Buying a SC

W

wildguitou

Registered User
Hello everybody, I am about to buy a 1991 SC in England, I live in France, these cars are totally unknown here, I love them since I lived in Mexico in 1993.
The one I found has done 44000 miles, red with manual gearbox.
What should I check before buying this car? (head gaskets, abs, what else?)
 
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motor mounts

Ok, so if the engine moves when I accelerate it is not so cool?
I must say that SC fans seems very good in mecanic, I am just a begginer, and it will be my first american car, big challenge for me!
What these mounts cost more or less?
Going for it next week, can't wait anymore
 
Motor mounts should cost about $25 each in american dollars. Figure on about 8 hours of labor. HG's are certainly prone on these cars. The best thing to do is to insure the cooling system is in good shape and functioning normally to extend the life of the head gaskets. My general rule of thumb is to replace a radiator every 10 years or 100K miles, whichever comes first. A $300 radiator is much less expensive than a Head Gasket job. :)

The ABS systems on the first generation systems are also not the best but they are not bad either.

In my opinion this is the order of things.

Check ABS System
Check Motor Mounts
Check Cooling System
Check Front Suspension
 
The synchros on m5r2 are known to go bad make sure u get a good test drive that way u see if any are starting to grind

Run it for a bit make sure it doesnt over heat
Do some WOT runs owner may not like it but u dont wanna baby it and then have headaches once u drive it home

The supercharger shouldnt be bad at that mileage but check for no leaks on it or that it doesnt make noises like it has marbles inside
 
thanks

Thank you very much for your helpfull advices.
I was hoping ABS was an option on early models...too bad!
I had a Volkswagen corrado g60, 1.8 supercharged too, same years, abs problems of course, quite a dissapointing car, but much easyer to find parts here.
I don't know why but from what I read, I might need some good american parts supplier...
But still I want my SC:rolleyes:
 
wildguitou said:
Thank you very much for your helpfull advices.
I was hoping ABS was an option on early models...too bad!
I had a Volkswagen corrado g60, 1.8 supercharged too, same years, abs problems of course, quite a dissapointing car, but much easyer to find parts here.
I don't know why but from what I read, I might need some good american parts supplier...
But still I want my SC:rolleyes:
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Yes u may have some waiting times when getting parts here and there
Even we have waiting time here but theres a few places like thunderbirdscshop.com that have alot of things u could possibly need spinningwheels, SCP and magnum powers for performance stuff
As well as the parts for sale section here from other members

Havent yet come across abs problems knock on wood I dont soon
But I hear its an expensive little fix
So I would totally check that before buying it
 
Ok, I will give a call to make sure about the ABS, this car is supposed to be in perfect condition, except the sunroof that is not working anymore...It has new clutch and suspension, Strange for a such little mileage car...But it seems to be another of the usual problems on SC's...
 
wildguitou said:
Ok, I will give a call to make sure about the ABS, this car is supposed to be in perfect condition, except the sunroof that is not working anymore...It has new clutch and suspension, Strange for a such little mileage car...But it seems to be another of the usual problems on SC's...
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CHECK that the odometer works mine stopped at 66500 and god knows how many miles it had after lol

So if ur odometer doesnt work the mileage may be a big BS to try and sell
 
Great, now I am going to make nightmares! I printed the guide and will sleep with it for the next week!
I'll have to drive the car back home for more than 1000 km...:eek:
Anyway, I am almost sure I buy it, but might help to drop the price if I know what is wrong and what it cost to fix it...
Thanks to you all!
 
LIVipers said:
No, there is a little gear inside of it that manually turns the odometer.
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Yea like tom said it should be mechanical (analog) gauges but the 2 small odometer gears are known to go bad 100% of the time sooner or later just a heads up to the mileage I thought mine had 66k till I realized the odometer never worked lol

Good luck on the buy , hope its a really good car !!
 
Thanks Miguel, now I am not so sure it is:confused:
I am buying it 4500€, so it needs to be perfect.
Pictures are great, well I don't know about the inside and engine...I'll try to put what I got online.
I just missed a german 35th SC, 100K, automatic, for 850€(I think around 1000$) on ebay...
But I don't speak german, and prefer a manual gearbox anyway.
 
Wow, for 4500€ (assuming a conversion rate of 1.30 US dollar per euro, depending on day) that means almost $6000, that car better be damn near perfect lol
 
I got it!!!!
Lovely car, but mine will need lot of work...
I followed the buyer's guide, my car has all the bad tricks told on the guide, but could not help buying it....
Need a good parts supplier now...
 
Pictures? Oh, welcome to the club! I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with this car and the last time I checked, they drive on the correct side of the road in France:D
Alan
 
LIVipers said:
Wow, for 4500€ (assuming a conversion rate of 1.30 US dollar per euro, depending on day) that means almost $6000, that car better be damn near perfect lol
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Sorry, just saw your answer now, yes, lot of money, but here American cars are expensive, I guess European cars are more expensive in the USA than here, for example I sold my Volkswagen corrado G60 in working order but not perfect for $2600...
Finally I paid 3000£ (comes from England), but will need a few more to have it running well.
 
ALS35 said:
Pictures? Oh, welcome to the club! I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with this car and the last time I checked, they drive on the correct side of the road in France:D
Alan
Click to expand...

Yes we are on the good side!
Already drove back from England, a good 600 miles, I doubted to make it as the car has not been really well looked after...But it did! Strong car, great engine, good handling...Even better than I thought!
The seller told me lot of ~~~~~~~~ on the phone, when I got there the choice was difficult...But it was my opportunity, could not miss it!

Pictures are coming, I need your advice about the seats, not sure they are real sc ones? the interior looks really basic...
 
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