WOW,  G, you have a great eye... No doubt in my mind this car was in an accident. Nothing lines up, body work in the door area...
Mysterious switches, messed up exhaust...   just wow..

Does anybody know this car??

Good catch!!!!!!!!!!!!

naturally i pop the hood to see what's there, and make sure the thing will run.

crappily-installed AEM intake:


i have no idea wtf this is, but it's mounted to a block of WOOD, which is mounted to the body with wood screws, and the wires are cut.. yeah, no idea:


cam angle sensor looks awefully new, wonder why that was replaced, wiring harness is also new to it, not wrapped, so it's been messed with:

[img[http://gurov.us/albums/2007-12-01-pos-02-spec/_DSC4340.sized.JPG[/img]

bracket holding the AC/alternator wires to the alternator is bent, not sure how this could've happened either:


front bumper has been off, the car, they either overtightened the bolts, or it was cracked in an accident:



grille support has electrical tape on it.


radiator hose has been replaced (worm clamps, unevenly cut hose), most likely because the front end damage was severe enough to kill the radiator, the hose also looks too new, compared to the rest of the rubber under the hood.



walmart battery leads, missing red cover, most likely lost in the accident:


buckled metal above the headlights where the hood rod prop goes into, front end damage:


missing windshield washer fluid hose that goes to the squirters on the hood:


it was cut right around the ecu area


passenger side radiator support is out of alignment and completely shot, that's two piece of fuel hose "holding" it in


other side is also misaligned:

Speed hole....LAWL

man where is this at i need to hop on this lol
good find and looking out. kudos to whoever wanted u to go with him.  saved a lot of heartache.
and g,  u da man!

That hole was obviously for mad vtec.

so here's what you do when you want to buy a used car:

1. go see it in person, bring a camera with you, a small one works, flash is very helpful
2. photograph the following things

hood closed:
   space between the fenders and the hood ( both sides )
   space between the headlights and the hood ( both sides )
   space between the hood and the bumper ( both sides )
 
hood open:
   paint around the hood bolts to see if the hood has been taken off for any reason.
   general engine picture
   battery terminals
   all the sensors (cam angle, maf, water temp etc) make sure the wires are stock and haven't been messed with, if they have, question why
   all the brackets, all the bolts holding the brackets on (i.e. ignition harness that's held to the intake manifold will have two bolts, they should be the same or close in color)
   the header, make sure all the heatshields are still intact OR that the header has been replaced with an aftermarket unit, this one is probably a good mod to have
   get under the car and photograph the heatshields on the stock header, there should be plenty of them, if not, a  stock header was reinstalled to sell the car, question how long the stock header has been on, and if you can have the aftermarket header
   
from the back, take a picture of all the trunk alignment spots, all around where it seals, the space should be uniform, and in line with the body
make sure the taillights are in  good condition, and aligned well, make sure the trunk closes easily and on the first try.

check alignment of all the seams between body panels, reference them to the other side, they make these things symetrical, and sign of asymetry should  raise a red flag.

make sure you get stock-looking keys with key fobs, make sure the keys open the trunk and the door.

make sure the doors align with the roof from the back and the front, any misalignment there is a redflag for the car being repaired.

point is, take as many pictures as you can, and don't jump the gun, go home, grab some tea and carefully look through the pictures, post any that you think might concern you.

Wow again....   just WOW...

C'mon, somebody must know this car.. what a POS.

i didnt notice too much rust. it also depends on the region too. lol @ the piece of wood

i check the door alignment by sitting in the car and closing the doors. then check the spacing of the gap between the door and the dash. and check for gaps in the interior dash pieces.

maybe bring a magnet? tire tread wear, camber and stuff, alignment

relocated to the bottom of the thread

Sixth Gear wrote:

gurov wrote:

so here's what you do when you want to buy a used car:

1. go see it in person, bring a camera with you, a small one works, flash is very helpful
2. photograph the following things

hood closed:
   space between the fenders and the hood ( both sides )
   space between the headlights and the hood ( both sides )
   space between the hood and the bumper ( both sides )
 
hood open:
   paint around the hood bolts to see if the hood has been taken off for any reason.
   general engine picture
   battery terminals
   all the sensors (cam angle, maf, water temp etc) make sure the wires are stock and haven't been messed with, if they have, question why
   all the brackets, all the bolts holding the brackets on (i.e. ignition harness that's held to the intake manifold will have two bolts, they should be the same or close in color)
   the header, make sure all the heatshields are still intact OR that the header has been replaced with an aftermarket unit, this one is probably a good mod to have
   get under the car and photograph the heatshields on the stock header, there should be plenty of them, if not, a  stock header was reinstalled to sell the car, question how long the stock header has been on, and if you can have the aftermarket header
   
from the back, take a picture of all the trunk alignment spots, all around where it seals, the space should be uniform, and in line with the body
make sure the taillights are in  good condition, and aligned well, make sure the trunk closes easily and on the first try.

check alignment of all the seams between body panels, reference them to the other side, they make these things symetrical, and sign of asymetry should  raise a red flag.

make sure you get stock-looking keys with key fobs, make sure the keys open the trunk and the door.

make sure the doors align with the roof from the back and the front, any misalignment there is a redflag for the car being repaired.

point is, take as many pictures as you can, and don't jump the gun, go home, grab some tea and carefully look through the pictures, post any that you think might concern you.

Not to go off topic, but my Spec V was in a small accident a few years ago. it was not a traffic accident. It happened in my garage where I turned on the car and didn't realize that the stick shift was in first gear and when I pop the clutch the car lunged forward, hit the wall and damaged the front bumper and hood. I had it all replaced, including the headlights.  After the repairs, the front of the car looked good as new, but do you think I should disclose this information to a potential buyer when I sell the car?  Like I said, this was a stupid mistake on my part but there was no engine damage done and car has been running fine since the accident.

well, you do what you gotta do to sell the car, if it was all replaced with OEM nissan stuff and doesn't look any different, it's all good then, don't ask - don't tell kind of deal.

i only wish i could let other people on ebay know about this car. sad sad day.

Dont they write that chalk / crayon numbers on parts that have been shipped from say a junk yard or parts store? The rear beam axl had that on it.

Also, maybe the "speed hole" was for a tow hook? Gay, Im aware.

Good job and not letting a potential buyer fall into that hole!

kc03spec-v wrote:

Spec-V WannaBe wrote:

Holy cow!!!! How come you didnt mention all the rust? Thats a give away for me. A properly maintained car wouldnt/shouldnt have that kinda problem.

apperntly, you dont live in a state where it snows.

Not all snow states salt theirs roads.  Wyoming does not use any sort of chemicals on their roads, only sand... so no rust on my Spec and it's seen her fair share of shitty roads!  Now, the windshield is extremely pitted due to sand, haha... but I don't see that as being as bad as rust. 

Now... all east coast cars... yeah, you can tell it's from the east coast by all the rust... these fuckers salt the roads when it's raining outside.  they'll find any excuse to dump salt on the roads.

I know my windsheild was repalced due a a tree branch falling on the roof, but the damage is somewhat there, and there was a scratch and a dent on the back 1/4 panel. I should of have been more anal about it, but my car had great interior and a decently kept engine bay.

Fadet0blak wrote:

For all of us east coast suckers...what's the best way to prevent rust from salt exposure?  Stupid PA!

I always thought it was a good idea to wash it off as soon as you can.

Anyone else have any better ideas?

garage it. if you cant do that, get an underbody car wash after every time they salt the roads.

OR, get a GIANT car cover/tarp, lay it on teh ground, park on top of it, and wrap the car cover upwards and secure it. then lay another car cover regularly to prevent stuff from falling in hahah. great idea, eh?

Last edited by illestfob (2007-12-02 11:42:59)

the little piece on the wood is the power box for underbody neon sets
the kind you get from auto zone and advance auto