View Poll Results: Keep it or sell it?
Keep it. Sink the money into and you'll be happy with it for a long time.
2
18.18%
It's not worth it. Find another one or a different kind of car altogether.
9
81.82%
Voters: 11. You may not vote on this poll
99 GS300 keep it or run away while I can??
10-07-12, 12:19 AM
#1
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99 GS300 keep it or run away while I can??
I recently bought a 99 GS300 with 104k for $3800 and it has quite a few more issues than I anticipated. The original owner has offered to buy it back and I have to decide soon if I am going to follow through with it. I could really use some experienced knowledgeable advice.
Problems:
Mechanical:
- Oil leak at front seals. It's also due for a timing belt so this can be repaired at the same time.
- Oil leak at rear main seal. I had a mechanic tell me that it's possible that the oil leaking from the front of the engine is being blown back to the rear main seal when the car is moving. He said there's no way to tell until the front is oil leak is fixed and the engine is cleaned. It seems far fetched to me. When the car runs for awhile it leaks right under the rear main seal and I can always see a drop forming at the bottom of the seal.
- AC compressor is leaking but AC blows ice cold.
- Exhaust leak and O2 sensor code.
- Suspension noise and instability in steering wheel at 60 mph - I think I've figured out that this is the stabilizer links but there could be more to it. The links are a cheap part but I've heard they can be a pain to get off without power tools & heat - not sure if that's the case on these cars.
-Maintenance appears to have been neglected but not terribly.
Body:
- A couple of small rust spots at the top of the windshield as well as a considerable amount underneath the car and in the engine bay.
- Front bumper cover cracked/damaged and not aligned perfectly with hood.
- Evidence of rear collision and shoddy repair; a small bondo seem and tailights not flush.
- Dent on passenger front fender and scratch on rear fender.
- It's been painted: nice finish but otherwise a crappy paint job. also missing bumper mouldings.
The good:
- It looks really nice despite all the body issues. A classic case of good from far but far from good.
- It has a nice Pioneer GPS head unit.
- It has relatively new tires.
- 1-owner and clean carfax for whatever thats worth.
- The ball joints have been replaced.
- It has a Viper remote start and alarm.
- Interior is nice aside from a dime sized tear in the leather of the passenger seat (doesn't show up in pic)
So what do you think? Is it worth keeping or should I grab my chance to run away? I can do some of the work myself but realistically most of it I can't. I don't have a garage or power tools. And some of this just can't be fixed like the rust on the windshield. It's a nice car with alot of potential. It's also a car that needs alot of work and money pumped into it.
I know this is a long post. Thanks to anyone who read all the way through and I really appreciate any advice.
Problems:
Mechanical:
- Oil leak at front seals. It's also due for a timing belt so this can be repaired at the same time.
- Oil leak at rear main seal. I had a mechanic tell me that it's possible that the oil leaking from the front of the engine is being blown back to the rear main seal when the car is moving. He said there's no way to tell until the front is oil leak is fixed and the engine is cleaned. It seems far fetched to me. When the car runs for awhile it leaks right under the rear main seal and I can always see a drop forming at the bottom of the seal.
- AC compressor is leaking but AC blows ice cold.
- Exhaust leak and O2 sensor code.
- Suspension noise and instability in steering wheel at 60 mph - I think I've figured out that this is the stabilizer links but there could be more to it. The links are a cheap part but I've heard they can be a pain to get off without power tools & heat - not sure if that's the case on these cars.
-Maintenance appears to have been neglected but not terribly.
Body:
- A couple of small rust spots at the top of the windshield as well as a considerable amount underneath the car and in the engine bay.
- Front bumper cover cracked/damaged and not aligned perfectly with hood.
- Evidence of rear collision and shoddy repair; a small bondo seem and tailights not flush.
- Dent on passenger front fender and scratch on rear fender.
- It's been painted: nice finish but otherwise a crappy paint job. also missing bumper mouldings.
The good:
- It looks really nice despite all the body issues. A classic case of good from far but far from good.
- It has a nice Pioneer GPS head unit.
- It has relatively new tires.
- 1-owner and clean carfax for whatever thats worth.
- The ball joints have been replaced.
- It has a Viper remote start and alarm.
- Interior is nice aside from a dime sized tear in the leather of the passenger seat (doesn't show up in pic)
So what do you think? Is it worth keeping or should I grab my chance to run away? I can do some of the work myself but realistically most of it I can't. I don't have a garage or power tools. And some of this just can't be fixed like the rust on the windshield. It's a nice car with alot of potential. It's also a car that needs alot of work and money pumped into it.
I know this is a long post. Thanks to anyone who read all the way through and I really appreciate any advice.
10-07-12, 12:57 AM
#2
honestly, sounds like you need to ditch the car... from the sounds of it, it wasnt well taken care of.. and even if you fix the issues, youll just run into more. and body cancer is BAD! and unless its taken care of properly, will continue to eat away at the car. not to mention the badly repaired rear end damage, if the bondo is bad enough, it will eventually crack and fall apart. just doesnt seem like a wise investment
10-07-12, 03:19 AM
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^^^ I agree. My 98 Gs has 113k and has none of these issues. The only thing thats ever failed has been the notorious door lock issue. That many problems probably means you got a basket case on your hands!
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10-07-12, 07:08 PM
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Thanks for all the input. Today I told the owners that I do want to return it so that should happen in the next couple days. I'm going to lose a couple hundred in registry fees but I guess its worth it. It's a shame because I really do like the car. When I look at each problem one by one I'm like yeah that's not that bad I can take care of that. But there's so many of those problems its add up to a little too much work. Then you have to think if all of this went wrong with it now, what's next? I just wish they were more honest with me in the first place so I could have made a much lower offer or walked away. I guess the lesson here is never trust that a 1-owner clean carfax means the car was well cared for. Anyone want to talk me into keeping it before its too late?
