Found a Galant, looking for advice (long)

Hey all, I'm new to the board but no stranger to DSMs. I used to be a moderator on the 2GNT forums along with DR1665 and I've owned 12 DSMs since 1999 as well as an Evo 8 and 9. All of them have been sold except for my 91 TSi AWD which is, of course, broken and waiting for me to get some money together before I can get it back on the road.

Anyway, I found 928/2000 and I'm looking for some advice from the GVR4 pros on the board. I'm pretty close to buying it, but I wanted to run it past everyone here first to see what everyone thinks. They won't budge on the price at $2,500 so I'm trying to judge if this is a good deal. I'd appreciate any feedback I can get.

The good:
- 1 owner since 1991. I'll be buying it off the original buyer.
- Zero rust
- Undercarriage is perfect
- 100% completely stock and unmolested
- No accidents
- Recently rebuilt head and turbo, new hoses and timing belt with receipts to prove it.
- Most of the body is in great shape, paint is nearly perfect with very few dings. (just needs a good bath)
- Comes with numbered keychain.
- Interior is mostly good.
- It's white, which is the color I want.

The bad:
- 181k miles (not a big deal to me)
- Blowing smoke, apparently bad rings according to current owner. Most likely needs a bottom end rebuild.
- Doesn't start, most likely a bad starter according to the current owner as well as a dead battery from sitting so long.
- Transmission is shot, needs a complete rebuild.
- Driver seat leather is toast and there are some small cracks on the dash (you can see them in the pic of the badge).
- Sound system was just ripped out including some sort of subwoofer in the trunk, probably leaving the wiring a mess.
- Front and rear bumpers need to be massaged and repainted/replaced.
- Driver side fender needs to be replaced.


Other than that, it seems pretty solid. What appeals to me the most is this seems to be a "new" Galant that hasn't changed hands so many times like the others out there. I'd love to get this one back on the road after sitting for as long as it has. I looked through the registry post here and I didn't see 928 which is exciting.

I'm planning on scavenging the nearly brand new Shepherd tranny, starter, and battery from my Talon to take care of those problems. That really just leaves the rebuild left to get it running on its own power, I hope.

So there it is. I'd love to hear any feedback or comments. Good? Bad? Thanks!

Jeff

 

I would not pay that much for it if you are going to have to rebuild the bottom end. I would not pay more than 1500 because it has an ok body and has not been molested as well as for the above reason.

 

I Like It !!! mainly because I'm dierly in love with the summit white lol.. It looks like it will all check out for you if you already have the trans. to swap.. I currently have 172K miles, Daily Driven on 20psi w/ Stock Internals with no problems an love it so I say get it an start on that bottom end if the head and turbo is good then thats one less thing to worry about.. Plus I don't know too many people that still have their badge matching key-chain.. that's just cool lol.. Well I wish the best of luck on witch ever way you wind up going.. and hopefully we can get yet another GVR-4 on the road again..

 

[G]

Definitely looks clean & a solid unibody, if you can talk them down to 2k do it.

 

[ktmrider]

Good base but pricey for a non-runner.
Worst case the owner should get it running so you can see/hear the potential problems.

 

[4Grim]

+1...a bit pricey for a non running car. The exterior and interior aren't really in "great shape" especially with the dings and overall shape of the interior. Like you said..the motor is due for a rebuild and tranny is shot also /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

Its great the undercarriage is rust free which is great. Though even though it has only 1 owner...its looks like it was dogged out by that owner.

 

[14u2nV]

The smoke could be a blown turbo as well. As mentioned, that's a lot for a non-running car. Look in the f/s section, you can find several for that much that run and look alright.

 

[dmj]

Asking price to high for non runner,should be 1500.00-2000.00.

 

[EMX5636]

I agree that the price is too high. I bought a running (ignition timing was off and needed a tune up so it was a bit rough), white 91 for 2600 that had a rebuilt trans with 30k on it, 172k and paint in better shape than yours. Only deal with mine was the roof has some dents in it.


It looks like it could be a very nice car, with some TLC, but I'd get him down to at least 2k, if not more. Good Luck!

 

[DR1665]

Jeff, welcome to the fray. I'll agree that $2500 is a bit on the high side for a non-runner. Powertrain issues are nothing to sneeze at, but they're far easier to handle, imo, than replacing a jankhy driver's seat or dash. (Consider A) finding replacements, B) finding seller willing to tackle shipping replacements, and C) paying more for the shipping than you did for the parts in the first place.)

You know your skills, what you've got ready to swap (is the engine in the red car okay?) and that it's otherwise cosmetic stuff. The question I'd have is, what is the value - to you - of finding a "new" GVR4 and saving it? From what I've seen of your other cars, whatever you buy will end up immaculate. With their being firm on the price, and it not running, they're going to have to find an enthusiast to buy it. The run of the mill ricer pieces of sh*t aren't likely to scoop that up because it's too much and they don't actually know anything about rebuilding. So maybe you could wait on it.

Either way. Seems like a relatively sound car. You've got all the mechanicals just taking up space elsewhere, so you're ready to swap and drive. Call that salvage yard with the complete, white one that one sell it as a whole and buy the fender and driver's seat or something.

Looks decent, but what happened to 198?

 

Thanks for the replies everyone, they are extremely helpful. I'm going to see how close I can get them to $1,500 if at all. They seemed very much against dropping the price but maybe they will listen to reason. I went to KBB.com and answered their questionnaire to see what type of condition the car is in for their price estimate and it turned up as "Poor condition". They don't even give estimates for poor condition, so the next step up was "fair" and that was $1,700 with a running engine, working tranny, and mostly cosmetic damage or slight rust. "Excellent condition" is $2,400.

If they aren't willing to lower the price I'll have to pass on this one. Some day 928 will find a home.


Brian, the guy had his own number wrong. He put 198 in the listing but it was 928. Also the engine in my red car was seized when it was shipped across the country, so only the tranny will be swappable for now.

 

[Sr71sss]

wow they will be hard pressed to get that much for it, I have bought rollers for $500 but I wish they were all worth more when you sell them LOL..

good luck and see if they will take $1500, I still think you can get it for $1500 no more than that