...and it's got some issues. The dealership was closed yesterday, so I couldn't ask them what's up, and I thought someone here might clue me in.

Other than the two things I'm asking about, it's a clean looking bronzish-red late '80's RS with an automatic. Interior looks decent, dash isn't cracked, paint looks good with no signs of plastic or overspray. I haven't heard it run or looked under the hood, so no joy there.

The problems?

There is some sort of big silver module (about 5" by 8") hanging down from behind the glove box. It's still plugged into the harness. What is this, and why would they be messing with it?

The rear hatch isn't seated all the way, and it appears to rock on the center point. I'm assuming something with the hatch latch is wrong. Is that a common problem, and how hard is it to fix?

Any ideas or advice?

I'm an ex-mechanic, so I'm not scared of repairs, but I don't want to pay too much or find out the car's total junk the hard way.

 

as far as the silver box. i would assume it is the computer. no clue as to why it is down. but with the hatch, it is electronic i believe. i used to have one, and they pull the hatch down when you close it. it pull sit all on its own and seals it. it may be a bad release or they have the battery disconnected and it didn't pull it down. i would wait until you go to the dealer and see what they say. it could be a number of things.

 

Sounds like the PCM is dangling down. Not sure why they would pull it unless there are some gremlins in the car that someone was trying to figure out. As for the hatch, it sounds more like an adjustment issue.

 

Agreed. Although I wouldn't jump to conclusions, might have been a recent chip change and they didn't seat it properly?

As far as the hatch goes, you can buy a good motor for around $100.

 

I went back to the dealership after work yesterday and talked to the "gentleman" in charge.

The car is an '89 RS, and it has "the big motor, the 350", and he doesn't know what the mileage is and "it doesn't matter anyway, cause it's an '89 so it's exempt". If it was a "'98 or newer, I'd know what the mileage is but I can't tell you on this car". It's "real clean though... nice interior".

As a side note, I thought that RS models only had the 305, but I'm not sure about that.

The PCM is hanging loose because they "had the car running okay" and then "it just quit" so they're "gonna replace the box".

He doesn't know why the hatch isn't shut properly, so it may just be a disconnected battery like you guys suggested.

I asked him how much he was asking for it once he had it running again, and he wouldn't tell me. I told him I wasn't asking for his out-the-door number, I just wanted an idea.

He said that they would be asking "4 or 5 thousand like" for it.

I think I'm going to take a pass. I want a 3rd gen, but not bad enough to take a risk on this car.

It's probably a 305, it's an automatic, it has potential driveability issues, it's overpriced, and the dealer seems kind of shady. Although that could just be regular used-car salesman type stuff.

Thanks for the advice guys.

 

The 'big motor' comment is relative. Even the 305 is bigger than most regular cars have now. Since the pcm was hanging down, they haven't figured out what is wrong with it yet, and the rear hatch could be the battery being disconnected, hatch motor or common hatch contact problems.

At 4-5 grand it's overpriced, but you could negotiate that seeing as though they can't figure out what's wrong with the car.

 

Run away from this car as fast as you can....4/5k

 

He specifically said that it had the 350. He's either lying or misinformed, and in any case I'm sure it's not the last piece of incorrect info he would give me.

It's way overpriced, and I doubt he'd come down far enough to make me interested in a potential problem child.

I'm going to keep looking.

 

you can get a 89 RS for $2,500 just about any where. RUN! Check Ebay.

 

If he says it has a 350 he either has no clue or is lying or just doesn't know. rs came with a 305 as the biggest motor they could get. check the brakes if it has drums in the back it is a 305.even the 305 tpi cars came with drums in the back.if it is a 350 then someone changed it. i had a 92 rs 25th anniversary edition.the reason i got rid of it was it could only come with a 305 and I wanted a 350 six speed z28.well it seems you have made up your mind just throwing in my two cents.have a good one.

 

Thanks for the advice. I'm not hard-core shopping right now since I have to sell my DD Cobalt first.

 

I bought an 88 IROC-Z with 80K tpi 305 for 2400....check cars.com

 

every car is different but that's a high point for that year thirdgen. 91-92's are the only one's pulling that right now and again they need to have some good work done to them.

 

There are plenty of clean stock and modified thirdgens that are worth $5k and well beyond, but that car certainly isn't one of them. A run of the mill 89 RS with the TBI 305 and 700R4 is a very common car and you can buy them all the time for $2500 in nice shape. A clean IROC, Z28 or GTA can certainly be worth $5k, but for an RS to pull that money, it would have to be something real special or have virtually no miles.