what 2 get

[Towbar]

hi people my name is chris, i am considering buying a starlet turbo, but as i have been a honda owner for over 4years am not to sure what i shud be looking for?

i used to drive a VTI which was very quick, i gave a white GT ago abt 3months in exeter and there was sod all in it. so ith the GT being cheaper insurance i am go for 1.

any advice etc. will be much appreiated thanks people

[gaz]

not really check the general things and no blue smoke from the turbo i think..

chances are the car will have scratches because most of them do.

[Towbar]

cool, thts sumin i didnt know. whts the general rule for turbo timers then? like with them being legal/illegal?

[gaz]

there not illeagal. insurance companys just dont like them.

[Towbar]

fair play, whts parts like for them? any specialists around the southwest??

[STARLETPOWER]

where you from in the southwest?

[Simon]

Turbo timers are not illegal but leaving a car running unattended is so really defeats the idea of a turbo timer

Buyers Guide

All Turbo starlets are imports unless itâ??s a UK car thatâ??s been converted.

First off here is some background into imported cars from Japan:

The Japanese Car Market

Japan has the largest domestic car market in the Far East, with major car manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan, Honda, Mitsubishi and Mazda proving popular across the world as well as Japan. Due to the limited space for road vehicles in Japan strict regulations along with other factors have shaped the market to favour part-exchange towards the purchase of new models. As a result their is virtually no domestic used car market in Japan, and a rapid depreciation in car prices.

Intense competition means that models are constantly being upgraded or re-designed, and many extras are fitted as standard, which would add thousands to the price of a UK car.

Shaken

â??Shakenâ?? is a strict car registration scheme which operates in Japan. It consists of a series of safety inspections combined with compulsory insurance, weight and vehicle tax. New cars come with 3 yearsâ?? â??Shakenâ??. After this has expired the â??Shakenâ?? must be renewed every 2 years throughout the ownership of the vehicle. Therefore the Japanese generally sell or part-exchange their car as a period of â??Shakenâ?? expires. The cost of renewing the â??Shakenâ?? is relatively high as the Japanese Governments policy is to reduce car ownership due to the limited space available. In fact, the Japanese car owner must prove that he/she has sufficient parking space for each car they register.

Imports

Importing a car yourself can save you quite a lot of money but it is far from simple. This is why for the purpose of this buyerâ??s guide we will just be looking at common problems found with the starlet and things to look out for when going to view.

Bodywork:

This is a good place to start remember the age of the car you are looking at.

Take a magnet and some coins with you.

Use the magnet to check for filler, which is often used by cheap repairs to mask damage.

The coins can be used to judge panel gaps â?? slide a coin down a panel gap, if it stops then the panel gap is tightening up.

If the car is wet, then dry it as a wet car hides paint defects

You will often find small marks and scratches from the import/shipping process.

One thing that is very important is too look for poor fitting panels and uneven gaps a lot of the cars that go through the auctions in Japan have had minor accidents but there often isnâ??t any record of them. If repaired correctly then there is nothing to worry about.

The EP82â??s mainly the Mk1 versions suffered from pealing lacquer on the roof and bonnet so that one thing to check carefully.

Check the car has been under sealed in Japan they donâ??t use the harsh road salt we do so the under seal often isnâ??t up to the standard on European cars this will eventually lead to the car rusting quicker so it a good idea to check itâ??s been done.

If itâ??s a dirty car, offer to clean it â?? whilst cleaning it youâ??ll spot scratches and problems.

Engine:

Hereâ??s what you do...........

First check under the bonnet. Check the following...............

Engine oil condition. Black oil suggests poor maintenance.

Service history. Very important, especially for a turbo engine.

Receipts from previous turbo repairs. Proof of a reputable service history.

Aftermarket turbo remanufacturerâ??s nameplate. Has the turbo been replaced before and by whom? Be suspicious if a reputable company did not carry out the repair.

Oil leaks around the turbo. Signs of a poor turbo rebuild or a worn turbo.

Heat shields loose around the turbo. Sign of a recent replacement turbo.

Painted exhaust turbine housing. Could be trying to hide a poor quality turbo repair.

Water staining around the turbo bearing housing. Leaking water connections.

Alignment of hoses and connections. Poor alignment indicates a badly repaired turbo.

Non-genuine hose clips. May indicate poor workmanship.

Bleed valve on actuator hose. Turbo has been operating at a higher boost pressure that it was originally designed for. This may have damaged the turbo.

Dump valve. Indicates that other engine modifications may have been performed.

Replacement actuator. Uprated actuators are fitted to operate at a higher boost pressure. This may result in turbo damage.

Grip marks on actuator rod. Signs of a recently increased or reduced boost pressure adjustment or problems with the turbo.

Air filter condition. Signs of oil staining on the air filter may indicate engine wear.

Split compressor intake hose. Unfiltered air entering a turbo will cause damage to the compressor wheel.

Exhaust leaks. An incorrectly serviced engine can run weak, causing excessive heat build-up in the exhaust. This leads to warping and cracking of the exhaust manifold and turbine housing.

Non genuine oil filter. A sign of cost cutting when servicing a car.

Retro-fitted boost gauges. Cars fitted with a boost gauge tend to have had the boost pressure increased.

Compressor wheel lift. Movement of the turbochargerâ??s rotating shaft, up and down, is an indication of turbo bearing wear.

Rubbing compressor wheel marks. If you can get the owners permission to remove the air filter hose, check signs of the rotating compressor wheel making contact with or rubbing the housing. This indicates excessive wear in the turbo bearings and means a turbo rebuild is imminent.

Actuator hose cracked or split. This will cause over-boost.

Intercooler damaged or split. This will cause low boost and a loss of power.

Rubbing or split Intercooler hoses. This will cause low boost and a loss of power.

Oil feed hose leaking. May lead to turbo oil starvation and eventual failure.

Oil drain hoses squashed or bent. Restrictions in the turbo oil return will lead to leaking turbo seals and blue oil smoke from the exhaust.

Breather hoses squashed or bent. Restrictions in the breather pipes or hoses may cause blue oil smoke from the exhaust.

Breather system â??one-wayâ? valve sticking. Can cause blue exhaust oil smoke.

Up rated or non-genuine exhaust system. Reducing the exhaust back pressure with a free flow exhaust system can cause oil leakage from the turbo oil seals, leading to blue exhaust oil smoke.

The coolant should be bright red. If itâ??s a different colour then ask why - the system could have been overhauled as routine servicing or there could have been cooling issues with it previously. If the coolant is dark and murky and you canâ??t see through it then either knock a few hundred off the asking price (or enough to cover draining system, re-core of radiator, replacing water pump, renewing thermostat, cleaning reservoir and flushing the system repeatedly until clean) or walk away.

Next comes the road test. Check the following...............

Start the car from cold. It should fire up quickly and easily and settle into a smooth, but fast idle of around 1200rpm. There should not be excessive smoke â?? although be aware that on a cold day, there will be more visible water vapour but that is not smoke. Idle speed when the engine is warm (temperature needle halfway across the gauge â?? should get there and stay there within 5 miles drive) should be between 700-800rpm without air conditioning on. A/C should add roughly 100rpm.

Rubbing noise on acceleration. Turbo bearings badly worn.

Poor performance. Low boost caused by defective turbo, wastegate mechanism or air leak.

Too much performance. Over boost may be due to an incorrectly adjusted or defective wastegate.

Hesitation - violent. This condition can be experienced when accelerating hard. The boost pressure exceeds a nominal value, leading to over boost (a safety cut out switch). The problem may be caused by a defective wastegate.

Hesitation - holding back. Engine mixture weak, or air restriction.

Pinking or detonation under load. Incorrect ignition setting, poor quality fuel, excessive boost pressure or a poorly maintained engine.

Blue smoke under hard acceleration. Engine wear or defective breather system.

Blue smoke under deceleration. Engine wear.

Check on full lock for noises from the CV joints.

Check the Handbrake is holding well the cables are expensive

Now whilst the engine is at normal operating temperature, leave the engine idling for 10 minutes. Check the following..................

Blue oil smoke at idle. Defective turbo seals, excessive bearing wear, defective breather system or restricted turbo oil drain system.

Black smoke at idle. Worn diesel injection pump or injectors or excessive over-fuelling.

White smoke at idle. Engine damage, cracked cylinder head or head gasket failure. Very rarely caused by a damaged turbocharger.

An exhaust blowout noise from the engine bay is possibly a cracked or loose manifold.

Interior:

Check for excessive wear on the seats and steering wheel compared to the mileage itâ??s done could be a sign of a clocked car.

EP82â??s suffer from electric window motor failure and blower motor failure quite often so check these operate correctly.

The speedo records distance. In Japan it would record in kilometres. At some point it may get converted to read in miles, but its true â??mileageâ? will be made up of a mixture of kilometres and miles. To convert divide kms by eight, then multiply by five to get it in miles.

Simon

[gaz]

now thats help!

[Towbar]

thts superb thanx alot for that i think i mite just print that lot and take it with me as a check list.

i am from exeter,devon.

i have had bad luck on my last 2 cars being complete dogs, so really dont wana get another one.

i paid £1600 for my VTi and in 5months it cost me £700 for parts and labour.

just dont wana get stung again.

[Simon]

£1600 for a vti sounds cheap.

There are alot of cheap starlets about but not many of them are good ones there is alot of trash coming over now.

Simon

[Guest Enzo]

its also worth checking all the shox and the rear strut top mounts aswell,

a known week area in all ep's

[Bilal]

Sorry to hijack the thread but are gt's cheaper to insure than glanza V???

[starletno1fan]

i think so, shudnt be by much though

[lobotomy]

They will be cheaper to insure but only because there value is less really.

[Towbar]

i gotta quote for a GT for £612 fully comp. i have 0 no claims but have been driving for 5years.

didnt think that was bad i was paying nearly £900 for my VTI.