Ready to buy a 87GN now...questions here

[ONEquickGN]

But first...some questions....I've noticed quite a few GN's with rebuilds before 35K miles...that makes me quite nervous..should I worry? Should I aviod the ones with engines that have been rebuilt since i do not know if they were "budget rebuilds". The main things i'm looking for is mint interior and great exterior. Is it risky buying a GN with lots of mods..... insinct tells me not to cuz its prob been run hard but then again all of them prob have been. Help me me out in buying my first Turbo buick!!!

 

[azgn]

you have to decide what you want.......stock or modded and go from there... www.gnttype.org has a buyers guide you may want to look at

 

[ONLYA6]

I think you'll be able to tell by speaking to the owner as to whether or not the car's been run hard. It's a tough call but you won't know until you try.

Jacob

 

[salvageV6]

Where are you from? I am sure board members can recommend a car in your area for sale.

No need to buy a rebuilt engine car in the 35K mile range. They made tons of them so you can easily find a mint stocker.

What exactly is your price range and build up goals?
If it's just mint interior and exterior get a stocker with all stock original engine and tranny. Unfortunately they cost more than a modded car but hey that's life.

 

[ONEquickGN]

I live in NC... I would LOVE to find a mint GN with minor modifications and whose owner babied it. Just like the one I wanted to buy right before it got sold MY goal is to build a daily driver within the low 12 or high 11 sec range. The most important thing is...this car will be my daily driver and i DO NOT have a second car so.... it cannot be moded to the point where it starts getting unreliable. Thanks guys !!!

 

[turbo6leon]

If you're anywhere near MI & planned to spend 11 grand come see my GN. It's not advertised for sale but now that my T is running the GN will just sit, for the most part, here in the a/c'd garage. It will not disappoint & there are a few members here on the board that are familiar with the car & could verify. Drop me a line if you're interested.

Lee

oops, nevermind. I see you're too far away & I don't want mine to sit outside

 

[ONEquickGN]

I plan on spending anywhere from 11 to 14 grand for the GN. I also will not look into anything with more than 60K miles on it unless its in exceptional condition and the owner babied it like i said. If it comes down to it i'm willing to make a deal over the phone and fly over whereever and drive it back to NC!!! Yea... i really like those cars that much

 

[Renthorin]

OneQuick - if you are willing to spend 14k on a GN you should be able to find one with less than 30k on it in stock condition.

I bought mine last spring in Richmond VA for 14k and it had 21k on the dial.

Then.....I drove it home to MI

I printed and memorized the "buying a TR" section from GNTTYPE.org. When I checked the car out..I just went down the list.

Have you ever owned a TR before? If not it would be good to take a current owner along with you to help check the car over.

 

[ONEquickGN]

I have a few mechanic friends....one who works at Crown Audi and another who works at Galloway Buick but.... none of them are TR experts... oh well. Please dont make fun of me but I bought Kirbans book on how to buy a used 86 87 Turbo T..... figured I'd do as much research as i could so it couldnt hurt. I myself although do not have entensive "on hands" experience do know quite a bit about cars so ... i'm open to any suggestions... other than the messgae board are there any good ways to locate a GN for sale??

 

[tim87tr]

Originally posted by ONEquickGN
Please dont make fun of me but I bought Kirbans book on how to buy a used 86 87 Turbo T..... figured I'd do as much research as i could so it couldnt hurt. I myself although do not have entensive "on hands" experience do know quite a bit about cars so ... i'm open to any suggestions... other than the messgae board are there any good ways to locate a GN for sale??

The Kirbans book is an excellent book for all sorts of TR tidbits and many owners have one. The gnttype board has some repetitive cars for sale, but sometimes a different car. I really have not found any other good sources to buy besides the board. There are a few cars for sale at the National events like Bowling Green, KY, but you can really see a lot of choices on the board. It might take several months to find the car that is right for you.

 

[salvageV6]

I have never seen anyone disappointed in buying a car from Kirban. Give him your goals and price range and he can set you up with a good running close to stock car, loaded of course, for your daily driving needs.

You have enough money for a Kirban car and he is only in PA not too far for the fly in drive home scenario.

Just my .02.

PS: My modded car is still more fun to drive and even easier than the lightly modded GN. Really....