A friend has asked me to look at one this afternoon with her to check it over and would like a few things to look for. Anyone got any bright idea's or shall I just go with the usual kick the tyres approach;):D

Ade

usual stuff.

about 2 in 3 have an oil leak. It will sound tappety on start up.

check to see if the cambelt has been changed. Clocks should be in mph and odo in miles.

If it's the tip box drive in both auto (redline it) and check the kickdown (in forth at about 70mph it should knock you down to 2nd). Also redline in tip mode, it will bouce off the limiter @8250rpm.

When coming to roundabout they have a habbit of staying in third unless you come to a complete stop.

Check the ABS - it's rare on an FTO, make sure if advertised it's got it.

Basically it's a solid car. If it's a Mi-Vec listen to the exhaust note change at 5500rpm, it's quite noticable. If it's got an induction kit and SS exhaust it sounds like an Impreza.

I had mine for 15 months it had 2 £120 services and nothing ever went wrong!

Don't pay over the odds - mail me the asking price if you want and the spec and I'll give you my opinon.

Cheers Matt

I gave it a good look over no sign of any leeks of anything!! seemed to drive well. It was an my95 GR tiptronic 2ltr he wants 6.5k for it what do you think.

Ade

what's the mileage like?

any security? any service history? they need to be undersealed (about £90). Will need a cat1 alarm (£350) if it hasn't got one. historty isb't too important but if it's around 60k (miles) it needs the cambelt changing, which is £300 and spark plugs (remember 6 of them!!!).

Matt

It's got a cat 2 imobiliser 35k miles and has been undersealed.

Ade

Im currently looking at FTOs for my dad.
I go to a good place in Edinburgh which has plenty of GPXs.
He's asking £10.5k for MY95 GPX 18k miles on the clock.
His cars are all mint though.
Seems that your price is pretty good!

As for things to check ive done lots of research and Matt has
pointed out the main things.
Are u going to be its first UK owner?
If so then lots of things need to be checked; speedo and odo.
Check the tyres as they sometimes come with real crap Q rated ones
from Japan. The headlights will need to be adjusted for the UK.

I've got a big list of things to check for myself at home.
I'll check it to make sure nothing has been forgotten.

Good luck,

Kos.

6.5k is fair. It's not bargain of the century or anything but a fair market price.

Kosy - 10.5k. You havin a laugh? I bought mine in 99 for 8k. The FTO market is flooded with 95 M/N plates.

8k Should be max for a 95 GPX with a good cat 1 alarm etc.

If you want one straight from Japan email me per my profile - for 10.5k I can get you a Facelift GPvR!!! And then some!!

headlights and things - will all be done if it's got a current MOT. Depending on when it landed in the UK it may or may not have had an SVA.

They normally come over with H rated tyres as the car will be limited to 112mph.

Matt maye u gotta be kiding me!!!???
GP Version R?
I'll be in touch mate :)

Thanks people I nudged him down to 6.4K (he was a stubborn bugger) so she's buying it. Picks it up on Tuesday:D

Ade

kosy - not kidding mate.

I'm moving house at the moment so can't answer my mail very quickly!!

I would also be wary of the rear drop links, this manifests itself in the form of a knocking sound from the rear suspension. They go all the time and are about £100 to replace iirc.

'Scuse the ignorance guys but i ve seen loads of these on the road in the last 2 years: Are they fast or not? They look potentially so but i read they have a normally aspirated 2 litre or are there turbo versions or bigger engined V6's?
They seem cheap. Are they FWD or RWD?

(Theres a lack of reliable info in the car mags.)

The 2 litre V6 MIVEC has 200ps (In the GPX and GPvR).
They are all NA as standard.
They are FWD.
The GPX weighs about 1200kg.
Giving a bhp/ton of 167.

In comparason;
Integra Type R (173 bhp/ton)
Renault Clio 172 (163 bhp/ton)
Subaru Impreza WRX MY01 (157 bhp/ton)
Lotus Elise 120 (164 bhp/ton)

All cars above as standard of course.

Cheers Kos.

Thanks Kosy - so they are quite useful then, once on the move.

No problems Zoog!

Yeah they are pretty quick, you can fit a freeflowing zorst,
chip em, good airfilter and i reckon you are looking at easily
220bhp. :D

I don't see one being able to corner anywhere near as fast as
an Impreza but they are nice cars.

Are u thinking of getting one?

I sold my integrale evo yesterday, but I won't be going back into the performance market until late spring or summer. Don't know what I'll get. Depends on ££ at the end of the day.

till then its punto turbo diesel for me!

adrian

I have just bought an FTO 2ltr non mivec,
nice car, bit over priced for what they are,
wouldn't stand a hope in hell of staying with a
Scooby, not even remotely close; theres much
more to performance than power/weight ratio;
the FTO has naff all power at 3000revs, the scooby TUNS !

Performance was SO poor, within a week I had to fit a
nitrous kit, upgraded jets to 50bhp yesterday and she now goes quite well 8-)

Great fun to drive, tip-tronic box is sweet, needs 5 gears though;
cracking handling for a FWD, and decent Mitsubishi build quality.

Nitrous has transformed this car tho' highly recommended.

Speed isn't the FTO's strong point, as an overall package the FTO is a decent sports car. Once in the mi-vec range though it's pretty quick.

The later models (97on) do have 5 gears in tip mode.

what put me off was the insurance, I was able to insure my 280bhp legacy for the same money!!

I reckon FTO's are extremly under rated(in manual GPX mivec trim). Although I prefer my Integra, I felt the FTO had more torque and was easily as fast(3rd gear was good from 50>100mph). There was also more grip from the back end, which made it quicker down unfamiliar roads. I certainly had less 'moments' in it than in the ITR. The only thing that lets them down is the lack of a torsion diff in the wet. Oh...that and the very fast steering. Both hands are required at full chat, as even a milimetre of movement in the wheel can see you darting for the nearest ditch