GeckoTail

Maybe some of you would rather build your GE with GTE internals or do this swap yourself, but what do you think about these GTE swapped GS300s? Would you buy something like this for a little under $10k if all you had to go on was your inspection and a compression test you did yourself?

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...5213933518457/

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace...0312006324861/

GeckoTail

Would you even consider buying something like this? Or too risky?

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

The silver one is on the cheap side, the black one is about the price of a clean stock Aristo V300, which I'd rather have than a swap. That's assuming they're in the condition they're presented as. I'd rather buy a working GTE car than do a swap myself. Emphasis on working.

GeckoTail

It’s $10k obo in the seller’s description. Never trust FB marketplace prices lol.

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

Ok, well that's a lot of money for a car with such a rough exterior and interior.

Arussto

The silver is reading 4500 right now.
tempting.

RAYS Wheels . 2jzgte frong half.

Thats 4500 right there.

I would but im kinda stupid.

Yoy can remotely pay someone to check it out fof you.

Carfax??

Letsride

I dont think so. The price of the GTE swaps are through the roof right now and this car has Aristo front fenders and bumper. More than the asking price just in the parts.

If I was closer I would pick up the Silver one just for the parts.

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

Since you guys must have missed it too.

You can literally buy an entire Aristo, that isn't haggard, for that much money.

GeckoTail

I have found 2 very clean, low mileage Aristos that are already titled here in the states for $10-12K, but these are much older cars with cloth interior, not as good looking as the gs300, and obviously RHD is a huge turnoff. Not sure if I’d rather have a 1993-ish Aristo or a 2000-ish swapped GS.

The Aristo would give me a lot more peace of mind about the condition of the motor, but I would feel guilty manual swapping or putting a big single turbo on a clean Aristo. I would feel like I perverted or ruined a survivor unicorn.

firelizard

iTrader: (1)

Well they're not rare, and modifying them is incredibly common, so you can set your mind at ease.
In a couple of years they'll be federally legal for you guys in the States and I'm sure demand will cause the prices to jump.

KyleH

iTrader: (1)

I think they're both overpriced. The owners may have that much or more in them, but I don't think it makes them worth that on the market. Before I singled my car, I'd have figured I'd be happy to have 10 grand for it and it is in better condition inside and out than those. I would buy a car that was already built if it had a strong chain of custody and details about the swap. In fact I threated to do it, but just couldn't swing the money being asked - and the seller was still taking a bath. This journey just gets VERY expensive if you want a nice car that makes a lot of power. The appearance of these cars for sale is indicative that the owners didn't really have too much money to throw at them. It doesn't make them bad cars, or the owners bad owners - but from a buyers perspective, it leaves a lot of questions about where else funding was skimped during the swap. Plenty of things as a second hand buyer should matter. Example - did a 18 yr old watch a youtube video to determine how to drill a hole and jb weld a new flange on your fuel hanger for a return line that never went to the original hanger? Car fires are no fun and no joke. You really want to have confidence in who did the work on the car.

If I were to add everything up I've spent on my swap (90% of labor has been me) I would probably be north of $20k. I also understand that if I listed my car I'd be lucky to get $13k for it. But don't confuse these cars that have had a few grand dropped in them with a GTE swap for a turnkey reliable driver's car. There are thousands of dollars yet to be spent in bringing a 20 year old 200k mile machine back into shape. These guys probably haven't spent a lot on these things, so if you buy one of these cars, don't think it's a turnkey solution at the price and condition we're looking at. Expect some detailed documentation about the swap and what else was done if you're going to head in that direction. And then assume at least 3 grand to get all the other running components into shape for a reliable and comfortable car.

8M6

iTrader: (2)

This is a good point. I'm actually a bit taken aback by these listings not providing any details about the swaps. I've never listed anything on Facebook marketplace so I don't know if the listings have character limits, but I've seen Craiglist listings before that have gone into such fine detail that I could feel confident about inquiring for more info rather than get the impression that the sellers are hiding something. As a prospective buyer, I would want details. A stork didn't deliver a 2JZ-GTE to these cars and just drop them in. If I feel like I have to pull teeth to get that info, I've already lost interest.

Take the first car for example. Its interior is completely trashed and I think the photos were taken in the shadows to help obscure some of that. But let's not mention how the passenger side B-pillar trim panel and grab handles are missing. The least that guy could have done is clean the back of the driver's seat and the center console. If you're willing to let the parts of the car that are pictured deteriorate to that condition, I don't have confidence in the condition of anything that's not pictured. A GTE-swapped piece of junk is still a piece of junk.

LexLova

If everyone isn’t aware GTE’s are $6-7k now