Starquest ad critique - worth considering?

There's a Starquest for sale at a local dealership that seems to specialise in slightly odd performance cars (they've got a factory turbo Trans Am in stock, for example).

I had a quick look at it on Saturday in passing and it seems to be in good shape (especially the interior, the only wear I saw was on the steering wheel). Looking around CL, the prices for these things appear to be all over the place, plus it's an 86 which seems to be a slightly less desirable model so I'm thinking the price is a little on the high side.

Anyway, any input?

Link to the ad: http://reno.craigslist.org/ctd/2369621042.html

It's bone stock from what I can tell which will hopefully save me some insurance headache, plus I wouldn't have to deal with someone else's mess. Usual use expectation - mostly daily driving with maybe a little Auto-X and the odd trackday.

Looks nice to be as old as it is. They're not exactly giving it away, though.

Looks very clean, maybe slightly overpriced.

Factory part availability is slightly hit or miss (I work in Mitsu parts). Most dealers will probably tell you they can't get parts anymore since the Starquests aren't supported on the Mitsu parts catalog. Some may have an old print catalog laying around though to check them (I have a PDF of the Conquest parts catalog).

It is very clean, the body has one small ding I noticed when I gave it a look over but other than that the paint wants a bit of a polish and it'll look really good.

It's the most expensive one I can find in a 500 mile radius, but it also appears to be the lowest mileage one. The mileage looks genuine, judging by the condition of the interior.

For five grand it had better be REALLY clean and unmolested, and a no-accident car. That is to say, it should be as nice as it looks like in the pics.

The '86 was the first year of the widebodies. Starquests had a ton of little incremental changes over their run. Nothing really wrong with an '86 but you're missing out on some of the newer upgrades, most notably the stronger transmission and the optional Sports Handling Package from '88-'89. There is a well-known electrical drain problem with the '86-'87 but it's an easy fix (I forget the specifics, just search on starquestclub.com or www.nwstarquest.com for "electrical drain" and you'll find it.) Being an '86, it's the last year without the hated motorized seatbelts, so there is that. All widebodies came with a 2-way clutch LSD, and they last well. If it hasn't been beaten on it's probably still fine.

Drive it first and see if you like the steering, it's recirculating ball. WTF Mitsu? But it's not bad for what it is.

If that one is really as clean as it looks, offer four grand and see what they come back with. Those things are underappreciated and hard to sell so they go cheap.

How does the steering compare to a 1st gen RX7?

And yes, it's pretty much that clean - the interior actually looks better in the flesh than in the pictures and the exterior is pretty clean, too.

Never driven an RX7... It's a million times better than the recirculating ball in my '80 Celica was though. Compared to the R&P in some other cars of the same era (AE86, etc.) it doesn't stack up toooo badly.

The steering is about on par with the RX-7, (first gen) as far as feel goes. IIRC, it's a tad lighter, so easier to parallel park.

Two words: BUT IT. Go embarass a bunch of 944 turbos.

Is that linterior is really as good as it looks,, then someone took care of it and I think that's a good indicator of its life.

triumph5 wrote: Two words: BUY IT.

FTFY.

I had one that looked just like that, slightly warmed over motor. Paid about that price but that was for an 88 with motor work, turbo upgrade and that was back in 95 or so. Dont think I could bring myself to pay that much now, they aren't a car that is appreciating.

One of the most fun cars I've had.

One of the biggest headaches I've had.

They are like Italian cars, the rare times everything's working right they are a joy....

Doesn't look to be too bad, but you can get much better deals on these if you search. You can get lower mileage examples cheaper. As Jay said check out Starquest forums there are constantly great deals as well as tons of support. I picked up my 88 for 2K. Guy was out of work & needed to sell it. Needed some work but was easily worth more.

There was one of these on the local CL a few weeks ago, I think it was an '89, tho, and about similar mileage and exterior condition. No pix of the interior, tho, and I got the impression the seller was moving and may have put this car back into running condition recently. (He had another ad before that that wasn't as.....? good looking/flattering to his car.) Asking price? $3000. So, I agree, $5,000 is on the highish side, but not too far out of line considering the condition.

Poked around a little on one of the Starquest forums and it looks like you can get "used" ones for about $2k-$3k and the really good ones are in the same price range as this one. Of course with the dealer fees etc it'll be more still...

I think its nearly worth it..

I second previous statements in the thread and say offer 4, see what happens, and consider the extra money that dealers charge for tt&l. If you can get it OUT THE DOOR for under $5k id say you did a GOOD deal on that car. Keep in mind that a good condition interior is absolutely the rarest thing to find on a car that age and you can much more easily spec up the rest of the car to match later upgrades etc than you can find another interior like that to swap in.

to be honest, i'd offer 3.5k and leave your name and number for when it doesn't sell. i have a friend with an 89, and the 2k he saved buying a cheap one, he lost in repairs. They're fun little cars, stock, and bpu (to steal a supra term). Much beyond that though, don't bother. They use a twin injector tbi maf setup that works fine around stock power levels, but don't think you're gonna buy it and slap a 20g turbo and throw down 450hp. That being said, an intercooler hard pipe kit, 2.5" down pipe, and a manual boost controller will revolutionize the car. They have a freakishly heavy flywheel, like 40ish lbs iirc. All in all, they're a fun car, and you'll get more looks than if your were in a c5.

Appears to be in amazing nick, but the colour is less than ideal, IMO. (Compare to Jay's sinister looking black example.)

Are you still looking at that 240Z? Personally I'd take the Datsun over one of these.

Unfortunately the red paint is a typical '80s red in that it doesn't hold up very well, especially in sunny climes. If it looks good now, that's great, but be aware you may have to buff/wax/clay bar it fairly often to keep it shiney. My sinister looking black example started as this:

(I had the missing pieces, they just weren't installed when I took that photo.) There's a reason it's black now.

I never see those except in the junkyard (there was actually 2 fairly nice ones the last time I was there). I think have only seen one that was still on the road that I can remember.

If it's the car you want, and you don't think you'll be able to get a better car/better deal, then just go for it.

What's $5k in the long term, especially if you think you can get most of it back when you sell? Drive a regular car for a number of years, and you'll lose that, and more.

I've always been cheap when it comes to buying cars, and wouldn't pay big money on principal, but lately I look at the bigger picture.

Luke wrote: Appears to be in amazing nick, but the colour is less than ideal, IMO. (Compare to Jay's sinister looking black example.)

It is the 1980s red-will-turn-pink but it doesn't appear to be overly oxidised.

Luke wrote: Are you still looking at that 240Z? Personally I'd take the Datsun over one of these.

Nope, the PPI found more rust that wasn't visible until you put it on a lift. I need something I can use & don't need another resto project.

I have always wanted one of those, like others have said offer 4 and see what happens.

Zomby woof wrote: If it's the car you want, and you don't think you'll be able to get a better car/better deal, then just go for it.

It's a car I'd like, certainly not one I want. But I don't have the spare cash flying around to buy one I really want, nor do I want to acquire a car payment.

The problem with the "better deal" in general is that we've been travelling several thousand miles over the past few months to look at something reasonably sporty and the 2/3rds of the GRM trifecta I was looking at turned out to be mostly heaps. So I'm basically getting frustrated as I'm missing out on what constitutes the track season out here (already missed one PDX and the Auto-X school the SCCA put up here, looks like I'll be missing the next PDX on Saturday, too) and I started looking for "less sensible" vehicles.

Zomby woof wrote: What's $5k in the long term, especially if you think you can get most of it back when you sell? Drive a regular car for a number of years, and you'll lose that, and more. I've always been cheap when it comes to buying cars, and wouldn't pay big money on principal, but lately I look at the bigger picture.

5k wouldn't that big a deal if I kept the car for a number of years, but I don't know about that. I'll have to keep it at least until next year as I can only sell one more vehicle this year and that's either the CJ7 or the ropey DR650 I use for good weather commuting.