Hey all,
I had an r53 then sold it...
Looking at buying another. Found one that has clearly been owned by an enthusiast, tons of great performance goodies + looks like it was cared for.
BUT it has 200k on the clock.
It would be a fun car, not a daily.
Thoughts?

 

Other than requiring regular maintenance items (unfortunately that does include Superchargers at this millage), it really shouldn't be an issue if it was well looked after.

I'm of the opinion the short blocks are good for at least 350k if maintained well. When I pulled mine apart at 213k the cylinders looked REALLY GOOD, even with the mods and power levels I put mine through.

 

Totally depends on condition. I’d get a compression test on the head, in addition to a thorough PPI. But if it’s very well maintained with records, good cosmetics etc, then wouldn’t rule it out just on mileage.

 

If the price is rite , absolutely...I've seen cars with 200k that their engines internally looked better than exact year engine with half the miles on it... if the car was cared for , absolutely ! Just make sure to inspect all the problem points , check for rust under weatherstripping, under taillights. Look at the battery box in the trunk ect... go over it..
my cars odometer reads 200+ look at my car ! Even look at how clean my underbody is...

 

Do your due diligence. There are some people I would absolutely avoid buying a car from no matter how clean the underbody is, cause they are a muppet.

Depending on how much money you're talking, these three items should be part of any purchase:
1. Ask/Do a compression test
2. Ask/Do a leak down test
3. Ask/Do oil analysis on engine and trans

If spending $5k on a car, may be an overreach for the oil analysis. But a leak down and compression test are certainly within the realm of reasonable requests.
If spending $40k+, I would demand all three are performed.

That covers the expensive mechanical bits. Everything else can be done visually.

 

+1
maybe offer to compensate the seller for the tests because with all the tire kicker bumper sniffers out there , he's probably not going to want to..
when I sell vehicles I won't even allow them to test drive it without proof of funds...
If you need to know the MAIN things to look for when checking it out just ask..these guys really know their stuff on here and can let you know pretty much anything you need..

 

No and I could give you hundreds of reason but I would not.

 

I wouldn't.

There's too many nice unmolested cars out there that can be good platforms to build on, with <100k on the odometer.

Almost assuredly seller is going to overvalued car and mods. Also, what's your assurance that mods were done well, or that seller knew what they were doing?

There will be another one.

 

I pay more for unmolested cars and usually flag cars like OP describes with friends and family. You can tell right away by the caliber of parts used too.

 

A lot of mods can actually can lower the value of the car. Also would expect the car has been beat on at the track and there may be a reason (or several) it's on the market now. Would prefer and wait for a similar mileage car with no mods but good maintenance records, and/or a fully disclosed list of what it still needs.

 

But then I bought a used Bricklin SV1 once,
so you can probably disregard my opinion.

Jeff

 

No.

 

my car with 250k