chig

Hi guys,

I'm new to the forum and I would like your advice. My buddy is selling his 97' Saleen S281 (non-supercharged). It has been basically sitting in a garage for 10 years since he only has 41K miles. Here's thething, he's dropped almost 15K into the car with an 11K custom stereo and 4K in mods to the suspension, intake, and exhaust. He has the receipts for all these upgrades but he doesn't have all OEM parts he replaced. I really don't know how much this car is worth but he told me he would sell it to me for around 15K since I'm his friend. I went to NADA and it fell in the average area. I think it's a good deal since it's around 10-12K less than what I was looking at (2001-2003 boxsters). Do the upgrades decrease the resell value and are the S281 (v2) non-supercharged Saleens even worth collecting? It would be a weekend car for me as well. Here's a pic (from camera phone). The paint is original and flawess in my opinion.


[IMG]local://upfiles/71827/65445F8EE83741E0930F9A82C3517A05.jpg[/IMG]

Jazzer The Cat

Forget the re-sale value, forget what others are collecting, forget what ANYONE else thinks about this car. You are the only one who has to care. As far as value, base it on what a stock GT Mustang is worth and go from there. You have a MAJOR advantage over buying used from anywhere else. You already know where the car has been! You should already know if it has been beat on. No doubt he has told you stories of how it drives how fast it is and such BEFORE he even considered selling it.

I would go with my gut on this (as well as almost anything I buy) It already has a nice stereo (this is a premium in my book ) Sounds like some other nice mods that would be above and beyond the purchase of any other car you buy.

I love this body style (saw a sweeeeeeet S351 at car show and was awesome) and paint is excellent.

BUY IT!

and then POST SOME PICS ALREADY, WE'RE WAITING

The Jazzer

sowaxeman

If Nada says 15k is average, and you know this car to be well maintained and in above average condition then it sounds like a no brainer to me. Is your friend the original owner (you say its a 1997 and its been in a garage for 10 years, so I would assume so)? If not, have you confirmed this car is REAL via the VIN number and the Saleen serial number?

If you are buying it as an investment/collectible then you need to make sure you get EVERYTHING that came with the car from Saleen when it was new (window sticker, letter of authenticity, Saleen documents and all other periphrials) otherwise you need to go on the hunt to get them. You also need to get all the parts back (even if you keep the car as is and have them in a box) that he took off....Saleen Racecraft Suspension and the original intake would be the biggest (exhaust isn't quite as valuable). Collectors WANT that stuff, or it is considered just a driver - which there is nothing wrong with.

If you are buying it as a nice weekend warrior car and not really as a collectible, then $15k seems like a very nice price for a fun car

But as Jazzer said - if this car is what YOU want (and it appears to be a good deal) then by gosh go buy it - and a better camera [8D]

chig

He is the original owner. I was with him back in the day (yeah, he's an old friend) whenhe bought it. He was going to trade it in but they weren'tgoing to offer anything for the car, so it's garaged.

I don't think he has any of the original parts given that the trunk is completely customed-out (i.e. the trunk is just a rack for the stereo system...even the spare tireis gone and a custom 15in kicker is in it's place) I'm sure he has the paper work but I'll check with him. He did send me a interior shot of the head units which I'll attach in this reply. I'll try to get more pics from him. Please, if any of you other members would like to put your 2cents, I would appreciate it. Thanks.

[IMG]local://upfiles/71827/A9B1A05A7C0A436BB24BA2AC7820C737.jpg[/IMG]

Say When

Man,


Just from that one single picture of the dash and head units that car is super clean. I'd say it was garaged for sure. You rarely see a console plaque that's perfect like that. I can't imagine too much that would be difficult to replace if youanted to bring it back stock Saleen. If you like it and want to enjoy it then buy it. Just like Jason said....... there's a lot of value in knowing the entire history of the car. At the moment the sn95 94-98 S281s are the least desireable Saleen to collectors but that will change. Just like 3 or 4 years ago you couldn't give away a fox body Saleen even if it was perfect. Now a really clean fox body will get 3 times the amount a well driven fox body Saleen will. That red car looks really clean.

S281 E

The car does look pretty clean and its always a plus when you know the history of the car. If you really like it buy it. Personally I would do some shopping around to see what I could get at that price.

walc

Forget collector car/investment value; unless you are willing to wait 20 years or so. Remember what your friend was offered, for his car, as a trade.
Make your decision based on how much you like the car. It certainly looks, and sounds, very nice. [8D]

ncponygirl

When I saw the subject line, I thought you were asking if you should buy it for $41K

I wish I had $15K laying around -- I'd call him up and beat you to it.

bmennen07

yes. I would buy it. *IF* I had 15K

PolkThug

Thats a great deal for a low mile and clean car. Nobody has been able to retire by selling a used Saleen Mustang, so don't even sweat the small stuff.