09-25-2013, 11:14 AM
Don't do it. Only time I've lost money on a car is when I bought an LT1 firebird in non running condition. According to last owner, he saw white smoke, shut the car down and had it towed home. This normally wouldn't cause a ton of damage. Replace the head gasket and you're good to go right? Well, we did that and then the car ran fine for about 5 minutes, then started making a terrible noise. Turns out he had ran it for a while knowing it had a bad head gasket. Coolant got mixed in with the oil and ate up basically all the bearings in the motor, plus the cam (and possibly crank, can't remember).
Oh, and it had a bad Opti-spark (~$500 distributor).
In short, don't buy cars with non-running motors with the plan to rebuild them. If you have a motor you know that works you that you can swap in, that's not too big of a deal usually. Otherwise, don't do it.
Oh, and it had a bad Opti-spark (~$500 distributor).
In short, don't buy cars with non-running motors with the plan to rebuild them. If you have a motor you know that works you that you can swap in, that's not too big of a deal usually. Otherwise, don't do it.
2015 VW GTI | 2007 4Runner Sport
SOLD
2010 Nissan 370z | 2003 BMW M3
2005 Subaru WRX | 2010 BMW 135i | 1999 BMW M3
2002 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 | 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution IX SE
1995 Pontiac Firebird Formula | 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX | 1996 Pontiac Firebird
SOLD
2010 Nissan 370z | 2003 BMW M3
2005 Subaru WRX | 2010 BMW 135i | 1999 BMW M3
2002 Pontiac Trans Am WS6 | 2006 Mitsubishi Evolution IX SE
1995 Pontiac Firebird Formula | 1998 Mitsubishi Eclipse GSX | 1996 Pontiac Firebird