Opinions on these Strut Towers

[Seth Horwitz]

Do they look original? Condition? (It's all I've got between a plane ride and a purchase, though I've offered the seller money for just taking more pictures. He really wants to sell local, which I get, but I won't fly until I see shots of the undercarriage. This is the best I have to look for rust at this point in time.) Thanks to any experts.  

 

 

[Mike Self]

The fronts look good--and rarely are the problem children when it comes to '02 rust. 

 

What you really want to see are pictures of the rear shock towers (wheel arches), taken from inside the trunk, and from inside the rear wheel wells.  While even badly rusted ones can be repaired, it's expensive to do.  A small amount of rust is more easily fixed; based on the pictures you attached, the car looks pretty rust-free. 

 

But I would want to see pictures of the rear wheel arches (as above), the rocker panels, lower portion of the nose (below the bumper) and door & fender bottoms.  While the latter two are cosmetic, the first items are structural and can make the difference between "fix 'er up" and "parts car."

 

The FAQ archives are overflowing with rust as a topic...read up on it.

 

cheers--(from 49 years of dealing with 2002 rust)

mike

[Mark92131]

The front struts look original.  Could be some partial repaint in the engine bay, the radiator support looks fresher than the piece holding the hood locking mechanism.  You can see where the emission sticker was removed on the driver side and the yellowing is consistent with the clear coat on Fjord paint.  The spacers under the strut bearings look like they were removed at some point, which is why the strut bearing studs are long.  You should see if an FAQ member will do a PPI for you before you before you jump on a plane.

 

Mark92131

[02Les]

The car is close to Seattle where there's a few 02ers. Like Mark said, put a message out and see if one will go take a look at it for you.

[Seth Horwitz]

You guys are awesome. Thank you much. 

 

I'm willing to pay for pictures of those other areas for the very reasons you state. I'll give the benefit of the doubt to someone who doesn't want or deal with regular Craigslist cretins, but I want to make it clear that I'm serious if nothing is being hidden. Thanks again. 

     Seth

[Simeon]

Unless that car is being given away for pocket change, I would not compromise on opportunities to establish the condition of the body. A wrong answer here could either write off the car or bring thousands in repair costs. 

 

Fly and see it, get a local PPI or pass. I would interpret the sellers unwillingness to take extra photos as obstruction and would pass on the car. 

[Seth Horwitz]

2 minutes ago, Simeon said:

I would interpret the sellers unwillingness to take extra photos as obstruction and would pass on the car. 

 

I tend to agree. Even if he has a local buyer, why would you not go take some pictures for money? There's a local car that is a REAL project about an hour away from me. I haven't even seen pictures, know it doesn't run (so it needs the engine and/or tranny rebuilt, but I figure it's worth a ride to check the rust situation. Maybe it'll work out. 

[AceAndrew]

If you are serious and do not want to fly out.... then (given you are paying) see if the owner is willing to have a PPI done by someone respectable (STRONGLY suggest Patrick at Midnight Motorsports).

[Seth Horwitz]

26 minutes ago, AceAndrew said:

If you are serious and do not want to fly out.... then (given you are paying) see if the owner is willing to have a PPI done by someone respectable (STRONGLY suggest Patrick at Midnight Motorsports).

 

Thanks, Andrew. Unless this guy is busy taking pictures, he's just blowing me off via email. If that's the case, this isn't the car for me. I asked some basic questions that have gone unanswered. (Maybe it's Saturday and he'll surprise me.) If I find anything in the area, though, I'll use Patrick for a PPI. Back to the seller, he wants a deposit before a PPI, as written in the ad. I haven't even gotten as far as figuring out what that means. 

[AceAndrew]

Deposit before PPI?  That's a big PASS.

 

Best of luck on the hunt.

[Seth Horwitz]

Thank you, Sir. I so wish I didn't need an automatic. This is a real headache. 

[Mike G]

If it looks good in the pictures offer to meet at Patrick’s with cash in hand. You pay for the PPI and if nothing major shows up it’s a sale. 

 

I did exactly that buying a 2002 off this forum, it worked perfectly and Patrick was very accommodating and thorough. 

[Seth Horwitz]

14 minutes ago, Mike G said:

If it looks good in the pictures offer to meet at Patrick’s with cash in hand. You pay for the PPI and if nothing major shows up it’s a sale. 

 

I did exactly that buying a 2002 off this forum, it worked perfectly and Patrick was very accommodating and thorough. 

 

To be honest, I'd even put the whole thing in escrow if I got a good feeling from this seller. He's not being particularly helpful, partially I'm hoping, because I'm on the East Coast. I get wanting to sell local, but they invented these things called "planes" that can get me there pretty quickly. We'll see. Maybe I'll take a week in Cali/Oregon/Washington just roaming around for a 2002. That's normal, no?

[Henning]

What we can see from these two (2) pictures of the car is that it's a late model if the valve cover isn't replaced and that the color in the engine bay is fjord without PVC.

Stay at home unless you get

#1 more pics (for free, of course!!)

#2 more info

#3 more impressions

#4 more data

#5 more thoughts.

My 02 cents.

 

hen

 

[DBMW02]

My bits, buy a plane ticket tonight. Screams originality and have never had a cleaner bay to start with. Engine never removed. Numbers match. Sqware tail Fjord is a very nice example. Heck it still has strut spacers installed. Worse case the Pike Place market will have good eats. 

 

Having said that  throw down the Craigslist link and you might have company. Would love to see rest of pics. 

Looks goodenuf to me