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Originally Posted by Johnny Danger

An interesting paradox always arises on this forum whenever it comes to assessing the value and reliability of vehicle; particularly if there are modifications involved. I find it fascinating to see how an overwhelming majority of the members on this forum are always looking for ways to improve the performance of their vehicle's with both aftermarket and DIY modifications . Yet, many are quick to condemn a vehicle based on the fact that it has been modified . Moreover, the mere mentioning of modifications seems to signify that said vehicle has had the "hell driven out of it" , or "stomped to death". To the contrary, it's been my experience that whenever a person invests the time and effort in modifying his or her vehicle, they seem to take even greater care of it. As far as the vehicles in question are concerned, granted vehicle #2 has had the much desired IMS upgrade performed . But look at the rest of it . At 73k it needed a new transmission, CV boots, O2 sensors, coolant tanks, rear windows ect ... If any vehicle smacks of having had the "bag kicked out of it", it's this one !! On the other hand, because vehicle #2 has a sport muffler, lower springs, ecu upgrade and some cosmetic enhancements (golly, those mods don't sound familiar on this forum), it's taboo . Oh, and the other concerns are that it still has the original clutch, coolant tank, brakes and rear window . With only 47k on the odometer, I would hope that it did !!

I think the most important thing to look at when buying a used car or anything second hand is the buy the seller and then buy the item. Getting a feel of how the owner treated the car will tell you alot about how they treated the car. Now if the first guy was a bit younger and talked about how he tracks the car then maybe it was driven hard. Same goes for the second car. Although if you look at the repairs that were mentioned on the second car seems to be a lot but you have to see the milage of the car and expect for items to be repaired. When I had my box it only had 34k miles and the waterpump went out and that bad boy cost $800-900 to repair at the dealer. The coolant expansion tank also a known weak spot on the car to be replaced no matter what the milage is. Yeah the car with 43k miles has the original clutch in it but in 20-30k miles it too will need to be replaced and when if the IMS goes out at 50k miles and there is a $15k repair bill looking at you then you'll be like WTF. Look at both cars and talk to both owners.