[Sick!]

Heya

I am all set to buy myself a Vitara
Been shopping around and found some bog stockers for about 2.5k
I plan to modify it to about the limit before it becomes a dog to drive around the streets.
What do you think, should I buy a stock job cheap and buy the bullbar/ flairs, wheels bashplate etc and mod it myself or buy one already done?

Oh yeah, I am looking at one with the crappy graphics down the side. Are they painted on or decals?
Anyone ever painted a whole car? Any idea on cost?

Cheers

[unique_seek]

Hey mate,

From my experience don't buy a modified vehicle,unless you are very mechanical minded. Alot of guys do dodgy jobs with mods and you might end up chasing your tail to figure out what they have done(ie wirring ect).Also if you buy stock you know that it probably hasn't done to much serious stuff,and depending on owner might not have been thrashed..When something is heavily modified,9 times out of 10 it has had a hard life...so be carefull.......just my opinion!

As for cost of painting a car...depends on how good a job you want and what type of paint used..prep work ect...anywhere from $500 to $10 000,but around a couple of grand can usually land you a decent job....

[Mugwui]

I would generally agree with unique_seek but don't discount buy already modded as you can save yourself a couple of grand by not having to do the mods yourself. Not all modded car get flogged and you can generally tell by the look of the car, the personality of the seller, the gararge, tools, house etc, is the lawn mowed, do they take care of their own things, if so, most of the time if all these signs from the seller are good, then the car should be ok, but still be careful when choosing.
I say this because if I were to sell my modded car, I would hope someone would buy it, as I know it hasn't been flogged although it has the odd scratch & dent and the buyer would basically get about 3 to 5 grand worth of free mods purely because of the value of the car.
Just my 2 cents worth.

[alien]

yeah personally theres too many people who do the mods themselves and do a bodged job of it... i'd buy as close to stock as possible myself just for piece of mind.

the decals are vinyl too - youll need a heat gun & raxorblade, and most likely citric acid to get them off as usually theyre baked on pretty well =)

[royce]

Depends what you call mods, Ive never bought a bone stock zook, they have all had useful stuff added to them, the VIT had OME suspension and an ARB bar fitted, didnt do a lot to raise the price of it but would cost a lot to buy later

Things like Wheels, decent suspension, good barwork, decent seats etc are all worth looking out for, its pretty obvious looking at a car if the homemade shackles are a bit suss

[xbeejx]

Do you think redbook prices are a close reflection of the value of a vehicle?
All the Sooks I have seen are way over the listed price.
In particular though, I am looking at a nice 97coily.. What would you pay for one that is original, 180,000km in shmick condition?

[Ridge]

Redbook is a very basic guide. All the figures it will give you are worked out on averages.
It will not take into account things like an engine rebuild, new tires etc.

[Fatzook]

xbeejx wrote:

Do you think redbook prices are a close reflection of the value of a vehicle?

Not at all.

A vehicle as old as a sierra will always list very low on redbook. Redbook is now deadbook. Its source for data is outdated, and does not/ cannot take into account the larger avenues for which people choose to sell vehicles such as these; like ebay, trading post etc.

Budget for $5k for a good modded leafy. You should get between $1 and $3000 change

[Glavas]

I bought mine from a member here on the forum with a fair bit of work done to it.

Nothing was shoddy, I got to read through his whole build thread!

It'd been driven hard, but well looked after.

I've been replacing things left right and center on it myself, not due to the previous owner, but more so due to me driving it hard.

In your position, without knowing who you're buying from, i'd go for something that's at least lifted and maybe has a bullbar.

budget $1000 for tyres if the car doesn't have anything worthwhile on it!

[xbeejx]

Why is that?

I think I have my heart set on a coily. It is going to get the majority of its use in town and to a lessor extent on the highway. I need something that is comfortable.
I also want something that is really nice and not tatty, as close to being new as I can find.
I think I would prefer to just upgrade it myself as I need to.

Anyone give me a ballpark figure for a low km Coily in really nice original condition?

[Fatzook]

$4-7K

[Ben_Sierra]

xbeejx wrote:

Why is that?

I think I have my heart set on a coily. It is going to get the majority of its use in town and to a lessor extent on the highway. I need something that is comfortable.
I also want something that is really nice and not tatty, as close to being new as I can find.
I think I would prefer to just upgrade it myself as I need to.

Anyone give me a ballpark figure for a low km Coily in really nice original condition?

It really is a misconception that coily's are so much more comfortable than a leafy...

A leafy with knackered original springs rides like shit, but if its got new springs in it then it really won't be that uncomfortable (compared to a coily anyway)...

Just my 2c

[ajsr]

xbeejx wrote:

Why is that?

I think I have my heart set on a coily. It is going to get the majority of its use in town and to a lessor extent on the highway. I need something that is comfortable.
I also want something that is really nice and not tatty, as close to being new as I can find.
I think I would prefer to just upgrade it myself as I need to.

Anyone give me a ballpark figure for a low km Coily in really nice original condition?

buy a vitara then

[atari4x4]

ajsr wrote:

xbeejx wrote:

Why is that?

I think I have my heart set on a coily. It is going to get the majority of its use in town and to a lessor extent on the highway. I need something that is comfortable.
I also want something that is really nice and not tatty, as close to being new as I can find.

I think I would prefer to just upgrade it myself as I need to.

Anyone give me a ballpark figure for a low km Coily in really nice original condition?

buy a vitara then

x2 from what you wrote you, would be better off in a Vitara

[zooky08]

Sick! wrote:

Anyone ever painted a whole car? Any idea on cost?

i spent just over $1000 for my paint job on my sierra.

[ajsr]

zooky08 wrote:

Sick! wrote:

Anyone ever painted a whole car? Any idea on cost?

i spent just over $1000 for my paint job on my sierra.

$238

[zooky08]

ajsr wrote:

zooky08 wrote:

Sick! wrote:

Anyone ever painted a whole car? Any idea on cost?

i spent just over $1000 for my paint job on my sierra.

$238

a few spray cans

[ajsr]

zooky08 wrote:

ajsr wrote:

zooky08 wrote:

Sick! wrote:

Anyone ever painted a whole car? Any idea on cost?

i spent just over $1000 for my paint job on my sierra.

$238

a few spray cans

no full 2pak

[zooky08]

ajsr wrote:

zooky08 wrote:

ajsr wrote:

zooky08 wrote:

Sick! wrote:

Anyone ever painted a whole car? Any idea on cost?

i spent just over $1000 for my paint job on my sierra.

$238

a few spray cans

no full 2pak [/quote

ahk your a painter aint you, i bought every thing from scratch all i had was a god dam air compressor

[xbeejx]

Its starting to dawn on me that I am maybe trying to look for a car that will do everything really well and maybe its a compromise that isnt going to happen.
I think a better course of action might be a good road car, with a trailer, and a cheap leafy to bash around in that I wont get too emotional if it comes to grief.
You can get rec rego on dirt bikes, is there something similar for 4wds?

Really looking forward to getting into 4wding. Thanks for all your advice and helping me to sort it out

[zooky08]

if it will be a trailor rig you might be able to get concession for restricted use rego

[ajsr]

xbeejx wrote:

Its starting to dawn on me that I am maybe trying to look for a car that will do everything really well and maybe its a compromise that isnt going to happen.
I think a better course of action might be a good road car, with a trailer, and a cheap leafy to bash around in that I wont get too emotional if it comes to grief.
You can get rec rego on dirt bikes, is there something similar for 4wds?

Really looking forward to getting into 4wding. Thanks for all your advice and helping me to sort it out

club rego in vic, not sure on price
a basher sounds like a better plan to me, at least you will get to work on monday with a sprare daily

[Lhyriel]

i bought a modded zuk and its the best buy for the price i paid, the previous owners just built their new house and been married for ages and was simply a work car for a miner, but if anything in regard to wiring mods and such i probs wouldnt have took it, when i do wiring i make sure everything is as close to a perfect job if possible.