Any advice appreciated

[Lauren G]

Hi there.  I'm seriously considering buying an SE-R, and test-drove one this
evening.  I'm pretty impressed, but I'm concerned about what seems to be a
drivetrain problem so I was hoping that someone here might be able to give
me a bit of advice.

Here's the problem:
It's hard to describe, but the entire front end feels "loose".  With a sharp
application of throttle the shifter moves forward, there's significant
torque steer, and the steering wheel feels like it's oscillating back and
forth.  It's almost as if it would be due to a bad motor mount, but they
were recently replaced, and when parked and given gas the engine doesn't
seem to move excessively.  With increasing speed, there's a roaring sound,
like a wheel bearing.  Supposedly, the struts are relatively new.  The
current owner is aware of a problem and had it looked at, but I think he was
looking for the source of the sound, and although the mechanic looked he
couldn't find anything wrong.

I've driven a few other SE-Rs, and this isn't what they felt like--there's
definitely something going on.  The rest of the car seems pretty clean, so
I'd be very interested in any ideas of what you think the problem might be,
and what it might cost to fix.

Please respond to this email address, as I've only just subscribed to the
list and I'm not sure the moderator has added my name yet.  Much thanks,
-Lauren