Wheels look like Arte .. cheap Japanese brand used by ricers mainly

 

The tires are the Korean brand, Ventus. Only 2 rims have painted lugnuts, and way too much Amour-All. I would not recommend this one.

 

So I went to see the car. I took the car to a friend's shop, Lawell Motorsports. He knows this car's owner who is his neighbor. He's done most of the service.

The lowdown is the car has a Unichip, B&B exhuast with Techart tips, SSK and lowering springs. Obviously those wheels are goofy but I can get the dealer with provide me with new stock wheels and tires.

The car has never been in an accident and is really clean except for the dash (several hundred off).

We didn't do a full PPI since I'll take his word for it. Having said all this I'm still looking for other cars. This one is really nice and it may be the one but I'm going to see a few more.

 

ekyub -- Good to see you're looking at the car objectively. How was the test drive? Not many people on this board have Unichip (piggy-back type system), most have ECU flash. Any drone/resonance with the B&B exhaust?

It's good to have a friend who's a mechanic and can vouch for the car's condition. If you can get the dash issue addressed and get stock wheels, and you like the car (color, options, etc), for a good price and an open minid, it might be a decent deal for you. Good to look around and see what else is available, to keep your options open. Good luck.

 

Test drive was nice. To my embarrassment I stalled the car several times. It seems I needed to keep the revs up a bit. I tried the 2nd gear pop out but no such evidence although I didn't go downhill.

The exhaust was nice with no resonance. As I understand the Unichip is cheap hp but not the most ideal if you need want more tune-ability. I'm unclear whether or not it is removable since I prefer a GIAC setup.

The suspension was firm but really nice. This car would be a weekender and like all my cars, perform track duties. No rush but I really dig it if the wheels and price are right.

 

the tires brand is Hankook tires. Tires are not horrible... decent for the money. But the size is def. off.

 

Sounds like you've done your research and know what you're getting into. Good luck on finding the right car for you. This time of year is probably the best turbo time in Houston (ie cooler weather and maybe less than 100% humidity), unless of course it's raining ...

 

OH! One thing I LOVE about this car? NO CUP HOLDERS!!!!!

EDIT: Anyone know how to get rid of the batwing with DSP?

 

Never settle unless you are getting a killer deal.