anazeron Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 I bought a used 98 legacy gt limited. First car I've ever bought. I am the third owner of the car. I expected there to be bits of weirdness here or there, but a couple things so far have just taken the cake. Like the wheels. Based on a pdf of the manual, I have discovered that it should be rolling on P205/55 R16 87H. What I learned today was how to make sense of that. However what it actually has is P205/55 R15 87H. But it is on the stock wheels. So at some point one of the previous owners made a conscious decision to purchase & put wheels an inch smaller around on the car. What on earth would lead you to make a decision like that? Also the fence-mesh covers on the holes in the bumper next to the fog lights that was screwed in with deck screws was also pretty wtf-inducing. Anyone else got good used car stories? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
am1awmak Posted June 2, 2008 Share Posted June 2, 2008 When I bought my second galant VR-4, the last owner went super cheap and dangerous on some repairs. He repaired the broken fuel line going into the fuel filter with vacuum hose and a couple of clamps. That lead me to doing a deeper inspection on the whole car, he also repaired the broken turbo oil drain line with heater hose and clamps, it was swollen and about to burst because it was right behind the downpipe! When I took the manifold heat shield out, the turbo itself was missing two bolts out of the four holding it because the old ones snapped off and he never took the time to extract the broken ones out. I had a car fire or engine seizure waiting to happen, fortunately I found the problems right away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anazeron Posted June 3, 2008 Author Share Posted June 3, 2008 Wow, driving on a disaster waiting to happen is always a good time. Today I found out that the right fog light has a hole in the top, and was filled with water. I think I may need new fog lights. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rtbrjason Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 I put a smaller diameter wheel on my old SL2. Went from a 195/60/15 to to a 205/50/15. Threw the speedo off a few mph, but also under geared it for slightly better acceleration. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bdubs Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 A few years ago, my 95 wagon hatch was bungee corded shut by the previous owner, because it wouldn't latch, and would flap around if you went over a bump. The lady said she drove around like that for quite a while. All it needed was a $10 handle piece to be replaced. I don't understand people who can't properly maintain their cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
s car go Posted June 3, 2008 Share Posted June 3, 2008 Umm... are you sure you have stock wheels on there? I'm no tire fitting expert, but I can't imagine how it would be possible to fit 15" tires on 16" wheels. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anazeron Posted June 4, 2008 Author Share Posted June 4, 2008 Umm... are you sure you have stock wheels on there? I'm no tire fitting expert, but I can't imagine how it would be possible to fit 15" tires on 16" wheels. what I *think* happened was that it had the GT wheels on it, but the first owner had the left front quarter panel wrecked by the driver's side door getting hit while open, and doing something bad to the wheel. And the only replacement option available was the 15" wheels which were stock on the non-GT models. Or for some reason one day they decided "I do not like these 16" spidery wheels. I am going to put 15" ones on" They're on my to-replace list after I get it repainted since they're kind of in terrible condition...the clear coat has peeled away on a lot of the wheel...which I am also not sure how it happens. I'm also starting to suspect there was some weird accident this car was involved in other than the door with the things like the hole in the top of the fog light, and how the body panels line up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ehsnils Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 You can still use the 15" rims if you just put a higher profile tire on them. That may be useful for winter use where the extra flex that a higher profile has actually doesn't harm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OGG Posted June 4, 2008 Share Posted June 4, 2008 You can still use the 15" rims if you just put a higher profile tire on them. That may be useful for winter use where the extra flex that a higher profile has actually doesn't harm. Yup. I ran 15's on my Impreza for winter. It created more body roll but it was much better on Vermont dirt roads when I was skiiing. I also went one size narrower. 205-55 16's for summer and 195-65-15 snows works great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anazeron Posted June 6, 2008 Author Share Posted June 6, 2008 I suppose that makes sense, but I don't think there was that much thought put in this, given the complete lack of spare tire and all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FJ60 Posted June 6, 2008 Share Posted June 6, 2008 I'm also starting to suspect there was some weird accident this car was involved in other than the door with the things like the hole in the top of the fog light, and how the body panels line up. I hope the car did not suffer more damage than what was disclosed to you. When I was searching for a used car two private sellers in a row looked me straight in the eyes and said they purchased the cars new and were accident-free. When I pointed out clear signs of bodywork (i.e. overspray, trim pieces that did not match in age), the first seller came clean and the second accused me of being dishonest. [FONT=Comic Sans MS][B][I]"Sweep the leg!" - Sensei Kreese, Karate Kid [/I][/B][/FONT] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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