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Looking at buying this one

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:51 pm
by xyrgen
Hi I'm looking at buying this FTO

http://www.tassiecars.com.au/detail.jsp ... =0&ti=true

just wanted some opinions as to whether it's likely to be worth the money.

Or if anyone from tassie or victoria has a better offer for me. Unfortunately I have a limited budget so nothing over $5000.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:55 pm
by xyrgen
btw I haven't had a chance to get an rac check done on it as yet but will be before buying. So in terms of opinions please just assume that it passes the check.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Sat Jul 21, 2012 6:02 pm
by ObsidianRadio
Seems like a decent FTO for the price...Not much about it but it looks like it's in alright condition, and you can't really complain much for $4500 :)

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 2:43 pm
by xyrgen
Yeah thanks, that's what I thought but I don't know much about cars. Now I've just got to hope it doesn't sell before I get the cash together have got the money arranged but won't have it at hand for a couple of weeks.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Sun Jul 22, 2012 8:28 pm
by Daniel2019
Looks like either the front bar has been replaced or the bonnet and hood paint has faded. Is it just me or are the colours off? Hard to tell from photos :scratch:

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 12:30 am
by xyrgen
Don't know about the paint work I can't see any differences from the pics. Eitherway I'm taking it for a test drive on saturday.

I've never driven an fto before (or anything other than a festiva and a kluger for that matter am only on my L2's just got to master parallel parking before I can sit for my p's) anyway I've read great things about their handling but what are they like for slow speed manouvers?

I have no doubt that it'll be better than my festiva as it didn't have power steering and steered like a boat at at slow speeds.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:14 am
by Taz
Cant tell whether its a GR or a GPX, that will play a determining factor in if said price is reasonable, also if it has been in a prang, and how well the car has been kept over its lifetime.

IMHO if its a GR, been in a prang and had a poor maintenance history, you can definitely do better for 4500.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 3:41 am
by xyrgen
I spoke to the owners local mechanic about it today (without telling the owner) he says that I shouldn't have any problems with it. Haven't had an official check done yet though.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 11:35 am
by Daniel2019
Bonnet and hood.. woops! I meant bonnet and roof :lol:

If you get a proper check and its all clear then go for it :thumright:

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2012 1:46 pm
by crosso
I can notice the colour difference, only because it was mentioned though. And its only very slight
Asked my mate if he noticed anything wrong with the picture and he couldn't spot it.

I brought mine when I was on my learners, only took a few days to get used to being low to the ground and having a less visibility (only because I came from driving an SUV before it)
They handle really well, you'll have a lot of fun zipping around in it for sure. And the best part is when youre on your P's, police will see that it's a sports car, only to realise its completely legal.

of course as Taz said, you'll definitely need to see if its a GR or GPX. Contact the owner and ask for a photo of the rear? Sticker will tell which model it is. So would the rego sticker but I dont know if Tassie has them so you could also just go and pop the hood and look at which engine it is. It might even show up in your REV check

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:01 am
by xyrgen
@taz it's a gpx

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 1:25 am
by xyrgen
Yeah Crosso that's definately part of the appeal. When I mentioned to my parent's that I was looking at it I got a big lecture on how I could get a newer car cheaper and had to explain to them that part of why I liked it so much is the look. Being a full time student it may be the only chance for a number of years for me to buy a car so I figured I wanted one that I liked to look at and hopefully drive (won't know til saturday but I do like that low to the ground feel). Besides if they had their way I'd be driving a smart car or a getz for the rest of my life. Of course I am 31 and paying for the car out of my own money so it's not like they have much say in the matter. As it is they brought my festiva for me and they complain about it being too small and having no power or power steering more than I do.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:40 am
by shadowarrior
Good luck parallel parking the fto :)
It's a pain in the ass job for beginners. You will get used to it eventually, but for me, bucket seats+ the front dipping down and extending out a little bit at the corners because of the front bar = can't see my car's front :P

I can do everything with my car, but just have not tried parallel parking on tight spots...(have tried around with cones though or the bigger bays)...hence haven't sit for my P's yet :D I value my car's paint way more than the license :lol:

Its a wonderful car to drive and learn plus it's a manual. And yeah, it handle's like crazy, both on slow speed tight corners as well as coming down some twisties at 80-90 :)

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 10:02 am
by xyrgen
yeah paralell parking any car sux but the power steering will make a huge difference for me as I can paralell park the main problem I was having was that my festiva didn't have power steering so you had to really fight with the wheel for those tight manouvers even though it was such a small car so I reckon I'll adjust quickly to the fto even though it's bigger.

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 11:20 am
by Daniel2019
Not difficult to park .. :lol:

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 2:45 pm
by shadowarrior
I never have trouble parking the Pajero :( Damn FTO makes me go super cautious...I even take my sweet time every time I get off/on a sloped driveway. You won't find a single scratch at the bottom of my front bar :P

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 3:04 pm
by ObsidianRadio
I've found that the FTO being such a small car in comparison to others has made parking, especially reverse parallel, an absolute dream! If there's a 4WD in front, you can slip the front of your bumper underneath theirs for extra sneaky and tight parks ;)

The only issue I have is my front bar scraping on the gutter as it flares out a fair bit...I often find myself placed a bit too far away from the kerb thanks to this paranoia!

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2012 4:13 pm
by spency
Im from Hobart so I can't really tell you much about this cars history. Never seen it before. Anything else down this way I could tell you a few bits and pieces about. GL with the purchase. Where in Tas are you from?

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 6:10 pm
by xyrgen
Took it for a test drive yesterday and loved it. Is going fine and has been well looked after, the only things obviously wrong with it were a small scratch on the front bumper (by small I mean less than 5cm from end to end) and the tint is starting to come off on the drivers side. I managed to talk them down to $4000 so I'm definitely buying it, just got to wait a week or so while I call in some cash.

Oh and spency I'm from Howrah

Re: Looking at buying this one

Posted: Sun Jul 29, 2012 6:44 pm
by Kustom
Welcome!

:cheers: