buying 90 s13 for $2800. is this a fair price?

[bobafett]

heres the story on the car:

1990 240SX SE

body is almost perfect, there is some paint missing from the front bumper like he scraped something, but its minor. there is maybe 2 dings, and then the rear passenger fender has a small dent/ripple.

the car has never been in an accident im fairly sure of that...
anyway the body is really straight and the interior is AWESOME aside from the fact that the seats suck for support, and i hate gray tweed! ;)

car has 103,000 miles, and a 5speed tranny... obviously its the SOHC KA24E motor.

now the motor looks really clean and the engine bay is nice, BUT, it goes thru oil (doesnt appear to burn any, and it doesnt leak any, so im sure its just burning small ammounts all the time so i cant see it while driving, but when i rev i dont get puffs of smoke.)

and the gas milage is crappy (15-20mpg)

the car is totally stock, except for prokit lowering springs, and front and rear strut bars, and of course the sleepy eyes mod. ;)

my plan for the car is track car, and i WILL be doing an sr20det swap. so the problems with gas milage and using oil are not a concern once the engine is out.

BUT the price isnt flexible, its gonna be about 2800... do you think its a fair price or should i keep looking? its really clean and looks good, but i have a friend who can get me a non running, or potentially wrecked and running car for way cheaper. but that makes me nervous, since u never know if its been thrashed, whereas this one seems like its in good condition over all.

help what do you guys suggest?

[aa87]

If your gonna do an SR swap, look, find one with a bad engine and low price. I am buying my car a bit over 5000, already with sr and a few bolt ons, along with a full set of HKS coilovers, you could find better deals.

[mrmephistopheles]

i WAS going to be an asshole and give you a nice smartassed answer, but i changed my mind.

keep looking.

[bobafett]

:fawkd:

yeah i am trying to hold out and be patient. my friend found a s13 hatch hicas or hica or whatever the fuck that is. it supposedely has 4WS and LSD and shit stock. the interior and body are supposed to be good, but its not in running condition... i will try to get more info on that car, since it seems like a better platform to work from.

im in southern washington if anyone knows of a good deal on a clean hatch.

[1sikgti]

I got my 91 se coupe not running with some needed body work an alittle clear coat fade for 750$.Threw in a low mileage ka motor for another 750$ an I had a good running clean to me coupe,se at that,for under 1800$.Keep lookin,is my opion.Less money you spend,more money for mods! :D

[orion::S14]

Hehehe...I'd pay no more than $1500.

I'm soon selling my daily driver S13 for $3200-3400...

'93 base model, white with black roof (new paint).
5-lug swap
S14 SE wheels
Eibach Sportlines
S14 seats
Pivot headlight controller
E.S. poly TC rod bushings
GReddy exhaust
Etc, etc...

^^ So to put it in perspective, that's a bad deal @ $2800.

- Brian

[advandan_92]

i got an 90 s13 for 1000 from and old man and its a perfect body and interior. hehehe. o and by the way i turned 16 a few days ago......... :bow:

[Yoshi]

as a WA resident, I can safely say that 240s cost more up here that just about any other state. I couldn't tell you why that is, but I got my most recent 240 from socal, if that's any indication of the price suckiness here.

Boba: in all reality, yes, that's way overpriced. However demand in WA MUST be way higher than the supply, because good deals are hard to find, I know! I looked for a year straight. So while these guys are telling you that it's a rip (and they're not wrong), don't expect to find that diamond in the rough so easily up here.

Just my personal experience.

advandan: holy shit. Your car is almost older than you are. Don't wrap it around a tree... or a curb... :D

[bobafett]

yoshi what part of washington are you from? im in vancouver...

yeah its really hard to find 240's up here. most are stock and go for 3000+....

bad news is, the car i posted about will cost 3500!!!! :( its my friend who is selling it, he bought it at a dealership, and they will not let him retract his optional warranty. so the ammount he owes on the car is 3500 and he wont sell it and still have to pay the bank (understandable)

so i guess i get to play the waiting game a little while longer...

[phrozen]

if u live in california like most of us, 2800 is ok price. its still high but demand is higher out here thus price is higher... i paid 2700 for my 91. Some ppl get great deals tho for like 500 for a car in that condition. the question is how bad do u want it and is it worth 2800 to you

[mjjstang]

i bought my 91 for 700, great body, some rust, bad tranny good engine. perfect interior,

[Hawd]

2800 is too much imo, keep looking.

[forsaken]

A friend of mine just got a '90 fastback for $1750 with 120k miles so I think you could definately find a better deal.

[kcolyer27]

Id pay 1500 tops for that car.

[240Driver39]

agreed with everyone else, keep lookin, i paid 2900 for my 5speed 2 years ago and it was in a lot better shape then ur describing, and had 107k on a motor i intented on keeping as it runs very well.

[MakotoS13]

yeah 2800 is a complete rip off. i paid 1400 for mine whcih had a few dents but the motor and A/C is in really good shape and it had almost no rust.. that kind of offset the dents.

my point is that if it has something you want feel free to spend a little extra but that 240 is in no way special. think about this. if the motor and paint was perfect and it had no rust it MIGHT be worth 2500 on a cloudy day in the rain...

this guy is fishin for a mullet and you should tell him that. i'd tell him what it's worth, give him my number, and walk.

[roadrunner440ba]

I found my 93 Hatch for $150. It had a bad motor and tranny both. The only reason I bought it was because it looked so good. The car itself was clean, fairly good paint and it had a dent in the fender and that was it. But on another thought i found an 89 with 80,000mi on it for $1000 so it varies. In the end I have sunk about 7000 in my 93 for the sr and all the bolt on parts and suspension.

[Bliss]

You guys that paid less than 2 grand, how long ago was that?? Have you looked at prices today? Stock S13s are going for around 3000 unless you get lucky. I know of one 91 coupe w/ 167000 miles that sold for 3200. Another 91 coupe w/ 107K miles for 3500. Another guy around here is trying to get 3K for some hatch that has an idle that bounces from 500-1000 rpms, and will probably get it. Yeah, you can find deals, but it takes a while. And its harder to find em cuz they are selling fast. The car isn't a bad deal at 2800, especially if you are having trouble finding em. I wouldn't do it at 3500, but 2800 isn't bad. But it sounds like more than you need, especially if it is running well.

[KwKouki]

I wouldnt buy. 4 months ago I found my 93 coupe for 1500. Base model se with cosmetic damage (thats all)

[oojpeeoo]

gyea just keep ur eyes open and prolly sum old lady will sell off her s13 for less then 1k ^^

[nissantuner22]

a few months ago i got my maroon colored 93 coupe 5 speed for 1500. Had AC too. clean paint, new tires, and a hole in the muffler! Its nice knowing if i want to sell it now, I can get twice my money back.

[vba07]

Damn that's expensive. How much would you guys pay for a 1996 240sx manual?

[MakotoS13]

You guys that paid less than 2 grand, how long ago was that??

about 2 and a half months ago :)

[420sx]

Damn that's expensive. How much would you guys pay for a 1996 240sx manual?
5k if its mint.


i got mine in mint, 95, 5 speed, blah blah, 60k miles for like 5500 + my galant(i striped all the turbo off it, made it stock and tranny was goin out again)
and thats a a year and a half ago.

[XXX4life]

ok everyone the car is mine, blue book on the car is around $2500-2700 and it's one of the cleanest s13s ou will ever see being bone stock, i bought the car 6 months ago for $2998 from a dealership, yes a little high but i wanted a 240 and i needed a car like that day, and they made me buy a warrnty with it or else they were gonna stick me with 10% apr and the lady told me i could cancel the warranty after 3 months, well i went to cancel it and now they say i cant cancel it, so i owe $3500 on the car now, yes that's more than it's worth and no i don't expect anyone to pay that for the car but i think $2800 is fair since you will not find another one in our area half as nice for any price, orginally i was gonna build this car but now i don't really have the time or motivation for a project like this so i wanna sell it, anyway just wanted to post in here and say i'm not trying to rip anything off, is chris buys my car then fine if not it's no hard feeling i'll just probably end up buidling it for myself, but with this car he knows what he's getting unlike some other one he might buy

[Var]

If it's really clean it's worth 2500 to me. Also the dealership ripped you off on the warranty cause they dont decide the interest rate, the bank does. So they made you buy the warranty. At least you got a warrantied S13 though, so keep it as a daily driver and it will probably be worth it in the end.

[justinhustle]

i got a 91 se blaze red for 350 bux, didnt run :)

[Var]

oops..i didnt even see the first post. The car isnt perfect after all. Sounds like it's worth about 1000-1500 if it's burning oil, reguardless if what you're doing with it.. You're basically ditching the engine but paying top dollar for a car that has a bad engine. It doesnt make any sense. Even if you are putting an SR,that has nothing to do with the seller. You should only pay what it's worth. Probably 1300 at most.

[andrave]

I think a running s13 with a good body (minor rust, dings, and scratches) and a reliable sohc is worth no more than 1500, and thats what I paid for my coupe with aftermarket rims and a very clean body.
if you have money to throw away its hard to find a clean s13 these days, but.. its your money.

[zdude]

:fawkd:

yeah i am trying to hold out and be patient. my friend found a s13 hatch hicas or hica or whatever the fuck that is. it supposedely has 4WS and LSD and shit stock. the interior and body are supposed to be good, but its not in running condition... i will try to get more info on that car, since it seems like a better platform to work from.

im in southern washington if anyone knows of a good deal on a clean hatch.
if hes gonna drift with it its not gonna be a good platform, hicas is bad for drifting. but the lsd is nice, maybe there is a way to convert to an anti hicas rear end and keep the lsd...

[andrave]

hicas eliminator... der.

[G_Fish240]

for a stock clean as can be single cam in CA I would pay like 2100 MAX

[bobafett]

well i bought a blue hatch for 1500 with drivers side fender and slight bumper damage and blown struts... replace those and ive got a nice little car.

anyway sean your 240 is waaay cleaner, but i paid cash for this car, which is nice since i wont be getting myself into more debt heheeh i couldnt have afforded your car for cash right away...

anyway ill have to show u some time...

[DRFT24O]

You guys that paid less than 2 grand, how long ago was that?? Have you looked at prices today? Stock S13s are going for around 3000 unless you get lucky. I know of one 91 coupe w/ 167000 miles that sold for 3200. Another 91 coupe w/ 107K miles for 3500. Another guy around here is trying to get 3K for some hatch that has an idle that bounces from 500-1000 rpms, and will probably get it. Yeah, you can find deals, but it takes a while. And its harder to find em cuz they are selling fast. The car isn't a bad deal at 2800, especially if you are having trouble finding em. I wouldn't do it at 3500, but 2800 isn't bad. But it sounds like more than you need, especially if it is running well.

I got my 91 base with 88,000 miles 2 days ago for $1500. Needs paint, and seats are stained. thats it basically. I know a guy who does whole sale and sells them for under $2000. Let me know whose looking and ill see what i can do. I posted pics on the technical section, check em out.