eagletanggreen

iTrader: (40)

I thought I would write my experience on when I bought my used Power Enterprise Twin Turbo Kit.
The reason for this thread is to enlighten all the little boys and girls about the down falls of buying a used turbo kit. As we have seen in the last past two years the rise of used turbo kits in the Marketplace. With the price of a used Z comming down in price it is now more affordable in the market place as it used to be. With that comes the used cheap prices of turbo kits. The goal for the end user is saving a couple of bucks on a used kit instead of buying new kit. The customer then finds himself confronting the issue of missing parts, parts that need replacing, and even failing turbos once installed.

My Turbo Kit
I myself bought my used turbo kit back in late 2005 for $3500 (what a steal) back then a Greddy kit was anywhere around $5600 to $6000 from one of the vendors. Well as soon as I bought the kit I ended up buying some new cast manifolds because there was a small crack in the SS ones that came with the kit, that was discovered way after the purchase. So now I am up to $5000 with the cost of the manifold that were $1500 (power enterprise $$$) and missing bolts and nuts, the pipping was for a G not a Z so more fabbing was done to make it fit. In the end I ended up paying close to $5500 in parts just to get my kit complete, and this is with everything working right. Along with that I had to wait even longer for my TT install because of parts. I took me 3 months to get a basic TT install because I went the cheap way, Hell my Motor build took that long.

So take it from me, if you buy a used turbo kit expect to spend more money when it comes to installing it to cover any damaged or missing parts, also expect a longer wait for the arrival of those parts. IMO your are much better saving your money and buying a new kit, it will make the install time much smoother , and all you parts will be warranted.

Still buying a used Turbo kit?
Then I recommend you do the following.
1. Find out how many miles were on the kit and where it was bought and installed.
2. Find out who uninstalled it, and if it was a shop call them up and see if there was anything , broken, or any parts that need replacement on that kit.
3. Try to get a itemized list of all the parts, not just a pic that says "its all here".
4. Do your best to find a shop that knows what they are doing, so they don't "Mickey Mouse" your kit when they are putting it back together (seen lots of these ).

Remember you are paying less for a kit because its used and most likely because your going to need to replace some parts.

Luie

Alberto

iTrader: (14)

Good info

eltness350

iTrader: (58)

+1...my procharger kit and tn st kit were used..spent way too much runnin to the hardware store or worse yet special ordering parts..i rather wait a few extra months to save for the NEW TT kit!!

JAM3Z

iTrader: (17)

For all the money going FI costs, its really not worth it to save a few bucks in the short-term by buying used a used turbo kit.

SpoilsofWar

iTrader: (39)

Bought my Turbonetics ST kit used, but the turbo had just been replaced by TN with a brand new one with the updated watercooled bearing housing... No issues, every single part was there down to the clamps, bolts, and couplings. Also, the seller labled each part with its Turbonetics part number so it was easy for me to inventory and make sure it was all there.

I got it from a seller in the marketplace who had 100% positive, over 20 itrader feedbacks on here.

If you are dealing with a reputable seller, and you ask the tough questions, you have nothing to fear when buying a used kit. Just make sure you ask if anything is missing, if there are any issues, etc. Like Luie said, get the parts list and compare it to the sellers list of parts included. Also be aware of warrenty issues, and know that you will not get a warrenty if you buy a kit secondhand.

But I will agree with the above, in that if you are unwilling to source small parts that may be missing, or things like that, then you may be better off buying a new kit.

overZealous1

iTrader: (27)

i got my greddy kit used. was about 2 years ago also. bought it for $2600 (ya, i know i stole it!!) without the injectors or emanage, which i already had anyways. sold my procharger kit for $3500 the next day.
kit was in great condition, and was not missing anything except a couple nuts and bolts, which i have large bins filled with them in my shop anyways.
i'm sure some have had bad experiences, but mine could not have been better!!

G35Rider92649

iTrader: (1)

Thanks for the advice, but it really depends on who you're buying it from and the previous owner's use of it. That's why I buy all my parts brand new.

one350zfan

iTrader: (11)

I bought Jetpilots old turbonetics kit from a member who purchased it from him.

Parts were missing which I knew about. Took an inventory of parts and got with Performance Factory to complete the kit.

I paid a little over $3500 for basically a tuner kit WITH 650 DW injectors.

I have had no issues with the kit... Even after all the controversy it started!

I'm still waiting for the turbo to smoke...

westpak

iTrader: (19)

Twin turbo kits are worse then the single or superchargers due to having more parts.

If the individual that removed it was careful or told the shop to be careful and retain all of the hardware you should be good, but then the next bit of important information is the age of the kit, with the turbo kits the exhaust manifolds seem to be an issue, my Greddy ones were cracked when I did the built motor and I have seen others cracked as well, and this PE was also.

Audible Mayhem

iTrader: (48)

we charge more money to install a used kit too. make sure you throw that into the mix.


buy new!!

Sharif@Forged

iTrader: (92)

+10000

Driven1

iTrader: (2)

+1,000,000,000,000

This should be a Sticky!

Jay'Z

iTrader: (118)

I would only buy a kit if it were brand new in the box and the buyer changed their mind and decided to sell it.. Otherwise ur prob looking for trouble.. IMHO..

kevinapex

iTrader: (22)

Nice insight Luie, I agree too save a few hundred or even a grand on a used kit, the get nickeled and dimmed on odds and ends. No warranty either.
kevin

one350zfan

iTrader: (11)

I guess I just got lucky

People, If you have a parts list for a kit(which can be downloaded) and have the ability to visually inspect the parts in person, you should be in good shape.

I would be weary of buying a kit that you could not physically pick-up from the owner unless a shop is helping them uninstall and ship it.

I have many used parts on my car!

Youngz

Great Thread. I will add my very special experience......

So I decide to get a Turbonetics kit for my 03' Enthusiast. I look on here and find a pretty good looking ad for a "Complete" *frown* for about $3300. I contact the seller and ensure that "all piping" and parts will be sent with the kit. I have PMs confirming this and figure I am going to go for it.

The kit is recieved and due to my schedule I dont really get into it until I begin to install. Upon installing I find that the downpipe with the cat is missing, filter tube is missing, fuel pump sent with the kit belongs on an M1 Abrams tank, and the intercooler sent with the kit is ginormous.

So I end up ordering about $500 - $600 worth of missing parts. After contacting the seller I am completely blown off about compensation or the fact that he posted a false ad and lied about what he was sending. I have 2 people on this forum who attest to seeing the ad and the PMs and fully support the sellers punk *** attitude and how he ripped me off.

Anyways I complete what I can of the install and tow the car 4 hrs up to Sharif @ Forged. After the parts taking 2 weeks to get delieved Sarif begins working on finishing up the car and these issues come up:

1.Custom fitting need to be welded onto the intercooler to match up with piping

2. Filter pipe wont fit bc of size of the intercooler

3. Wastegate will not hold boost and another one needs to be put on and now I am only running 5.5psi or so until i get a controller and re-tune.

4. Then to top it all off the cars NATS security system decides to dump the codes on the keys or something and the car wont even start. This problem is still in the process of being fixed. We were able to start the car but I had to drive it home 4hrs without turning it off or I would be stranded. This morning I had the car towed to Nissan to have it fixed.

Sooooooo in conclusion I am COMPLETELY against buying used kits. With missing parts, added labor, pain and suffering and a turbo whos health I am not sure of I am very dissapointed in my choosing to buy a used kit. Hopefully I will get it all worked out soon and I can slowly work on the car to feeling more confident in my setup.

one350zfan

iTrader: (11)

Exactly!

coachk

iTrader: (21)

YoungZ.....Did you post up his S/N so no one else gets ripped off by this guy?

Youngz

Drift_projekt_z

He claimes he had pictures showing everything but thats not what the ad said. It wasnt "What you see is what you get".......as it says above in his PM and other posts he claims "all piping" and "supplied fuel pump." He did buy it from someone else and claims he didnt even know what was in the kit and that anything was missing. I call BS.

vqturbotec

dont waste the money