i came upon this craigslist ad on a 1994 del sol with a 2001 bar'd gsr. the problem is that he doesn't have any paperwork. the engine is in great condition as is everything else and the man seems like an honest guy, although i cant judge a book buy its cover. what numbers should i verify with the CHP (i live in california) and what other steps should i take before i buy this car? the guy is willing to come down with me to dmv and we're going to do the exchange there, so at least that part is good. any other suggestions? also, hes going to smog it for me before he transfes the title over at the DMV. thanks


Modified by froogle29 at 12:08 PM 5/11/2008

 

does the motor/tranny have a vin#?

 

he said that they don't have a vin on it, but he has the serial #'s.

 

if its barred with that motor, doesnt that mean its legit?

 

if it passes smog then its all legit

 

so as long as it passes smog and was barred before, it means that everything is legit? even though the motor/tranny has no vin # and only serial #'s?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by lluks_844 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">if its barred with that motor, doesnt that mean its legit?</TD></TR></TABLE>

Not necessarily. When they BAR it, most of the time it will simply say, for example, "Acura 1.8L". So, this person could've picked up a cheap LS swap, gotten it BAR'd (not hard to do), then swapped in a stolen GSR engine.

Of course, there are lots of other factors. The transmission might not have a VIN because it's JDM, or it's an OEM replacement that didn't come with a VIN.

If it's BAR'd and it smogs, you're probably good to go. For all we know, it could be 100% legit. Be careful though--cops in CA are complete ********. Even if there is a BAR sticker there, they still might give you **** for not having a VIN tag.

 

thanks for the reply. when he passes the smog for me, is there anything that i need to verify? since theres no vin on the engine, is there some other way i can make sure that the smog was for the correct engine? also, would it be wise to get a bill of sale for the car with the engine? thanks again

 

get a bill of sale for all purchases...tranny..motor..car...etc

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by hushypushy &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Not necessarily. When they BAR it, most of the time it will simply say, for example, "Acura 1.8L". So, this person could've picked up a cheap LS swap, gotten it BAR'd (not hard to do), then swapped in a stolen GSR engine.</TD></TR></TABLE>

the story of my old hatch FTMFL!

edit, i bought it swapped with the gsr lol... i aint no thief

 

thanks for all your responses