OK, I’ve had communications with this guy who is selling his ’04 Crossfire with 57K miles on it for $10000 OBO. It’s a graphite, automatic, pictures look pretty decent (not the best quality pics on craigslist). He lives just outside of town, but work IN town. He will bring the car in the morning for me to check out in person. He says the car is in “excellent” condition both mechanically and cosmetically. Says he brought to dealerships, and they like it but obviously won’t give him what it’s worth so he’s selling it on his own (I don’t really blame him there).

Well, I’m nervous about making such a large investment without SOME sort of assurance, so I ran a car fax on it and it comes up clean as a whistle. No accidents/damage, ONE owner, Personal vehicle, no open recalls, etc.. Makes me happy to know that he’s not trying to intentionally deceive me. Car fax does, however, only say it’s a 1 owner vehicle while he says he bought it from someone else. Not exactly sure what that means. He HAS had the car serviced locally, and even though there is a lien on it, we both have accounts with the same credit union where I received a loan preapproval just today. They say they can handle all the paperwork for us in one visit (which is great).

The credit union also offers an extended warranty for over $1K with different lengths of coverage: 60/48/36 months from $1,157 to $1,744. I think I should get this, but I’m already stretching funds a bit as it is. Yes, you can give me your thoughts on this as well.

I asked him about tires and I’m wondering if you think I should add this factor in with the negotiating of the price. He said they may be about 50% worn. I’d rather have better rubber on the road than that. I got a quote from Discount Tire to install all 4 tires (Kumho SPT) with warranty, blah, blah, blah... for $756.80 installed. Not too bad a deal for fairly decent tires. They are matching cost as it is on tirerack.com which is $600.00, but all the extras bring the final price up. Tell me what you think. I’ll take any suggestions I might be able to use in the negotiation of this car. Everything looks good “on paper”, but seeing it in person will be the final thing.

Thanks for enduring my lengthy entry.

 

The price sounds reasonable and fair for the age and miles. That you guys "share" the same Credit union would seem a plus.

As for the tires, I'm not familiar with the KUMHO's. I found Generals to be excellent and at about $800.00 for a full set. Your budget may dictate a lower price. And someone here may know more about that brand.

Warranties are only as good as the company behind them and the real coverage offered. Be careful there. Frankly, I think they are overrated and oversold.

Me, It's a Benz. How much warranty should you need?

As to the car,
If I was looking for one, I'd pay that price unless something shows up bad on the Carfax. Since you found that history to be OK, I would stop nail biting and let the self doubts evaproate on the wind behind your new articulating spoiler.

 

Thanks for your input Franc. It’s much appreciated. I completely agree with your statement about the extended warranties topic. I just don’t want anything to come up and bite me on the backside with this deal; I”m sure you understand. The car fax is good, so I’m putting a certain level of trust in that at least.

I’ll give it a good look-over tomorrow morning, and tell you how it goes. I’m very excited about this potential deal.

 

If it were me, I would take the $1000 for a warranty and keep it in a safe for anything
the car might need. Engine and trans never seem to get any major problems.

Take the car out for at least a 30 minute drive and include the freeway. Test everything including the heated seats for problems. Note any wear and mentally deduct from the asking price. Unless the car looks and drives like a new car, you may want to get back to the forum for more feedback. Best of luck .

 

[quote=jerry rosewicz]If it were me, I would take the $1000 for a warranty and keep it in a safe for anything
the car might need. Engine and trans never seem to get any major problems.

Take the car out for at least a 30 minute drive and include the freeway. Test everything including the heated seats for problems. Note any wear and mentally deduct from the asking price. Unless the car looks and drives like a new car, you may want to get back to the forum for more feedback. Best of luck .[/quote

That is great advise Jerry. Drive it long enough and in all situations for anything to show up.

This may sound crazy but a hand wash may be a goog idea. I find that once I hand wash a car I have seen every detail from every angle. Just a thought. Good luck with the inspection.

 

I am not trying to get too personal, just offering some advice.

As a relatively younger owner, I say that if you are stretching to spend 10% more than the purchase price on the warranty, you may want to rethink some things. While I would not purchase a warranty, I am aware that expenses can and will arise with this car, as Franc said, its a Benz. With that comes great reliability, but also great expense when the reliability takes a hit. With tires being ~$800-$1000 on the inexpensive side (lasting 20K miles at the most) and oil change well over $100, I just want to make sure you are not so hampered by a car payment you can not afford premium gas and mobile1 to treat her right, and if an expense arises, I would hate to see that force a sale on a car with such dodgy resale value.

Just my $0.02

 

I agree w\Franc, I have the Generals on mine and they work just fine for me. Extended warranties - not a big fan, had one once never again. Better to save back the money for repairs for most people. My daughter bought a new Jetta this year and they got her for about $4000 in extended warranties - one was in case her rims got scratched $1000. I talked to her and she cancelled them for a full refund and it took a year off her payments. That will buy a lot of repairs when her original one expires.

 

Agree on this point. Self insurance is often the best approach, especially if you use the forum to help guide you on repairs and maintenance. Put the 1K in the bank and keep it as a fund for maintenance and repair. Add to it a little bit each month if possible and draw down as needed.........

Good luck with the car. I love mine

 

PNA, this is AWESOME advice. I have an account I use for similar things; “emergencies” if you will. I don’t think I”ll go the warranty route, and looking at Larry’s input about his daughter and her canceling an extended warranty on her wheels gives me an idea to do the same on a warranty that cost me $3,000 for my F-150 that I got just over a year ago. I may go get the A/C checked on it before I do so, but I see no reason otherwise to have the thing...esp. if I feel confident in the vehicle after putting some miles on it AND if I have my little fund on the side.

As for the XF, I took a look at it, and I”m pretty impressed. An issue or two, however, is the tires seem VERY loud (esp in front - which is strange). Not sure if this is due to the need for new tires or what. Another is the guy said he had to put a new battery in it this morning (good for me I guess), but why would a fairly new battery go dead overnight? He said the other battery was under warranty, so he got the new one at no cost. Should this raise a red flag?

Otherwise, the car was in great shape for a 2004. Nice finish, well taken care of, needs wiper blades (no biggie), great acceleration, breaking, rides and stops straight, electrical components check out, engine looks free of leaks and guy said he’s had no issues with the car in the 3 years he’s had it. I MIGHT be making a deal with him today

 

Sounds like a go position my friend. It is a used car. Perfect is hardly attainable, although desired.

There will be issues because, after all, the car is 7 years old. It was driven.
But plenty of support help is available here. Especialy required as there is no cure for the perma grin.

enjoy.

franc

 

My tires are loud too. Some people can't stand the noise.......others will just say turn up the stereo or open the window. Personally, I'll look for quieter tires when mine need replacing. There are threads on here from forum members on insulating to cut down on road noice. Most noise comes from the rear and due to the cavern in the coupe, and the fact the wheels are right behind the driver, it's to be expected.

As far as the battery, likely a good thing you got a new one. Most would say to replace it every couple years anyway due to the poltergiest things that happen in the XFire when they start to go. An electrical system check might be a good thing to do to make sure there isn't any power drains somewhere in the system.

Hope all works out. Sounds like a nice ride -- if tracks true, stops well (I love the brakes in these cars) and accellerates nicely. Good luck.

 

Thanks franc; thanks PNA and everyone who added their $.02. I think it might just be a “go” as Franc said.