i was just wondering. after reading more than a few posts about buying modded cars, most people seem to have this desire to avoid them. personally i'd LOVE to buy a modded car. do you know how much cash will be saved buying a car with a rebuilt motor. good suspension and the works? i can understand the avoidence of rice and or abused cars but i've came across more than one late GSR that has 3,4,5k in mods bairly selling above stock. man i wish one of those would have been around when i bought mine.

 

There are several reasons why.
1) The car is not modified in the manner that you would like.
2) The car was modified to be abused.
3) Questionable work was done.
4) Questionable parts were used.
5) The car was modified, but basic maintenance was neglected.

 

I think a lot of it is exactly as you stated it, a "fear". There's not a lot in the way of peace of mind when you're looking at a project that has obviously been messed with by people who you don't know and you can't make any judgments as to their qualifications.

I completely understand this to a point. I'm happy to buy a modded car, but I won't buy one with internal engine work done by anyone I don't personally know. I've seen way too many issues arise from "this guy I know who really knows his stuff" or from "that shop across town" to even be remotely interested in anything with internal work.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dogginator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There are several reasons why.
1) The car is not modified in the manner that you would like.
2) The car was modified to be abused.
3) Questionable work was done.
4) Questionable parts were used.
5) The car was modified, but basic maintenance was neglected.</TD></TR></TABLE>
Exactly why I won't do it again. I bought my GSR with mods and had many many problems. Hell I still have a few I have yet to fix.

 

Other's people's projects... and than come's their issues!

 

yup, bought my GS-R bone stock, only 1 previous owner, female, who had all maintenance records performed by dealers or reputable shops. Only issue I had when I bought it was a broken valve cover stud which was an easy fix.

So now, I know everything that has happened with my car in the past 7 years, and I know that anything comes up is either due to wear (high mileage and age) or was my fault, no one else's.

 

other peoples headache...
they modify and dont know what they are doing and do a choppy chop job..
always wonder how in the honda game everybody trying to go turbo and once they get it couple months later they put up a for sale sign
wonder why????
ummmmmmmmm

 

i've bought two modified integra's and neither lasted a week before breaking down. If they have modified them theres a good chance they have been raped. Buy stock and do it yourself... the right way.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by bob_long737 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Buy stock and do it yourself... the right way.</TD></TR></TABLE>

The right way "is your way" cause you will be the only one that knows your cars tricks....

 

If you buy a modded car you could end up with a car like my DA. Overall everything is ok, but all the little details, are messed up. The guy I bought mine from relocated the battery to the trunk, he used a 4g wire off the terminal but under the carpet was a 10g wire then the HIDs went out the day I bought the car, then I found out he took out the ps improperly,...

Next car I buy will be BONE STOCK!!!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by SlammedDC2 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Exactly why I won't do it again. I bought my GSR with mods and had many many problems. Hell I still have a few I have yet to fix.</TD></TR></TABLE>

x2

I bought my GS-R modded... I'm still fixing what the previous owner F'ed up and trying to move forward at the same time... It had tokico shocks, buddy club springs, and Apexi exhaust as the only modifications...

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Dogginator &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">There are several reasons why.
5) The car was modified, but basic maintenance was neglected.</TD></TR></TABLE>

although quality parts were used on my car I feel like it was neglected at the same time.. It burned oil (until I did a rebuild), it gets water in the trunk (a problem I still have to fix), bad mounts, clutch, and the previous owner did a hack job wiring up a flip screen head unit not to mention cutting the center console to the point where i have to buy a new one to have an ashtray/lighter setup...

Conclusion:
I dont think it's the modding people are scared of but the quality of work that was put into the car durring the modding

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by naler62188 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
Next car I buy will be BONE STOCK!!!</TD></TR></TABLE>

I think the phrase your looking for is unmolested

 

LOL totally, unmolested is a better way to put it. quality parts that have been installed correctly, engines from real shops and work that has obviously been done right isn't the concern. it's half *** know nothing hack jobs. makes way more sense to me now.

 

if u know how to repair it.i would'nt worry about it.most of used car today you probably have to fixed.. do re-build are replace cv-boots.for the popular models like the integra is worth it.

 

It should depend on if you are willing to put in the work and cash if the car is to brake down on you.

Or you could ask the person if they have the original stock parts. Some people seem to keep them.

Just remember;

You dont want their problems

 

i'm starting to wonder if that's the reason that people normally sell cars. i actually thought about doing the same with my GSR. it was burning a bunch of oil & took out a valve. i could have slapped a stock honda valve in & had the car running in one day, sold it & have been done with it. guess what the next guy would have bought? yes that's right, a time bomb.

 

You would be suprised how much people sell there cars for when they have problems that you cant notice just from a little test drive down the road and back.

The best cars to get are the ones where there is one, maybe two owners, and they have service records that show maint. and all that just so you know it has been done.

Also work done by shady people is not recommended.

In the end it would suck on both ends because the person selling the car probably put a lot more money into the engine than he is selling it for...

Unless they are really just trying to rip you off.

You can never really know how much a car is worth when it is modded

 

piece of advise
allways:
check wiring harness
check vacum lines
check under radiator cap
check under oil cap
check look down the oil fill cap whole look for color of engine
check tire wear
check interior
check windshield oil change sticker
check glovebox for any records
check trunk for leaks and emergency tools spare part
check battery terminals
check tailpipe for signs of black residue
check push on the muffler see if it moves
check vin numbers match
check all lights work
check shifter all gears go thru fine w/load and w/out load
check rev engine up to 3k slowly and listen to the engine speak to you

just to mention a few.....

 

my gsr was a rice rocket and was abused but the guy sold it stock and for the right price, so i bought it, but a lot of the interior panels tend to rattle and most of the parts are marked like they were bought from a junkyard

 

You could always also have the owner have a compression test done in order to check engine life and all that and a leak test.

Recommended for the long run things that you may miss or the seller could lie about.

Just like you could never see that the engine is burning oil if the seller just lies about it.