buying a damaged ja for $1k- is this too much- advice?

[japhil]

hi guys -im new to the forum.
ive been offered a ja for a grand. its out of rego but has been started weekly. hes hit a stop sign & stuffed the front bar & apron behind it. ill also need a drivers side headlight assy. a windscreen & dash surround needed too. the radiators ok. its got puss wheels on it (hotwires) & 2 new tyres. the donks done 270k, but turbo was recently done up. i usually work on subis(currently doing a mpfi ea82 turbo RX conversion into a 1990 L series wagon.) a standard ea81 (brumby or m.y. series(84) puts out a whopping 65kw! i noticed somewhere that the ja puts out 125kw.
i love power & like these figures!

anyway guys - do youse reckon i should buy this car? the body is dead straight & it has recaro leather electric seats, abit crappy lookin though.

[fr335tyl3r]

starions are a great car...if u have the time and money to work on them. If you want a very unique car (no offence to subis but they are a dime a dozen) then get the starion, but be prepared to dish out some dosh on those repairs that u listed and on the modifications you'll need to do to make it run how you like. If you have the time and the money then they are an extremely fun car. Even if you dont they are fun...just less fun :D

[fil]

The main problem I see with this car is its ks, i take it the car is from port macquarie so that explains it and is has a rebuilt engine and turbo so thats good.
However you want to find out how did the rebuild and what was entailed, many people have different opinions on what constitutes a rebuild and many who do it themselves often stuff it up big time.
The price seems quite average but might be worthwhile if the engine is good condition.
Parts may be more expensive than your subie however many on this forum will often help you out. A starion is a great car and will provide much enjoyment but also alot of dramas, i cant think of one member on this board who hasnt had a problem with there cars
Good Luck

[WANTSOM]

JA front bumper - $150- $200
Headlight unit - $100.00 includes frames, motor, mechanism etc
Spoiler - go aftermarket - $500
Windscreen - available new and fitted for around $250.00
Instruments surround - cheap as except if the button cluster is rooted then big $ if you can find 'em
Wheels - I can sell you a set of original JA rims (14x6) for $50 for the set.

On top of that budget on a least another grand to get all the gremliney things sorted - brakes, hoses, electrical. These are the bits that wear out in these cars being 20 years old.

So... do the sums and decide if its for you or not. A Starion in good condition, reasonably original will sell normally for about $3K or so. Some go higher, some go for less.

Cheers
Greg

[chunkhead]

A thousand bucks isn't bad for a running car! Anything you can do to keep another one of these rare babies on the road get my approval, as well probably everyone else in this community! I've spent about $4K so far on mine, but I'm addicted now and just getting the rest of the cash together to go all out! I reckon about $12-14K in the end, but not bad for a BRAND NEW car with 300BHP at the wheels! Still it's your money... welcome to the forum! :beer

[madeofmilo]

hmm a grand...isn't too bad. But I would offer him less, only because I recently bougth a '82 JA in perfect body and interior nick for $900...then sold it for a grand...now that was a good car! All it needed was engine to be rebuilt (240K kms) So it would have been about $3k all up...also there are some cheap ones on this forum for about $3 - $4k and although maybe out of your budget they are worth the wait 'cos some guys have put big bucks into these cars....

so in summary
$1k is too much
wait for $3k car.


Dave