My cousin called me today asking about a car that some guy is selling. Here's the deal:

It's a 2005 WRX with 45k miles, and front end damage for $1800.


The damage includes front bumper, radiator (radiator went into the timing belt and bent the valves and everything in that general area, it can be fixed but would take a bit of work). The subframe is also damaged due to teh front impact, and both airbags went off. That seems to be the extent of the damage, but the rear driver side wheel also has a crazy amount of camber which shows proof of something going wrong there too but he claims to not know.

The fact that he said he didn't know about the rear wheel makes me question his honesty and I would be worried about the frame being bent cuz the sub frame is bent to hell.

He'd need to fix the bumper and everything that goes with it, a new radiator/mount and everything that goes with that, and a new valve cover, timing belt and fixing whatever engine damage there might be. Then fixing the rear wheel which could be a trailing arm or axle or something.


What do you guys think? Would you pay $1800 for this? Everything else seems fine, and the tranny is in good shape and all.

Oh, one last thing... It def needs new wheels and tires since the stock ones are JACKED and bent to all hell.

I guess he could just remove the tranny and diffs and sell them and break even if worse came to worst... It's a lot of work and am curious to see what you all think.

 

Maybe to part out?

On another note, is it really possible for a radiator impact to bend the valves?

 

Well, he wants it to drive it, not to part it out.


I don't think the radiator alone bent anything, the subframe was bent and was sent into the valve area. I'm just afraid that the subframe might have bent the actual frame.

I told him that there was NO WAY I'd buy that car, but he's patient and doesn't care if the car isn't 100% fine. He's mechanically inclined so I know he could do a lot of the work himself, but it just sounds like a lot of damage... Even the airbags have to be replaced which alone cost BANK. Also has to replace part of the dash board due to the bags and the steering wheel center, etc.

I told him just to buy a bug eye that was in good shape and not wrecked. He can get one for cheap and not have to worry about all that other crap. He'll have to spend like $5k probably to fix everything, so that's almost 7k where he could get a bug eye that is in good condition for less then that. Know what I mean?

 

With straight-framed bugeyes going for such little money this is definitely not worth the headache. The cost of parts alone would probably offset the low initial price, and then you are stuck with a lot of work, and more likely than not some permanent damage.

 

If the radiator is pushed back enough to hit the timing covers and then the belt... yup. It sure can cause damage.

 

sounds like this car on craigs: http://sfbay.craigslist.org/eby/pts/1323276291.html
i say stay away from frame damage, but that's just me simply because I don't have the hookups with a body shop with a frame straightener

 

HA! That's the car!!! $1200, yeah, I was wrong, I dunno why I thought it was $1800. Good searching skills man!

 

it says 1200 for tranny only or whole car for 1700. so who knows?

 

yeah... I told my cousin to pass it up and to swoop on a bug eye instead. Thats just a lot of work and lots of time/parts and it will never be the same again.

You can find SUCH good deals on bug eyes now, which is good and bad... Good thing is that we can get them for cheap and make them into race cars, but the bad news is that ricers are buying them and polluting our community.

 

From the sounds of it, its a parts car now. Buy it, strip it, sell the parts, take the profits and put it down on a nicer car.