My 95 3kgt SL: Sell or Restore?

[Duck_3000]

When I first laid eyes on my 3kgt 3 years ago, I fell in love with it. I bought it for $7,000 with 106k miles in excellent condition. It has been with me a little over 3 wonderful years now. I have enjoyed it so much for 3 great summers.

I lost my job a year ago. I was unemployed for one whole year. All I could afford with the little money I had was gas and oil changes for my 3kgt. I barely had any money to maintain it. My 3kgt has been taking abuse for 1 whole year day in and day out. It's in pretty bad shape, cosmetically. It's not horrible, but it's pretty bad.

I recenlty started a pretty good job so I could afford a restoration. I just don't know if it would be worth it. Here's what I need to work on:

- Repair a 1 foot dent on the Rear Quarter Panel ( some ass hit my parked 3kgt).

- Paintjob needs a bit of retouching since the paint has chipped in some areas. Zurich White Pearl paint.

- Buy a New Front Lip, get it painted.

- The interior rug is horrible, dirty, and needs to be replaced. Front rug on Driver and Passenger.

- Car shakes after 65mph. Must get this repaired.

- New 17'' Rims.

- New Tires

- The suspension is horrible. I need definite suspension work. My shocks are horrible. I feel every little bump on the road, and my car drives rock hard.

- Electrical Work: Left window button stays stuck most of the time. Rear Wiper doesn't work most of the time it malfunctions.

That's pretty much everything I could think of at the moment. Does anyone maybe have a rough estimate of how much I'm looking to spend?

My goal would be to get my 3kgt back in Excellent Condition just as it was 3 years ago.

Is it worth restoring it or should I just buy another car, budget being 8k?

Any advice? I'll gladly take it. Thanks

[2old]

I don't usually answer questions like this but I was in a similar dilemma with my 92 Dodge Stealth RT...

Last 3 years I bought a house and got married... I have been keeping up with repairs but the old girl is at the point where I don't trust it as a daily driver (oil leak in one of the cylinders, I think there is a kink in the clutch hard line [or air that I can't seem to get out], 120K coming up, synchros feel really notchy).

At this point I need a car that I can rely on and my mechanic already offered to purchase the car. I am selling it in April (I promised myself a BMW coupe next year, but I am pretty sure I will still miss the stealth)

I think what you have to ask yourself is what do you want out of a vehicle? Your car is 12 years old and you would be fooling yourself if you don't think the repairs are going to be a uphill battle from now on.

Personally if I didn't have other responsibilities, I would continue to fight and continue on with the repairs, but if you are already considering "if" it's worthwhile, maybe you should consider what direction you want to take with your life and what vehicle would better suit your needs for the next 3-5 years.

[Duck_3000]

I don't have much responsibilites. I'm actually quite lucky to have found a pretty good job that could allow me the option of my 3kgt restoration. I was at the point of selling it. It just doesn't feel "nice, smooth or clean" anymore. It doesn't feel like it did 3 years ago. A year from now I will definitely be in school. Believe me I've thought about getting an economy car like a Honda Civic, Accord, or something along those lines, but it just isn't me at the moment. I would absolutely love to go Luxury/Sport along the lines of Audi, Lexus. I could, but as tempting as it is, it would be a bad decision as it would definitely leave me broke for school.

You know what's even more tempting? Buying a vr4. I'm just not sure what to do. I'm undecided. I want a comfortable sports car for my girlfriend and I, but I guess I still love my 3kgt. I would love to fully restore it, and get it driving like new. Like I said I don't have much responsibilities. All I pay is my car insurance, cell phone bill, and cable. I could definitely restore it before summer comes. I just don't know if it's worth it. I have 128k miles on it. I'm so scared other HUGE problems may occurr.

[AutostradaVR4]

hmmm...sounds like you really like the car. 3/s's tend to get in your blood so to speak. 8k seems to be plenty to restore all the problems you listed, but i would go a slightly different route. spend ~2k on a used honda/nissan/toyota as a daily driver and spend the rest on restoration. that way you can take your time and do everything just how you want to do it. even if you do find yourself slightly short, its no big deal becasue you'll still have a reliable car to drive. If you plan on doing everything yourself the 5-6k should be enough to do everything properly...depending on how fancy you plan on getting with the paint and wheels.

[2old]

I'm with blink... If you are planning to go back to school you will need something more "economical" as a daily driver (ie: cheaper/faster to fix) if you don't live at home.

If you get a second car, you can afford the down time on the 3000GT and just buy parts off 3sx to fix in your spare time.

If you are going back to school I would not get a VR4 because that is likely going to bankrupt you in the long run (especially as your daily driver). Once you get out of school and back working full time again then think about it.

I don't have time/room for a project car so it would be pointless for me to go that route.

[Nesryn]

Those guys gave some good advice... Buy a cheap daily driver and then put the rest into fixing up your 3k. I had a pearl white 95 SL as well and I would miss it like crazy if I didn't sell it to buy a VR4. I couldn't imagine driving anything besides a 3s at this point.

If I were you, I wouldn't get a VR4 as they are expensive cars to maintain. Parts, gas, and insurance will bankrupt you if you're going to school and driving it everyday. Plus the temptation to mod it becomes very high

You just gotta ask yourself how much you love the car and if you seriously would be able to prat with it. It doesn't sound like you have any engine problems, just cosmetic, so you're lucky there. The car will feel smoother and cleaner again after you put some time and money into it.

[AutostradaVR4]

Originally Posted by 2old

...just buy parts off 3sx to fix in your spare time...

think you mean 3si

right?

[2old]

Originally Posted by BlinkRA182

think you mean 3si

right?

depends on new or used... I have gotten most new parts from 3sx performance

[AutostradaVR4]

just noticed

between then and now you've rolled over the 120kmi mark. did you do the neccesary service? because that will be another chunk of change if you havnt.

[Duck_3000]

Wow, I just got a phone call from my dad. His friend is selling a 95 Honda Civic Hatchback that runs just fine for $1,000. He uses it for work. I'm going to jump on that offer asap.

I'm going to take the advice of having a second car as a daily driver, but I'm still undecided about my 3kgt restoration. I love the car don't get me wrong, but I'd be spending 5k+ in the end. I'm still going to buy the Civic just so I can avoid paying so much insurance on my 3kgt. I'm going to save up until mid summer and well ... see if I could buy a new car. But first I need to really think this whole restoration thing through if it's really worth it.

Ugh ... I know getting a VR4 wouldn't be a good move, but when I finally have enough money to put down ... you guys don't know HOW tempting it is. Lol I wait actually you guys MUST know how tempting it is to buy a vr4 . Well for now I'll most likely be buying and driving an economy Civic until I save up enough money for the summer.

As for the 120k service Nope not yet. I need to get on that. I actually thought the vibration problem was engine related. I started my new job a month ago and I really have to fix this Mysterious vibration past 65mph. I'm so lucky I found a nice job. A few months more and my 3kgt would really fall apart on me.

[2old]

The vibration past 65mph shouldn't be that hard to track down... It's usually either:

1) unbalanced wheel
2) bad steering rod
3) bad ball joint on lower control arm

You just need to take it in to get is aligned and see if the alignment can track down the problem.

[Duck_3000]

Ugh yea 2old. You would think it's exactly that, but ... it's not. Truly weird.

I replaced my front lower control arms, ball joints, bushings. After the replacements I got my wheels balanced and aligned. It still vibrates.

It vibrates slowly at 60mph. When I accelerate it shakes more and more. When I get to a steady 80 it vibrates a bit less. If I'm above 60mph and I do a medium brake holding down the pedal, it shakes all the way down to 35mph. It seems like the shaking is on the right side. Once I hit 60mph the passenger seat starts to vibrate slightly. I'm taking the 3kgt to an import shop this friday since the last shop I took it to couldn't find the problem.

[AutostradaVR4]

warped rotor? but that would only explain it when braking...unless maybe the rotor is unbalanced...dont even know if thats possible though.

can you feel it in the steering wheel alot?

[Duck_3000]

Yes I can definitely feel it in the steering wheel. When the car starts to vibrate, the steering wheel shakes from left to right, right to left.

0-50mph it's fine, but when it starts to hit 60 it, the right side vibrates along with the steering wheel. When I brake, the steering wheel also shakes as I'm braking. The shaking stops below 40mph.

[Hotshot8792]

Originally Posted by BlinkRA182

warped rotor? but that would only explain it when braking...unless maybe the rotor is unbalanced...dont even know if thats possible though.

can you feel it in the steering wheel alot?

i had that problem at 60 mph in my jeep wrangler, of course it wasn't a consistant vibration. After just changing out the brake pads, the problem went away, so some sort of weird contact must have been going on b/t the pads and the rotors.