Keep it, or ditch it?

Alright, so I've got an '88 LXi 4-door. It's got about 230,000 miles on the original motor. I've done absolutely nothing to it. The A/C compressor is out, the exhaust is about to completely fall out from under the car, the radio isn't even factory and doesn't work, and the I can't turn my headlights on bright or the stupid things turn off, and the paint (a burgundy/purple color) is so faded that it's starting to turn white.

Ok, so I guess my question is, should I keep it or sell it or what. I would love to repaint, and rework this car back into shape, but I don't know if that would be a smart idea. Everybody here seems to know more about this than me and I'm new to this site. Sorry if this sounds completely stupid, but thanks for the advice.

well there really good cars but evryone will tell u tell keep it there a blast to drive not to fast but fast enough

well it depends on what youre really looking for, most of us here have our cars and modify them cause we dont want to be like everyone else and drive a car that you see everyday. id keep it but its all up to you wether you like enough to make it look and work good. :welcom:

As long as there is not to much rust then go ahead and fix her up. These things are all over the place and parts wont be to hard to find.

I know what you mean about the speed factor, it's a 5-speed and I can pull 80 in 3rd gear almost red-lining, 100 in 4th, no joke. I just don't know if it would be smart to spend the 1G it'll cost to get it back in good condition. As for being fun to drive, that's an understatement.

As far as I know there's not very much rust just fading. Also wondering if it'd be smart to do any work on the engine...like intake, headers and so on?

well search arouind the site and see what u come up with ur luckey your 3g is fuel injected and intake is easy to do besides us carbed guys that have to make everything custum, but ya pick up a pacesetter header and some magnaflow exaust, cai and some laughing gas and it will be a fun little car

I think you should consider getting rid of it. The motor might go for another 100k or so, but at this point how long it lasts is dependent on the kind of care it has received, and judging by the state of the rest of the car, it doesn't sound like the previous owner(s) put a whole lot of love into it. You might want to run a compression test (not hard). Just get a gauge and take out the plugs (put some new ones in while you're at it).

Take a look at the suspension. How are the shocks, does the car return to stability quickly after bouncing it up and down with your arms, or does it continue to bounce a few more times? Look at the rubber bushings in the suspension, are they worn? How about the boots on the cv joints? How about the coolant hoses, radiator leaking, tires, exhaust (has it passed emissions?). In short, you can spend way more than $1k, waaaayy more, and still have a car just worth a few hundred bucks with a crap paint job. Try to get a handle (without the rose-colored spectacles) on what you are really facing to get the car into decent shape. Then go see what you can buy for that amount of money, from someone who got sucked in like you are about to be - I'm thinking you can do better by selling it now and buying someone else's discounted time and money.

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Originally Posted by Ric

I know what you mean about the speed factor, it's a 5-speed and I can pull 80 in 3rd gear almost red-lining, 100 in 4th, no joke. I just don't know if it would be smart to spend the 1G it'll cost to get it back in good condition. As for being fun to drive, that's an understatement.

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That's really all you think it's going to cost?

it all depends on you. you can fix it up like wut i did. i have a engine and trans and it cost like 1g for that and i already have spent like another grand on other stuff like , Performance air filter, new stuts(made the car handle better), starter, power stearing pump, better rims, trying to fix the body, and painting the interior, i have a muffler and headers comming in and i need to get a CAt. BUt my car blew a head gasket so i cant drive it till i get it fixed...it also made me wonder if it was worth fixint the car if everthing else that is 18 years old is worth it. you could sell it or try to fix the little stuff to drive it arround untill you get money to get another car or if you like it just fix everything

My car's going to be completely new when I'm through with it. it's just happening veeeeeeery slowly...

I would go buy one in good shape, maybe a coupe (cuase they are superior) or a hatch (close second ..... im gonna get flamed for this XD)
Use your old car for any parts you need, and then sell it to help with the cost of the new car. For the grand it would take to redo yours, youd be most of your way towards a really decent new car.

drive it into the ground....