Quote:
Originally Posted by RB-BRZ
Hi Guys,
I am now currently in the market for a Toyots 86 GTS/ Scion FRS. Is there any major things that I should look out for when inspecting the car? Rust won't be an issue as I live in Australia but is there any little signs or points that I should inspect before making a purchase?
Thanks
|
If your not familiar with cars in general and this model specifically then get a trained mechanic to look over it or vehicle inspection done
Oil leaks
especially from cam plate on drivers side rear of engine
also from cam covers.
not a huge drama as their usually minor but just annoying.
Coolant should be blue colour if their using genuine Subaru/toyota coolant
Oil should be clear and light golden colour, if its dark caramel or black and not transparent indicates its way over due for oil change.
service history by approved service provider especially if its still under warrantee, else very difficult to claim any issues on warrantee with engine/drivetrain.
But get a trained person to look over car its well worth the money.
If you buying a supposedly "standard" car look for signs its been modded and returned to stock ie signs of wear on intake manifold nuts/bolts or in engine bay and exhaust fittings.
Gearbox can be a bit stiff to shift to second when cold, but once warm should shift smoothly all gears, 4th and 5th often problematic in turbo/SC cars or car driven hard.
Check the brake rotors if their deeply scoured or grooved often indicates its had a hard life.
If you have a odb code scanner checked for stored CEL codes, early cars 2012 especially can have cam issues either hardware or ecu software problem but most would have been fixed by now under warrantee.
quite a number of these car may have been "tuned" ie mods made to ecu software. This is not a huge issue as most tunes are better than stock settings especially on Australian fuels. However some tune systems "lock" ecu preventing further modification or setting back to stock if you don't have the specific tune system the car was originally tuned with. Unfortunately without the correct tools and knowledge its difficult to pick if car is tuned and with which system it was tuned with , most mechanics or vehicle inspectors will be unable to tell you either. Just something to keep in mind if your buying a modded car.
also some guys that had hardware mods and tune , remove the headers and intake , but leave the tune for those mods in ECU as they are too lazy or don't want to pay to get ecu tune returned to stock. Again this can be hard to pick, without specialised tools and knowledge.
Car should drive and accelerate smoothly and idle smoothly if it doesn't it may be a sign the ecu tune does not match mods or mods have been removed and tune left in ecu.
Read the STICKY posts at top of this forum section re recall TSB and issues.
note forums generally attract people with car problems, they are actually quite reliable cars.