I picked up this T5R last week. I did not even run a car fax. The service light on the far right of the dash stays on, I think. I will take it to my mechanic to check it out very soon. I really did not need to buy it because I also have a nice black 1996 855R that I got like a month ago. This is what I really wanted though. It drives well and I am the second owner. It feels well maintained, but I know that I took a big chance on the car. You might not be able to tell from the pics but hood is more faded than the rest of the body panels. The gap where the hood meets the front quarter panel is not totally straight on the pass side either. I tried to get a pic of that in the first pic. The hood doesn't seem to sit right on the passenger side, but if you look at the headlights the driver's side light looks a lot newer. I hope it wasn't hit, but it feels straight and I will probably never know. I have more pics and maybe I will just reply to my own post to put them up. I should take some pics of the R too. The car feels faster than the R. Thanks to rspi for all of his help and encouragement to buy this car, as if I needed any.

 

Beauty.

Take a look at the bolts that hold the fender on and the hood on. If it was swapped or moved you should see a break in the paint or obvious movement.

 

Thank you, there are no signs of any breaks in the paint. It was female owned. I love this car.
Is it common for the paint on the hood to fade a little differently? I have seen something like this before on a VW.

 

Looks like several panels are fadded/painted different. It's very common for people to get a scratch or dings repaired then the body shop will paint the entire area on a 8 year old car, then it fades at a different rate so you'll get those uneven panels, especially on a lighter colored car. So, when it was touched up it was all likely the same, now 9 years later some are fadded more than others.

That lower lip on the front looks pretty new. Those things take so many road stones they are usually worn out if not broken loose from curbs and high parking stops. Also, the rear spoiler looks pretty clean and a little brighter than the trunk lid.

Heck, what would anyone expect from a 18 year old paint job, yellow at that. Short of waxing it every 60 days and parking it in a garage every night it will have lots of wear and fadding. The clear coat was almost totally worn away on the yellow sedan I had. I waxed it monthly but the first few times I washed and waxed it I was pulling up yellow which means it had no clear coat left on some spots. The waxed stopped the wear and mine looked good. Only one door was plainly a different color. Guess which one?



Overall it looks good. Check your latches, maybe one of them is off causing the hood to move when closed. It's normal for people to replace head lights as well. Road stones can break them. Have fun and enjoy it as long as you have it. I like.

 

gorgeous ride. congrats. the light to the far right is probably the service reminder light. It lets you know service is due on the car. most people ignore it - i removed the bulb last time i had my cluster out.

 

They usually go out after 2 minutes of driving. It can be reset easy with the box under the hood. I just reset mine yesterday. '93 - '95.