reliability?

i really want to buy a 3000GT VR4 that i found near me. its in pretty good condition with 86k miles. my only real worry is that is a 91 and i've never really bought a 17 year old car before. do you think i will have to pour money into this car if i get it? i mean i would love to but i don't have enough to be puttin like 1k a month into it. and are the 3000gt's reliable?

read the FAQ and before you buy a 3000gt threads..

Simple answer, it can be. Long answer, read the FAQ.

i really want to buy a 3000GT VR4 that i found near me. its in pretty good condition with 86k miles. my only real worry is that is a 91 and i've never really bought a 17 year old car before. do you think i will have to pour money into this car if i get it? i mean i would love to but i don't have enough to be puttin like 1k a month into it. and are the 3000gt's reliable?

I'll sell you a realiable one, if you're willing to travel to PA for it :)

As a rule in general, and from my experiences and plenty of others I have seen around me, the 3S is not considered a reliable car. A reliable car is a Civic, a Camry, or even a Toyota Supra. Me myself have gone through multiple transmissions, 3 motors and various other things (and 2 of the transmissions went out about a week apart). The sad part was, I don't really ever abuse my car other than the occasional spirited driving which lasts just a few moments. I know the people I hang out with around here who have TT's have had so much go wrong with their cars, that they are not running half the time. One of them had his T-case go out, some driveshaft vibration problems, and countelss little things go out. A girl that lives here had a 92 VR4 and she ended up selling it because she was repairing it more often than she was driving it. It had major electrical issues, and seemed to have something different break on it every time I talked to her. Even take a look at the threads on AF here. Most of them are nothing real big but almost every user on here has posted their share of problems. And I am not trying to differ you from buying one, but just giving you a heads up of what they can be like. Some can be fairly reliable if they were well taken care of and you do usual maintenance on them.

I suggest getting one for cheep and replacing everthing.. that way you dont have to worrie about doing it over a long period of time..

Jason

The engines seem very reliable to me, esp when they arent dogged too bad, but there are some weak spots on the car (as all vehicles have). Overall it really depends on the specific vehicle. So just check it out really well and look at the owner.

forced induction and reliablilty dont generally go hand in hand, but for what it is, the VR-4s are pretty reliable. SL3000gt had some very bad luck, IMO, and i dont blame him for being a little bitter. Anyone in his situation would say the same thing, myself included.
The fact is, ANY vehicle can be reliable if it is taken care of properly. The "X-factor" is that it is a used car, and like any used car, you dont know how it has been treated.
I'm gonna go the opposite way from Jason and say that if you're going to buy one, spend a little extra on one whats in very good shape, has maintenence records, and has had all the problems addressed properly. That is the route i took when i bought mine, and i'm glad i did. The only thing ive done to it over the past 3 years since ive owned it is general maintenence and replaced my driveshaft with an aftermarket one. And all it actually needed was the carrier bearings, which are relatively cheap.

Depends how it was treated. If properly maintained, then yes, very reliable. If not, as with any other car, it'll be a money pit.

Shit I have a NA SOHC and I am on the second engine and third transmission. This third trans isnt even right as I am still dealing with no reverse and no 4th. I have a switch running from my battery to my fuel pump so the car will run.

Reliable, hardly.

For what it's worth, I've owned my 97 for about a year now, and All I've had to have done to it was replace the original 10 yr old clutch.

As far as it being reliable or not, it depends on your definition of reliable.

If by reliable you mean practically NOTHING will/should go wrong, like sl3000gt said, you need a camry or a civic.

HOWEVER, if by reliable you mean you want a fast and attractive car, but one that doesn't require HEAPS of cash to maintain, I would say the 3s is a good choice. A fast car will need some more maintenance (naturally) but as far as choices go, I would say a 3s is on the cheaper side of the spectrum.

I'm gonna side with blink on this one that you should inspect the car really well, maybe test drive it on separate occasions to make sure you didn't miss something the first time, and spend a little more money to (hopefully) make sure you're getting a better deal

I bought my car from my math teacher in 10th grade. I had to spend a little more... its perfect condition, 96 and had only 41,000 on it. it cost me 8600. I am shocked to see people selling their vr-4's on here for like 5 thousand, because mine is a damn n/a.

I agree on spending more on your 3S because for 2 years now, all i have had to do was replace a window motor, and regular oil changes.

I bought my car from my math teacher in 10th grade. I had to spend a little more... its perfect condition, 96 and had only 41,000 on it. it cost me 8600. I am shocked to see people selling their vr-4's on here for like 5 thousand, because mine is a damn n/a.

I agree on spending more on your 3S because for 2 years now, all i have had to do was replace a window motor, and regular oil changes.

yup, same thing happened to me. I spend about 2k over blue book value for my first VR4, $17000, in 2003, for a 95 VR4 with 70k on it. I drove that car to death, 55k miles and 2 years later when I sold it, the only things I ever had to do to that car, was oil changes (synthetic!!!!), spark plugs, flush the coolant system and new thermostat, brakes, and tires, oh, and the new timing belt, etc just before I sold it at 125k miles. The guy who bought it, still to this day refuses to sell it back to me, because it's the most reliable VR4 he's ever owned. :iceslolan

Pay the extra money up front, and it will be less money you have to dump into it in the long run. It's WAAAY worth it.

yup, same thing happened to me. I spend about 2k over blue book value for my first VR4, $17000, in 2003, for a 95 VR4 with 70k on it. I drove that car to death, 55k miles and 2 years later when I sold it, the only things I ever had to do to that car, was oil changes (synthetic!!!!), spark plugs, flush the coolant system and new thermostat, brakes, and tires, oh, and the new timing belt, etc just before I sold it at 125k miles. The guy who bought it, still to this day refuses to sell it back to me, because it's the most reliable VR4 he's ever owned. :iceslolan

Pay the extra money up front, and it will be less money you have to dump into it in the long run. It's WAAAY worth it.

Truth.