what do i need to look for on an 03 SRT?

fearingdark · Post by **fearingdark** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 8:41 pm

its an 03 srt4 with 61k miles, recaro seats, a CF hood, some sort of 17" aftermarket wheels, and a tabletop wing.

KBB says that the "good" price is 12k. he'll let it go for 10500 (for me).

what do i need to look at in the engine bay, interior, exterior, undercarriage?

this would be my first time not getting a new/certified used car, so i'd like some help.

thanks

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:00 am

If you are planning to spend $10.5k on a car, why not have a certified mechanic look it over for around $50?

Here is all I can think of..

-Engine bay: Check the vacuum lines and make sure they are all connected. Look for any leaks or seapage throughout the engine bay. Check the hoses and the belts. Start the car up and listen to any weird noises.

Under carriage: Check for dents in the charge pipe.

Interior: Self explanatory

Exterior: Look for discoloration or different texture in the paint in different places. (Might of been in an accident)

When you test drive it do a couple of WOT runs and see what it spikes at. Normal on a stock SRT-4 is between 12-14.

Thats all I can think of... Oh yeah, ask him why he put that wing on there for me please.

Any picts of said car?

Forgot...

Get a carfax report on it and see if it has a salvage title or not. Don't get it if it has a salvage title. Get insurance quotes on it too...

fearingdark · Post by **fearingdark** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:48 am

i gotta wait till i get paid for the carfax....3 hours to go.

and here's a couple pics...

danman132x · Post by **danman132x** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:53 am

At that price, i'd be all over it. Wing would be the first thing to fly off...

Nice find.

fearingdark · Post by **fearingdark** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 12:56 am

i think that i might be in the market for a wing less trunk on here if i get it....or a CF one.

Midnight_Rider · Post by **Midnight_Rider** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:03 am

A stock SRT wing would be soooo much better than the

park bench

. Good luck with the car!

fearingdark · Post by **fearingdark** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:08 am

the carfax came back clean. i think its a go...

just gotta wait for my re-enlistment bonus to show up...

latief · Post by **latief** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 8:14 am

Car fax is not always a good indicator in my opinion, take it to a shop (if you haven't already), and inspect it for damage and all....

as myneonsayshi, take it to a good, trust-worthy mechanic, and let him do a thorough inspection... also, check the clutch, a lot of people have no clue how to drive 5 speeds, make sure it does not slip e last thing you want to do now is to pay extra money to change the clutch.....that happened to me on my 2000, within a few days the clutch started to slip....

good luck ...

hansken_yo · Post by **hansken_yo** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:51 am

Midnight_Rider wrote:A stock SRT wing would be soooo much better than the park bench . Good luck with the car!

But you can have lunch on a park bench....

Neway, nice find yo, she looks nice other than the wing.

Post by **Diablo0** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 10:00 am

I see scrapeage on the lip of the front bumper

half_twisted · Post by **half_twisted** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 1:44 pm

Diablo0 wrote:I see scrapeage on the lip of the front bumper

like mentioned above check the hoses for leaks the head gasket and the timming belt area for coolant or oil leaks. water pumps tend to go out around 60k miles.

save your self the hasle and take it in a shop to look into. try to have the mechanic check the compression for any leaks in the head.
also for body damages you can look for bolts that have been tampered with, maybe in the engine bay on the fenders or door jams.
what the factory does it they bolt evereything with a resin like glue that sets and marks the original position of a bolt. thats how dealer void out warrenties so look for that.

Adionik · Post by **Adionik** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 2:28 pm

sweet jesus what did he do to that beautiful car

half_twisted · Post by **half_twisted** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 3:20 pm

oh forgot to mention those 17s look like motegi or rays

slaw · Post by **slaw** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:34 pm

is it just me or does it look funny behind the bumper, like where the intercoolers located

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:39 pm

no LSD FTL

ThrIsNoSpork · Post by **ThrIsNoSpork** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:39 pm

slaw63087 wrote:is it just me or does it look funny behind the bumper, like where the intercoolers located

i noticed that too...
looks like he took everything apart and just threw it in the engine bay for a quick pic.

rOniN · Post by **rOniN** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 4:51 pm

To me it looks like that car wasn't taken care of...it seems like boy wonder was racing around town. You really have to check the engine for signs of wear. Since these cars are fairly cheap for the performance, you have to understand that most of these cars will be beat to hell.

I would also check to see if you can find any evidence that the car was modded under the hood. Some people will run a huge turbo on there (not knowing how to tune it) and bend the internals and slap the stock turbo on there to sell it. Maybe get a compression check just for fun.

The exhaust is different so I would check to see how that was put together...judging by the taste in wings it probably wasn't done right.

Check the brake pads...sometimes you can tell the type of driving it has been subjected to by looking at the brakes. This is better on almost new vehicles since the stock pads are still there.

You could check the fluids...see if they have been kept at optimum levels and check the color.

Don't let the "it's affordable" creep too far into your head since it could end up costing you more in the long run.

fearingdark · Post by **fearingdark** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:45 pm

i appreciate all the input and help that you guys have provided. i am going to go tomorrow morning and have it put up on a lift and my mechanic and i are going tot walk through it.
i'll keep you posted

slaw · Post by **slaw** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 6:08 am

good luck
and take more pics!

MyNeonSaysHi · Post by **MyNeonSaysHi** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 1:25 pm

What the heck did he do to that front bumper!?!?

Inspect EVERYTHING thouroughly.

Wenuden · Post by **Wenuden** » Fri Nov 16, 2007 4:26 pm

other than the scrape, the exterior looks well cared for, not even any dirt on the ends of the skirts. you're doing the right thing by having a mechanic look at it. also ask the guy if you can take it on a test drive, 60+ miles, including highway, city, WOT runs (just remember to stay out of boost at part throttle and before 3k RPM's). if he seems at all aprehensive about it, walk away and look for another one (preferably '04).

I'm sure the mechanic will notice, but check all the bolts that have marker lines on them to see if they've been removed before. if they have, ask the owner why, and who did it.

as a rule, any used car i buy gets all fluids, plugs, wires, air filter and PCV (with the exception of my srt, where the brand new PCV's would allow air flow both ways, went with an in-line check valve) within a couple thousand miles of purchase.

Make sure to check on whether he has stock parts or not if you do buy it, and work them into the deal for cheap if he doesn't offer them for free, so you can return it to stock and make more on aftermarket when (if?) you sell it.