Is this modded FiST a bad idea?

[Barnabycumhat]

https://www.facebook.com/marketplace/item/1481075438947055/



I’m looking at a number of cars right now, but this seemed like a pretty good deal, and is basically the only FiST I could afford right now that isn’t a salvage title or anything. It’s a clean title, 107,000 miles “adult owned”, has maintenance records including tires, oil changes etc.
List of mods:
FSWERKS cold air intake
Cobb front mount intercooler
Cobb turboback exhaust w/ high flow cat
Cobb Accessport (w/ Stage 3 tune)
Cobb rear motor mount
Hawk Street brake pads
Motul brake fluid
Mobile 1 Synthetic engine oil
Konig Dekagram 16 x 8" bronze wheels w/ Nankang NS-2R tires
Hawk DTC-60 front pads (for race use only)

I’d want most of these myself anyway if I could’ve afforded new / lower miles. It seems pretty basic Bolt-ons, no big turbo or anything crazy. I believe he’s the original owner / modder, but will ask to make sure.
It’s been tracked ‘occasionally’ & used in AutoX but the guy is upfront about the hard miles and seems trustworthy overall.
I would take it to get inspected before anything, but assuming nothing major turns up in inspection, does it seem like I’d be getting myself into a trainwreck / endless money pit? Or like a pretty good deal on a fun, reasonably reliable car? What should I expect?

 

[FiestaST27]

I’d say check it out and take it for a spin! Sounds like a good price for a really fun and spirited driving car. Check everything thoroughly and have your personal mechanic with you.

 

[maestromaestro]

It’s “barely modded”. Standard, reputable bolt-ons. I see minimal risk.

 

[SrsBsns]

Those particular mods don't make me nervous but you may be looking to spend some $ on basic maintenance that can come with a 100K mile car. I'd ask about the cooling system to see if he's had issues and if the recall work was done on it since it's a '14.

 

[powermatt]

Those particular mods don't make me nervous but you may be looking to spend some $ on basic maintenance that can come with a 100K mile car. I'd ask about the cooling system to see if he's had issues and if the recall work was done on it since it's a '14.

Plugs and a serpentine belt are the items to do at 100k. Definitely do both if there's no record of either being done. Plugs are a very easy DIY, the belt can be annoying due to the very small clearances between the pulleys and the frame. Check the RMM for play as well if you don't know how long it's been on there.

Otherwise echoing everyone else here, the mods are a good set of bolt-ons. The only thing I'd look for is damage to the heat shielding on the turbo; the cat can be a real pain in the ass to get out, and that shield often gets damaged (or removed entirely) doing the job.

 

[Barnabycumhat]

I'd ask about the cooling system to see if he's had issues and if the recall work was done on it since it's a '14.

I’ll certainly ask. The recalls aren’t such a big deal if not, right? Aside from being something of a glimpse into how well he’s taken care of the car, I could just take it to a Ford dealer and have it all done?
Would that be a dealbreaker for you, or do you think I could possibly use it as a little leverage on the price? I know he’s on the higher end of what the KBB allegedly is for this car with this milage, but that doesn’t really seem to hold true in reality, (at least around where I am) so I don’t know if it would be seen as low-balling to try and talk him down at all.
Sorry if these are all dumb questions, I’m a noob here.

 

[FiestaST27]

Plugs and a serpentine belt are the items to do at 100k. Definitely do both if there's no record of either being done. Plugs are a very easy DIY, the belt can be annoying due to the very small clearances between the pulleys and the frame. Check the RMM for play as well if you don't know how long it's been on there.

Otherwise echoing everyone else here, the mods are a good set of bolt-ons. The only thing I'd look for is damage to the heat shielding on the turbo; the cat can be a real pain in the ass to get out, and that shield often gets damaged (or removed entirely) doing the job.

I was thinking the same about the RMM. Especially Cobb, since it’s pretty soft on install as it is; If he did this a couple years to a few years ago (I’d definitely check it out). And the cat, ooof... that’s what’s stopping me from even installing a High Flow without going BT at the same time.

 

[FiestaST27]

I’ll certainly ask. The recalls aren’t such a big deal if not, right? Aside from being something of a glimpse into how well he’s taken care of the car, I could just take it to a Ford dealer and have it all done?
Would that be a dealbreaker for you, or do you think I could possibly use it as a little leverage on the price? I know he’s on the higher end of what the KBB allegedly is for this car with this milage, but that doesn’t really seem to hold true in reality, (at least around where I am) so I don’t know if it would be seen as low-balling to try and talk him down at all.
Sorry if these are all dumb questions, I’m a noob here.

You can simply look up the VIN for any recalls, in regards to that vehicle. If there is any, and he hasn’t done them, they don’t expire. You can take them to a Ford Dealership and they are obligated to take care of you, if that VIN does show a recall is issued.

 

[Volta]

Mods aren't always a bad thing. That list of mods seems very well thought out, and there's not really any shit quality stuff there. The owner was an enthusiast for sure and it's probably well taken care of.

 

[SrsBsns]

I’ll certainly ask. The recalls aren’t such a big deal if not, right? Aside from being something of a glimpse into how well he’s taken care of the car, I could just take it to a Ford dealer and have it all done?
Would that be a dealbreaker for you, or do you think I could possibly use it as a little leverage on the price? I know he’s on the higher end of what the KBB allegedly is for this car with this milage, but that doesn’t really seem to hold true in reality, (at least around where I am) so I don’t know if it would be seen as low-balling to try and talk him down at all.
Sorry if these are all dumb questions, I’m a noob here.

Ask away, that's how you learn. The community here is really good.

If the recall work hasn't been done, it's not really a problem per se, unless the car has had cooling problems. I'm assuming that if the current owner has an access port to be able to monitor temps and has done some autox/track, the car doesn't have those issues. If you've got the cooling problem, you'll know pretty quickly. Either way you'll want to verify that it's been done and if it hasn't, call Ford and get it done right away.

I don't think you'd really be able to leverage any price on it as it's going to be done for free by Ford if it hasn't already been done.

 

[Dpro]

I would say price is not bad. Look at the condition of the clutch and look into the cost of doing the timing belt. Figure that shit into the pricing and use it as bargaining chip. Otherwise price is not bad

 

[Ford ST]

Yep the timing belt is coming up soon. If it's still on the original suspension shocks and struts should be changed.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[M-Sport fan]

I'm guessing that those NS-2Rs are 225/45-16s?

 

[Dpro]

I'm guessing that those NS-2Rs are 225/45-16s?

It did say it had Dekagrams I believe.

 

[Barnabycumhat]

I took it for a test-drive, got more info from the guy. Looks like the only recall it hasn't had performed is the one for the door latches. Ran the VIN, no issues, but I'm hesitant to pay the 40$ for a CarFax despite it probably being a wise decision. No issue with the cooling system, forgot to check the heat shielding on the turbo, but I'm getting it inspected by the Ford dealership tomorrow instead of trying to find a mechanic out in his neck of the woods. I also forgot to ask when he installed the RMM but I know he's had the car since roughly 80,000 miles so it's been at least within the last 27,000, probably closer to 20k; there wasn't any apparent issue with it but I'll try and ask him tomorrow to make sure. Hopefully it all goes well and I'll take the car off his hands. I love the car and am crazy excited guys, thanks for all the input!

 

[Barnabycumhat]

I just came across this comment on an unrelated youtube video:
"when you go in for servicing they check your obd and might reset to factory to remove the accessport. If that happens you wouldn't be able to uninstall your accessport anymore it would still be married to your car. Would be all bad... just uninstall before going in"
I know this is in reference to a car going in while still under warranty, but do you think that's something I should worry about here considering it's just a PPI? Should I bring this up with the owner just in case he doesn't think of it before taking it to the dealership to get inspected?

 

[Dpro]

I just came across this comment on an unrelated youtube video:
"when you go in for servicing they check your obd and might reset to factory to remove the accessport. If that happens you wouldn't be able to uninstall your accessport anymore it would still be married to your car. Would be all bad... just uninstall before going in"
I know this is in reference to a car going in while still under warranty, but do you think that's something I should worry about here considering it's just a PPI? Should I bring this up with the owner just in case he doesn't think of it before taking it to the dealership to get inspected?

Umm what invasive dealer are you going to lol. The dealers I go to for service do not touch my OBDII port lol. In fact if you are not taking your car in for ECU related shit that is just invasive tactics on their part as their is no reason to check your ECU during a routine service or inspection.

I always suggest people go to Ford Performance dealer if at all possible though as most Ford Performance dealers are used to seeing mods and do not freak.

 

[powermatt]

I took it for a test-drive, got more info from the guy. Looks like the only recall it hasn't had performed is the one for the door latches. Ran the VIN, no issues, but I'm hesitant to pay the 40$ for a CarFax despite it probably being a wise decision. No issue with the cooling system, forgot to check the heat shielding on the turbo, but I'm getting it inspected by the Ford dealership tomorrow instead of trying to find a mechanic out in his neck of the woods. I also forgot to ask when he installed the RMM but I know he's had the car since roughly 80,000 miles so it's been at least within the last 27,000, probably closer to 20k; there wasn't any apparent issue with it but I'll try and ask him tomorrow to make sure. Hopefully it all goes well and I'll take the car off his hands. I love the car and am crazy excited guys, thanks for all the input!

Personally, I'd find an independent to do the PPI. I've not found a single Ford dealer I'd trust to know what they're looking at. I had one try to tell me I needed a full brake service (at $500) once when I knew perfectly well it didn't (learn from my mistakes: just say no to service contracts). As to the OBD concerns... at most they might plug a scan tool in to check to see if it's had a full driving cycle for emissions compliance. They're not going to do more than that because they're not being paid to do more than that.

The turbo shielding isn't a huge deal, but it being absent would put up a flag for me saying "work was done half-assed". The RMM would be hard to feel out on a drive if you haven't felt it new... again, not a deal breaker, but refreshing it will likely be something you want to do.

 

[Ford ST]

I would absolutely pay for the Carfax my brother and his wife recently bought a 2008 Toyota Prius they are just starting out in life. He paid for the Carfax and wow that car had one heck of a service history at the Toyota dealerships. It was nice to know what was replaced on that car and when definitely worth the money.

Sent from my LG-LS997 using Tapatalk

 

[FiST to death]

The 2014 we just bought a few months ago has 145k miles on it and we got it for just under $6k, but that was knowing it was going to need a transmission shortly. We are also on the other side of the country, so I have no idea what the market difference is for a FiST out that way.