I have a GT/GTO itch that I need to scratch. I have been researching extensively however, I would appreciate a little advice. I have seen and spoken to the seller of an H Plate GTO on eBay - early car with none of the bells, whistles and turbos however, it appears free of the tin worm. On the downside it has no service history, owned by a mechanic since 2009 and serviced personally, and advised the cambelt would be wise. My questions are, would the group recommend prioritising a lack of rust over most/all else and how difficult is a cambelt for a experienced local mechanic?
I would say rust-free is certainly a bonus. And it’s often those bells and whistles that go wrong on these cars. Sounds like a good introduction to the platform and you can always swap for a twin turbo later on.
The cambelt isn’t too much of a pain of a job, especially on an NA with slightly less things to remove. It took me a 12 hour day in my mechanic friends heated garage. I do almost everything on the car myself, but I’m certainly not an expert mechanic. If you’re talking about getting a garage to do it, I’ve been stung in the past, and many others have too, but some have good success stories and regularly take their cars in to get serviced or to have work done. It is rare to find a garage that will work on a 30-year old mitsubishi, even if they are experienced.
From the photos it does look to be in really good genuine condition and would likely last you many years.
However, the price may be a little on the high side for an N/A auto. It depends on what you’re after, for a few thousand more you could get a twin turbo, but then you’d probably be working on it all of the time and it might not be as original.
Even with the owner servicing it himself, I would factor in when you buy it a full coolant flush, thermostat, oil, oil filter, autobox flush. As even with the low miles, the age of some of those components would be past their service life.
The seller has sent more photos and a walk-around video - does look very tidy in and out but I image through not being used between 2013 and 2025! A real conundrum, no rot but a decent amount of recommissioning to be safe and the result is a very original car or, as you say, a little more and all the toys! That said, the few TTs out there all seem to have rust to a greater or lesser degree.
No, my car been off the road for about 4 years now , and my daily is a audi a8, not the best car meet car , going for engine rebuild and extra power mods, but money been an issue with competing it, but when it is done I will be looking for meet again