Hello I'm new to this forum, but I have found this to be best place to ask questions about fieros. I'm going to look at a 87 gt automatic with 67k miles. What are things I should be looking at to make sure it's worth buying? I have always wanted one and wife finally gave me the green light to buy one haha.
Pull back the carpet in the trunk. Check the corners, sides, & bottom. Look underneath the car, at the brake lines, suspension, fuel tank, and exhaust. Look at the motor mounts. Check for exhaust & oil leaks. Make sure that, after driving on the highway, you can idle at a stop in gear. Check headlight motor operation. Check the battery tray. Make sure all exterior lights work OK.
what tShark is asking you to look for is Rust. You probably know that Fieros actually do rust, even though the body panels are all plastic, so you can't see the rust easily. The frame is stamped steel, and considering you are in Illinois, you should dig around the car to see as much frame as you can. You can search this forum for examples of typical rusty areas.
Thanks for clarifying, Gall. Yes, rust, or anything you don't like.
Make sure the service engine light comes on for test mode, but is otherwise off. Check if the courtesy module (blue dingy thingy) in the passenger area under the glove box has been removed. Removal is common, but not necessarily bad. If it is still there, it can help you identify issues.
You can also check the wheel wells behind the plastic fender liners.
If the car has power windows, power mirrors, etc, check for smooth operation. These will need to be fixed, unless already done.
Check for delamination, cracks, etc in the tail lights. These are hard to fix/replace.
Check Paul Vargyas' price list for common pricing.
Remember: Low mileage isn't the key--it's good condition.
Check behind the plastic rear wheel wells, for rust up top on the frame rails. Pull back the trunk carpet, pull it completely out of the car if possible.
Let the car idle for 5-10min before the test drive Get it nice and hot too make sure the cooling system works Check the cooling tubes along the side to make sure they haven't been crushed.
Check the condition of the sunroof gasket if it has one to check for dry rot and leaks (saggy headliner could be a sign too, or just old glue)
Pretty much everything on these cars can be fixed with enough effort as long as you get a clean, rust free chassis.
You probably know that Fieros actually do rust, even though the body panels are all plastic, so you can't see the rust easily. The frame is stamped steel, and considering you are in Illinois, you should dig around the car to see as much frame as you can. You can search this forum for examples of typical rusty areas.
Yep, and here's an example I posted a while back...
quote
Originally posted by Patrick:
I was at a friend's place looking over his recently purchased SBC '86 Fiero. I removed the inner fenders to have a look at the "hidden" areas. The driver's side was fine. The passenger side looked like this...
Take at least a half hour drive on freeway, and on surface streets in traffic to make sure cooling system is OK. A major problem wont show up in a 10 drive around the block. Even offer to pay for the gas if you have to. ANY water under the car, or an anti freeze smell is trouble. Ive seen people drain antifreeze in summer and just run plain water so leaks and boil overs wont show up. Just water, if it dont evaporate right away, can be passed off as just the AC dripping. Look in the fill cap and overflow tank for signs of Stop Leak.