Be careful of rebuilt cars (Page 1/2)
starlightcoupe FEB 02, 06:04 PM
I've been shopping for a 2005 or 2006 GTO andI thought I had found THE one but crawling under the right front side, I saw many problems on the passenger--right side--that caused me to ask for a refund of my earnest money. The engine was pushed to the right and many unibody pieces simply went to the right. When I drove the car on the freeway, it pulled to the right and that told me to check out the suspension. The paint job is good but many other clues told me to go elsewhere and find another GTO if I still wanted one.

I asked the owner (it is a small dealership) for a CarFax and he couldn't find one in his files. I'll talk to him Monday Feb 4 and get my deposit back. Silly me, I used my debit card.

Funny, but the owner tried to tell me that the car is worth $35,000 and he's selling it because he needs to clear out his lot.

On the way home, I'll probably stop at another dealer who has a clean 1963 Nova hardtop with a 283 engine and four speed shift. He wants around $8000 for it but it is in great shape.
Mike Morris FEB 05, 09:14 AM
35 grand for a GTO lol. Run away from that dealer...

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1999 Camaro Z28 B4C Heads Cam Intake Stall etc
1992 Ford Mustang LX 5.0 331 R block S trim Intercooled
1988 MR2 SC Cammed,Pulley etc
1988 Corvette Cammed stalled bolt ons
1985 Fiero SE V6-Transgo,stall,K&N,cat delete,Ported TB

iced_theater FEB 06, 10:43 AM
He's going to have a hard time clearing out his lot if he asks 3X the retail value on cars. Even if it had a clean carfax, he sounds like the type of dealer that would do all types of shady things.
RWDPLZ FEB 06, 08:59 PM
It's a dealer, they had it up on the lift when the last guy traded it in for next to nothing because it had previous accident damage, they know perfectly well what they have.

My little brother tried to buy a Subaru Outback a few months ago from the Subaru dealer, he took it down the street to a Subaru specialist because he also thought he found 'The One', a fully loaded 6 cylinder LL Bean edition, it had a laundry list of problems including blown head gaskets.
johnt671 FEB 07, 06:04 PM
I'd be all over that Nova. The new GTO is a cookie cutter car that looks like many other GM car . The Nova is so different and (my opinion) unique from anything out there. Older is way better.
Jake_Dragon FEB 07, 06:11 PM
I dropped half that for my Mustang and they put it on a lift for me. Buyer beware
olejoedad FEB 20, 06:19 PM
The 283/4 speed Nova will eat that GTO in a straight line.
starlightcoupe MAR 09, 06:20 PM
I think I found the car for me. It is a '62 Nova with a 383 V8. 18-Grand is a bit steep for me but I really want this car. The owner said the rear wheels rub on the inner fender because the previous owner put the deep dish wheels/rims on it but otherwise, it is very nice. No heater, though.

https://houston.craigslist....lone/6828445696.html
olejoedad MAR 12, 11:53 AM
You should be able to massage the inner side of the rear wheel openings and use a bottle jack and some wood to slightly push the outer body panel outward to provide clearance.

I did this on a 81 Malibu with no problems, you couldn't tell I had done it unless parked beside another Malibu.

Just work slowly and in small increments and the paint will not be damaged.
Jake_Dragon MAR 12, 12:04 PM
Nice Nova, I love that year but not a fan of the paint colors.

The heater is totally gone so if this is going to be a driver keep in mind you will have to find those parts or make something else fit and look good.

A friend had the same issue with his dodge and deep dish wheels, ended up replacing the tires and fixing the body when it snagged and pulled the sheet metal out of shape.
Looking at the body lines you wont be able to flair the fenders without noticing. You could roll the inside lip some but I would just sell the rims and tires for some better fitting ones.