My girlfriend was surfing Craigslist and came up with a project Firebird that might be right up my alley.

http://philadelphia.craigslist.org/car/320323094.html

That is the car in question. The issues are that it has an alternator problem. When I spoke with the current owner, he stated that he crossed the jumper cables when trying to jump start the car, and cooked the alternator, and battery. My question is, is it worth investing in such a vehicle? How much damage could blowing the alternator have done to the other electronics inside the vehicle? Also, I'd like to get an idea of how much an alternator replacement for a 87 Firebird would set me back.

In addition, if anyone is willing to check out the car with me, I would greatly appreciate the additional peace of mind that comes from an experienced analysis.

Thanks in advance for any advice.

 

I would think that the only problem would be the alternator and battery. See if the owner will let you put a battery in it and start the car. With the alternator wiring disconnected see if the gauges work, lights, etc. If not then there are fuse links and fuses blown and I would be leary of it. Good luck.

 

Re-manned alternators usually run $80- more depending on the warranty. I've never seen/ heard of damages due to crossing jumper cables- I believe that's because they are color coded (I'd be cautious what else this idiot screwed up on it besides the horrible grammar.) I imagine it would cause serious damage to the battery, I'm not certain how this would hurt the alternator... possibly could have damaged some electonics depending on if the key was on at the time.

If it were me, I wouldn't buy it until this person fixed all this so you can make sure the sucker even runs/drives (of course, unless you are expecting it not to.)

 

The owner of the car states that with a known good battery, the gauges do work.