (provided I get an appt) that's in Sarasota, FL. Tonight I'll be dreaming about that one. I'll give you all a full report. I couldn't sleep last night thinking about this '96 and then was completely letdown when I saw it.

Jeff

[Noir]

jeez. thanks jeff. i talked to the owner and thought about going down there to look at it when i'm in tampa next week. saves me a trip. just fyi - the guy at the other place with the 1997 is looking for $11,500+. can't tell you the condition but i know the price.

[EveryShadeofBlue]

Hey Noir:

Hah! Beat you to the 97 as well. I went down to Sarasota today to look at that one. Much nicer than the 96 but the only hang up is the price. I think my car is sold and I would like to make an offer on it if ya'll don't mind. I may work out a deal with them.

Issues with this car:

1) Front rotors need to be turned/replaced
2) Stereo knob loose
3) Front bumper has fading and lots of marks on it. A bra or repaint would help it.
4) Big door ding on passenger side
5) Power mirrors didn't work very well
6) Alarm system broken along with keyless entry. No remotes

Otherwise, a nice, clean, lady driven car. I got to talk to the owner and she's really cool (I told her about this board, so if she's on here...HELLO).

Anyway, so I may have a '97 SVX next week. My Elantra is now almost sold, I'll get a deposit tomorrow. So back off everyone and leave this one to me I want to be a member of the club again!

Jeff

[Noir]

bidding wars jeff...muohahahaha... just kidding. go for it. i can wait for the next one....i think . no biggie, still planning with some people on what i'm going to do with the next SVX. .

[Mr. Pockets]

Originally posted by EveryShadeofBlue
Looking at the ad again, the pictures must have been doctored for the front headlights. They look so nice in the ad when in reality they are the worst SVX headlights I've ever seen!

Jeff

Given your description of the car, Jeff, I don't think that the photos are doctored. If the left headlight is the one with white paint on it, then you can see it in the front-on shot. The yellowing in the headlights is very difficult to see in photos unless they're close-up. And even then things like the condition of the surface are difficult to capture on film.

Also, those photos may have been taken well before the seller decided to put the car up on the block.

Good luck finding one you are happy with, though!