Do you hae any pictures or a link? Cause that sounds like a great deal
I found a kouki. Good deal?
So i'm pretty new to car and mechanical stuff, let alone 240sx. I was looking for a car to be my first car and today i get an email from a guy with a '97 kouki. He's asking for 5,000 obo. Kouki body looks like in great condition and he's gonna throw in a turbo (not installed). This will be my daily driver for a bit. What should i look for when i go and check it out?
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
i bought mine for almost that price.
look for bondo, frame damage, he has to let you peel back the trunk carpeting if its still there to check out the rear... take it for a drive... check for oil leaks ontop of the valve cover as well as the firewall. take it up to 60mph on a highway to see how well it runs in "actual" temperature and speed since alot of guys make the mistake of test driving in a neighborhood to find out the cars a pos thats been "patched up" for the quick and convincing sale.
check under the car for cardboard, clamps, or anything else that looks like its being used to hide something like leaks, cracks etc.
never buy a primer car if you care about body condition.
MAKE SURE** to watch the odometer and tripp as you drive to make sure they are moving and the mileage is increasing. people love to cut those to look like low mileage cars.
and tell him to bring the car with its gas tank near empty... fill it up once you are with him since you can add any number of octane boosters and additives to make the car seem to run smooth.
and absolutely NOBODY is pressed for time to sell a car.. so don't believe any story he tries to make about that.. i got many friends in the military who are selling cars and they aren't even in the same state or country as their old car and it works out fine, so don't believe the "i'm moving soon" bullshit.
ADD:
In addition, do you want a REAL kouki? or a zenki -> kouki conversion???
if you care, the only way to tell is this:
ZENKI: http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/7413/s4nki7ce.jpg
KOUKI: http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/513/kouki6ge.jpg
The two gauges can't be interchanged. and when they are, you can easily tell its been done by checking your door jams at the date of manufacture and your firewall + the factory casing of the cluster will have irreversible gaps along the inner walls near the plastic glass once they have been changed.
you can easily, however change from a zenki black to white face gauge or kouki black to white. but this won't make a difference since you know its still the same type chassis.
look for bondo, frame damage, he has to let you peel back the trunk carpeting if its still there to check out the rear... take it for a drive... check for oil leaks ontop of the valve cover as well as the firewall. take it up to 60mph on a highway to see how well it runs in "actual" temperature and speed since alot of guys make the mistake of test driving in a neighborhood to find out the cars a pos thats been "patched up" for the quick and convincing sale.
check under the car for cardboard, clamps, or anything else that looks like its being used to hide something like leaks, cracks etc.
never buy a primer car if you care about body condition.
MAKE SURE** to watch the odometer and tripp as you drive to make sure they are moving and the mileage is increasing. people love to cut those to look like low mileage cars.
and tell him to bring the car with its gas tank near empty... fill it up once you are with him since you can add any number of octane boosters and additives to make the car seem to run smooth.
and absolutely NOBODY is pressed for time to sell a car.. so don't believe any story he tries to make about that.. i got many friends in the military who are selling cars and they aren't even in the same state or country as their old car and it works out fine, so don't believe the "i'm moving soon" bullshit.
ADD:
In addition, do you want a REAL kouki? or a zenki -> kouki conversion???
if you care, the only way to tell is this:
ZENKI: http://img45.imageshack.us/img45/7413/s4nki7ce.jpg
KOUKI: http://img234.imageshack.us/img234/513/kouki6ge.jpg
The two gauges can't be interchanged. and when they are, you can easily tell its been done by checking your door jams at the date of manufacture and your firewall + the factory casing of the cluster will have irreversible gaps along the inner walls near the plastic glass once they have been changed.
you can easily, however change from a zenki black to white face gauge or kouki black to white. but this won't make a difference since you know its still the same type chassis.
here are the pics he sent me. idk how to post a pic so here are the links.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508716958_786216958_6521295_6447955_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...1_475508596958_786216958_6521289_674009_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508696958_786216958_6521293_1716286_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508701958_786216958_6521294_7284374_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508716958_786216958_6521295_6447955_n.jpg
why is bondo so bad?
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508716958_786216958_6521295_6447955_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...1_475508596958_786216958_6521289_674009_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508696958_786216958_6521293_1716286_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508701958_786216958_6521294_7284374_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508716958_786216958_6521295_6447955_n.jpg
why is bondo so bad?
From the outside it looks beat up. I dont know what the other picturesa re cause i dont feel like taking 15 minutes to see the pictures
But bondo is bad cause it means the car was in a crash
But bondo is bad cause it means the car was in a crash
bondo isn't always bad. Some dents and dings can not be pulled out with the paintless method and bondo has to be used. Now days its hard to find a car that doesn't have some kind of dent or ding. This car looks decent on the outside. I wouldn't buy it but yet i really don't like the s14 look that much.
He didn't take pictures of the gauge, so i can't tell if its a REAL kouki...here are the pics he sent me. idk how to post a pic so here are the links.
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508716958_786216958_6521295_6447955_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos...1_475508596958_786216958_6521289_674009_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508696958_786216958_6521293_1716286_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508701958_786216958_6521294_7284374_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._475508716958_786216958_6521295_6447955_n.jpg
why is bondo so bad?
but right off the bat, the car looks sketchy...
1) the whole car is Primered...
2) the Tail lights are zenki tails, but with a kouki front...
3) there are no turn signals??
I can almost guarantee the cars been in a rear-end wreck. people like to primer their cars so that you can't tell he bought a rear bumper, trunk, and possibly welded rear panels on to see any mismatching colors or scratches left from the crash... and he just threw on zenki tail lights since they are cheaper than buying kouki ones... smoked kouki lights completely ruined the value...
id offer him $3k at MOST in a desperate panic...
thats also a random-ass clutter of probably blown turbo parts.
You're probably looking at a Zenki conversion, but really hard to tell on those pics.
Not all primered cars were in an accident...
Not all primered cars were in an accident...
most were... and the main populous of people who primer cars are young "ghetto-style" types with hard intentions for their vehicles. it also suggests the lack of care for body condition being that primer is cheap and accessible, perfect for when you crash, you can just slap on new body parts, mix and match, and just spray it again to blend it right in for a "decent look" in their opinion.You're probably looking at a Zenki conversion, but really hard to tell on those pics.
Not all primered cars were in an accident...
it also works wonders for hiding dents.. over all, the owners were too poor, couldn't care enough about the car to paint it right.
if someone genuinely wanted a flat-black car, they paint it REAL flat black professionally and not spray paint with a moisture-magnet rust breeding primecoat..
sounds like this car was too good to be true. he sounded kinda sketchy when he told me the car was sitting in his garage for 6 months.
1 - 10 of 10 Posts
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