Want your opinion on a sho

[Mrcad3]

So I’m looking at a 91 black show plus and I just want some pointers on checking it out. I want to be sure it has 103k miles not 203k In the pictures I haven’t seen much wear on the steering wheel shifter or consol so seems legit. Also what’s the common rust points and other things to look for thanks guys

 

[luigisho]

Did you run the VIN? Sometimes vehicle history shows mileage at repair or service or inspection entries. or maybe even when title changes hands. haven't looked at one in a while

Common rust points are rear wheel fender area, gas filler just below the bottom of the door, bottom of all 4 doors, rocker panels, rear of the car at the bottom of the trunk lid and below the taillights. I had a northern car as my first SHO and had rust pretty much on all those spots.

What are they asking? All the seats look beat up. What's the underhood look like? I wouldn't buy this as a daily driver sight unseen. Have a back up vehicle

 

[Mrcad3]

Did you run the VIN? Sometimes vehicle history shows mileage at repair or service or inspection entries. or maybe even when title changes hands. haven't looked at one in a while

Common rust points are rear wheel fender area, gas filler just below the bottom of the door, bottom of all 4 doors, rocker panels, rear of the car at the bottom of the trunk lid and below the taillights. I had a northern car as my first SHO and had rust pretty much on all those spots.

What are they asking? All the seats look beat up. What's the underhood look like? I wouldn't buy this as a daily driver sight unseen. Have a back up vehicle

He bought it from the original owner so it hasn’t passed hands many times. And the sho seats are notoriously bad when baked in the sun lol and it will be my daily driver

 

[Mrcad3]

Did you run the VIN? Sometimes vehicle history shows mileage at repair or service or inspection entries. or maybe even when title changes hands. haven't looked at one in a while

Common rust points are rear wheel fender area, gas filler just below the bottom of the door, bottom of all 4 doors, rocker panels, rear of the car at the bottom of the trunk lid and below the taillights. I had a northern car as my first SHO and had rust pretty much on all those spots.

What are they asking? All the seats look beat up. What's the underhood look like? I wouldn't buy this as a daily driver sight unseen. Have a back up vehicle

Also I think I will pick it up for 2-3 grand and I will see it in person on a lift before pulling the trigger

 

[zoomlater]

Welcome! I would ask if there is any history of the maintenance done on the car. Engine bay looks pretty rough, but the paint looks decent. Get a Carfax so you can see what the true mileage is on the car.

 

[luigisho]

Any car this age is asking for issues just because of plastic and rubber degradation. Much more wiring issues popping up lately. I would have a maintenance fund handy and get a used factory repair manual from ebay. They are cheap and you will need it

 

[Mrcad3]

Welcome! I would ask if there is any history of the maintenance done on the car. Engine bay looks pretty rough, but the paint looks decent. Get a Carfax so you can see what the true mileage is on the car.

New paint a year ago and he has a list of things he had done since he purchased the car How much is a carfax ? And honestly I thought the engine bay was pretty clean given it’s almost 30

 

[Mrcad3]

Any car this age is asking for issues just because of plastic and rubber degradation. Much more wiring issues popping up lately. I would have a maintenance fund handy and get a used factory repair manual from ebay. They are cheap and you will need it

I expect some little things to break its 30 years old and it will be a daily driver but how will it hold up drive train wise all the ones I’ve every been around seemed to be indestructible ........ unless the diff pin or clutch exploded

 

[zoomlater]

Take a look at this car that sold last year. This was a great deal for buyer of a car this clean. Do the records show the major front and upper 60K services? Carfax can run around $40 dollars or so. You can get an Autocheck on ebay that give you the basics, but not full history like a Carfax, but its pretty inexpensive.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1989-ford-taurus-sho/

 

[Mrcad3]

Take a look at this car that sold last year. This was a great deal for buyer of a car this clean. Do the records show the major front and upper 60K services? Carfax can run around $40 dollars or so. You can get an Autocheck on ebay that give you the basics, but not full history like a Carfax, but its pretty inexpensive.

https://bringatrailer.com/listing/1989-ford-taurus-sho/

If I can get a vin I’ll will run it. But he had a large list of things were done I assume that The 60k service was part of it but if not I will be doing it ASAP

 

[Airborne]

I have bought and owned many 1st GEN SHO's and the most I would pay for that is $1000. I bought this last year for $2500. Original paint, original owner, all repair documentation, documented miles, QUAIFE differential, garage kept, no rust, no cracks in the dash.

https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/found-and-bought-a-1989-titanium.138487/

 

[Mrcad3]

I have bought and owned many 1st GEN SHO's and the most I would pay for that is $1000. I bought this last year for $2500. Original paint, original owner, all repair documentation, documented miles, QUAIFE differential, garage kept, no rust, no cracks in the dash.

https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/found-and-bought-a-1989-titanium.138487/

So basically everyone is telling me unless it’s a 1 owner car with all documentation it’s going to bankrupt me and that 2500 is overpriced I didn’t realize nobody daily drive these anymore

 

[zoomlater]

A lot of the members still daily drive their SHO's. 2K to 3K is a bit high for this car unless the owner can show records it was well maintained. I would buy a lower mileage car or a well maintained one if I was looking to daily drive it. Even then, it is still a good idea to have a backup car when one goes down and you are not rushing to find parts or repair it. There are well maintained cars out there that come up for sale occasionally. You just have to be patient or willing to take a road trip to find the right one.

 

[Airborne]

For the most part, I daily mine, but I have a backup for when a sensor goes out and it takes me a week to source one.

What were saying is any 1st GEN SHO you buy will bankrupt you, well just like a car payment would, whether it is low or high mileage. Dont think you are going to buy one for $2000 and daily it and that's it. Plan on spending a car payment worth on maintenance.

We are also saying this one is priced too high.

 

[zoomlater]

This car looks like it was maintained by the owner. Clean, nice mods. You may pay more up front, but in the long run, you can end up spending less than buying a semi project and putting money/labor/mods into it


https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/94-green-mtx.140020/

 

[sperold]

I daily drive my 90 SHO and it has not bankrupted me (yet). And I am in Canada where rust rather than sun is the ruination of a car.

I have found the first gen cars to be reliable, once you get the clutch renewed and all small problems solved.

I have the Canadian model with the kilometer units and mine reads 320,000 kms, so 6 digits before the fractional white roller on the far right. I may be wrong, but I think only the 89 model had the 5 digits, so most likely your mileage would be correct.

However, your interior does look overused for a low mileage car, so beware. Have a good look at your clutch pedal, brake pedal outer rubber surfaces.

In a low mileage car, the AC should work, along with no antifreeze smell inside the car with the heater turned on. You have to lift the dash to replace a heater core, so scout that out carefully.
If it needs a clutch, it will be between 1K to 1.5K, and all my SHOs needed a clutch soon after I purchased them, so look long and hard for that info in you dive into the history.

The car looks good to me and the price is not terrible if it has had the clutch redone and there are no other expensive issues. And you don't need me to tell you to try and get it for as low as possible.

Good luck, in my opinion, the gen 1's are the nicest of the bunch, and a plus is even better.

 

[zoomlater]

buy this car and take off the Robocop stuff (or not) and you will have a car with a bunch of new parts already installed and new paint
$3500 starting bid, no reserve - go to the end of the post for the new link to the car

https://shoforum.com/index.php?threads/robocop-sho.139549/