wombat7

I stumbled upon an 89 S2 that's for sale. Its got ~115K on the clock, and is going to need a new clutch within the next 10K miles or so. The exterior is a 9 out of 10 and the interior is an 8.

Now for the questions...

What would you guys pay for a car in this condition?

How big of a job/ how long will it take to complete a clutch job on the car?

Blue S2

Depends on what the PrePurchase inspection comes out with. Maybe $7,000? In the 5 - 9 range is normal for these cars. Anything over $10k is for a really exceptional car and mileage thats low - med.

Then again, thats my opinion on them.

nickg

clutch job 2500 with parts parts only 650 ish. I can't sell my 91 s2 for 5500 with a new clutch(less than 3k miles) so this car has to be in the 2500-4k range.

Sysgen

Just purchased a 1990 S2 myslef with similar numbers, exterior 8/10, interior 8/10 but in my case the clutch has just been done. The timing belt and water pump aren't done but they were inspected. Milage is 157K, I paid 9000 CDN, that's around $7,700 US

From what I hear, a clutch job is both very complicated and expensive. How much is he asking for?

Blue S2

It also depends on what its worth to you. There are a lot of these cars. (well, less of the S2s...) You need to factor what you want the car for, and what you are willing to spend initially knowing that you will be spending more money sooner or later doing maintenance anyways.

Assuming the rest of the two example cars are similar:
A car for 5000 that needs a new clutch now vs a car for 6500 that just had it done ... i would probably take the 6500 car unless i wanted a sportier clutch or something installed. The history is also a variable. To some people, its worth a lot to have full receipts and documentation from day 1. Others dont care for it. Two cars being equal aside from someone asking a bit for a car with history, i would also opt for the history just to have peace of mind before going through everything myself anyways.

It really comes down to how you feel about certain things and what holds value to you.

moronputz

A clutch job involves removing exhaust, rear suspension, transaxle and torque tube before you get to the clutch. Very expensive if you have to pay for it (lots of labour). My car had it done not long before I got it and the labour substantially exceeded the parts costs.

And of course since you have so much out, you will probably want to do a few other things while you are in there. I'd strongly recommend the rear main oil seal since mine was not done and is now leaking.

And if you are going to do it yourself, don't forget that the transaxle weights around 57kg (125lb) so you will need some sort of lift for it.

Don't know US prices, but the advice so far looks well worth considering.

Motation

I live in california and I flew to New Mexico to pick up my '90 S2, 122k miles. I would say 9/10 all the way around with a fairly new clutch (10k) and new timing belt/tensioner. I paid $7,100 for the car and about $350 for everything else (plane ticket, gas, hotel, etc.) As far as the clutch , all I know is that is very involved and I wouldn't want to do one by myself. Here's my new baby for reference.

wombat7

I'm really not sure what he's asking for it at this point. We haven't really talked numbers yet. I don't really have the money right now, but I may be able to work something out with him.