About to buy a DC5S - need opinions.

[DaRKNT]

Hey guys,

I'm about to buy a '04 ITS - put the deposit down, and situation is as follows:

-Car is a blaze orange - only 70,000 on the odo, no accident history, log books and service history, only 2 keys - from a dealer
-Exterior in beautiful condition, minus a scratch or two
-Tail light gaskets are dead, hence condensation in tail lights
-Engine is in good condition, not blowing smoke, etc - compression test reports 180psi all four cylinders.
-Gear box and clutch seems good too, no grind/popout/slippage when I had it test driven (note: I had it test driven by a 3rd part, as I am in VIC and car is in SA)
-No leaks in pressure test
-front left washer is dead
-Engine mounts show signs of wear - no cracks yet.
-Gutter rash on one stock wheel

Now, I'm more than happy with everything above - however, the following makes me cringe (see attached picture):

-Carpets look to be worn (I know this is an easy enough fix)
-there seems to be a tear in the driver's seat. (This I'm worried about - I'm a perfectionist - what are my choices? Replace seat? Retrim? Can it be repaired? - what do you reckon it will cost? - can anyone put me in touch with someone that might be able to do it well enough for cheap ($<250))



Price has been negotiated to $14k - does this seem like a good price?

[Apu]

Are you saying the carpet is worn or the floor mat is worn? Cant see the pic clearly.

As for the tear, it depends if the leather is damaged. I had the seat bolsters and side panels on my DC2R Recaros repaired/replaced for about $500.

The thing is they have to strip the seat so they can repair it.

I used Moore Style in Dural. One day turn around! Lewis is a young guy, very keen to build his business and does good work. See www.moorestyle.com.au

[etherealfall]

Worth the price. For the seats, get some recaro swaps. Problem solved
The carpet can always be replaced with the Type R or another Type S set anyway. Plenty of choice there.

[maracer]

Don't like the ripped seat and worn carpet.......could have done more KM than you think????

Mines done almost 130k no carpet wear at all!

BTW, On OZHonda a guy is selling his Blue Type S for $17k in Melbourne with a few mods too.

Thats my 2cents

[maracer]

Found it.... Now $15k
http://www.ozhonda.com/forum/showthr...idering-Trades.

[TypeSexy]

damn, our cars are worth that much?

[Norm]

14k for a 70k car? Wheres the complain?

[DaRKNT]

Yeah - I was actually worried about that too - but if there are log books to go with the km's - is it possible it's dodgy?
Also, it's a dealer vehicle - so I assume it's been checked out. Could just be that the pervious owner was careless.
I was considering the blue ITs for a while - but then I saw this. Plus, I get a bit of warranty on it.

As for the interior, I got an email from the dealer listing what exactly is up with it - here:

-The main item is the drivers seat which has about 4cm that needs re-stiching. (Reply of the dealer: the stitching has come undone and none of the leather has been cracked. Any good upholsterer would be able to easily fix it)
-There are a couple of marks near the handbrake and some of the leather on the shift boot is worn.
-The floor has factory fitted mats on it front and rear, however there is some wear on the carpet of the drivers side where the right foot has been. (size of a 20c piece)

(Also, from inspection of photos - it seems that the gear knob is worn too - but that isn't much of a problem, easy replacement)

I'll attach a photo or two.

Seems nothing major is wrong and I'm just being too picky.

[ggwpty]

If it is honestly just the interior that's a bit shabby, 14k is a bargain. A little bit of money + TLC and the interior would easily be freshened up.

[etherealfall]

Looks good to me. Some aftermarket interior parts and you're good to go. My shift boot was also a bit shabby when I got the car. I've replaced it since with one from the states. Looks so much better than the stock

[p33r]

14k is so cheap esp with only interior issues. Dont assume that the km aren't genuine because of the rip in the carpet, I've seen that in a few type s' with similar genuine km.

I had no idea our cars dropped this much in value? Maybe it's just out of sydney

[mrntegra]

My car hasn't hit 100k yet and I've already replaced the shift boot as that was worn and the stitching on the leather has come away. Studs on jeans I believe are to blame for the stitching coming undone in mine.

I look after my car too. So just general wear and tear.. Has the car got car mats??

[DaRKNT]

Haha, if it makes you feel better, it's close to 15 with a 3 year warranty and trucking to Vic. It'll go up with rego and insurance, but yeah.
Maybe the price is just an SA thing - the tegs are relatively more expensive in Vic.
Paying for it tomorrow! :-D

Yeah, mrntegra, has mats. Apparently that isn't sufficient for careless owners :-P

[TypeSexy]

enjoy your car

[tinkerbell]

if the owner cared about the interior that much , they probly thrashed the car (like straight from cold) as well...