Purchase Details

• Date: 2023-Aug-15
• Location: Copart in Raleigh, NC
• Winning Bid: $3,150 Total Fees: $1,372.95

The Joys

Probably the fastest car I've ever owned. Certainly the fastest one with 5 seats. Fantastic paddle shifters, even smelled great inside.

An unexpected bonus was the performance upgrades: custom cold side intake, charge pipe, and downpipe, plus a remotely operated muffler cutout for the pops and crackles on command.

The Struggles

Replaced the front driver airbag and side curtain airbag which requried taking out the head liner. Replaced a very expensive headlight and front bumper cover.

The real issue was more of a gotcha from not knowing what to google. The vehicle could be jump started every time from under the hood. It would not start from it's own battery. Replaced the starter motor, which is a big job, 8/10 of difficulty for an amateur. No help. The issue was a pyrotechnic circuit interrupt in the trunk battery compartment. When an accident is detected, the pyrotechnic fires and the battery is disconnected. 20$ part from amazon and a 10 minute job. If I had known about that I would have literally saved months of work.

The biggest issue was an entrance into limp mode. The current theory is the eccentric shaft motor was not responding to commands, either because the PCM was blown or the motor itself was bad, or the maybe even the shaft was binding. This was difficult to diagnose even through parts replacment. The desire was to keep this car, but after a $1,400 repair from a real professional that didn't fix it either, decided to sell.

Final Outcome

Sold to a peddle for $1,775

The Experience

Until this car I had no idea the snaps and pops were so much fun. I rewired the QuickTime Performance muffler cutout to respond to a wireless rocker switch that nestled in the 12v adapter behind a door in the console. So much fun to be able to flip it off in town and open it up on the back roads and highways.

Charges and Payments