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The Alty is the wife's daily driver and she wants around the same size car. Told her to take my Sentra and give me the Alty...but she wants NEW ...so guess who wins!
I've tried to steer her towards another Camry, had 2 already, or the Accord, but she still wants smaller.
I will have to take her from dealer to dealer like last time, drove 3 in one day and she made her choice. She'll know once she sits in it and drives it. If she's comfortable, it has some get up and go and if those pesky backseat headrest don't block her view, that'll be the car she'll buy. I've already worked up a spread sheet of sizes and width,s and everything she could possibly need.
Hoping to hold out for a '06, as we've spent about $1k this past year to replace boots and stop all leaks, my mechanic found them all!
Thanks for responding...Terry, your thoughts?
The Sandman
Location: Saginaw, Michigan
Acura Legend 93
Sedan 4dr
3.2liter V6, auto transmission
FWD
147000 miles
golden color
good exterior/interior condition
tires probably 60% worn
brakes will need replacing soon
scratch at the back bumper from a parking incident
I am considering to buy this car from a private owner.
Thanks in advance. (to those who can't tolerate new users too)
You attacked a Postal Truck.....??? ... my mail is slow enough, leave those poor guys alone ..l.o.l......
The S40 is a nice one and it's had some wonderful write-up's on the safety aspects --- hey, it's a Volvo.! ... "Det er en stor bil - prøver det .."
Terry.
PS: I hope your feelin' better.
What the heck is the Disney Package?
===========================
I'm gonna say the vehicle was bought at the Detroit auction (Allen Park MI) most usually end up there ... it's a corporate car, no biggie, I've bought TONS there .. maybe a Volvo rep, could have been a "brass hatter" from Ford, maybe a dealers 3rd wife -- who knows.? ... as long as it's clean, looks good on the Volvo computer and a pro gets a chance to look at it, it's a great car for the $$ ......
Let me know what happens .......
Terry.
Entertainment system/DVD player and Screen.
Location: Saginaw, Michigan
Acura Legend 93
Sedan 4dr
3.2liter V6, auto transmission
FWD
147000 miles
golden color
good exterior/interior condition
tires probably 60% worn
brakes will need replacing soon
scratch at the back bumper from a parking incident
I am considering to buy this car from a private owner.
Thanks in advance. (to those who can't tolerate new users too)
=======================================
Well, thats kinda ruff terrain up there ... so if we don't have any rust, no paintwork, no fill, the front end doesn't dribble all over the highway, the service is 125% and it looks/feels and drives like a 99 with 50k ... then a dealer might drop $1,5/$2,000 in this stud - even with the tall miles ..... down Retail Rd: $4,500 *asking* and $3,5/$3,9 should get it home .. if it needs stuff, start deducting .......... whats he asking ...?
Terry.
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Cheap $$ .............!
Terry.
supernova3300, "Acura Legend & Personal Reviews" #513, 1 May 2005 10:01 pm
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1) You said something about warranty issues...do you mean factory warranty or the repair work? does this void any part of the factory warranty?
2)The car was purchased....so I need to decide what to do,,,,sounds like you think I should dump it and move on. Is it worth trying to keep?
Terry, i'm planning to get a mechanic friend of mine to check the car, but from what I can tell the car seems to be in great shape (and not just the looks of it). I was previously asking the guys in the Legend forum if the engine or transmission goes easily bad in these cars, because I felt it was too good of a deal. From your knowledge, how would you rate the reliability of these cars? Any info?
A female student from Taiwan is selling it, so it might be that she's leaving or is not good at doing business maybe. She was selling it for $2800, but dropped it to $2500 in a couple of minutes.
I would get the full history on the car indeed and have it very carefully inspected.
The fact that it seems to be too good of a deal, should set off some red flags. Does not mean it is not a deal as advertised, but be warned to protect yourself.
$2,500 is still a bunch of money; this car is 13 years old, with a gazillion miles, and even if it's in "great shape for its age", it ain't gonna be no Corolla to keep on the road.
For someone who really likes these -- where's qwalls when you need him??? -- it's probably a good and maybe a great deal.
-Mathias
If you hold on to the car 4/5/6 years, the diminished value amount will not be as much as the check they will cut you today. If the car gets hit again during those years, it is possible it will not hold up as well, so it's a double-edged sword. Can you afford to dump the car? Is Allstate your own insurer or the at-fault person's?
I guess the truck has a higher center of gravity, but would imagine that most SUV's also have the same thing. Kinda like a double edged sword, you sit higher but it's not as stable as a sedan. Rented a Suzuki back in 1995 and I do remember taking the corner into my street like I do with my Sentra and the Suzuki did feel all squirley, like it was about to tip a bit. After that, I went around all corners very slowly until I turned it back into Enterprise. The wife wouldn't go near it.
She also mentioned to me tonite that she wants to check out the BMW 325 as well as the new Fusion...this should be an interesting journey to find her a new car. I'll probaly be calling on you in the not to distant future, so if you get down to Lauderdale, let me buy you a drink or dinner for all your past help and for all the future help that I'll be asking of you. Wish she'd just take my '03 Sentra and give me the Alty, since my commute is only 9 miles each way.
The Sandman
$2,500 is still a bunch of money; this car is 13 years old, with a gazillion miles, and even if it's in "great shape for its age", it ain't gonna be no Corolla to keep on the road.
For someone who really likes these -- where's qwalls when you need him??? -- it's probably a good and maybe a great deal. "
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- - ---------------------------
Here I am. :-) Well, I felt the urge, and I already have one. It's a great deal if it's in good shape and everything checks out. Mathias makes a good point though, they aren't cheap to maintain. Check carefully for coolant leaks...these cars are prone to blown head gaskets resulting from overheating resulting from coolant leaks. Temp guage should be a tick under half once it warms up. You'll need a timing belt at 180k, trhe axles tend to go, and if the radiator hasn't been replaced at least once, it will need to be. Great cars though.
Q
The following was posted on the 19 of Apr...
Atlanta, Georgia
2002 Chevrolet Tahoe
4 Dr
5.3 L Flex Fuel Engine
RWD
54,500 miles
Gray Exterior w/ Tan Leather interior
Leather interior, running boards, rear seat audio controls
Excellent Condition
A few Dings...nothing major!
New Tires (5,000 miles on them)
All Maintenance completed per service manual
During a recent Carmax visit, they would give me close to $16,500. Sound about right?
Thanks so much for your advise!!!
.
"Anyway, it's a 2wd XE and it has the nice basics, about 110k, auto, rubber is deep and you say it's nice for the year with little or few kisses ... trade side, in and around the mid to high $4's, "might" "maybe" see the low low low low low $5's if everything goes your way and we have the proper alignment with Pluto .."
I finally traded this one last week after accumulating a few more dings, put another 7K miles on it, the transmission started shifting pretty roughly into second gear, the brakes were about gone, and I still had not got around to the timing belt service (long since overdue), all four speakers were blown, it seemed to be losing brake fluid to some unknown place, my preschool daughter puked in it at least once, and my 70 lb dog recently took a huge dump in the cargo area. Despite my brutal description, it was extremely reliable and It still presented pretty well after a good scrubbing.
I got $4,000 for it and I was satisfied.
I traded it on a 2005 G35 sedan for about $600 over invoice. I could have driven to Atlanta (about 150 miles from me) and saved a couple of hundred dollars on the G, but what kind of crazy person would do that?
*she wants to check out the BMW 325*
This speaks very highly for the Mazda3 if we are comparing it to the Bimmer.
For the first four years, scheduled maintenance on the BMW is included, so no cost there..
I'm not saying it will be cheaper to own, just not to the degree you might think.. at least until the warranty expires..
The Mazda3 is great little car, though... Can't go wrong there..
regards,
kyfdx
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Entertainment system/DVD player and Screen.
As in: to keep the natives in the backseat from getting restless on the drive to Florida.
Hmm, I understood this one the first time I saw it. What does that say about me?
I have a 2006 model 325i on order, which is a new body style. They are not for everybody, I wish they didn't have the snobby image that they do, the '06 model introduces a few quirks like the Starship Enterprise start button, but they are really nice cars. No incentives on the 2006 model, but they are not selling for full MSRP, either, at least if you look around.
2000 Pathfinder LE
Indianapolis area
White Pearl exterior - Tan Leather interior
sunroof, heated seats, cd, full power,
Nissan chrome wheels ($1000 option new)
3.2 liter, auto, 4wd
very good exterior, minor scratches (4) on rear bumper, no other dings or scratches,
front bumper, and one fender replaced due to deer collision in November, I can't tell the difference, but I suppose you could, very good repair job. Interior is very good, no spots, mats covered since new, service up to date, new plugs, belts replaced, trans serviced etc at 60K, tires replaced 20K ago, original brakes, 62,000 miles.
I'm thinking of trading it on a 2004 New Pathfinder, adv. at 29K, orig sticker close to 35K, LE Platinum Edition. What should I expect? I know SUV's are weak now, should I try to sell it myself?
Thanks for your advice.
When push comes to shove, she'll pick the car that fits her best...but as a CPA, she knows that any car is a depreciating thing, and as we always pay cash for our cars, I can almost guarantee the 325 will be off her short list.
Especially with my postal truck accident last week, I want her to get a safe car, cause without my seat belt having been on, I wouldn't be typing right now...i'd probaly be dead! That experience has changed my views a bit!
The Sandman :confuse:
Have a 2004 Odyssey EX with cloth and DVD (factory) that I am planning to trade-in/sell as we will be buying a 2005 Odyssey. It has 5500 miles, with Sandstone Metallic (ext. color) and Ivory (Int. Color). There is no stains, dents, scapes, etc. I am in Los Angeles County. What would be a good trade-in value? Is private party worth it? Should I try some place like Carmax? Please advice.
Thanks in advance.
Regards,
Emil
Terry.
1) You said something about warranty issues... do you mean factory warranty or the repair work? does this void any part of the factory warranty?
2)The car was purchased.... so I need to decide what to do,,,,sounds like you think I should dump it and move on. Is it worth trying to keep? ..**
=========================================
Let me tell you what I like about this deal .....
Nothing ....!
Once this bad boy is finished, after all of the smoke clears, after all of the papers are signed and the body shop "swears" it's just like new and the insurance company goes home with a snicker (and less $$ paid) and with all of the signed papers to get them off the hook ... you'll be sitting with a vehicle with frame damage - and what does that mean to you.?
For starters .. if you trade or if you sell it, you have to disclose it .. okay, fine - the reason why any "reputable" dealer doesn't want it is, even if they can buy it for .50cts on the dollar and sell it for a small profit they will run the risk of the dude coming back in 30 days or 30 months .. all they need is a Midas or a Chunky Cheese mechanic to say: "aah, it's been smacked" and that ball starts rolling all over again, no matter how much money they saved ...
This isn't a Sunbird or a Jetta, it's a Lexus .. so this particular vehicle is going to end up going down to a "sub-market", maybe the BHPH lot down the street, maybe the super nice super reputable used car store on the other side of town will take it for cheap money (and heavily disclosed) and sell it for cheap money, or try to .. it could end up at 2 or 3 different auctions just to "test" the waters and see what it will do .. again disclosed, because it can bounce back from the auction if it isn't ....
We don't know this yet, but warranty work could be a hassle depending on the "where and what", and because of the related items your not going to know for 12 or 30 months(?) and either will the next guy ..l.o.l....
What would I do ..? ... if the Lexus was 3/4 years old and had 55/75k, it probably wouldn't make much difference, maybe a couple thousand here and there depending on the situation .... in this situation, it's about as brand new as they come with 1,000 miles ... I would sit down with insurance company (keep the body shop out of the discussions, lets not bend their little ego) and get the diminished value ..-or-.. if they feel there is none, and the body shop thinks it's going to be better than the Pope and Mr. Lexus's's's's original, I would then have then march it off to the auction when finished (I forget were you live) and see what it will do - because this is what the "non-blemished, without the makeover" ones are doing right now --- and let them pay you the difference ...
Disclaimer: your mileage, color and options may vary ........................ :P
04/20/2005 CADE $ 28,800 181 WHITE 6G A X WC
04/21/2005 MANHEIM $ 32,600 3,319 BLACK 6G NE
04/21/2005 MANHEIM $ 27,750 5,471 BLUE 6G A X NE
04/06/2005 NASHVILL $ 29,700 5,505 WHITE 6G A X SE
04/27/2005 DALLAS $ 30,500 13,383 GRAY 6G A SW
04/06/2005 CADE $ 25,600 29,338 SILVER 6G O X WC
Terry.
2003 Lexus GS300, 20K on the clock.
Looked to be normally loaded (roof, etc), didn't notice any Levinson toons though.
Seemed clean. It was at a local Ford delaer for some reason.
The kicker is the color: Purple (maybe Plum to be charitable), but it was definitely more purplish than red wine colored. It was in the showroom so might look different in natural light.
I almost think I maybe might be OK with the color (and my wife would love it FWIW).
Anyway, what think the Oracle about this one? In NJ (phila. burbs).
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
2004 Mazda 6 s Wagon
Red with Tan Cloth Interior
VIN: 1YVFP82D945N66617
Condition: "Excellent"
Mileage: 13,065 Miles
Transmission: Automatic
Engine: V6 3.0 Liter
Equipment: Steering Wheel Radio Controls, Cruise Control, Tilt Steering Wheel, Power Windows, Power Locks, CD Player, Alloy Wheels
What do you think would bring this one home? I'd like to offer $15,880 OTD. Think that would cut her loose?
Or should I try to do better?
Q
My wife is in the market for a RH330, but unfortunately on our vacation to Disney, a trucker decided to sideswipe into our 2003 Honda Odyssey van, causing a little over $3000 of damage to the door, rear tire and suspension. What upsets me is that even though it will be fixed back to near perfect, that will affect trade-in since won't I have to disclose it's been involved in an accident?
How much do you think I will lose on this since our payoff and Edmunds numbers were within about $1000 of each other. Since we'll be trading it in, would it be worth it to go after the trucking company for the diminished value?
The van is a gold colored EX-L with the rear entertainment system and has 32000 miles on it.
Thanks,
Steve
Dothan, Alabama (though moving to Panama City, Florida)
If you did not have to go after them to get them to pay for the repairs, they may be willing to work with you on the DV thing as well.
250 negative is essentially even..Make 1 more payment, add a dollar to your new payment, etc..
Could you give me trade-in value for this car:
Location: Twin Cities, MN
Model: 2004 Honda Accord LX V6
Style: 4-dr Sedan
Engine/Trans: V6 3.0/auto
Mileage: 23600
Color: Silver metallic, black interior
Dealer-installed option: alloy wheels
It has a tiny flaw on the rear bumper, looks like someone with metal bumper touched it doing parallel parking. It is noticeable yet. Otherwise it is clean and nicely running vehicle, with all service done on the dealership.
Thank you!
The Sandman
Can someone give me a trade-in value (KBB $21,635) on this, and also a recommended price for a quick private party (KBB $24,850) sale? I picked Good on KBB for the above 2 numbers. Carmax offered $21,000 for it.
Thanks in advance.
Emil
Location: Los Angeles
Year/Make/Model: 2004 Honda Odyssey EX (cloth with factory DVD)
Body Style: Minivan
Engine: 3.5 liter, 6 cylinder VTEC, auto
Driveline: FWD
Mileage: 5700
Color: Sandstone Metallic / Ivory cloth
Major Options: DVD, power doors, read A/C, CD, power locks and windows, ABS, etc.
Condition:
Ext: Excellent. No scrapes, dents, etc.
Int: Excellent. No stains, etc.
Tires - With 5700 miles on it.
My 1998 Pathfinder From Terry May 29, 2004:
"Anyway, it's a 2wd XE and it has the nice basics, about 110k, auto, rubber is deep and you say it's nice for the year with little or few kisses ... trade side, in and around the mid to high $4's, "might" "maybe" see the low low low low low $5's if everything goes your way and we have the proper alignment with Pluto .."
My answer earlier this week:
I finally traded this one last week after accumulating a few more dings, put another 7K miles on it, the transmission started shifting pretty roughly into second gear, the brakes were about gone, and I still had not got around to the timing belt service (long since overdue), all four speakers were blown, it seemed to be losing brake fluid to some unknown place, my preschool daughter puked in it at least once, and my 70 lb dog recently took a huge dump in the cargo area. Despite my brutal description, it was extremely reliable and It still presented pretty well after a good scrubbing.
I got $4,000 for it and I was satisfied.
Bud, for a lousy $250 (what am I saying.?) .. for a lousy $2,500 you should be down there so fast, that your shoes won't catch up to you til' Tuesday .......
Thats aaaall the money on the planet, all the cookies in the cookie jar, it's the whole enchilada -- it's bigger than Big, larger than Large, it's Huuuuge.! ------- Be there.!
Dealers don't pay even close to that at the auctions ........ ugh.!!!!!!!!!
Terry.
...I just found my old Pathfinder for sale on ebay. The dealer has it rated as "excellent" under every single category..."
Wow... that's scary, considering the eBay ad also states "The previous owner of this Pathfinder did a great job of maintaining this Pathfinder both inside and out."
2004 Mazda 6 s Wagon
Red with Tan Cloth Interior
VIN: 1YVFP82D945N66617
Condition: "Excellent"
Mileage: 13,065 Miles
Transmission: Automatic
Engine: V6 3.0 Liter
Equipment: Steering Wheel Radio Controls, Cruise Control, Tilt Steering Wheel, Power Windows, Power Locks, CD Player, Alloy Wheels
What do you think would bring this one home? I'd like to offer $15,880 OTD. Think that would cut her loose?
Or should I try to do better?
2003 Lexus GS300, 20K on the clock.
Looked to be normally loaded (roof, etc), didn't notice any Levinson toons though.
Seemed clean. It was at a local Ford dealer for some reason.
The kicker is the color: Purple (maybe Plum to be charitable), but it was definitely more purplish than red wine colored. It was in the showroom so might look different in natural light.
I almost think I maybe might be OK with the color (and my wife would love it FWIW).
Anyway, what think the Oracle about this one? In NJ (Phila. 'burbs).
================================
Well ... I know the color, it's a little stiff for the eye's .. folks either love it or hate it, no compromise .... miles are looooow on this one, you know the deal by now - deep sneaks, 100% service, no paint, no funny little cigarettes in the ashtray, no Wal Mart signs stuck in the trunk ..... (no CPO.?) dealer probably paid in and around the mid/tall $26, low/mid $27ish range, maybe .... lets add a this, lets put a that in there and lets not forget the "whatever" .. probably hits the table at in and around the $28ish range, it "sounds" like $31ish on the Retail side ...... the color holds it back, and the miles save it ....... what are they asking..?
Terry.
2020 Acura RDX tech SH-AWD, 2023 Maverick hybrid Lariat luxury package.
I doubt they did anything with it. I traded it in at closing time on Saturday and they had it for sale on ebay already on Monday. They would have no way of knowing if the timing belt was changed or not. It didn't look frayed or anything. The brake fluid is very minor, and probably not noticeable unless you drove it for a couple of weeks. It is funny though - I know where it has some pretty noticeable dings and dents, but as much as I blow up those pictures, I still can't see them. I don't think that is an indictment of this vehicle or the dealer-they seem pretty honest. I think it just goes to show that you shouldn't buy a car on ebay without seeing in person and probably getting it inspected too.