FTO AUSTRALIA

Hey guys, i just joined up here but i have been reading a few of the forum topics. I just won an ebay auction for a 96 FTO gpx for 7k. I want to inspect it first, what should i be looking out for?

LINK: http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ws/eBayISAPI.dll ... :IT&ih=003

Thanx in Advance
Simon

for $7k i would be looking out for everything

and if you find things, whether you can be bothered repairing htem or not...the car seems like a bit of a bargain though...

when i bought mine it was a manual in the colour i wanted and i knew to check for gearknob and steering wheel sweat-wear (and there was heaps, becuase it indicates thrashing) but i didn't care, i bought it and thrashed it myself anyway (at the track, etc)and its still going

hm hope i didnt jinx myself just then.

Dude WTTC, first off buying any car especially second hand is luck of the draw, some ppl will own a car and never have probloems some ppl will have it break down every week. Drive it, listen to it, feel it. Never do a road test with the stero on, pull over on the side of the road and get some to check the exhaust fumes (you shouldnt really see any, black smoke is bad, blue is worse). Does it feel smooth to drive, no crunching, whinning etc. Look under the bonnet with a touch and check for oil leaking out of any where (do this after taking it for a long drive).

ALSO, remember that you can still spend another 5k on it and still not have paid more than some ppl for their FTO's. So unless something major is wrong its a bargin.

also a good thing to do is check where he parks the car, oil leaks will be under it.
also if the car is warmed up before you test drive then its sus....

There are threads on what to look for (rust spots in the roof is one of the ones id suggest). Looking at the pictures though, it looks reasonably tidy. On the surface, looks like you got youself a good deal.

ethix wrote:also a good thing to do is check where he parks the car, oil leaks will be under it.
also if the car is warmed up before you test drive then its sus....

ABSOLUTLY F^&KEN RIGHT. Even go one step more and tell him you want to drive the car from cold

Thanx for the tips guys, I'm going to check it out tomorrows, hopefully everything is alright and i have my first car.

take it to redline aswell!

not cold though because it wont work...

To be straight up honest dude it would be a relief that you have purchased such a well priced vehicle well done, you will feel it when you get close to it, you will judge better than all of us when you get close to that car. just remember material things man they fade. The grass withers and the flowers wilt and skin wrinkles, so just be happy that you have this vehicle for a season and trust the person. positive energy releases positive energy and it will return to you, take care champion. God bless.

WTF

wow... lol do you like men?
lol its cool if you do

HOMO ! A women couldnt even think of something sooo ....cant even describe it...

saviour26 wrote:To be straight up honest dude it would be a relief that you have purchased such a well priced vehicle well done, you will feel it when you get close to it, you will judge better than all of us when you get close to that car. just remember material things man they fade. The grass withers and the flowers wilt and skin wrinkles, so just be happy that you have this vehicle for a season and trust the person. positive energy releases positive energy and it will return to you, take care champion. God bless.

LOL WTF.

Anyways had a look at the car today, and i was pleased at it state. There are a few downsides though...

*the clock doesn't work and he has checked the fuse but it ain't that.

*the front left light's laminate has started to peel and it looks like its drying out. Though the owner said all i needed to do was get this thing from supercheap auto for $20 to remove the laminate and it should be fine.

*the stereo is just crap, looking to replace that first.

*Didn't like the cheap dragon seat covers looking to replace that too.

*owner says it needs an oil change, but doesn't know if its had the timing belt replaced or not.

Apart from these things, it ran pretty smoothly with no smoke and the sound of the engine at high revs was heaven LOL. If you guys could point me to the direction of where and how i can fix these problems up that would be greatly appreciated.

Cheers

Simon

* clocks most likely broken... dstocks could probably sell you a 2nd hand one cheap

* there's a thread on here somewhere for fixing delaminating headlights... another cheap & easy fix

* stereo... obvious

* mxysxy on this site sells leatherette re-trims for FTO's.
just search for leatherette and you should find all the info you need. approx $600 plus one weekends to install them yourself.

* timing belt... up to you... i'd be tempted to do it just for piece of mind, but it aint cheap.

sounds like you scored yourself a pretty good buy
congrats... and welcome to the club

Cool thanks, does anyone have any recommended places where i can get my car serviced/mechanic and/or car audios done? I live around the Liverpool region.

There's like a thousand bloody car audio shops out around Livo. Doran in Bankstown is one of the better ones.

Considering that most FTO's sell for AT LEAST 10k+ unless theres something wrong with them, you should fork out a couple of hundred extra $$ for a proper mechanical check .. from whichever RACQ equivalent you have there..

mr-charisma wrote:Considering that most FTO's sell for AT LEAST 10k+ unless theres something wrong with them, you should fork out a couple of hundred extra $$ for a proper mechanical check .. from whichever RACQ equivalent you have there..

The RACQ checks are a waste of time and money, in my opinion, ive had at least 3 mates i can remember have them done and within 1 year had a major problem eg either engine or tranny failure