Steal of a Deal - $400 for a 1997 Z24 – Need Advice

[chrisny455]

Bought this car from my neighbor. Said his grandson ran over something in the road, lost control of the car and swiped a guardrail. The damage you can see in the pics below, plus the driver's side rear wheel shaft seems to be bent (tire/hub is not lining up straight). History of car, 122K, 2.4L (runs smooth), stick shift, sun roof, power everything. Questions for the board:

1) Did I get a good deal?
2) Should I buy a new trunk lid or fix the one that is damaged (see pics below)?
3) Should I put new sheet metal in rear quarter or pound it out and Bondo it?
4) Could just the rear shaft bend and not the entire rear axel/suspension brace?
5) If sheet metal should be replaced, anyone know of an after market supplier or am I stuck finding a junk yard replacement?

Thanks for the input – I enjoy reading the posts here.

[JStumpalump150]

i would say its a great deal if you part it out, but getting the wheel aligned and the fender fixed and new lights might cost a pretty penny. but i am almost positive you can get all your money and more out of the car for parts. plus i want to clear bumper lenses cuz i busted one of mine and maybe the front bumper if the price is right, lol

but if you have the time and skills to fix that stuff your self it would be a great deal, but getting it done professionaly might not make it worth it.

are there any mods under the hood? or anywhere for that matter?

[chrisny455]

No mods that I saw, pretty much stock everything except for the wheels. I do plan on doing the body work myself, but not sure if I should pound out the dent or buy new sheet metal and weld/rivet in place of the old damaged one.

Chrisny455

[JStumpalump150]

well since you are doing it yourself i would say its quite a steal. but i would say thats going to take alot of work cuz it looks pretty mashed, i would check a junk yard and see it you can just get a whole fender for cheap. but the trunk looks easily fixable.

[Lefix]

Damn, your lucky, look at those rims... 400 for that car is.... wow....

[chrisny455]

I just spent the last 2 hours pounding out the dent. I think I got it to a point where I can fill in the rest with a little bondo. The new light fits in fine. I will call the local yard tomorrow for a lid and a complete rear swaybar/axle since the one I have is bent - i have confirmed. Hopefully the yard wont rape me over the coals for that one. Heck, I might as well do struts, brakes, bearings and springs while I got it all apart.

Can't wait to get it back together and cruise w/ it. My $700 Z24 from FL - no rust, love it!

ChrisNY455

[SwiftyR]

thats a great deal mann... Id get in the junk yard pulling everything i need and have that thing ready to go in a couple days... Here in MD a cavalier in a junk yard is like finding a Civic with a fart cannon..