Is this one worth buying?

Hi, I'm new to the board, lots of helpful articles. Basically there is a 93 Del Sol S (1.5L) with 160k mles, A/C, 5 speed, white. I have not seen it in person yet but the picture looked pretty good.
http://images.autotrader.com/images/2004/3/13/159/164/776656373.159164118.IM1.MAIN.565x421_A.562x421.jpg

The seller proclaims that it 'runs perfect'. His asking price was $3200 but over the phone his bottom line was 3k. I know these cars are rare and all, but I was wondering if I could get some feedback on the real value of this car.

I currently drive a Grand Cherokee Jeep which absolutely rocks and all, but it goes through gas like water.

I am 6'2" but not big, should the car be adequate enough for me? I sat in the passenger's seat of one couple years back and dont remember any problems with comfort.

One other question, I've read to check the weatherstripping on the roof of the car, may I ask, which part should I focus onto: the stripping on the car's body or the targa top itself?

Thank you for any input in advance.

Greg

2 ways to find value of cars. NADA or Kelly Blue Book. www.nada.com
www.kbb.com

NADA determines the value of the car in the current market situation. IE Supply and demand

Kelly Blue Book just determines the value of the car. KBB is usually lower in value, because it doesn't determine supply and demand in the market place.

What I found:
NADA: $2500 low retail $3525 Mid retail $4325 High retail

KBB: Private Party: $2,025 Fair $2,375 Good $2,850 Excellent

Are you concerned with power at all or is this car strictly for commuting only. Being an S model then it has 102hp (93-95) 106 hp (96-97). You can get an Si model (93-95) with 125hp (96-97) 127hp or the VTEC model (94-97) with 160hp. You can obviously drop in a different engine into the S model too, if you wanted more power down the road. IE b16, b18, h22 engines will fit in the sol, with some fabrications for some of them to the engine bay, etc.

93 del-Sol only have a driver side air bag. The passenger side airbag was introduced in 94. The 93-94 targa top rubber gaskets leaked and the gasket was redesigned to prevent / decrease leaks in 95 or 96. I can't remember which year. Power door locks, trunk release, and a low fuel light were introduced in 95 for Si and VTEC models. I am not sure for all years, but power steering was standard on automatics, but it was an option on manuals.

93 S, and Si models available
94 S, Si, and VTEC models available

There is more information on www.teamdelsol.com under information FAQ.

Ok, quick rundown of a few items.

One: It's a '93 S. If this is strictly commuter, you'll get the best gas mileage out of all the Del Sol model's. Since it's a manual transmission, this will make things much easier in the future should you decide to add more power to the car and do a motor swap (not really worth putting performance money into an D15 motor). B-series is your best choice for a motor swap in the future should you decide on that. I drive a VTEC model Del Sol and receive approximately 30 miles to the gallon, and that is with some slight performance modifications. You should have better gas mileage than this.

Two: Room shouldn't be an issue. My best friend fit in my car with headroom to spare. He's about your height and weights over 200 pounds (big guy :)). Del Sol's have more room than people think and despite appearances, have good leg room. Just sit in it first before you make the decision to buy it or not.

Three: Get a compression check of the motor and inspect it anyway. Always a good idea when buying a car. However, $3,000 is a great price considering that they are becoming increasingly rare to find in good shape. I would say that's a fair price if the condition is as he states. Mine was $8,000, although it was two years newer and the VTEC trim with lower miles.

Four: The leaky targa top is due to poor seal design which was revised in '95+. The seals are located on the car itself. Only seals on the targa top are on the sides where the window touches - the rest are on the car such as the windshield sides and on the rollbar sides.

Five: If you notice any wrinkles on the arm rests of the doors, don't worry - this is normal for all Del Sol's. Even mine has them.

Thanks for the info, much appreciated =). I just got back from looking at a different Del Sol: 93 S, AC PS 5spd Red w/ 97k miles. The guy wont go less than $2,700, but the car needs A LOT of work. I went w/ my dad (35 years exp. mechanic), basically the master cylinder for the brakes is bad, exhaust manifold has a crack, AC doesnt work, several dings 1-2 dents, car could use some repainting. But anyway Im not going to buy it anymore than 2,200 since it needs about $600 bucks to fix it right.

Anyway though, I sat comfortably in it, but I nearly pulled a charlie-horse on my left leg while pushing in the clutch: the steering wheel is too low and my left leg needs to angle to reach the clutch =( . Im thinking if I do decide to get a Del Sol I'll either need to replace the steering wheel with a smaller aftermarket one, or take a saw to the bottom arc of it (yet I wont be able to shift while turning the wheel upside-down) =( .

Anyone have any suggestions or experience with this dilemna(sp)?

Have you tried raising the steering wheel? The Del Sol's do have an adjustable steering wheel. Just under the steering column on the left is a black lever. Push it down, raise the wheel, and push it back up.

Yeah I pulled it all the way up =( Sucks because I had A LOT of leg room w/ the seat pushed back, but the height of it was terrible, I suppose it's because of the car's shortness that it makes the steering columne lower.

Well, it does sit pretty low to the ground so I can understand why everything else doesn't sit very high on the dash. I never had that problem, but then again I'm only 5'4". :p

Oh well, I'll just have to buy a Civic and take a chainsaw to the roof I guess =þ

haha Well, look into a '99 - '00 Civic Si if you can find one for a decent price. Be easier on your stature plus it's practically identical to the Del Sol VTEC as far as motor and suspension go. Plus you have back seats.

I'd love to have a 99-00 SI, but I have a really low budget. There's a 97 coupe DX 5spd ps ac I'm going to take a look at sometime soon, has 140k miles but I'm going to try to get it for $2700 cash if it's good to go mechanically.

Whichever your budget allows. :) The '97 is an EK chassis, so with the proper motor mounts you can swap in a B-series motor down the line if you so choose. Or since it's a D-series motor, you can opt for the mini-me swap. With proper tuning and parts, the D-series motor can make good power.

Just to make it easier on you in the long run for the option of motor swap, stick to purchasing a 5-speed.

im am 6'2" and drive my friend's sol all the time no problem, im all legs, which is nice, cause the seat goes back farther than i ever thought it would

:nono: to bringing up old threads just to put your .02 in. If you have a relevant problem and you searched it and you still need help after reading the thread, then by all means bring the thread back up by posting your question in it, and avoiding starting another thread on the same subject. That's smiled upon. Digging up an old thread to say that you're 6'2 is not. If the thread has died, then let it lay.

JUST BOUGHT a 94 Del Sol!

94' Sol SI w/ 1.5 motor. Pretty good, I get 4 wheel disc brakes but with the best gas mileage *thumbs up*.

Congradulamations!

hmmm d15 with 4 wheel disc.....

Either someone swapped in an S motor or he's just mistaken it. The Si's come with a 1.6L VTEC motor for all years.

Naw, I checked twice, D16z6

Woo! :) Now you need to pay it off and start working on some performance upgrades. ;)

Paid in full, going to look into getting a used intake from the Honda junkyard I bought it from. Whatever I do it's still going to be my daily driver, main priority is getting it repainted. Plus the driver's side latch on the roof is messed up, that's another thing that has to be fixed. The lever is flimsy and it doesn't lock very well.

Plus the driver's side latch on the roof is messed up, that's another thing that has to be fixed. The lever is flimsy and it doesn't lock very well.

Better make that a priority. If the latch doesn't work correctly and the roof flies off and gets destroyed it'll cost good money to buy another targa.