So I went to the dealer today and I actually got to get a better look at the vert I was thinkin of buyin..



I checked and it has 150,000 miles.. the seats are worn and the top has the small rips at the base of the top right behind the doors..oh and it is not a targa top... it is the regular kind, but it retracts smoothly..



The idiots who worked on it before me had put all trailing plugs on it and the mechanic had gotten the leading wires mixed up between the #1 and #2 rotors.. So I sorted that out and put leading plugs in it. So it smoked like a bitch cuz we had done the atf thing to it.. the smoke went away mostly after being on for a while.. The temp rose to a bit below the middle and stayed there.. The A/C works, thats a plus.. Trunk looks clean..



The carpet behind the drivers seat as discolored and rough so I guess water gets in.. Is this a hard to fix problem?



the fuel guage and oil pressure guage seem to not work..... is this also an easy fix.. The body looks to be in good shape but has been repainted but I noticed no frame damage.. and has a couple of small dents..



One odd thing I noticed about it though is the the Radio said AE edition? Does that mean that this may be an anniversary edition?



Uh I may have forgotten a few things... So is this car worth $2500 in this condition or should I try to get it under 2k..



The compression on the engine sounds good.. nice even wooshes.. I will probably hook up the compression tester next weekend..

the cd players are made by ae, if you can get it for 2k its a good deal, the car sounds a little rough?



mike

So what else should I check to evaluate this sucka.. If the engine is still smokin' after a test drive would that mean that the oil control rings are bad? and would it then still be worth it?



I figure I can put aftermarket seats in it eventually and maybe a new rear section for the top, since it is the only part that has rips..

yup, nope, and yes



mike

Damn.. ok So I guess I will find out in the next 2 weeks..

Alright damnit.. The top on the car is like This one



But it is an 89 and white.. So is this the targa top.. How the hell do you remove it then? and what would be a fair price on the damn car if the oil control rings are fucked up?

all verts had the targa roof. if you look inside you will see there is a release to the rear of the targa section. This is a good top because it keeps its shape on the highway due to the hard section, it doesnt baloon out like some tops. You shouldnt have gotten the car running for them, lol.



You can get OEM style seat skins in vinyl installed for about $1000, maybe cheaper if labor is cheap in your part of the world. A top runs about $800 installed, you will want to do both parts so the top matches itself. That AE stands for something, not anniversary edition, but the radio,amps, and speakers were made by Pioneer.



Keep in mind a 1989 vert should be going for $5000 in decent, not even mint shape.

The guy is gonna pay me for fixin it, but if I want it he will sell it to me. His mechanic who didn't know **** about rotaries.. is from central america so we talked and he said he will tell the boss that I have been struggling with it and he will follow aong with what I say, so I can hopefully lowball him on the car..

**** up the firing order again and tell him it needs a engine and

steal the car.

I second that. https://www.nopistons.com/forums/pub...#>/BURNOUT.gif

just tell him it needs a TPS and an AFM....then show him the prices on mazdatrix

With all the things that can and probably are bad, I would be tempted to keep looking. From brittle oil metering lines to worn out rubber hoses and bushings, you could be looking at dumping a signifigant amount of cashola at this thing. In case you need an example this is what ive done to mine in order of occurence:



coolant line from firewall to engine (below oil filter)

radiator (self explanitory)

driveline (developed bad vibration)

water pump

rebuilt engine (apex seals in #2 rotor on return trip from Seattle)

rebuilt trans (syncros)

rebuilt diff (seals went)

oil metering lines (brittle 2 & 3 broke)

sway bar bushing broke ( @ A arm on driver side)

ac compressor (died)

heater core

convertible top and gaskets (usual reasons)

lock cylinder (driver side)

new complete paint (stock job faded)



I bought mine with 97k on it, the engine went @ 110K, I paid 5200 for it in '98, you do the math.

The is A LOT to be said about a meticulous inspection of EVERYTHING before shellin out the dough.

Unless these ppl will GIVE you the car, I would keep looking...

Well I have been around the engine, and the oil lines seem fine, the whole engine bay looked pretty clean.. Not like shiny clean but, hasn't been fucked around with type of clean, you know what I mean.. and it sounded smooth when I got it on.. but when I would rev it up, it would make popping noises.. The only real worn hting on the car are the seats, and top.. Maybe in the next 2 weeks I will drive over and take pictures...



I am gonna be needing a daily driver soon so I was thinkin this might be a good buy, but obviously it is a gamble.. A test drive should help me evaluate it some more..

when you drive it... check for smoothness when you rev it. Check for smoke...





Make sure it starts back up when you turn it off and leave it sit for a few min



Make sure everything is tip top before you invest man.



She sounds good to go though.

89 rag, good advice, but considering he can get the car for $2000 im sure

he knows he is taking a gamble, If he was looking at one for $6000 maybe it would be a different story. If it was a SE or even a GXL he wouldnt get his money back, but on a 89 vert its worth the effort a bit more as it holds value.

Yeah I was thinkin about that.. If I get it for 2k and fix the top and maybe put new seats in it.. it would look very nice.. and If I get a lemon I can rebuild for about 1k.. and still sell the car for 4-5k once it is runnin good.. I am probably gonna go to the dealer on Wednesday and talk to the Guy.. Maybe I can work it out with him.. Hell Maybe I can change the oil cap and wires and drive to vegas on the weekend to my uncle's place..

does it have the owners manual??

I will check that if I go this week.. I look real quickly in the glove box.. It seems to have old paperwork.. But I did not go through it.. Maybe it will be service receipts.. or fast food receipts.. hahaha

ok, went back again, and to my surprise I was right.. There are service receipts in the glove box from 1990 to 1999.. from oil change services to changing head lights and other small parts.. Then I found the new sale papers for the owner that had bought the car, used, ffrom this same dealer in 2000, but it seems that she did not keep up with the payments so the car was taken back in 2001, and I guess has been in the dealer since.. I turned it on again today so I think thats a good sign..



It is missing one of the BBS rims.. has the lil black donut rim on there..



Oh yeah the owner wasn't there so I did not get to negotiate.. but the machanic was telling me that he told the owner I cahnged the plugs wires, and coils.. LOL....

offer them $1300, then let them go up to $1500.

hahaha, that would be a nice deal.. I doubt he is that dumb though.. I will talk with him today to see what happens..

if he was asking $2000, $1500 is a good price.

He is a car dealer, they dont always make out, sometimes

they just want to unload a problem car.

ok went back and he will not go below $2500, but he will get me the other rim and I got more info on the previous owner.. She had the car for 12000 miles before the dealer took it back. Before she had it, the previous owners were the ones who took real good care of it.. I want the car and I actually need it now.. but I am not paying it cash either.. He is letting me do payments but without actually financing it.. So anyways.. I test drive it tommorow hopefully.. so any other input..

This guy sounds tough... I always start almost insultingly low and knowing what I would pay max. I offered cash for one car at our local Mazda dealer but it was $1k less than they were asking... the prick salesman laughed at me and said keep it! Then the next day I got a call from the manager apologizing and asking me to come back in. I did and got about $600 in tax, tags, warranty included for no extra charge. I had a feeling they wanted to unload it since it was there for so long.



Anyway, good luck. If you really want it, tell him $2500 with all tax, tags, title fees included and say that's all you'll do ... just see what happens. The first thing many dealers will ask is how you are paying. I always say what difference does it make and tell them I don't know. They are trained to play with numbers and especially when financing and trade in's come into play it really can get confusing for the buyer.

cash is always a stronger bargaining tool.

Congrats on a good find, they are hard to find in my area. Sounds like your car needs less work than mine, good luck. I cant drive mine yet because I have to order a couple of parts, but I cant wait.

ok, me and CaptainSkoobing took it for a spin.. She runs strong as hell and has good power.. Suspension is a bit soft.. but nice.. To a little performance drive around the ghetto since no cops are ever around there.. Handles very nice..



It does not smoke on idle anymore.. only on full throttle between shifts.. is that bad?

oh yeah and its a 90 not an 89.. not that it changes anything..