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Comments
In fact, I looked at a green '98 Neon with 42k miles at a large Nissan dealer this past winter. The dealer was asking $6,900 and it was in perfect shape and it had all the options including the factory power sunroof.
You'll be doing yourself a favor if you avoid the '95 and '96 model year. The newer, the better.
Unless you are from a rural area with very limited dealer competition, you should be able to latch on to a '97 or '98 Neon (perhaps even a '99) for $6000 with a little negotiation. Don't forget to negotiate! Dealer markups on used car trade-ins are unbelievably high - much higher than that on brand new cars (on which consumers can make direct comparisons between identical cars between dealerships and the actual price the dealer paid is relatively easy to figure out). Domestic cars are usually easier to negotiate on than imports as well.
My first and second car purchases (both used) were for $2200 and $2400 under initial asking prices respectively. I still think the dealer had more room to give on the second one (it was advertised at $6595 and I paid $4200), but I wanted the car REALLY bad. Interestingly, I was also looking at a used Honda Accord at that same time, but the dealer selling it (a Toyota dealer) told me they weren't going to be negotiating on "that" car. They said if I didn't buy it for their asking price, someone else would. I said, "bye, bye!"
Looking back, I'm quite glad I didn't buy the Honda. It had above average miles and appeared to been owned by an idiot who knew little about regular maintenance (you know, those Hondas just need "gas and oil" or so the myth goes). Even if I never had to stick another dollar into it (highly unlikely from its condition though), I still would've paid too much.
-Jason
There isn't any particular dealer I avoid in the metro (with the possible exception of Richfield-Bloomington Honda). I have noticed that the salesmen tend to be rather agressive at the Walser dealerships however. Be prepared to hear the phrase "what can I do to get you to buy this car today" six or seven hundred times if you stop at one of them. I usually just reply, "Boy, I don't know. What CAN you do to get me to buy this car today?" I've also found that telling them I'm seriously looking at a practically identical car across town for an asking price $2000 less always puts them in a friendlier mood (dealers are terrified if you leave their lot without buying - particularly if they think you're headed to a different dealer across town - as few customers ever return).
If you're looking for old Neons, Burnsville VW (Cliff Lake Road and 35W) is probably the best place around. They have a younger clientele and deal in huge volumes, so they tend to get a lot of Neons in on trade. As an added plus, they have a rather small sales lot (the cars are pretty much stacked on top of each other) and seem to be willing to do anything to make more space for more used VW's. If you go down to Burnsville though, also check out the Honda dealer by Buck Hill. I've looked at a few Neons there. A friend of mine bought his Saturn there and got a really good deal.
You might also try doing dealer searches on these websites:
http://www.getauto.com
http://www.carsoup.com
Most of the area dealerships list cars on one or both of these websites. A caveat though: the prices on these sites are dealer “dream prices.” I don’t know the demographics of those that shop for cars via the internet, but apparently the dealers have pinned the internet shoppers as rich and completely naïve when it comes to car shopping. When shopping for my last car, I found a number of cars in the paper ads listed on the dealers’ websites as well. The price listed on the website was invariably higher – in fact I found one car (yes, the same car!) listed in a Star Tribune ad for $4995 while the dealer’s website showed $7995. And since it was listed at $4995, I’d be willing to bet there was still wiggle room.
When I was a sophomore in college, myself and a friend used to go around test-driving cars for fun on the weekends. It was probably the cheapest entertainment around (and how many other punks can say they've blasted down I394 at 100mph in a Jaguar XJ12?). Actually, I got so comfortable dealing with car salesmen I actually started enjoying the whole "negotiation game". I recall one occasion at Wally McCarthy's where a saleman actually followed my friend and I off the lot shouting, "how 'bout $3200?!?! how 'bout $3000?!?!" We spent the ride back to his place shouting lower prices at each other in $200 increments.
Man, if I was actually serious about buying that Cutlass Supreme, I could've gotten it for a song...
If you have the time, try to enjoy the shopping experience. Drinking dealership coffee and driving the hell out of someone else's vehicles is never a bad way to spend an afternoon.
I am indeed a 20something from MN. My parents live in Apple Valley, so I'll definitely head over to Burnsville VW and the Honda dealership by Buck over Labor Day weekend. After reading all of these posts, I'm definitely getting a Neon and I'm pretty stoked about finally looking at actual cars instead of just newspaper and online listings (when the student loan refund comes in a couple of weeks--God love grad school). I'm going to see if I can get into a 97 on my budget. If not, I'll probably settle on a 95 or 96 Sport. I'm still debating whether it's better to buy one out here and have to switch the title and registration to MN or buy one at home and drive it back out to DC. There's probably less of a chance for signigicant body rust out here, but I'm much more comfortable looking at home. Also, I'm trying to sort out the merits and pitfalls of buying from a dealer versus a private individual. So many questions, I know. I just don't want to get screwed as I'm not quite the shrewed negotiator you've fashioned youself into. A philosophical quest for Justice and Fairness leaves me vulnerable in the used car universe. At least now I know the questions to ask and how much is too much for what I'm looking at.
Thanks again.
-jeremy
Zap, I would suggest you go for a newer, used Neon without the head gasket problems rather than buy an older '95 or '96. Even if you end up with a car payment. I agree that you should get a manual instead of an automatic. Perhaps the traffic in Washington DC means an automatic makes more sense, but a manual is much more fun. Also, I have not heard good things about the three speed automatic in the Neon.
Speaking of Washington DC, do you know where Chandra Levy is? ; )
Seriously though, enjoy your car. It doesn't matter if a car (any car) is not the most reliable or the safest or the most economical. What matters in the end is that it pushes your buttons, meets your needs, and you enjoy owning it.
anyway--ok, i'm going to look at a a 99 Highline this week. it's a 5 speed with quite a few features-ac, cruise, power breaks, no power steering or locks. it's at a Jeep dealership for $6,900 with 55,000 miles on it. so if i can get it for $6,000 or so i could put 5k down and make payments of about $100 per month for 1 year. so the questions are-- why does a 99 have 55,000 miles on it? do they have to tell me if it's a rental return, because i don't want one of those? should this alarm me?
sorry for being a baby. i just want to get the right one. thanks.
55k miles on a '99 seems like very high mileage.
Here is what I recommend. Go to the "Smart Shopper" board here at Edmunds Town Hall. Click on the discussion titled "Real-World Trade-In Values". Post your questions to brentwoodvolvo(Bill) and/or rroyce10(Terry), these guys are high level car dealers providing an AWESOME service to anyone who politely asks. These two sales professional, go to the "big" auctions and know what most vehicles should wholesale or retail for. They have access to the "black book", that used-car dealers, use to guide them on purchasing and selling pre-owned cars. I'm sure they can help you understand what the market on a used Neon, should be. Post your question on a specific vehicle your interested in, and/or ask them for some general questions on what brand vehicle they recommend in your price range!
Respectfully,
Larry
7 years ago I was looking at a Prism there and they gave me that "this is the price, take it or leave it" B.S. I got up and started walking to my car - which they appeared to be in the process of boxing in by one of those enormous, pre-'85 Buick Electras. Almost worthy of a case study, the sales manager suffered an instant personality change (from completely indifferent to thoroughly concerned in two seconds flat) and intercepted me before I could make my way back to the car.
Suddenly he had gone from TELLING me that their advertised price, $8995, was their lowest price to ASKING me if I'd buy it for $8000, $7500, and on. Needless to say, I didn't want that car all that much (there was a little red Isuzu calling my name) so I balked at everything he said. Oh, and I was kind of pissed at that point too. But I feel comfortable saying that I could've probably gotten that car for $2000 less than their *initial* lowest price. It was the final day of the month (the last day for them to dress-up their monthly inventory stats).
Fortunately, that dealer was just imploded two months ago to make way for the new Best Buy headquarters. Unfortunately, the sales staff made it out okay.
And I know it's a bit off subject, but I have to ask as I'm very curious: what kind of bag do you wear over your head to disguise yourself while tooling around in that Echo - paper or plastic? Sorry, I couldn't resist....the gauntlet has been thrown, but please, be nice - I only said it in jest.
Also, Major Tom, I heard you really made the grade and the papers want to know whose shirts you wear.
Jeremy, it's a small world. I used to live right off Burnsville Parkway over by Birnamwood so I'm very familiar with Apple Valley. I love the south metro. Where else can you give a visitor accurate directions and sound like some sick pederast..."Go west on Yankee Doodle; south on Pilot Knob. If you hit Johnny Cake, you've gone to far."
I wouldn't be too worried about that '99 being a former rental. The rental companies only buy automatics (since every moron can drive those). It COULD be a lease return, but those are usually fairly well taken care of.
If you're curious about the origin of the vehicle and are seriously interested, you can order a history of the vehicle through carfax (I think it's www.carfax.com). It's probably not a bad idea to get one of those anyway just to find out if the car has a clean title (and hasn't been marked salvage in another state).
Actually, $6900 seems like a very reasonable asking price for a '99, and 20k per year (if it was purchased in late '98) isn't all that abnormal.
Personally, I think late model cars with above-average miles are the best deals. Anyone can say that the miles on the car they're peddling are all or mostly "highway miles", but if the car has a bunch of miles on it and is almost new, it's a sure bet (it's awfully tough to put on a boatload of miles doing short, stop-and-go city trips – and that is the type of driving that wears a car out).
Furthermore, you can also be fairly certain that no one has tampered with the odometer on high-mileage, late-model used cars.
From experience used-car shopping here in the Cities, I've also found that it’s the lower mileage cars that usually have the most door dings - presumably because those cars have spent a lot of time in area parking lots and little time on the open highway. I don't know about you, but I'll take stone chips on the front-end any day over that "dinged" look of the city cars.
Also, since it's a dealer, you should be able to do better than $6000 on that car. I'd start my offer at $4500-$5000. Since it is at a dealership, it is probably a new car trade-in (and people almost always get screwed on those). If so, the dealer probably paid the previous owner in the neighborhood of $4000 for it (perhaps a little less, perhaps a little more depending on the discount negotiated off the new car).
If you start negotiations on this car and can't get the dealer to come down into the low fives, consider getting up and walking out. This technique has saved me hundreds of dollars in the past, and few things are as invigorating as having a used car sales manager chasing after you like the Terminator.
In the rare (read: EXTREMELY RARE) event they actually let you get away and haven't left 3 messages on your voicemail by the time you get home, at least then you know where their REAL bottom line is.
Don't let perceived embarrassment keep you from getting the best deal! If you still want the car after walking out, you can always go back to the dealer and buy it for their lowest previous offer. Salepeople change their minds all the time (first a price is non-negotiable, the next second they've dropped it by $900) - so you can too.
I don't care what anybody says. If you haven't gotten up to walk out at least once during negotiations, you could've paid less.
On that same note, if the salesperson tries to intimidate you or tells you that you're offer is "too low to take to their sales manager", politely - but forcefully - let them know you'll leave if they don't.
Dealerships are designed to be intimidating places. You are entering the salesman's workplace (a place in which they feel completely comfortable jacking people around). But you have the upper hand! If they don't sell you a car, they don't get paid (unless you're at a Saturn dealer where the staff is on salary). You have nothing to lose by going to a different dealer - the salesperson has MUCH more at stake.
Practice repeating this phrase before you head into the sales office:
WHY won't you let me buy this car today?
Whenever they turn the heat up on you, put the ball back into their court and make THEM stumble for answers.
Remember, big-ticket purchases blur a person's concept of money. Can you imagine leaving a $200 tip for the waitress at Denny's (I eat upscale as you can tell)? Of course not! Yet, it seems like nothing when you're buying a $5000 car. Fighting to get a few hundred dollars off the price of a car is NOT petty. You have to labor just as long to give a $200 tip at a restaurant as you do to pay $5900 for a $5700 car.
Hopefully, I'm getting you psyched up. I really want you get a good deal whatever car you decide to get, Jeremy. Judging from your previous post, it sounds like you’re a pretty decent person (i.e., your philosophical quest for justice and fairness).
I haven’t had much of a pr
And now....the rest of the story:
oblem dealing with auto salespeople LATELY, but I’ve got that “just graduated from business school” look still and I think they can probably tell I’m probably going to be a pain in the [non-permissible content removed] at first glance. Don't let them smell this “fairness thing” on you. When dealing with buttheads, sometimes you have to be a butthead too.
Trust me on one thing: nothing feels better than feeling confident you got a great deal on a good car (and knowing that you're not the customer that the sales staff will be laughing about over tomorrow's lunch break).
Keep us informed and good luck!
- Mike
There are no laws on disclosure here. Auto dealers do not have to volunteer information about whether a car was a rental or not (or even if it was side-swiped by a Ford Exhibitionist). I.e., for the most part it's don't ask, don't tell (unless someone has doctored the emission system or tinkered with the odometer AND the dealer possesses this knowledge).
Any comments made regarding the car's condition could constitute an express warranty, however. And, as always, intentionally mistating facts is considered fraud (which is why salesmen are so famous for making vague statements like, "you won't find another one like this around").
Also, I remeber the Walser people whining on KARE 11 about how unfairly they were being treated by Best Buy and the city of Bloomington and I always thought that place was annoying with their 500 gigantic flags. The only good thing about that dealership was that it made me homesick when I was living in Salt Lake and I saw "Fargo" and I recognized 494 and the highway signs for France Ave. and HWY 100 in the background during the scenes they shot on location there.
Anyway. I'm armed with knowledge and confidence, so the force is with me as I confront the Evil Empire of car salesmen (Ok, now I'm mixing Star Wars and Reaganesque paranoia allusions. I must be going now). I'll keep you posted.
-jeremy
You did not offend me. I realize that the Echo's looks are very polarizing and so don't hold your comments against you.
I would imagine that the Neon when it first came out suffered much the same slings and arrows.
I guess I'll have to go after Vocus next time. Speaking of which, he hasn't posted here lately. My guess: the tranny in that Protege blew out again and he's walking back from a trip out to Yosemite.
I think he got embarrassed after seeing that last J.D. Power Quality survey - especially after what seemed like an eternity of blasting Chrysler for making unreliable cars. Yeesh, what's Mazda trying to do now anyway? They're starting to make Hyundai look good.
On a different note, I found it funny that Walser was trying to champion itself as the savior of Richfield when it had logged years and years of complaints from its residential neighbors because of the proximity of its used car PA system to their homes. It was very sad to see their neighbor and local landmark, Wally McCarthy's Oldsmobile, go however.
My dad used to take me there when I was a kid (so he could load up on free bratwurst and popcorn) and I have very fond memories. There aren't a lot of theme dealerships anymore (if you recall, the building and sales lot were designed to look like one big circus tent). Oh well, you take the good with the bad.
Lastly, don't you find it a bit irritating that every time you travel someplace out of the Midwest, they actually expect Minnesotans to talk with that same horrific accent the Coen brothers used for the movie Fargo? It's not like it's Norway for God's sake.
Little do these people know that their local broadcasters have been trained to speak with a midwestern "dialect" because it is considered the most grammatically correct (and accent free). I used to get so sick of calling into credit managers at work and hearing them say, "Gee, you're from Minnesota? You sure don't sound like it." It makes me wonder if these same people believed in re-animation after watching Night of the Living Dead. I just bet they drive Kias too.
-jeremy
If you're seriously interested in the car though, try to deal on it during the last day of the month. Since this car is obviously a trade-in (Toyota dealers don't buy Dodges at auction), and the asking price is higher than market for the Twin Cities, there is a LOT more room for negotiation.
"Probably able to let it go for $4800" is sales-speak for "prepare to be screwed." I'd bet my Chrysler these guys didn't pay any more than $3200 for this car on trade. In fact, if you came back with this same car a week after buying it and tried to trade it in on a new Corolla (or some other equally uncharismatic Toyota product), they would probably tell you some big story about how weak the market is for used Neons and that they couldn't give you any more than $2500 for it.
Personally, I try to avoid Toyota dealers like the plague as they've become so accustomed to screwing people (people who volunteer to come in and pay MSRP for Camrys and RAV4's), they don't no how NOT to jerk people around.
Interestingly, Burnsville Toyota is THE dealership I attempted to purchase a used Honda Accord at (granted it was 6 years ago) and they demanded nothing less than a king's ransom for it - and that for a car that was in very poor condition!
Also, I've had work done on cars as part of purchase agreements and haven't been happy with the work either time. The dealership's goal is to maximize the profit on the car and that, of course, means cutting corners when making repairs. Worse yet, most of them want you to pay for the car BEFORE the work is done (so there is NO incentive there at all for them to do the work to your satisfaction - you already bought it).
If you decide to try to deal on this car, do yourself a favor and get an estimate on that bumper repair first. Almost any shop will give you a quick, FREE estimate on how much the repair will be and I believe there is a shop that does bodywork in that auto mall just a few blocks away from Burnsville Toyota (next to Firestone, Car-X, etc.) between Burnsville Center and the new Saturn dealership along Buck Hill Road. If you still decide you want the car at that time (you might be surprised at how expensive it is just to replace the bumper cover alone), you can use their written estimate to aid in the negotiation process.
But personally, I wouldn't bother fixing the bumper on a $4000 car (unless it looks totally unsightly or is likely to fall off if one of the coat hangers break). If you do any rush hour driving at all, chances are someone is going to rear-end soon enough anyway. I would just wait until then so that Allstate can pick up the tab.
Mike's Law states: purchasing a new car OR spending a great deal of money fixing up your old car increases the likelihood that you'll be involved in an automobile accident by 300%.
The odds are very much in your *favor* of getting into an accident if you do a lot of rush hour driving in a large city, however. And I'm an odds man.
Doing unneccessary bodywork on an older car seems financially unwise to me. From personal experience, it always seems like some moron runs into me right after I get bodywork done.
The last person who rear-ended me had the audacity to tell me that she "had something in her eye" - this despite the fact she had been driving at 65mph for the last 3 miles just 10 ft from my bumper! Hmmmm...go figure.
I believe it was the first accident I was able to predict 2 minutes ahead of time. It's like it had its own storyline.
So long as the asinine share the same roads as the rest of us, accidents will be unavoidable.
Understand now?
First of all they have professional inspectors.
Second of all prior damages will definitely have rust that leads investigators to correct path.
If my bumper is cracked and somebody hits me and I need to get a new bumper, why does it matter if it was cracked before that? I still would need a new bumper. If the initial crack didn't make the new damage any worse than it would have been otherwise, and the whole thing needs to be replaced, regardless of whether it had been in perfect shape or had peeling paint or a scratch or even a crack, what's the difference? I would still need a whole new bumper. If my stereo got stolen and insurance covered it, would it be wrong to not report that some of the buttons had not worked before it was stolen, so they should pay me less to replace it? If my door had a scratch on it that cost 300 bucks to fix, and I got sideswiped before I could fix it, is it also wrong to allow insurance to replace the door? The real abuse is that we get gouged for insurance, then if we use it, we get further screwed with higher premiums or dropped all together. Well, what the hell is it there for? I will never get as much out of insurance as I pay into it, so as long as I'm not breaking the law, I'm not too concerned with the ethics of such actions. I hope I'm not incriminating myself.
I am not an insurance agent, but I believe that the amount you are given to fix your car could be pro-rated to account for prior damage.
can I install transfer gears from another car (auto) to improve acceleration.
Will a 2.4l and trans from a PT cruiser fit in
a neon.
And thanks, Thom. All things considered, I am pretty happy with it. I can't wait to bring it home.
That price doesn't sound too bad to me at all and since you ordered a carfax report, you should have some extra peace of mind. Better yet, imagine how many thousands of dollars more you would have paid for a comparable Honda Civic.
On a different note, this insurance debate is getting quite heated. But, I think Zapatista makes a very good point (that I was having difficulty getting across to some apparently...).
So here's a hypothetical: if my bumper has a big dent in it now, I get it [the bumper] replaced and subsequently get into an accident two weeks later in which it has to be replaced once more, what is the difference in repair cost that will be charged to my insurer for the 2nd repair? If you guessed $0, you would be correct.
Causing an accident or submitting a fradulent claim is one thing. What I am referring to is quite another.
My current vehicle (a 1991) has 174K miles on it. Yet, I am paying the same $$ in premiums that I would if the car had 50K miles.
It's been awhile since I've had a law class, but it would be VERY difficult to prove the example I initially gave to be fraud. And it isn't fraud if you can't prove it. Fraud is a legal definition, not some individual's position on fairness or morality.
To further prove this point, try to answer this question: when was the last time you saw an insurer give a discount to a customer for driving a car with previous body damage? A car with a dent in the bumper is worth less than the identical car without, but with 999 out of 999 insurers, the premiums charged will be identical. Why? Because if either car gets rear-ended, the price for repairs will be the same!
It WOULD be fraud, however, if you filed a claim for the Neon you just bought a week from now falsely stating that someone hit the vehicle just after you bought it.
It WOULD ALSO be fraud if you got into an accident in which a different end of the vehicle received damage and you decided to "lump" the rear end damage on to that claim.
It is for these above two situations that your insurer requires you to state previous body damage when insuring a "new" used vehicle with them.
One more example: if I bought a car with a broken window and someone later stole my antenna (hey, it could happen), I would be obligated to inform the insurer that the window was previously damaged when filing the vandalism/theft claim. I would not, however, be obligated to tell my insurer the antenna had been previously bent in a carwash.
Hopefully, this makes it a little more clear.
I did not, and will not, advocate staging accidents or submitting fradulent claims, so take a chill pill.
Now, can we please move on?
Let's get back to talking about the Neon. This is, after all, the Neon board.
Wouldn't it be easier to just add on a turbo-charger kit to the original 2.0?
Respectfully,
Larry
According to Edmunds, there is now a $2,500 (yes twenty-five hundred "big ones") rebate on 2001 5-spd Neons in my zip code (Mpls, MN).
On top of that, I'm eligible for a $400 college grad incentive from Chrysler and I just noticed that Chrysler is throwing in an extra $500 if you download a certificate off their website (as of 8-25-01).
In addition, I should able to purchase one through a fleet agent for $50 over dealer invoice (they're much easier to deal with than Joe Carsalesman BTW) because of an agreement with my employer.
So my question is: does it seem unreasonable to try for $3350 less than "dealer invoice" on a 5-spd 2001 Neon ES? I know that the incentives all come out of Chrysler's pocket, not the dealer's. Still...
Actually, when my parents got their 2001 Olds Intrigue this spring, they bought through an agent for $50 over invoice and got 1. the $1500 Olds loyalty rebate (they qualified by purchasing a new Olds back in 1996), 2. $2000 in GM card rebates, and 3., the $2000 Olds consumer rebate. GM also throws in an extended warranty as part of the phase-out too. They actually - as amazing as it seems to me - paid almost $8000 less than sticker for a new car they actually ordered-out with the exact options they wanted (none of this "out of inventory" BS). Furthermore, I went with my dad for the "negiotiations", and it was less nerve-wrecking than trying to buy wallpaper.
The prices through the agent are fixed, so whatever consumer rebates are available are just added bonuses.
My big concern at this point is finding one with the options I desire (it defeats the purpose of buying new if you have to settle for a silver car with no sunroof, alloy wheels and leather seats IMO). If I didn't care about color or options, I'd just buy another used car. And you can't really do an order-out on a 2001 anymore since they've stopped making them (yes, I'm stating the obvious again), so what you see is what you get.
Part of me would also like to wait to see what's coming for 2002...but while I'm waiting, those good deals are disappearing. Ughhh!!!!
If anyone has the inside scoop yet on changes/improvements for the '02 Neon, please share with the board! Thanks.
Anyone who loves NASCAR Winston Cup racing has to expect that Dodge showrooms are celebrating the marques return to NASCAR this year after a 15-year absence. Dodge has introduced special motorsports edition packages for Neon, Intrepid and Dakota vehicles that are flame red, black or silver. The package includes race-inspired wheels and tires, motorsports badging and a motorsports track bag/cooler with Dodge racing collectibles. Last but not least, the Dodge Neon SE is offered with a $660 Power Pak package that makes several popular options; including a single CD player; power windows, door locks, mirrors and trunk lid release; and 15-inch tires available on the base Neon.
-Larry
http://www.carsfast.net/Dodge/Neon.html
I'm kind of thinking the changes (other than the 4-spd auto) for 2002 are going to be nil for the Neon. It looks like just option groupings and colors are likely to change, which isn't all that bad when you think about it.
I was kind of hoping for thicker glass and more body insulation on the '02 (we'll see when the October issues of Motor Trend and Car and Driver surface in a couple weeks) for Sedan DeVille-like quietness, but that's probably a bit unrealistic.
later, I had the brakes changed. Now, my car is making whirling
noises as the front left wheel is moving. When I brake, it sounds
like an airplane coming to a stop with a soft noise sounding similar
to a descending whistle. Not only that, but it seems like my front
axle is making noises as a I accelerate and then slowly step on the
brake pedal. I've had the mechanic take off the brakes, clean them,
and reinstall them, all while I was watching. Nothing looked out of
place or bent or anything. He isn't sure what the problem is.
Can anyone help me figure this out?? please.... I carpool, and I want
to know if it is just the car needing some lubrication or if it is
something a lot more serious.
They must be selling them at true dealer cost.
Are you sure it was a 2002? If so, you got a damn good deal. Pat yourself on the back.
Please post the name of the dealership from which you purchased the car. I think a lot of us that are within driving distance of Chicago would be interested in price shopping with these guys in the future.