Hello from Switzerland

[chumpy]

Hello to all. Very nice forum you have here.

I live in Geneva, Switzerland, searching for a car to buy as a daily driver and have found someone thinking of selling their AE86. Always have been a huge fan of the 86 and having found one that is supposedly in excellent condition would be amazing.

Don't have much info yet, but it is a 1985 stock AE86 GTI with catalytic convertor. Does anyone have this model or know the exact figures for weight and power (I think around 114hp for 970kg)?

What kind of things should I look out for when I go see it? Rust obviously is an issue, but knowing that the car has recently passed the quite strict Swiss yearly expertise (control) would imply that there is no visible rust.

I have just found this forum and have a lot of reading to do, but since I may have to go see the car soon, would love to have your input.

Many thanks

[JonT]

Rust is the biggest problem. Other than that it is the same for any 20 year old car, things need replacing but everything is available.

[Ivan141]

Nice to see you found your way here, if you do go out looking just make sure to check in the trunk and around the front of the rear fenders. Especially around the rear fenders you usually see some rust.
For the rest it's basicly checking for any mechanical problems. The engine is probably okay if it passed inspection, but be sure to check that it idles okay when warmed up and that oil pressure is within the proper range.

[Widar]

Welcome!

I hope that you find answers to all the questions you need here, this forum has been around for some time and there are some great knowledge stacked!

A standard AE86 has about 124 hp and somewhere around 970 kilos so the 114 hp sounds reasonably thinking of the cat.

[robokill]

welcome

the swiss versions are AFM sensors so they run around 114 bhp. The cars weight depends wether its kouki or zenki.

zenki= 930
kouki= 967

keep us postet

[banpei]

Welcome!
I've seen some good AE86s on a Swiss carpage last year, so they should be available in Switzerland.

[chumpy]

Thanks for all the input. What would be considered a decent price for a very good / excellent condition stock AE86 with less than 70 000km? Any ideas? The guy is not sure he wants to sell, but I need to make him a decent price offer.

Any price quote from any country would help to give me an idea. Thanks.

[Dorito86]

"Decent" is subjective for "special" cars like the AE86. It depends on what sentimental value he places on his car. Objective value for the car you describe would be 3000 to 4000 euro at most in Greece.

But consider that my 1978 rebuilt Mini 1000 goes for 4500 to 5000 euro.

So it all comes down to what the seller considers decent. I'd say go for 3500 and go up to 4000. Any more than that will be a waste if you're even remotely involved with sliding cars around. Otherwise, if you plan on preserving it you could go even higher.

Just my thoughts.

[chumpy]

Sorry about not keeping up with this thread - the guy selling his 86 had changed his mind and I had given up on finding one . However, he is now thinking of selling it again :)and I went and checked it out. A 1986 AE86 GTI with catalyzer, in very good condition . A couple of questions I would need answers quickly before going and finalizing everything.

Engine
This was a bluetop. I had previously tried a redtop and it seemed to me that the bluetop was down on power in comparison. I was under the impression that there shouldn't be much difference between the two. Could it be that this one felt a bit slow cause the car hasn't run much inthe last year, or is there really a noticeable difference in power between redtop and bluetop?

Oil
The engine was idling fine when warmed up but the oil gauge was at about three quarters the way towards "high". Is this ok/normal?

Brakes
The car braked well, but the pedal was hard and couldn't be depressed very much. It seemed to me like the pedal path distance was very short and was high up, making heel toe difficult. The previous 86 I tried had modified brakes so I ahve no point of comparison. Is this normal, just a question of adjusting the brake pedal?

Many thanks

[robotype]

cheers Chumpy,
I have a 1985 swiss zenki. I am not sure if 1986 is zenki but I have never seen a swiss kouki. My car was rust free but I think you should mostly check the rust as Ivan said. All engine problems probably could be solved later and depending on how much you pay the car it is probably worth it (consider the imminent Initial D international boom...it will be like Dragonball Z!!). The only problem I had with this car was overheating but after swapping the radiator and I found out it was full of glue...now seems to run perfct.