Hey guys. Been looking around at a few project cars. Wanted to get some opinions. What would you pay for a 03 evo 8 with built BP 2.0l and ets 6262 turbo kit, quarter master clutch, somewhat built trans? 150+k on body. 5k on engine build. BUT has some undetermined engine issues. Worst scenario would need to rebuild bottom end again. Also, clutch needs to be sent in for service.

Would 12k be to high?

 

12K is high considering you could be into the car for a lot more then that if these "engine issues" are anything major. I would be asking a lot of questions pertaining to what exactly these issues are.

 

I would go with a stock or close to stock evo before a built one. The only way I would purchase a built car would be if I knew the person or the car was documented in some way. I've been buying and building cars for many years and usually a project purchased from someone has problems. If you spend 12k it could go good for you and be a small issue (money well spent then!!)...but if not and you have to rebuild you would be looking at another 8k for a build and that's not including any hidden bugs you find once you break into it. In the end go for what makes you happy but know what the possibilities are.

Bryan

 

Just budget for a full rebuild and new clutch, don't get emotional if the guy got ripped, if I was in the states, I'd offer 7k and not a cent more and that's only if I was going to pull it down myself.

 

In this day and age with instagram, Facebook, etc. its pretty easy to piece together an accurate history of the car. I would think 12K is a steal if there were no engine issues, but since there are engine issues I wouldn't buy it unless you knew exactly what the issue was.


You have to question the overall condition of the car if it is having engine issues 5K miles after a build

 

I was told the motor and car was built last July for the Dsm shootout. But then owner sold it to young kid, who didn't know how to take care of it. Dd it through Midwest winter. And wasn't running the right oil. But I agree with you. Why would it have issues at 5000 miles. I was told it has a grinding noise between 2900-3600 rpms. And a slight knock when it's cold. They did find some metal shavings in pan. As much as I want to get a deal, I think this one might be best to hold off on....

 

in my experience dealing with my own abandoned projects, and acquiring the projects of others, here are a couple of important questions to ask:

is it taken apart, or still completely in one piece? if its apart....whats missing?
how long has it been sitting? where has it been sitting?

the answers to those two questions will go a long way in figuring out an order of magnitude of what you are getting into. if the car has been apart in the guys back yard for 4 years rotting, i wouldnt even consider it, but if its making noise, but hasnt been taken apart yet and hasnt just been sitting around getting old, its worth a lot more (IMO)

 

much of their details do not make sense to me. obvious red flags of bigger problems.
one season of daily abuse with the 'wrong oil' shouldnt be a major problem unless he used baby oil instead of engine oil or did a bunch of wot pulls before letting the motor warm up(this is likely)
'grinding noise' is pretty vague. could be anything from something hanging across a driveshaft to a major engine issue.
slight knock when cold could be piston slap. forged aftermarket pistons do that. especially when piston to wall clearance isnt set properly.

 

Basically budget for a complete new clutch and motor build, subtract that off of what it would of gone for and then try and haggle below that number.

So lets say the clutch and engine were good and the car would be worth 17k. Full engine rebuild, head to pan say $4000-5000 (head needs to be taken down because metal in the oil could mess up alot of stuff up in there too) or just pop in a built long block from here on EvoM for 5-7k.
Then that clutch needs a full rebuild, ~$1000

so after all that, a tune fluids and any other service your talking that car would be worth at the most 11k. I would do that math with worse case in mind. On top of all that i would knock another grand off for other problems you might come across and the fact your taking on a broken car.

So that 17k car quickly turns into a ~9k car at best IMO.

When i was looking at selling my car after i lost a rod bearing i was going to sell it for nearly 10k less then i would of sold it for if it was running just fine. Its always going to be hard to sell a broken car and the seller should know that and be willing to accept far less then they would if running. The math should never = 1:1 ratio. (17k-5k engine build does not make that a 12k car) you are going to find more wrong, its going to cost more then you think and the seller should be taking a larger loss for being lazy and not fixing it themselves before selling what could be a lemon.