Originally posted by azdave
My ears were burnin'. You have to be smart these days about what a car is really worth before you try to flip it. -I never buy a car unless I know I can get my money back immediately by parting it out if things don't work out. Values have fallen seriously in the last two years. -I never title a car if I don't have to. I have sold several with open titles and let the next guy fill in the buyer info. The state never has a record I ever owned it. -I never a title a car that will be parted out. -I never buy a car to resell if it has an out of state title. -I never buy a car with a lien unless the seller goes with me to the MVD to get a free and clear title. I've also flipped 3 Hondas, 2 Mazda trucks and a Malibu Classic in between the cars shown below. Here's my thread from our local az2gnt forum titled... "A Brief History of Time (in Azdave's garage)" I thought it would interesting (or maybe serve as a warning to others) to look back at where I've been in this 2G Eclipse/Talon love affair. The cars are mostly in chronological order starting with the green RS I bought in 2003. Some are shown partially stripped even though I got them whole. Most suffered from severe motor issues.The list ends for now with the white 99 GS I just sold. I might be missing a few other 2Gs that got parted out along the way but maybe it's best I not remember them all. Bought from the Budget Rental car lot in 2003. This is my baby with the LED addiction. Bought with no motor. Sold for parts. Gave away chassis on CL for free. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-2. jpg Bought with huge hole in motor block. Restored fully and sold same day I placed the ad. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-3. jpg Bought with timing belt failure. Parted out. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-4. jpg Bought with no motor. Parted out. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-4. 1.jpg Bought with bad motor. Parted out. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-5. jpg Bought with no motor and completely screwed electrical system. Parted out. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/- 6.jpg Bought with a fried clutch and no first gear. Also had collision damage to the trunk. I was able to drive it home to part it out or so I thought. After selling off many parts, the brother of a former az2gnt member bought it and put it back on the road. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-7 .jpg This 98 GS was literally driven through a brick wall. The guy was real dick and his ad said the car just needed a lower control arm and you could drive it home! He tried to make the car look better by laying the bumper in front of the damage but he set it there upside down! He refused to accept my very fair offer and let it set for another month while continuing his deceptive ads on CL. I told him my offer would decrease by $100 for each week he waited. He eventually called me and I got it for cheap after the long delay. Corivus bought the motor from this one. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/98_gs_wreck/98_gs_wrecked-8 .jpg I almost forgot this one. The only automatic I ever had. A 98 GS with a bad motor. I repaired the engine, restored the cosmetics and sold it. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/98_gs_red/-5 .jpg Bought from a former member here with spun (fused) rod bearings and trashed looks but I'm well on the way to restoring this one. I drive it daily to get some miles on the brand new motor with Ross, Eagle, ARP, components. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-8 .jpg Bought this one in good mechanical condition. Did a full restoration and auctioned on ebay to a buyer in PA. This is one I probably should have kept. Beautiful car. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-9. jpg Purchased 1-1/2 AWD cars from the owner of this Talon. This one had an engine fire and is being restored by Level 7. The other AWD chassis was sent to the scrap yard before he was able to get me access to where it was stored. I got the motor, seats and few other items but most of the 5-spd AWD components were lost to the crusher. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-10 .jpg I bought this last year as a sister to the other 95 GSX I'm restoring. They are one month apart in age and this was very handy to have around for trouble shooting or tracing wires on the other car. I drove this most of the fall until the other GSX was ready for the road. It is awaiting it's final destiny. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-11. jpg I bought this last December with a bad tranny. I was going to part it out but found a good tranny and then did a full restoration. I sold it to the first person who came to see it. http://www.rcaz.com/images/eclipse/a_brief_history/-12. jpg