A Little Story for Entertainment
I followed an ad on craigslist for a '91 wagon DX with "ONE OWNER!", $3900 (http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/1870980899.html). It had a really nice exterior (white) and very clean interior, no tears, patches or scratches, with a set of new back tires, plus two additional studded tires and a car cover. I had to actually purchase the wagon (down to $3200) in order to be able to take it to a service shop for buyer's inspection (I'm not a car mechanic to any degree). I signed with the stipulation (hand written on the contract) that the purchase was contingent on a satisfactory pass of the inspection.
I signed all the paperwork in the morning, took it to service 2 hours later, and received a call back from the shop in the late afternoon. These were the recommendations:
- replace oil pan gasket (found engine oil seep)
- replace front brake pads (1 mm) & resurface brake motors
- replace inner and outer CV boots, both left and right side (deeply cracked)
- perform brake system fluid change (brake fluid dirty/contaminated)
- replace windshield (I'd not noticed on the test drive, but it had 3 little dings plus two cracks on the left side)
- replace muffler (rusted/damaged)
- replace left & right rear trailing arm bushing (they are split)
Total w/tax: $2661
I returned it.
That was Tuesday. Wednesday (yesterday, 8/4/10) I was again looking through craigslist, and there it was again: it had been moved to a branch location a few streets over, but now the add only says "91 Honda Civic", for $100 less (http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/1880684701.htm).
If anyone local to the Puget Sound region in WA thinks they would want it for a project, you might be able to talk the dealer into giving it up for cash after discussing the hidden problems. $3800 - $2661 = $1339. Actually, I left a copy of the shop's recommendations with the dealer at their first site, and I really thought they might have taken the time to look into the condition of the car before putting it out to market again. I do hope whoever thinks they might buy it does their own inspection as well, or they're up for some large bills or a hassle trying to return it later when they discover the problems.
I signed all the paperwork in the morning, took it to service 2 hours later, and received a call back from the shop in the late afternoon. These were the recommendations:
- replace oil pan gasket (found engine oil seep)
- replace front brake pads (1 mm) & resurface brake motors
- replace inner and outer CV boots, both left and right side (deeply cracked)
- perform brake system fluid change (brake fluid dirty/contaminated)
- replace windshield (I'd not noticed on the test drive, but it had 3 little dings plus two cracks on the left side)
- replace muffler (rusted/damaged)
- replace left & right rear trailing arm bushing (they are split)
Total w/tax: $2661
I returned it.
That was Tuesday. Wednesday (yesterday, 8/4/10) I was again looking through craigslist, and there it was again: it had been moved to a branch location a few streets over, but now the add only says "91 Honda Civic", for $100 less (http://seattle.craigslist.org/see/ctd/1880684701.htm).
If anyone local to the Puget Sound region in WA thinks they would want it for a project, you might be able to talk the dealer into giving it up for cash after discussing the hidden problems. $3800 - $2661 = $1339. Actually, I left a copy of the shop's recommendations with the dealer at their first site, and I really thought they might have taken the time to look into the condition of the car before putting it out to market again. I do hope whoever thinks they might buy it does their own inspection as well, or they're up for some large bills or a hassle trying to return it later when they discover the problems.
Comments
Anyone else, however, will have an unpleasant surprise not too long after their purchase. I have been really wanting another wagon to replace my current one (an '85 which I'm going to be offering for parts soon). I was disappointed that this one had all the problems which would add so much to the original price, as I don't know anyone close by with the time to work on it for cheap.