[Nokio]

Up the street from my house, this little car dealer is selling a 1998 black Intrepid with tinted windows (looks like 15%) and an Intrepid decal on the top of the windshield. This car looks good! But, I have noticed a couple things:

1) There is a scratch on the driver side front door that looks like someone may have keyed the car a little -- can this be buffed out?

2) There is no radio in the car, but the wiring for an amp is there, so obviously, whoever had the car before, had an aftermarket sound system in it. I look at this as a plus because all I have to do is put my Pioneer cd-player in there and just plug my amp and subs in. Cool, huh?

3) The driver side rear door has no "side-bumper", but the other 3 doors do. It doesn't look like anything is broken or anything, it actually looks like that door was just simply manufactured without one on there. Are these "bumpers" costly, or would it be better for me to just remove all of them?

4) It doesn't seem to have been abused, it is very clean in the inside, and it has, if I can remember correctly, around 65,000 miles on it. Too bad I couldn't take it for a test drive, I am 16 and he said I had to have a parent......bullsh*t. Anyways, at the time I looked at the car, I did not know about the way to check error codes, but I will when I take my older cousin up there with me later on this week. But it started up fine and no lights were on in the dash...

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Keep in mind that this is a 1998 base model, no ES or anything, but after talkin with him about a price, he said $10,500. Now, I am thinking he HAS to be kidding me....he expectes me to pay that much for a car with no radio, a scratch, and a missing side-bumer? I think not...Anyways, if I find no problems when I test drive this thing, what price should I be looking to spend on that car considering the statements above, because it is getting cold and I REALLY want an Intrepid as a first car, and if I can get THAT one for a nice price, that would be REAL nice...

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Kelly Blue Book is: 10,480

So I'm guessing that's where they came up with that price.

First off, try and talk him down on the price and see what you can do.

Second, before you agree to anything, list all these problems for them, and ask them what they are going to do about them. I'm sure if they want to sell the car, they'll fix the scratch, get a side bumper, and maybe even install your head unit for you....

When I got my 99 a few months ago, there were a few scratches and the hood emblem was missing. I got them to fix everyting free of charge before I signed the papers. Just make sure to get it in writing!!!!

 

[Nokio]

hmmm....I think I will go talk to them about that. It a lot better than this 1998 white Iintrepid I saw at this other dealer.....it had 127,000 miles, the "Check Engine" light stayed on as I was driving, the front bumper was cracked, the transmission sounded like it was going to fall out from under the car, and the tire was low on air. It also sounded like air was coming in up under the dashboard somewhere.....and get this....when I asked the salesman that was riding with me what the noise was, he told me "It's the tires,, they are just cold and need to warm up and the road it made out differently than some roads", I could have kicked his fat ass....but they are selling it for $6,000 and that's what made me check it out.....it's still there and has been there since September, just sittin there lookin tired...

 

[Nokio]

Also, the dealer that is seling the black intrepid is not really one of those dealers you see with commercials on TV.....it's more like a little lot, do you think that he will go so far as to try fixing those issues with the car?

 

[p3]

Originally posted by Nokio:
Also, the dealer that is seling the black intrepid is not really one of those dealers you see with commercials on TV.....it's more like a little lot, do you think that he will go so far as to try fixing those issues with the car?

If not he should adjust the price a little to compensate for the probs.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Hey Nokio, are you in the city or a suburb?

I live in Bensenville (by o'hare).

What's the name of the place, maybe I've heard of them?

 

[Nokio]

Suburbs, I don't know the name of the place, I never really looked after all this time. I will let you know when I go up there this week..

 

[DjPiLL]

Be careful when dealing with those "mom and pop" car dealers. You can buy the car from them one day, and they will be shut down the next. I would only buy from a major reputable dealer (especially in the used car market).

As far as price goes... i would not pay more than $8000 for that car since its missing all those items. Yeah those missing items dont total a $2000 difference, but you also have to factor in the price for your time to have to go out and do the work replacing the stuff.

 

[btc909]

Remember anything & everything can be fixed but it's all a matter of cost. If that car is in Excellent condition it's worth 10-11K. But it isn't. Take it too a dealer pay the 80-100 bucks to have it check out. Get a estimate & hand it over to the seller, either fix these items yourself or minus the difference. If it's 2 grand worth of repairs, then it's two grand.

I wouldn't mind the missing radio, the stockers are junk anyways.

Items that probably need to be replaced:

-Struts, ESPECIALLY the front ones, they don't last for 65K miles. Sorry.

-PCV Valve.

-Bushing, Tie Rods

- Serpentine Belt, flip it over & look for cracks.

- AC Belt

- Make sure all interior & exterior lights, turn signals work.

- Assume none of the fluid have ever been changed. Tranny, Differential, Engine, Power Steering, the radiator is good for 100K.

 

[rich00es]

Check www.carfax.com (I believe that's the URL). They should have useful info there.
I'd worry about the missing molding on the door. Sounds to me like an accident and they decided not to replace it.
You also might check www.consumereports.com They just did an article on used cars. Some reports might be free there but the $3.95 for one month might be worth it for you.
Good luck with your decision.

 

[sphere79]

Keep in mind that this is a 1998 base model, no ES or anything, but after talkin with him about a price, he said $10,500.

That's way too much money for them to be asking. I paid 10,500 ( plus another $1000 for a warranty ) for a '99 ES with 52K miles. And about www.carfax.com - they're going to want $15-20 to "run the VIN". I have an account with them good through mid-January, if you'd like you can post the VIN here and I'll run it for you and post the results.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

Originally posted by sphere79:
That's way too much money for them to be asking. I paid 10,500 ( plus another $1000 for a warranty ) for a '99 ES with 52K miles. And about www.carfax.com - they're going to want $15-20 to "run the VIN". I have an account with them good through mid-January, if you'd like you can post the VIN here and I'll run it for you and post the results.

Damn, you got a deal. I got my 99ES for a little over 15K.

Kelly Blue Book on mine is: $16,530

 

[sphere79]

Damn, you got a deal. I got my 99ES for a little over 15K.

Kelly Blue Book on mine is: $16,530

KBB said the car I was buying had a trade-in value of around 14,500 - if I recall correctly. That's one of the reasons why I went for it, I thought I was getting a pretty good deal. It isn't loaded though, but it does have a few add-ons. And of course, that's 11,500 before financing and all that happy stuff.

 

[JPierpoint]

The missing bumper on the door could be important.

If the car has had an accident and that door got trashed then it must have been a side on impact. This means that the body shell could be damaged (examine the roof - does it seem uneven?) or the chassis could have been knocked out of alignment. Don't bother asking the dealership what sort of accident it was in - they either won't know, or they will lie to you, saying the door was opened onto a hydrent or sign or something, and that it only had a skin replaced.

If you still want to proceed, get that VIN checked. In the UK we have a register to tell us if a major insurance claim has been made against a car, i.e. has is been repaired from being in a total wreck.

One last thing - I used to sell cars from home, as a sideline. If you see a car on a small lot, or from guy dealing from home, you have to ask yourself how he got it. The new-ish cars, or cars in really good condition, are always kept by the main franchise agents. For one to turn up outside of the franchise network would mean that it wasn't wanted.

I'm from the UK, things may work a little differently from the US, but even so......

With so many 'treps around, I'd walk away and find another. Remember, there's no such thing as a cheap auto!

 

[ottowrkr]

The driver side rear door has no "side-bumper", but the other 3 doors do. It doesn't look like anything is broken or
anything, it actually looks like that door was just simply manufactured without one on there.

I dont really think we built and shipped a car with only three door mouldings? Sounds like the door has be painted or repaired

 

[Thrasher]

how about the benefit of the doubt, could it have simply fell off? is all the glue cleaned off? does the door appear to be freshly painted? is there any obvious overspray anywhere on the car?

i'm still debating on ripping the side molding off my ride.

 

[Nokio]

There is no glue marks or anything. The door is clean. Looks brand-new. I know they are not manufactured like that, but it looks thay way, that's how clean it is. BUT, there is also a scratch on the driver side front door, like someone keyed it or something. For some reason, I think this car has been in an accident, i dunno why, but I just do. And it HAS been sitting there for like 3 months now, I wonder why, we are going up there today, I will further inspect it and let you all know about it...