EP82 GT Starlet - What to Look for When Buying.

[FANGIN]

So my better half has decided she wants an EP82 GT Starlet. (She actually wants a Glanza V, but doesn't want to spend that much).

There's one on trademe with low kms for a reasonable amount and she's contacting them to arrange a time to view this week.

I assume a few people on here have had them, and want to know any starlet / E series specific problems that could arise, or any defects to check for when buying.

Any information would be most appreciated.

Cheers,

Mike

[Garreth27]

which one on trademe you looking at? I've owned quite a few ep82's and i see my old ones regularly on trademe.

From my experiences to things to look for that are common:

broken/worn engine mounts
oil around turbo as seals commonly die on stock turbo
have had a few with wheel bearing issues, mainly front
window motor commonly crap out
heater core leaking into passenger footwell

all easily fixed tho, all i can think of right now.

[FANGIN]

Thanks for the pointers, it's this one she's looking at:

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used-ca ... 998944.htm

[Garreth27]

ah cool, looks tidy an unmolested.
Another thing to look for is cracked manifold, they are prone to cracking and usually go unnoticed cause of the heat shield and finding a replacement un-cracked one is quite hard.

[FANGIN]

ah cool, looks tidy an unmolested.

Exactly why I suggested we go look at it, I personally prefer buying stock cars that have low kms, than high km modded cars.

Cheers for the pointers, I'm guessing a cracked manifold is hard to see due to hte heat shield, but should be able to be heard / smelt.

[Garreth27]

I'm guessing a cracked manifold is hard to see due to hte heat shield, but should be able to be heard / smel

yea and just look around for black sout etc around the head. just the usual tell tale signs. Just don't ever buy a car off craaz1402 on trademe, he sells lots of parts for starlets which is all good but the starlets he sells are put together and fixed up extremely shit and dodgy, this guy once took a 4efte apart and when he put it back together he reused the old headgasket and couldnt figure out why it was overheating and using water/coolant

[BlakeNZ]

don't be slow inspecting it , that one looks good value. hard to find low km ones.