nuport

I came across a 98 GS400 with 160k miles..... for the price seems like a nice project car...was thinking of an engine rebuild with aftermarket internals, paint job and new interior....or should I get a newer GS and do some mild mods...need some opinions from you guys =)

bluelex

Kind of hard to say on this one, 2 different angles being mentioned. What do you want from the GS? this might help.

markgs4

Hmmm..having a high mile 98GS, Id say go with a newer model and do more mods to it. I only say this because w/ the lower mile newer model GS, you can probably get more features (HID's, Navi.....) and deal with less rattles than the older models GS. Just my $0.02

nuport

well, say my budget is $30k... then I can buy this high mile gs for like 10k, drive it over to srt and get a nice rebuild with a port and polish maybe for let's say $7k, new paint job $5k, custom interior redone with stereo for $8k
OR
I can get a newer GS... say an 00 or 01 with low miles for like $20k-22k, slap some rims on it and maybe a stereo

I went down the first road with an integra... new front end, oem kit, brand new paint job, suspension mods etc but it got stolen =(... so I'm deciding if I should bother putting all that work into a car again... I got good money from my insurance company, but if I were to sell it on the open market I would never have gotten what I got...so not sure, just looking for some opinions

Neo

iTrader: (3)

Personally, I'd do the 2nd option. You will have a pretty nice and newer car. You can always change your mind later to do the rebuild when this car gets a bit older.

tmf2004

iTrader: (15)

I think the second choice would be good.... If you can find one for around 20k or so you still have money for Mods etc... Plus you could still get a supercharger for the 400.. Also, with big rims etc.. and loud stereo you maybe drawing unwanted attention to yourself so something under a the hood and a drop maybe better... There's nothing wrong with the sleeper look... Good Luck..

Tony

STONER

Remember that everything that you don't replace (i.e. suspension, etc.) will still have high miles. It would suck to have a screamer that you couldn't keep under control, or shimmied all over the road. I'd go with #2 also. I think you'll enjoy the car more.

GWELEX

This is a tough choice. Built to your specs or newer. The mods you have mentioned for the older car sounds like you could be without a car for many months, is this acceptable? Also, once you get into the older car who knows what you might find needing repairs or upgrades to go with your other choices. I.E. lots of horsepower needs brakes to stop those ponies. There's so many things that lead to another when custom building a car. Me, I'd get a newer car, put on a few mods for looks and call it good. But that's me, I have another car that's going through a body off build up.

nuport

Couple things,
the car actually comes with a couple goodies, stb's, stock hid's, slotted brembos, etc. Also I don't drive to work so this would strictly be a weekend car.
Does that change things for you naysaysers? =P

SiFreak

I bought a 98 GS300 with 148K miles, its got 157K miles now and I have zero issues other than blubs that need replacement. Paint and interior looks brand new. Nobody could tell it has than many miles. Absolutely no rattles.

If you are a really handy with wrenches and sockets, the GS is a very fun car to play with.

Sounds like you got plans to go into the engine and change out the internals, why put a new engine under the knife? With that much power, you will be changing out the suspension bushings too. I'd go with the high mileage car.



Choon

nuport

Well I'm gonna check it out tomorrow, we'll see how it is. I know if I buy this thing, it's gonna turn into a money pit =P

joshoowa

iTrader: (1)

hmm i guess im different i would choose the higher mileage car pre 2000 ....

all that talk about wear and tear, just pick up a set of daizen poly urethane bushings, because if u know daizen bushings only work on the older (pre 2000) GSs

nuport

Well I'm not definately buying this thing.... but there are things I would like to do that would be cost prohibitive with a newer model...like custom interior, new paint job etc... I know the more sensible thing would be to buy the new one, but I'll see how it goes tomorrow

braheem

iTrader: (4)

2 things I NEVER fix or replace on a car.

1. Transmission
2. Paint

Both of these items will never be the same as factory and cause the car to seem like a waste to me.

If the 98 has good paint and transmission, I would go for it. Otherwise if you're already planning to paint it, I would get the 00-01 model and have a car I'm proud of with no unresolvable issues.

nicola

30k for car + mods? My opinion - get the old GS and **** the stereo Turbo it and listen to the BOV instead.