Kouki Body Damage Question

[Loetke]

I'll start this off by saying that I don't know a damn thing about cars, so please excuse my stupid questions.

I recently found a '98 240sx with only 50k miles for a decent price. The car has body damage. According to the owner it only needs a hood, driver's side inner and outer fender, front bumper, grill, headlights, and MAF sensor. He says the radiator was missed in the accident, so all good there. I can get all those parts cheap enough, no problem. What troubled me (and here's where me not knowing enough comes into play) is the pictures he sent. It appears to my untrained eye that it needs more than just an "inner fender".

This is where you guys come in. I'm going to attach the pics he sent, and hope someone here will be able to give me a little insight as to what I might be expecting in repair costs. I understand that most of you guys do your own work, but I think I'm a bit too inexperienced to even attempt at this point. Anyway, please have a look and let me know what you think. Thanks.

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/Loetke/IMAG0285.jpg

http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a9/Loetke/IMAG0284.jpg

[evomike]

That car needs a frame rail

[Loetke]

What would you recommend? Buy the car on the cheap and fix it, or avoid it like the plague? What costs can be expected? As I said, I have no experience with anything like this.

[satek]

It's not worth the money to fix it...go find another.

[Aspentrwrx]

If you can buy it dirty cheap maybe and just tube the whole front but since you say you dont have too much knowledge of cars you probably wouldn't be able to do it yourself....

[67goatman455]

That car needs a frame rail

no it doesnt, the frame rail may be tweaked but can be straightened. if you can find a 240 that is getting cut up, cut that section off of it and take it to a professional body shop. because that sheetmetal probably isnt available from nissan anymore, and if a body shop gets those pieces from a salvage yard for you, you can bet it will be expensive. labor rates are typically in the $40 an hour range, looks like 4-8 hours worth of work there

[Dustxking]

^ this car is located in portland oregon right?! I saw it on craigslist also, yeah its nice and has super low miles but those damages are way more then what he is asking in price. I know kouki's are hard to find, but you could spend extra thousand and find a nice one with a nice SR.

[Loetke]

The guy has a '95 240 that he said I can use to pull any parts I need. I don't suppose a frame rail from a '95 would work, would it?

^ this car is located in portland oregon right?! I saw it on craigslist also, yeah its nice and has super low miles but those damages are way more then what he is asking in price. I know kouki's are hard to find, but you could spend extra thousand and find a nice one with a nice SR.

It's in Seattle, but yeah, found on CL. He's asking $5250, which is obviously way too high. I wasn't planning on paying more than $4000. I'm glad I asked on these forums though...

[ziptiedae86]

If this is going to be your daily driver, then it will take a lot of work to repair so I would walk away.

If this is going to be an extra car you use as a weekend/drift/track car and you can get it cheap, then it might be worth while. Reiterating what 67goatman455 said regarding possible repairs, you can either get the frame pulled to straighten or cut the piece from another shell and weld it in (its not a piece that just comes off with some bolts, you will need to hack up a good one and replace yours). Possible bad outcomes: you might never get the car to drive straight, car may not crumple properly in the event of accident, and resale value will be much lower due to repaired frame damage.

Good luck on your decision!

[evomike]

no it doesnt, the frame rail may be tweaked but can be straightened. if you can find a 240 that is getting cut up, cut that section off of it and take it to a professional body shop. because that sheetmetal probably isnt available from nissan anymore, and if a body shop gets those pieces from a salvage yard for you, you can bet it will be expensive. labor rates are typically in the $40 an hour range, looks like 4-8 hours worth of work there

That rail needs to be replaced any reputable shop will not repair that rail.

[Loetke]

Funny turn of events, as soon as I started asking him about the frame he stopped responding to me completely. Guess I should just give it up. There aren't many Koukis out here in the NW from what I've seen, so I may be waiting a while for one to come around. Thanks a lot for the help, guys. You've saved me a lot of money/trouble/heartache.

[jontron5000]

Funny turn of events, as soon as I started asking him about the frame he stopped responding to me completely. Guess I should just give it up. There aren't many Koukis out here in the NW from what I've seen, so I may be waiting a while for one to come around. Thanks a lot for the help, guys. You've saved me a lot of money/trouble/heartache.

Aren't you glad you took the smart approach and did your hw before buying this car. Good save on your part