[swifty_ano]

Hey all.

Went and looked at a car this morning. Even though i asked him not to run the car, he moved the car into the drive way (engine temp was a quarter).
I checked for ticking on start up and heard a faint tick that went away completely after 1 minute.
It was extremely faint and i couldnt tell if thats how the motor was supposed to sound.

Should i be concerned?

There is also a clunk when turning? What could this be?

[Gwagensteve]

Motor should be very, very quiet especially if warm, however, H20's rarely are. If you want to be sure, ensure the car is started from cold.

Clunk from the steering could be a large number of things - stuffed strut, stuff swaybar links, worn/bent idler arm, tie rod ends, ball joints, suspension bushes, steering shaft unis....

This is a 20 year old car (or near enough) it's bound to need some maintenance.

[swifty_ano]

Thanks Steve. Decided to steer clear once again from this one. Its everything i was after for the right price but seems its had a prang at some stage (rough respray on the front end )
Looking for something that wont give me many hassles.

[Gwagensteve]

Good luck with that - 20 year old cars will nearly always have some sort of story to tell. IT's all about getting the price right so you have budget to cover mechanical repairs.

[swifty_ano]

Yeah I personally know this, but getting past the missus is an even bigger challenge.

This this is a 1997 sv620 with 170km on the dash, auto, leather seats and sunroof (what I want more then anything as I want soft top but the missus wants hardtop, so it's a good compromise), red and 5 months rego. Definitely been a mall rat and looks like 4x4 has never been used.

It passed a revs check so it's not a repairable write-off. But it's obvious the front has been roughly re sprayed and front guard has chip of paint missing With bog underneath.

Everything works but needs:
Roof sprayed
Power steering leak fixed
Aircon gassed
1 new rim
Hole in muffler
Clunk when turning
Wheel alignment

He wants $3000 for it

[Gwagensteve]

Seems about right price wise, assuming the front panel work is superficial only.

I'd check the radiator support etc for damage and check shut lines. It wouldn't take much of a hit to write the car off, so I doubt the damage has gone far.

Steve.

[swifty_ano]

Radiator support is straight. No signs of welding or repair.
The only repair I see is there is a bar behind the grill the looks like its been welded up...pretty sure only supports the horn?

All panels lined up perfectly.

Do you think the price is about right or a good value? Assuming the cars in fair condition of course?

[ninjamoses]

Not knowing what the markets like over that side of the country, but that seems like a pretty reasonable price to me all things considered?

Low km, sunroof and leather would have to be rare as rocking horse shit in a SV model (it'd be difficult to find even one of those things let alone all three in the same vehicle). Everything but the roof respray should be fairly minor/cheap enough to sort.

[swifty_ano]

Thanks for the replies everyone. I got a quote of $300 for a roof spray so not too bad considering its a non urgent issue

Ive been looking at cars all year and this one is by far the most "suited" for my needs. Its has everything i was looking for but i was hoping to buy something without issues. But I've seen cars in the $5000 catagory no better then this one.
As Steve said, they are a 20 year old car and they all have their stories.
Just gotta convince the missus now shes all about the looks and not about the whole picture.

[vet 180]

Sounds like it is what you want.

Go have another look at it and make sure it's cold if your worried. The cluck..ask him to jack the car up on the side it's clunking and try and move the wheel around by hand. Get a mate to inspect what's moving. Good thing is vitara parts are pretty cheap.

Women can look at cars kinda strange. And it only takes a change on 1 minor detail and they like it again. The key is to get her to look at other ones and point out the ones she likes and then deduct what's different an change that. I figured out my missus hates crv's xtrails, lifted f150's, and some zuks because of the small tyres. She like the look of big tyres with small lift that fill out the guards.

[swifty_ano]

vet 180 wrote:

Sounds like it is what you want.

Go have another look at it and make sure it's cold if your worried. The cluck..ask him to jack the car up on the side it's clunking and try and move the wheel around by hand. Get a mate to inspect what's moving. Good thing is vitara parts are pretty cheap.

Women can look at cars kinda strange. And it only takes a change on 1 minor detail and they like it again. The key is to get her to look at other ones and point out the ones she likes and then deduct what's different an change that. I figured out my missus hates crv's xtrails, lifted f150's, and some zuks because of the small tyres. She like the look of big tyres with small lift that fill out the guards.

Cheers mate.

Yeah, you're right about women. Shes so hung up on my last, but when i show her the same car I'm looking at with modifications she gets a big smile.

I came home and looked at other SV's, which there aren't many for sale and haven't been many all year and they all have their issues.

Most of the issues with it i will be replacing when I modify it.
The clunk will be fixed with my suspension upgrade
The wheel will be replaced when i get muddies

Im going to go reinspect the car and take the missus this time. Ill check back in with how i go