bucklwi1

I am considering trading my 2001 Z28 in on a 2002 firehawk. I was just wondering if people had any advice for me as to how I can tell if the car has been beaten on? I know it may be tough to tell, but wondered if there were any secrets.

I have a carfax on it and it looks clean, but I haven't physically seen the car yet. I have seen pictures but will see it up and close this week.

any thoughts?

JMBLOWNWS6

iTrader: (17)

If the rear has been hit check the hatch aligment. Look for oil leaks under the car. Other than that should be sweet. Sounds like a nice car. You might want to look at the exhaust manifold bolts to see if it has been demoded.

bucklwi1

OK, i'll check both of those things.

I noticed that it has aluminum "race-style" gas, clutch, and brake pedals. could that be an indicator?

2kta--89formula

iTrader: (2)

In reality, most all of our cars are "Beaten" on a regular basis in the sense of tire spinning, 1/4 mile bouts...high speed runs, etc... Check for service records and make sure that the car was properly taken care of from a maintenance stand point. I'd rather have a well maintained car that has been beaten on than a car that has been driven normally <if there is such a thing> but hasn't seen an oil change in 20K. miles. Aside from the obvious blow-by, water in oil, knocking, pinging and leaks I would definitely look into the service records.

bucklwi1

i will try that too, but it is at a dealership so they might not be with the car. The car was driven 17k miles the first year and 16.7k miles the second year. The car is also a 1 owner car. This would seem to indicate the car was a daily driver, wouldn't you think? probably a good sign. I guess I will just have to check body panel alignment, look for oil leaks, ask for service records, listen to the engine, check tire tread depth, etc. I will have to give it a thorough inspection when I see it in person.

Tiger2o69

iTrader: (16)

Yeah take your time. I thought I did with my car but found several things that could have gotten it cheaper. Werent bad things but would have knocked off some money.

demonspeed

iTrader: (7)

http://www.firehawk.org

badhoopty

a little thing, but check for bent fender tabs or fender tabs that have been bent back.

one of the key selling points when i bought mine was mint fender tabs, then when i took it back to the same dealer for its first service... they bent the friggin fender tabs.

Keenov

iTrader: (5)

They can be bent back with ease though, I wouldn't worry about them. If you do see the bent fender tabs, just tell them to take off some $$ and then bend them back when you take it home