hey guys went and looked at a Galant today for sale in Adelaide, car is amazing and i instantly fell inlove with it. its full of cusco goodies and has sunroof but my issue is finance
has anyone been approved finance for a older car i really dont want to miss out on this car
If you are struggling to get finance you probably can't afford the car - simple as that.
Do a budget, think about maintenance & insurance costs as if you can't source parts or don't have good mechanical aptitude you will pay through the teeth for work.
15k is OK but a bit much for this car in my opinion.
Not to pile on here, but as Mezje said, if finance is an issue now wait till things start to break/fail.
These cars are getting to an age where components are potentially on the way out or are in fact already cooked and the availability or replacements (or lack there of) will hit the wallet hard.
Emphasis on "will", don't know about the workshops in S.A. but in W.A. 9.9999 times out of 10 if a workshop sees me pull up, they want nothing to do with the car and if they begrudgingly agree to do any work, they charge for the convenience.
Personally, if I was to buy a Galant or Legnum today, it would be a weekend drive/garage queen and never see a track unless its parked in the car park.
But in saying all that, the heart wants what the heart wants... partially why I still have mine after all this time.
A lot of good points above about maintenance. The best workshops in Adelaide for these cars are Driven Motorsport (Jon) and Mike Dale Automotive. Both are experienced with them and I've had much work done by both. Maybe get them to check it out.
They are an amazing car, I've daily driven mine for 10 years now, but they need love and needed to have been loved in the past if you don't want $$ headaches.
(For example; a major 100k/200k service is ~$1800.00)
They're not something you can really neglect and get away with like a naturally aspirated 2wd car. The things that makes them amazing is the technology and it needs to be looked after. For example mine recently needed to have it's valve stem seals done. I paid to pull the motor and gearbox out to get to the rear bank because of the layout. (Fark my a#se still hurts).
That one looks like a TypeV (no flares = no AYC) but they got things like CV's everywhere, has the auto had it's wave spring done? Where's the best place to get normal parts?
They're pretty reliable if they've been looked after - but the big question is; what is the service history like.
Best advice I can honestly give is, if you really love them and really want one then learn about them first.
When I first started out with mine I read this entire forum and would check it religiously every night. Now I've learnt to even flash and tune mine.
If you do get it, sing out, because the VR-4 community here in Adelaide is pretty small and friendly. Here's a picture of mine down at the (one time I've had it at the) Bend. Good luck mate!