yea as i've been reading it seems to be a car that needs a lot of attention which i wont complain about I find any excuse now to get my hands dirty on my brothers trans am, but it seems like it needs some cash to keep running, an looks like i have to decide either using all the money i get from work to go to the car, or find a car that's more economic. just i still want a fun car to drive an i drive my dads ford focus now.

 

^This is true, they are expensive.

Mind you, they run premium, only.

Plus, coils, and wires, in the owners manual, it shows for changing at like 37,500mi. Take a looksie at the price of those. They're the most expensive part of it's routine maintenance, but there's still coolant, trans and diff oil, the engine oil, which it does drink oil, so you'll have to check it's oil pretty much weekly(Not that you'll be adding to it every week, but you'll have to keep tabs on it, not once a year, or never).

If you don't do all of it's maintenance yourself, you'll be spending a lot at the dealership.

Which, by the way, you'd need tools to work on them as well. Definitely get torque wrenches as well. Personally, I never use air tools,(Well, I do at work, but the 8 I don't need any for), so don't really worry there. But you will need hand tools, sockets, ratchets, wrenches, and whatnot. Hell, that'll be expensive too, you'll always end up needing more, and more. I don't know if you have any yourself though, but trust me, you'll end up buying more.

Oh, and I don't know if you know, but definitely look into how to lift and secure a car properly. A jack alone is just asking for the car to fall on you. I've had a car fall off of a jack before. I couldn't move the car, and it was on soft ground, but it still happens.

Mind you, it wasn't just a jack. It was two jacks, and two jack stands, and a tire underneath, stuff happens, so you'll definitely want to be safe.(No, I wasn't underneath it, I was still trying to lift the car up.The tire underneath is always a good measure. As well as cribbing with wood, and wheel chocks to keep her from rolling, parking brakes don't always hold strong enough, and you typically find out then.)

There's a lot of general knowledge to learn, trust me.

Oh, and hell, on the topic of safety, as uncool as they may be, safety glasses, or at least anything, hell, wear sunglasses or something underneath the car, anything is better than nothing, but the first time you get something in your eye, and you feel how much it sucks, you'll realize you want to keep your vision. Cars underneath are dirty and will have stuff fall from them, and it's always aimed for your eyes it feels like.

 

well I might not know how to spell but i do know how to work on a car surprisingly, i do have all the proper tools you said and a jack and i think we have 4 stands 2 for 1 car an 2 for the other, an i have a brother that has worked on cars since he was 18 an he is 30 now with a 10sec trans am, an he knows a little bout 7's but i heard they are very similar to the 8's. OH! an on the other note i do have air tools. i personally like them only when taking tires off, an using the air wrench when taking something old an rusted off that might need alittle more power then my twig arms.

 

also how much on average do you guys pay to fill it up? this would be very helpful if answered. thanks!

 

Click my Fuelly link in my sig, and you can see everything dealing with that.

 

thanks for all your help its really done wonders with me thinking of getting this car.

 

No problem, glad I could help.

 

too damn much! lol. I just turned 17 and I purchased my car about 8-9 months ago. Definitely do your homework and make sure you can afford one. I hardly have any money left over for mods after I perform all the ROUTINE maintenance.

 

depending how often you drive it kiddo.

 

Yeah, I'm doing a full tank every 4 days or so, and I do drive it rather often. But when you really break it down, say, about $50 every 4 days.. That's $150 in 12 days, two weeks is obviously 14 days.

 

yea it is an expensive little car sadly so thats the only thing really holding me back, and also one last question, when looking at one of these cars on the lot what should be some things i look at an ask the salesmen about the car?

 

salesmen know nothing about the car. they are not mechanics.
cold start should be no more than 1-2 seconds.
take the car for a test drive see how smooth the powerband is. when fully warmed up, take it to the redline see if you feel any resistance holding the engine back from revving or if any lights turn of or flashing.
pay attention to the gearbox see if all the gears shift fine. also make sure the clutch pedal is not making noise.
after you take the car for a test drive, come back, turn off the engine, wait for 5-10 min then restart it again, it should take no more than 1-2 seconds to start back up.

heres some vids show you what a good engine looks like
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDckDPsdS1Q
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzXNnAr65h4

 

thanks for the info

 

^+1. Ive seen how many posts after this, its like your not even trying lol
Welcome, like what was said, just read ALL the stickies, you will know if you want one.
Good Luck

 

I could tell you some really funny stories on that subject.

 

I would love to hear some of thoseI acually have one too