Things to Looks Out For

[tails]

I had a quick look at a 2000 Galant Vr4 tonight. I'm going to have a proper look tomorrow.

The catch is the car is currently under contract with another buyer, but the dealer thinks the finance will fall through and the buyer is giving him the screw around (she put a very small deposit on it). The car ticks all the boxes I want (black, low km, galant) but because it's under contract I can't test drive it until that officially falls through. I can however start the engine and hear it.

A quick history on the car;

• It was imported in 2010 with 33,000k on the clock (how genuine that is I'm not sure yet, I'll ask to see log books tomorrow)
• It was purchased from this same dealer at that time
• 2 years later the purchaser has sold it back to the dealer (for reasons unknown, not a trade in though)
• It now has 47,000km on it. So about 14,000 aussie Kms.
• It's bone stock apart from wheels and CD player.
• From what I saw tonight, the interior looked immaculate.

I've already checked the VIN on Mitsu JP recall site and all applicable recalls have already had the work done.

So what are some interim things for me to look for before I can test drive it?

Also, what other information about the vehicle can I find with the VIN?

 

[Black_Ice]

Check for rust around the front mounts and under the car...wear on the steering wheel..if its genuine kms you should hardly see any wear on the steering wheel...turn the steering from one locked position to another while stationary and see if there are any weird sounds..dunno what else you could check without test driving it...

and please do a REVS check as well...

 

[tails]

Check for rust around the front mounts and under the car...wear on the steering wheel..if its genuine kms you should hardly see any wear on the steering wheel...turn the steering from one locked position to another while stationary and see if there are any weird sounds..dunno what else you could check without test driving it...

and please do a REVS check as well...

We don't have REVS in SA. I've done a PPSR check and I'll call up transport SA to do a defect/write off check.

Thanks.

 

[AKKO]

- Drivetrain vibration (tail shaft)
- Clunk noiseys when turning at low speed i.e. into or out of driveways (Tie Rod Ends / LCAs).

Sure the others will chime in with more stuff... those are just the ones that came to mind

 

[tails]

I had a look at it. Started it, idles fine, no odd noise. Will check for tapping at high RPM when I drive it during the week. Will also check for clunks and the regular noises.

Had all the japanese books in the glove box, went through them. The odo figure seems genuine. I can't read Japanese, but the services being logged went up in increments and the last service in Japan was done at 30,000k. It had 33,000km when it arrived in Australia.

The steering wheel still has its texture all the way around and looked to be in really good nick in general which further leads me to think the K's are genuine.

The body is fine, and the paint isn't bad. No chips or scratches from what I could see. There was a tiny bit of discolouration around the trim strips on the outside of the doors though.

It's a bit more than I want to spend but it ticks all the boxes and comes with a 5 year warranty (how useful that'll be is debatable).

I've put a tiny refundable deposit on it just to secure it before I can test drive it. Really looking forward to taking it for a spin.

 

[Guest]

You should run the error codes on it as well, only takes 5 seconds and will tell you a lot of things you won't otherwise be able to tell, there are a lot of sensors and such that can play up, as well as your ayc pump/switch. this will tell you if they are on the fritz.Make sure you check them after a drive in case they have been cleared earlier.They should re-appear after a drive if they are a problem. Also make sure you get all the dash lights coming on then off at start up. The 3 AYC lights (the three bars above the steering wheel) should all light up green then disappear.

-Codes are in 1st Post
-How to read them is explained in post #12
http://ozvr4.com/forums/showthread.php?2415-Diagnostic-Codes-The-Full-List

 

[Black_Ice]

Those warranties are pretty useless IMO..i would try to get more money off than get that warranty..

 

[cyber_scriber]

Have a look for the common problems with these cars:

http://ozvr4.com/forums/showthread....alant-Legnum-common-problems&highlight=common

 

[tails]

Those warranties are pretty useless IMO..i would try to get more money off than get that warranty..

I told him that this afternoon then did the whole "Leave it with me and I might come back later" after telling him the price I wanted. Eventually he came down to my price level and included on road costs and 5 year warranty. So I put the small deposit on it subject to a test drive during the week.

I'll bring a paper clip to the test drive and check for error codes afterwards. I wonder how that'll go down with him? Is it pretty easy to pull the cover off to reach it? I don't want to look like I'm pulling the car apart.

Another thing I noticed was that it had blue springs on the shocks. So I don't think they're stock. Is there a particular brand that uses blue springs or is it going to impossible to determine what is on it? The shocks themselves looked okay, little dirty and a nick here in there on the rubber coating of the springs though.

 

[chardo]

You won't need to pull anything apart, the plug is just under the dash, next to the left knee position when you are sitting in the car.

Sounds like it is in nice condition, hope it all goes well.

 

[Guest]

If he is selling a car, and he back his word and his vehicles, he should have no problem at all with you doing any sort of check on it.

 

[tails]

If he is selling a car, and he back his word and his vehicles, he should have no problem at all with you doing any sort of check on it.

My thoughts were that if he doesn't actually know what I'm doing it might weird him out fiddling away with a paper clip under the dash, haha.

 

[Guest]

If you just do your research and dive right in and make it look like you know exactly what you are doing it decreases the likelyhood of you being bullshitted by the seller lol.

 

[pauly]

Those warranties are pretty useless IMO..i would try to get more money off than get that warranty..

Not really..I had national warranty..I used no worries...I blew the trans and they covered nearly 100% of it....I nearly tried "to get more money off" but stuck with it...so would advise to stick with it..

 

[tails]

Not really..I had national warranty..I used no worries...I blew the trans and they covered nearly 100% of it....I nearly tried "to get more money off" but stuck with it...so would advise to stick with it..

That's what I want to hear, haha.

 

[Guest]

My Evo has a national warranty which hopefully holds up. I'm getting it inspected tomorrow after it arrives and will be making sure my mechanic nails any problems if there is any. If the warranty is from a reputable dealer and you read and understand the terms and conditions it may be worthwhile.

 

[tails]

On top of the warranty, just getting it from a dealer is a bit of peace of mind to me. Some one to complain to should anything shag itself.

 

[tails]

Just a brief update; I took a Galant for a drive this morning. Despite it being cold there were no vibrations or shudders from the engine or creaks or knocks from the suspension. Felt smooth at low and high RPM. A gave it a bit of shtick and gear changes felt responsive. So I'm pretty happy, I think I'll pick it up on the weekend.

It's a 10/2000 Galant Type V, so no AYC. In my head I'm telling myself it'll be something less to worry about regarding servicing as this will be a daily driver.

I also got a pleasant surprise regarding the wheels. I knew it had after market wheels on it but assumed they'd be a cheap Bob Jane job. On closer inspection they're RAYS engineering United Arrows wheels. So pretty happy with that. They look the goods so that's one less expense for a while...I wonder if they'll clear brembos?

 

[Shamwow]

I got a 3 year warranty on mine, havent touched it yet though. The fine print in the warranty did state it is void if boost is touched, but they will never know since i dont have boost guage and no boost controller.