Is this Galant worth it??

Dude is selling a 1991 vr4 galant in my local area. He had it posted for $750 but I talked him down to $600. I was super excited about going to look at it. All I knew was that the timing belt broke so it might need a new head and possible bottom end work like piston replacement but I was fine with that. Well when I went to see the car today I realized it had quiet a bit of body damage. The front end has been pushed back from some minor impact. Upper radiator support probably needs to be cut out and new one rewelded into place. Headlights are all out of wack. Bumper and hood needs to be replaced. When he got in the wreck the 1st time he said the hood wouldnt close so he had it straped down with a tie strap and one day the strap let loose and the hood flew back and dented the roof in like 4 places? Then someone hit the passenger side right rear quarter panel between the door and rear tire. I mean all this body work, im guessing would cost somewhere around 500-1000 bucks and im debating if the car is worth it? What do yo guys think?

its stock, 154,000 miles, 90 evo transmission, green, number 1500 or so, stock besides the droppin air filter and ac that works

 

[rdomeck]

That body work seems like it would cost $5-8K. Sounds pretty beat up. The throw in the build on the engine......If you want one, find one that is not all beat to hell. Then think about this one for a parts car. Yes it could be fixed, but your looking at a $10K build before it's back up and going!

 

[alansupra94]

If you can't do the body work yourself, it is going to cost you a fortune. Even if you do the body work youself, its alot of time and money....I would go with a better roller.

 

[DR1665]

Wow. "Ran when parked," right? /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/uhh.gif

It's all fixable, but the real question is what do you want this GVR4 to be in the end? If you want polished, old school charm, walk away.

But, if you want beast mode daily transportation, if you want to go all Mad Max "Pursuit Special" with a little JDM flavor - if you don't give a single f*** what the car looks like, so long as it hauls ass - this could be a fun project. You could replace the core support. I did. The link below doesn't play nice with the hyperlink tag, so try copy/paste, yeah? If not, search the general section for +"unibody section replacement" -"Re:"

click,c2,&Words=%2B"front%20end"%20-"Re%3A"&Searchpage=1&Limit=25&Main=666520&Search=true&where=bodysub&Name=&daterange=1&newerval=&newertype=&olderval=&oldertype=&bodyprev=#Post666520

It will be easier to find a FWD core support, but they ran different bracing under the engine, so you have to modify the new core support if you go this route. Measure three or four times before you cut, too, and don't expect your lights and grille to all line up perfectly when you're done. It's not worth putting on a frame straightener, imo. Even if it only ran you a grand to get the unibody straight, you'll be hard-pressed to sell the car for more than $5000 for a good 5-10 years.

But yeah, it's going to be some some work.

 

[LIV4PSI]

Its unfortunately not worth it as others have stated. Decent body work is expensive. It will need a ton more work than you realize. Stock suspension will need replaced, every bushing is going to be wore out. Pedals may need to be rebuilt with the driveshaft as well, the ECU probably needs recapped, tires are most likely junk, TB needs rebuilt, etc. I'm sure you got the point.

 

[jnava]

^-- +1

 

[mikus]

I'd say 70% of galant owners have made their peace with aesthetic issues, Eg. failing clearcoat. If you want a mint body/paint vr4, you really should buy a mint body vr4 and paint it.

Alternatively, you can aim to go fast enough that nobody can get a good look

 

Sounds like you have a Vr-4 with a bad motor and a bad body... Whats left???? Theres a reason why the car is $600 and you've mentioned all of it. Sounds like this car is headed for a part out, or a very costly rebuild. If the body needs as much work as you mentioned, 500-1000 certainly isn't going to make a dent in the repair (no pun intended).

Veterans here will tell you, just go out and spend a few thousand for a good running car. You'll spend much less buying one that is will sorted rather than trying to bring this one back to life.

 

[deusamo]

Buy this instead. It may not be a GVR4, but it should be a fun car, and it looks to be well maintained. Not a bad price, either.

 

[Jason G.]

^ +1 appears to be unmolested too.

 

[LIV4PSI]

Quoting deusamo:
Buy this instead. It may not be a GVR4, but it should be a fun car, and it looks to be well maintained. Not a bad price, either.



For some people, when you want a Galant VR4, a 1G just isn't going to cut it.

 

[deusamo]

I agree, but unless he's willing to spend more money, or do a fair amount of restoration, that is his best option. I'm in the same boat. I don't have a ton of money to spend, but I want a GVR4. Always have. So I'm waiting until I have enough money to buy one that isn't suspect. Fortunately for me, that should happen within a week or two. Anywoo, I'm just trying to help someone out who seems to be on a limited budget. This would also be a decent option, but it's a little more expensive. With a little patience, you can find a lot of stuff on Craigslist.

 

[yeti]

His original option was 600$
Ff you don't mind driving a beat up car i'm sure you could make a BEAST in BUMS clothing..

You also have to take into consideration if you don't save this car nobody else probably will either...
I would see whats up with it for 400$ if so take it, make drive train good and drive it around and slowly fix body, sh*t bondo dont look bad if done right..

(EDIT) after re-reading your post-that shits beat /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/uhh.gif, offer 300$ cash but still barely worth it..
your choice