Buying a used VS Speedster

Guys/Gals - looking at a 97 VS speedster w/ 2k miles. Looks great, but what are some things I should look for?

Body is in excellent shape - interior is mint. 1776cc engine.

Any help is appreciated.

Where are you located?

I am in VA.

Is the car in va beach too? That is my home town. I am going to be up that way next month. Let me know if you pull the trigger.

Read the "Ready for a Speedster Replica?" post at the top. VS's and JPS's are basically VW Bugs with a fiberglass body so with respect to mechanical aspects treat it like such. With respect to the body look for stress cracks or "spiderwebbing" in the paint which could foretell bodywork and a new paint job.

As was mentioned, a replica going into its tenth year may be showing some stress cracks, and more notably, waves in the body itself. Vintage cars always seem to have a wavy door.

Low mileage isn't always a good thing. Rick had a low mileage car and it became a car-B-Q by way of may engine failures for the new owner when he sold it with about a thousand miles on it.

My Vintage only had either 1700 or 3700 KMs on it when I got it and Vintage turned a deaf ear on me when I had what I felt were some routine questions. Not everyone has had this experience. Remember Vintage puts out about 4 to 5 cars a week and their first priority (?) is to their new car purchasers and probably their wholesalers, then maybe those of us who picked one up after the fact.

Back to what to look for. My VW repair guy was less than thrilled with the way Vintage wired the car; small wires and crowded fuse boxes. Turn everything on at once, hit the high beams and honk the horn a few times. Mine would short out the head and tail lights. That remained my Achilles heel until I broke down and had everything re-wired stem to stern.

Try and find out which engine you have. Mine from 1998 was a GSX build and not the infamous Mexi-crate grenade. The stock 'Monza' exhaust was very restrictive and one of the first things to throw away.

Remember you get what you pay for and enjoy the ride. A stock Vintage is definitely and 'entry-level' introduction to replicars, even if a reseller has a flared one, an 'exacting recreation' listed on eBaby for $31500 with a 1915 pork taco waiting to pass in the engine compartment

PS, don't expect much from the speedometer. Vintage uses a short cable for expediency and they wear out. The brace bar under the dash is in the way for easily going to the longer type 3 cable. Just a nuisance factor.

Paul, I like the way you write. Very very clear. I wish I would have read half of what is on this site before I bought mine. The only good thing about not reading everything... I learned from my mistakes and I have become very familiar with my car's hiccups, farts and gasps. If something was to go wrong, I would still seek out opinions and get 5 different ones before moving forward, but I still enjoy working on it, rather than not doing it myself. If I ever get to the point that I do not want to work on it, that'll be the day that I buy a for sale sign. The new cars fresh off lot are "expected" to be perfect, run flawlessly and give you zero trouble... but I think that used car will have history and you know what to expect or not to expect and you will not feel as bad if you have troubles a month after you buy it. I know that several people have had trouble, some major, a month after buying new and realizing that new does not mean trouble-free.

Del -

Sounds like you've been bitten by the 'bug'. Ricardo gave excellent advice about reading the "Ready for a Speedster Replica" topic on this site. Paul 'WideRidezzz' is also owner of a CRAZY-FAST Speedy by the name of 'Butch'. He definitely knows of what he speaks.

As a matter of reference to the '97 you're looking at, and for what it's worth, I am second owner of a '95 VS. It was a year old when I purchased it with 7K kilometers on the odometer. Our odometer now reads 85K kilometers (relatively trouble free).

It is a daily driver with an 1835/dual Kadrons (we're just cruisers - but we can maintain 80mph hwy speeds for extended periods without a hitch). We're lucky with the fact that the body is still in excellent condition. The car has a few rattles and squeaks, and the top leaks in the rain (as most Speedys do), but what the heck...

I got my money's worth out of this car in the first month of driving it. You will too with whatever Speedy you decide on. TOO MUCH FUN!

Thanks for the advice everyone. The car in in NY - heading up next week to buy it. Luckily, there is a trailer for sale which I may pick up for the price of a private transport.

I read the post on the owning a speedster 3-4 times. I went so far as to visit a Beck dealer in Newport News to get a 'touchy-feely' perception of a replica. So far the bug is still biting.

I manged to get a hold of the Porsche mechanic that was used to maintain the VS. Gave it the thumbs up - said the only thing he did was oil changes and minor tuning.

So the last test will be cosmetic. I am sure this will not be my one and only Speedster purchase.

I wish I could have someone look at it for me that has experience w/ replica porsches that leaves near the car I am buying WITHOUT the fear of losing the car to this person or others. But I guess thats the risk I may have to take.

Anybody in LI NY?

I'm pretty sure you can find a fellow member from the area who can help you; go to the registry at the top of the page and it will give you a member list per area.

Del........ does this VS happen to be white in color and in LI? If so, I may know the car.

Also I wholesale new open deck car trailers...best pricing you can find.......... used trailers alway$ need work

~Alan in Pa.

I must interject after reading Pauls comments concerning how he was treated by Kirk. Kirk treats everyone equally, regardless of who they are, he has orders waiting in line and has no reason to treat his "new" customers any different than the guy off the street, if he was treated differently, there had to be a reason.
I have been dealing with car guys for 40+ years and he is one of the most easy going and stand up individuals I have ever met.....

We have discussed the fact that he produces the most cars of all the manufacturers, but his prices are reasonable for what you get, and nobody stands behind their product better than Kirk....

I am not a Vintage owner at the present time, but when and If I buy another speedster, it will be a Vintage.....

Vintage this, Vince! LOL

This VS is Silver/Red.

I agree with Vince.

Vince,Vince, Vince....
"Kirk treats everyone equally. regardless of who they are". Is Kirk the Second Coming or are you Kirk's new Towel Boy... Give me a break Dude! You're making it sound that EVERY car he has built (or business transaction) it's been a paragon to the speedster community and..."there must be a reason" to be the fault of the complaining party. Even if you were right, for the amount of cars he cranks out in Mass production (for us good Catholics :0), statistically, Jehovah D. is bound to f-up or dismiss it for "there must be a reason", other than the obvious reality.Hey Vincenzo... "Treats" this "Equally!" (O:~R

eh, dis here place iz sound'in more and more like Nuw-Jorzie....
yuz no wad i'm say'in.... uh?

Rick, and all the rest of you guys, I am nothing more than than an ex speedster owner at this time, I don't know $hit about Jehovah, any of his witnesses nor have I been a very good Catholic over the years, Fact is I've been excommunicated from the church more than once if that's possible, but I have nothing but good things to say about Kirk, his wife Mary and their business in general, I never said his cars were perfect, or that some of you haven't had problems with his cars, just that he stands behind them and bends over backwards to help when you do have problems...I imagine with the attitudes that some of you have, that isn't always easy.....
I must also say I have never dealt with any of the other manufacturers, so I can't comment about them, but when someone makes a comment which I don't agree with, you may expect me to reply....

Me too Vincenzo. Moved on to a Cab 911 (O: Now seriously, don't think when Paul got his lid back from VS with a bonus nose hair and paint drips, his "attitude" had anything to do with the quality of work nor the lack of correction offered after it was pointed out upon receipt.Same for my Taco motor and restrictive VS exhaust blowing after 1K pampered miles. Let's be fair in pointing out that your experiences have been stellar and others not as stellar with the customer not always at fault, with or without the attitude. Hey, but I still luv that James Dean shirt you got me.~R

Wear your shirt proudly my friend......

I don't understand where religion comes into play on this topic?

It was in jest with the intent of keeping the different view point light hearted. (Kirk is human like the rest of us and not a God).Lighten up, I didn't mean anything bad by it.~R

Rick, it is good to see you back here on this sight and for a couple posts none the less....I thought you got cought up in the dark side over with those rennlist folk...So what is exactly is the auto staus like these days???? Do share!!!!

Hey SpeedsterBro,
I was only on the RennLISP to read your Portuguese (F-something, if I recall :O) I'll send you a pic of the latest garage decoration I bought myself for Father's Day. The file is too big to load up,unlike the old days on SOC )O: (I know Vinzenco... "Contribute, you cheap Portugueee bastard!").

Luis, Not sure when I'm going to visit the Terra Natal. However, when I do, I'll let you know because I'm a boat guy too. I almost bought one of those inflatables when I sold my Scarab. There's a rep in the US and the promo video footage from the races in South Africa were Liquid Viagra.Abraco.~R