Here is the link.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1153177689.html

Its one of the few 3rd gen SE Manual's I have seen around the atlanta area for sale.
I'm wondering if they supposed valve job the car needs is actually just the VTC acting up on them.

I havent been able to get a hold of them. But for 1k, I might be able to drop another motor in pretty cheap...
What do you all think?

 

I got a JDM motor, not exactly sure of mileage for $800. The VTC on it did not clack for 5 years. They just clack a little bit when its cold out and it has been sitting for a while now.

Depending on visual inspection and a test drive, seems like a decent deal to me. Keep in mind, these cars are now 15-20 years old, and theres probably wear and tear on the other parts, so its likely you'll be replacing others things down the road, just like the rest of us.

I passed up a black 92 se VE 5speed and the guy was selling it for $500 because it had 2 bad window regulators, easy fix, and the vtc clack. Im still regreting not buying it.

 

I think it has potential

 

nice same price i bought mine for but i had 131k miles on mine when i got it...and in the 3 yrs ive owned it ive put in about 3,000 repairs and minor upgrades... it would make a good car for somebody that can fix the little problems it has....

 

Looks just like the stock version of my current VE! Both of my VE's have been $1000 or less and well worth it. If you're really interested and it's worth the effort to you, find out where the car has spent most of its life (ask the owner or run a carfax report). If it spent more than a couple of years in a snow zone, be a little more aggressive in your visual inspection. There are a few points on these cars that are more prone to rust than others, so any winters spent on salted icy roads will do nothing but accelerate the potential for rust.

These are fun and pretty reliable cars. For a grand it is worth taking a look.

 

Check the undercarriage for rot. These cars just rot away under the right conditions. If it's solid than offer him less. Won't hurt to try.

 

Yes, the "valve job" means the vtc's are probably clacking, most people that haven't been around the ve engine for long think it's lifter tick or valves.


Looks like a pretty nice car.

 

If it doesn't have rust, it seems like a nice car for $1k. I don't think the ad mentioned how many miles.

Like any used car, you should drive it to check for normal things like leaks, steering play, rust, signs of collision (like a bent core support).

Otherwise, you gotta love Aztec Red!

 

You could always do a compression check to test the valves.

I just bought mine for 900 its super clean but it needed a clutch and axle. he might take less than 1k for it.

 

Yes for sure. If he allows you (he probably won't let you do some of it), look for the main rust areas:

1. Remove the panels in the trunk and look around the rear seatbelt anchors from within the trunk, and look at the top of the rear strut towers from within the trunk

2. Look at the Radiator support area

3. Check the brake and fuel pipes directly under the drivers side door and rear drivers side door, attached to the under-carriage. This stuff could be replaced by you, but unless you do it yourself, it's probably big bucks to do at a shop.

4. If you removed the rear seat you could see the wheel wells from inside to see if there's rust damage and towards the lower seatbelt anchor. He probably won't let you do this though.

If there is rust (and there will always be some rust), most of it is just sheet metal rust, nothing too dangerous...unless it attacked the chassis.

Oh I forgot one thing, you may want to check the condition of the exhaust system, to see if it's on it's last leg. If you needed to replace a section, the entire thing would likely need to be replaced from the header pipe to the muffler.

 

Agreed,Here's some good examples...

 

Buy it, don't sit around thinking about it, buy it. That's a good price. Frankly, I don't believe there's a VE in the world that doesn't have clacking VTC's by now. All the hysteria/paranoia about VTC's died years back, now the general consensus is to just ground those suckers and call it a day.

I haven't seen a VE 5 in Dallas for sale in ages

 

Those are good photos Greeny - were those mine?

That's a good view when you remove the trunk panels - but be careful if the guy is standing right there - the clips may snap like mine did. The best view of the strut towers is from inside, when you remove the back seat. In my case the rust is 'superficial' and will be touched up with the gas MIG unit I picked up last week.

So even if you do see a bit of rust on that thin metal, it's nothing to be scared about.... Thousand bucks seem like a OK price, although I would try to get it for 500 to 800. The fact that he advertises it that it needs a 'valve job', nobody's likely to buy it these days.

 

Finally got a hold of the guy. Said it has 200k miles on it, runs good ac still pumps good and cold. But said there was some serious clicking going on under the hood so he parked it, and decided to sell it and bought a truck. He said it still did 80 on the way home, then I parked it.
Said its been passed through his family since it was new.
We havent discussed price, and I havent gone up there yet since its almost 2 hours away.

 

most likey the VTC's. if it was kept in the family then its probably been maintained pretty well. Id say its worth the drive to go check it out

 

Buy it, ground the vtc's, buy up every good front coilpack you can find... drive happy...

 

fixed.


doit.jpg

if you don't, I will send you money to get it for me.

 

nah man you dont want that... GET THIS!!!!!!!! http://columbus.craigslist.org/cto/1166842516.html

Oh yea baby u feel tha VG powah naow dont chu???? lmao

 

O/P's Link

-ReLLiK-'s Link


You lot really ride the brakes...dont you....?

1st is a good buy, the second....well we can all work that one out...

 

I've seen a couple around here for sale.

 

About once a month or so I will see a VE 5 speed on the Portland or Seattle Craigslist. I usually send the links to MrGone, but he just laughs and says he is "tempted."

We generally don't have as many rust issues here because they don't use salt on the roads, so most of them live a little longer.

 

I bet that is a funny shaped engine

It looks like a decent deal to me.

 

Most likely I would buy it for that price! I passed up so many maximas that I wish i would have bought! I found a 86 max 5-speed for $400 that needed a clutch, a 88 SE max that needed nothing and was in great condition for $1100, then a 87 Max that needed nothing but body work and a tune up for $500. These are really good cars, and I would not hesitate to buy another one to have as an extra car or something, So i would buy it. Also a guy was selling a 92 SE max for $1200 and I passed it up because of that vtc clack and i was afraid it was something that had to do with the oil pump, but now that I know it was a simple fix I would have gotten it. Its always good to have an extra car.

 

Drove two hours to look at the car......................uh.....I didnt bring her home. That thing was in bad shape. The guy admited he hadnt done a tune up in over 4 years, the car apparently sat through a recent hail storm there were small dents all over. I went ahead and drove it expecting the best....haha. It had problems making it up a hill in first, the motor just felt so week. I'm sure it was a bad injector, etc...but I didnt care...I woulda had to drop some serious change to get the body even decent looking.

Oh well..

 

sry to hear that..how far are you from Tucker, GA? You may consider calling/checking out the Maxima I mentioned...

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1176930862.html

I tried calling him earlier today but he had left the shop already..I called to ask which engine was in because it was a good possibility that would be the car I get, but unfortunately he doesn't know. He did have another 3rd Gen Maxima sitting there not running and I assume he would be using some parts from that car to this one.

 

http://nashville.craigslist.org/ctd/1176660814.html

It's overpriced imo, but a damn nice, clean ve 5..

 

Offer $800 and see what happends

 

overpriced is an under statement.

 

Ya, it would be tuff to find a used 3rd gen in decent condition nowadays - they are really long in the tooth now. Don't forget on top of the grand, you would need a couple thousand backup money for parts that will blow in due time after you bought it.

 

Dang, that thing is nice. Too bad it got into the hands of a dealer, they always over charge. That color is pretty rare too

 

Well there is another one on Craigslist. Its not a 5 SPEED, but I might just have to deal with it or do a swap if I want it that bad.

http://atlanta.craigslist.org/cto/1169981794.html

I presume the VE Automatics are reliable, I just always hear about the the 3RD Gen Automatic being weak. But maybe this is just hearsay.

 

I have a VE auto, and I had it rebuilt when it had 170k on it , and its being going strong since, and I drive it harder than the average person.
3rd gen VE auto is actually probably the most reliable tranny for the 3rd gen. Not as fun as the 5 speed, but it is reliable.

the one you just posted looks pretty clean. I would offer less. The window issues is an easy fix, and the speakers, well for me thats an easy fix, just throw new speakers and wiring in there, i do that to every car I buy anyways.

 

the ve auto (RE4F04V) is fine. it's just the VG auto that has the weak tranny (RE4F02A)

 

prices seem to have gone up on 3rd gens. I saw one KBB listing that said $5700 could be expected. Maybe I should sell now and get some coin before reality sets in again.

 

3rd gens. at dealers have been listed outrageously high lately. I've seen a bunch of GXE autos listed for between $4-5k, really crazy. I'd be interested if anybody is actually buying them at that price

 

I'd say go for it, they last forever. Easy to fix too.