HarryD

Hey guys,
More dumb questions:

(1) How important is it to you (or in general) to get a car with a original front bumper? I just checked one out, and noticed the front bumper's VIN is missing, though the two fenders and every other VIN number is intact throughout the car. Note that it's an AP1, but the fake (faux?) black vents are original and not painted over like you see on most bumper repaints...

The owner says he has no idea of an accident (2nd owner) and the carfax is clean. If the fenders are intact and original, the chance of frame damage is close to 0% ?? Or is it a deal breaker? What damage to look for?

(2) So I've test driven about a dozen stooks in the past few months, from junkers to low mileage mint... For the first time I got a weird violent shaking getting into 1st gear from a stop. It happened about half the times I attempted it.

The whole car shook forward and backward really hard a few times, and I remember gassing it harder but it kept shaking until 2500+ rpm or so...

Normal? Am I just not used to the stock clutch, or is the clutch slipping? Or could mounts somewhere be going bad?

Thanks guys!

tkeyyy

what year were you driving when the whole car shook?

HarryD

It's an '02.

P.S. This was not during the earthquake

yamez

hmm.. i had that shake before in my 2nd stook which was salvage... later the buyer of my car told me it needs a new tranny. thing with the ones with replaced bumpers you have to really look beyond the bumper. meaning you have to remove it to check if there are damages/missing stuff etc beyond it... ive learned that my 2nd s2000 had a beam replaced and was missing one headlight mount when me and the new owner dis assembled the whole front end.. LOL. ive learned my lesson that way.

rob-2

Just walk away if in doubt. There are plenty good buys to be had.

chViETnk

its always fishy when theres missing vins# and problem with the car, not everything is on carfax. i would walk away from that one. the shaking could also be engine mounts that need replacing. when i bought my MY00, i made sure every vin# was there before i picked it up.

ryanmatic

When in doubt, always walk away.

HarryD

Ah, thanks guys. Damn-- I'm just *so* tired of looking.

The one in question was, for what it's worth:
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/sby/cto/2140398132.html

Everything else was mint besides the front bumper (looks origional, but missing VIN) and the occasional shakes.

rob-2

I wouldn't care about the bumper myself. The shaking however is something that would have me walking away.

It's winter, bad time to buy an S. If you can wait till spring you'll see a bunch go up for sale.

danvuquoc

Pass on the car that shakes, that could be a lot of things, probably none of which are fun.