Dominus

Thanks again for all the advice guys

Yes, you are right in what you say, however I merely suggested that the clutch felt a lot lighter and smoother after the repair, than what it did when I bought it. I'm honestly not accusing the seller of being shady, but surely he would pick up on changes in clutch behaviour after owning the car for 10 years. He specifically told me the clutch was real stiff and that I need a leg of steel to drive it. After the repair the clutch is not much heavier than my old XR5's clutch. Once again Im not accusing anyone of anything, and its not like any mechanic would have picked up on the issue either unless they pulled out the gearbox. I just know I got smacked with a big bill 7 days after buying the vehicle and only putting on ~200 docile 'travel to work and back in traffic' km's after I had spent nearly 20k on it. Be it guilty conscious, or just the traits of a decent person, the seller instantly agreed to pay half the bill. Im not an as*hole, but where there is the smell of sh*t, you can bet your bottom dollar that that piece of sh*t is lying somewhere close by. At least all is well that ends well. I believe I handled the situation correctly, and at least the car is in A1 mechanical condition, confirmed by the mechanics, and I can go on to enjoy this wonderful car.

Thanks for all the helpful answers fella's! Quick update. Made a few calls this morning and cheapest quote I could get was $700, with Monday being the earliest they could help me out. With no other immediate option I went to Bridgestone, who were happy to get going at it right away. Paid $850, and the job was done by 12.30ish. Im still not happy with the price, but I think mechanics might generally be more expensive in the GC Brissy area (?), and I was willing to take the $150 hit over the best quote I could get this morning, in order to get it done today. The good news is that the rest of the clutch is fine and still in good nick! The leak was small and hadnt contaminated the clutch plates. The car now feels better than ever. The clutch was so overly tight when I bought the car last week, and I was too stupid to notice. Love at first sight made me think with something other than my brain I guess lol. Considering the seller was the first owner, he definitely knew something was up when at some point the clutch started going overly stiff. He probably got a quote and figured he didnt wannna deal with the issue and passed it on instead (it seems harsh, but I guess you cannot trust someone just because he lives in a nice house and clearly has lots of money). Who knows really, but Im kind of considering contacting him and in a very polite manner explain the situation and ask he fit half of the bill. Hes probably going to tell me to take my story walking, but I have nothing to lose really. I'm just glad I can now enjoy this beautiful car again, pockets lighter and all! @Elusive Its comforting to hear that this issue is more common than I thought, and that Im not the only one who has gone through this. Thanks mate. @Skid Haha I was honestly feeling a little sorry for myself last night, cracked a few beers and drowned a few sorrows lol Im definitely going to get the rest of the fluids done myself this weekend! Definitely dont want to risk the same happening to the brakes. @aaronm Thanks mate, CSC is alloy now. The guy working on it today said he couldnt understand why the clutch was replaced with a heavy duty one and the CSC was left standard.

Thanks Puff. I will have to give them a ring, along with a few other places in the morning. Thanks for the responses guys, will let you all know how it goes.

Does anyone know if insurance covers this kind of thing? I actually have the clutch insured for $1200 or something, only thing is that my policy has only been going for 8 days so not sure how this would go down.

@Ralph Thank you very much for informing me of the price guys. Guess I will have to haggle with the guy or take the car elsewhere. Any recommendations in the Gold Coast area?

@Jet Thanks for the reply mate. The car definitely wasn't leaking anything before hand so I guess I'm just unlucky. Oh man, that would seriously kill me if the whole clutch needs replacing! I really hope this is not the case. Thank you, I will check the slave cylinder if its been leaking from the pedal.

Ah mate, I was actually just telling my brother how I dont think Im ever buying used again, even if that means having to drive a pos cheap little 1.4l hatchback lol. Yeah, He hasnt driven it much for the past 3 or 4 years - few thousand km's. My old man was saying the same thing as you - that seals must have gone. As much as what I would love to take this job on myself, I dont think I'm going to have the time, or knowledge in this case. I mean I've fitted intakes and intercoolers myself, but I havent removed and refitted a gearbox before. I need the car fixed ASAP so that I can get to work and back, and I dont think I'll have the time to attempt a job like this this weekend. I guess I've already swallowed the $900 pill at this point. I just hope I dont get more surprises like this, because I wont really want to fund it. Thanks for the advice Rob.

Hi guys, As some of you may have read on another thread I made - "want to buy an F6 advice needed", I ended up purchasing a manual 06 BF MK ii last week, and its been great, all the way until today that is... I noticed last night that the clutch felt softer than what it should, and that there was clutch drag I.e. the release point was much lower to the floor than it should be. On the way home from work today I basically couldn't even get the car into gear. I pulled over, opened the bonnet and noticed my brake fluid had run completely dry and that it was leaking very slowly from under the driver side. I walked to Jaxx, who'm I knew didnt even deal with this kind of issue, but the boys were kind enough to jack her up. Turns out the master slave cylinder had gone (according to them) and needs replacing ASAP. They sorted me out with a booking first thing in the morning at Bridgestone. I also learnt that the cylinder is internal and that the entire gearbox has to be pulled out to replace the part, setting me back nothing less than $900 - mostly due to labour costs. Now, the reason for this thread is to ask some of the fella's here with more experience with these cars if this is something that potentially was known to the seller. I mean, I got along with the guy real well, I went to his home and met his family, and he didnt seem to have any reason to screw me over. But, that being said, how unlucky must I be to have something like this happen a mere week after buying the vehicle? Come to think of it, I have on 3 different occasions struggled to get the car in gear - even on the day I test drove it, but I thought nothing of it because the clutch felt fine, or at least what I thought was fine - like a racing clutch - real stiff (or could this potentially be due to rust?) I dont even know. I just know that I cant help but feel done in, and that I dont even know if I can trust anything on the car now - are the low km's even real? (72k), what else is going to go wrong etc... I guess I will never know, but I might be a bit more clued up after the work is done tomorrow. Sorry for the semi rant guys, I just dont really know what to do or if I should call the seller to politely ask that he fit half the bill? Once again, any advice appreciated greatly.

Haha thanks mate! I know Im supposed to take the pictures after the wash, just haven't had much chance to take her out somewhere for proper photos since the wash. Might just do that tomorrow though!

Thanks mate! That they definitely are. I gave her a good clean inside and out after taking these pictures and the car looks pretty A1.

Proud new owner of the 06 BF since Tuesday night. Car is spectacular and havent been able to get out from behind the wheel! Will post better pics soon.

Mate, I think I was sold on this thing long before I even went to view it lol. Its actually in really good nick overall. I noticed it doesnt mind low revs when putting about in 2nd or 3rd, but it definitely wants a bit more when pulling away in 1st. Its something I'll get used to quickly, but I've stalled the car twice already lol

Okay, so the starter button issue turns out to be the spring that got tired on the original button. He simply replaced it with a red 'engine start' aftermarket button. Looks pretty good, and doesn't bother me. Went back to show my old man the car. Its going through a rwc tomorrow. If all goes well I'll be the new owner by Tuesday

Pretty much my thoughts exactly, and they are very similar in price so I thought it a no brainer. The 06 is also a BF2

@arronm Sorry I should have been more clear. I believe the starter button is not the original and the location sits slightly to the right of the original location. Im contacting the seller again now to find out exactly why it was changed. Rob, you are right. Nothing is locked in at this point so I will wait and see what happens on Sunday. I think there might be one in Mermaid Beach I can try and view tomorrow for comparison. Its an 05 BA with 110k on the clock. It has Bilstein shocks, down pipe and high flow race cat. So yeah, in terms of completing unfinished mods there's a bit more money to spend on this one and I'd have to get in contact with the owner rather quickly. Its also the lesser of the two when it come to what looks best to me (06 BF is in 'Silhouette' with dark argent rims, 05 BA is in Vixen Red, but has the standard older alloys). For the purpose of testing both cars though Im going to try to get hold of the owner for a viewing.

Update: Went to look at the 06 BF with 70k on the clock today. Car looks to be in fairly good condition. Took it for a drive, and she pulls like a demon on steroids lol. 342rwkw with 720nm. No funny noises or clunks when driving. Car doesn't like low revs, so you need to give it a little to avoid stalling when pulling away (could be because of tune?). Only reason the guy is selling is because he has 3 other cars and only garage space for 2, and the misses is complaining that her $100K QS5 is sleeping outside while his $20k FPV sleeps in the garage lol. He clearly has tonnes of money, and no time to enjoy this car. Bad points: - No front floor mats. Guy reckons they were looking bad and threw them out. (Are they easy to get hold of?) - Few scratches (2 that I can tell) that wont buff out. - Driver seat has a small tear (cloth seats) - Boot struts need replacing. - Starter button was moved slightly to the right (not sure why, but will check with the owner before purchasing) The guy was a top bloke and was very open and honest about everything. He let me drive straight off the bat and said me and my old man could take the car for a decent drive on Sunday. He was also willing to let it get checked by a mechanic. He is willing to let it go for 19.5k. Pretty sure I'm sold at this point unless the old man picks up on something I missed. The only thing that concerns me is that this is the first one I've been to look at, and because there aren't that many for sale I dont think I will get the opportunity to drive another for comparison, at least not any time soon. Thoughts?

Thanks Kerb, as Keith mentioned I'm in QLD, Gold Coast specifically. Anything from here to Brisbane is accessible for me on a weekly basis. I believe Chiptorque in Nerang are fairly good. I had my XR5 Dyno'd there not long ago and the blokes are great and seem to know what they are doing. As mentioned earlier in the thread, the car had its work done at Elite Automotive in Archerfield which is like 45 mins drive from me. Interesting thoughts on the BF vs FG discussion. As much as I'd love to buy an FG, after careful consideration I dont think I'm going to be dropping the $30K average they are going for. It just seems silly when the car market in Australia is going to be changing a hell of a a lot in the next few years. Thanks Keith, I'll check that that thread out.

You are right, and yes I will be updating this thread as my journey to becoming the proud owner of an F6 commences!

Your advice has been really helpful Puffwagon, thanks again! I will definitely request to get the car checked out, just not sure if I should go to a performance place like Elite Automotive (where the mods were installed, although its an hours drive and not sure how the owner and myself will get time off together to go and get this done) or should I take it to Ford or just a local mechanic? I will definitely bring up the Redbook value, thanks. You make a very good point about selling a modified car, hopefully we can reach a suitable agreement if all is well. I reckon I will be happy if I can walk out with the car under $20k. I'll get a better gauge when I meet the guy though. Locked in for Friday at this point. Will report back on how it went.

@Puffwagon Thanks for the link, great article. Yes, your opinion helps a lot, thank you. To be honest, Im neither 'here nor there' when it comes to purchasing a modified car. I understand the risks involved, and that modifications generally result in reduced resale value, or even ability to sell at all for that matter. On the other hand, I would want to do a few mods myself anyway, so it kinda makes sense to buy it with the work already done and save myself ~$5k. For what its worth, the guy had all the work done at a pretty reputable place in Brisbane, and I believe he still has the receipts for what was done. The fact that hes the first and only owner, and that the car only has 70k on the clock (if true mileage??) also tells me that no other backyard mechanic got his hands dirty fiddling with things, and that all should still be running well, even though its been 8 years since it had the work done. Regarding Redbook, I've noticed that Redbook value is a lot lower than what people are selling for - maybe because they are no longer made and different owners have different expectations..? @skidxr6t Good call. Any way of knowing for sure that the kms are legit?

It has an 11 inch Organic Clutch and Lightened Flywheel. I hear what you are saying, but Im not just after high kw figures. The Typhoons are pretty uncommon to see on the road, while XR6T's are spotted around every second corner. I guess Im willing to pay a premium for that. What would you offer the guy? I was thinking I'd test the waters at $19k. I've only been watching the market for a few months but the 20k mark seems to be fairly standard for a BF with low km? Full list of mods: Nizpro Intercooler - Custom Made Cross-over pipes - Custom 4 inch stainless steel turbo back exhaust - Nizpro Valve Springs - Walbro Intank Fuel Pump - High Flow Injectors - Turbo Exhaust Housing ported - 8 Psi actuator - 11inch Organic Clutch and Lightened Flywheel - Billet Short Shifter - Whiteline Swaybars, Front and Rear - JBT 6 Piston Front Callipers and 380mm Front rotors - Custom tuned by Elite Automotive producing 342 rwkw and 720nm of torque

Im going to look at an 06 manual BF with 70k on the clock sometime this week. It has all the bolt ons installed and was tuned to 340+rwkw. First owner, and car has apparently just been garaged the past few years. The guy wants $22k - fair price?

Yeah, I hear you mate, its just that I've been considering dropping 30k+ on an FG, and that's where are start worrying about resale value etc. Im just going to be patient for now and see if any other clean examples come up.

Oh I trust you mate, but hes looking at things purely from a value perspective in 5+ years time. Reckons that we dont know what will happen to the prices when imports become much cheaper, and that government might try to eventually phase out (through taxes) cars that dont meet European emission standards. He's a smart man and I can see where he is coming from, but it doesnt change my decision to buy one.