Thread: Need advice: SE-R with blown head gasket and cracked radiator. Worth it?

Sup everyone. Just got into b13 ser's. I'm pretty new to these cars. Looking for one that I can keep for a long time. It's pretty hard to find one around my area, but recently I found one with a blown gasket and a cracked radiator. Guy said those are the only problems, and the car has very little rust with some paint bubbles. Has the original sr20de, but forgot to ask how many miles. Car has faded paint,. No sunroof, which I heard is rare.

About how much would it cost me to get this up and running again? I am sure I can do the radiator but I don't know about the head gasket.

Also is it worth buying one with a little bit of rust? Should I just keep looking for a clean one if I'm planning on keeping the car for a long time?

Also found one that's 3 hours away, no rust, 179k miles, no mods and well taken care of. Only problem is guy is selling for $3500. Is this a fair price for this condition?

Thanks!

I started out back then thinking the SE-R was also worth a lot of money because they were rare around my parts from 2005 up until 2008. But from experience, since the SE-Rs have been popping out for sale everywhere here in Cali for the last 2 years, the average price of a non-running (i.e. blown motor, no motor, or transmission problem) B13 SE-R or NX2000 should be no more than $500. Running cars with major mechanical problems should be under $1000. The most I paid for one was $2500, but that was my first SE-R and it already had some upgrades and ran pretty well. Mind you, there was still some repairs to be done, but most of my money went to upgrades totaling to $7000. However, I have also scored a few deals. One time I found a non-running SE-R for only $350 and the only problem was that it needed a new clutch kit. As for the expensive car you're looking at, $3500 worth can get you a tuned non-aspirated or boosted (turbo) equipped SE-R. Look around for a good car with an easy fix. If you have limited mechanical abilities or do not know a mechanic for "hook-up" deals on labor, I would not recommend buying the SE-R with the damaged head gasket as this requires a lot of know-how and time to repair. The $3500 price on 179,000 miles is very high in my opinion, unless the car was in absolute pristine condition with a healthy motor and good transmission with no major repairs needed.

Like I said, you can save yourself money if you have the mechanical ability to do major work such as engine swaps, in which I recommend buying an SE-R with a blown engine or non working transmission.

If that is an issue, you should just find yourself an SE-R with limited mechanical problems that do not cost much to fix (i.e. cv axle, body part damage, cracked windshield, exhaust leaks, etc.) and not pay more than $2500 in my opinion.

But it also depends on where you live. If rarity is what you're looking for, nobody in town would really notice an "upgraded" sentra econobox from the 90's. I wouldn't recommend buying an SE-R for a high price just because it's rare (I used to think this way back when I was 16, and thought 2000 civic SIs were cool XD) In my city, I'm the only one I know who's owned SE-R classics. Other SE-R owners (I've seen less than 5) are within the vicinity, but live in other cities more than 10-20 miles from me.

blown HG, cracked radiator and rust...are you sure he didnt fat finger a 0 in that $3500? because it sounds like a $350 car.

he isnt talking about the same one..

ive got one for sale 6500 400+hp clean

^^^lol
reading PWNS me!

To give you a estimate on how much you should pay, I paid 1000 for my car with 108k. A decent shape se-r should run you about 2000. 3500 for a car that has 179k miles? No thanks. The head gasket and cracked raidator would suck to get.. That's just what he thinks / what he is only saying is wrong but could be a whole world of problems once you try to fix it.

i bought my SE-R for 2500, had 125kmiles ...

flawless body (no rust, nore dings.) and great interrior (had a little bubbled cracked dash.) already replaced.

And when i took off the valve cover, it was so clean in there.. looked as if it had 70-80kmiles.

But whatever is decided, GOOD LUCK DUDE!