December 27, 200817 yr Looking at buying a 05 Legacy 2.5i sedan, 38k miles, awd, auto. Clean Carfax 3 owners rental car first Dealer wants about 13k. It's in the NW. 11k sound right for a former rental car?
December 27, 200817 yr Do you really want a sedan? They don't hold their value as well as a wagon does. I wouldnt buy a former rental car. Nobody treats the car like they would if it was theirs and frankly people don't take care of their own car worth a damn either so why.... I think for that money you could get a 3.0 6 model or something with a few more miles on it, the car is out of 3/36 warranty but would still have a 5/60 powertrain left.
December 27, 200817 yr Author Do you really want a sedan? They don't hold their value as well as a wagon does. I wouldnt buy a former rental car. Nobody treats the car like they would if it was theirs and frankly people don't take care of their own car worth a damn either so why.... I think for that money you could get a 3.0 6 model or something with a few more miles on it, the car is out of 3/36 warranty but would still have a 5/60 powertrain left. I can't find a similar wagon around here for less than 14k. The seats in the sedan fold forward and I already have a 2wd ford ranger to haul big items. The fact that it's a former rental is a concern. However, a good shop should be able to find any problems before the 5/60 warranty is gone. I'm trying to figure out what it's really worth if I decided to sell it. NADA has it at 12k/trade 14k/retail. I'll go drive it today.
December 28, 200817 yr a good shop can not determine anything significant about a former rental car this new. stuff like brake wear or whatever is no big deal anyway. a shop can't get into the engine an transmission internals and see the wear patterns and stuff that really make a difference over the long term use of the vehicle. the longer you keep the car/more miles you put on it, the more likely it is to matter that it's a rental. 50k extra no big deal, 150k may start showing it's additional wear and tear. as for the sedan not holding their value as much, that's not what i've seen in my area. i guess it depends on the area and what year? i couldn't dream of getting $6,000 for a nice 97 leg wagon, they're a dime a dozen around here. but i've sold GT sedans for that. pretty sure ebay bears that out too, not that i think that's a great place to see market value! Edited December 28, 200817 yr by grossgary
December 28, 200817 yr I'm not sure about others but I know around here WRX wagons hold their value more and are priced higher than sedans but I'm not sure about Leg wagons.
December 28, 200817 yr a good shop can not determine anything significant about a former rental car this new. Stuff like brake wear or whatever is no big deal anyway. A shop can't get into the engine an transmission internals and see the wear patterns and stuff that really make a difference over the long term use of the vehicle. The longer you keep the car/more miles you put on it, the more likely it is to matter that it's a rental. 50k extra no big deal, 150k may start showing it's additional wear and tear. +1
December 28, 200817 yr I'm not sure about others but I know around here WRX wagons hold their value more and are priced higher than sedans but I'm not sure about Leg wagons.right on, i could see that in my area too for imps.
December 28, 200817 yr I wouldn't be all that concerned about buying a former rental car. A buddy of mine did that some years back, and it turned out to be a good reliable car. Car rental stores do a good job of oil changes, tire replacements and front end alignment, but sell the cars before needing brakes. A few years back I bought a use Subie from a Toyota dealer. We haggled down on price, then I talked them into replacing the timing belt as part of the deal, which they did. However, with just 38K miles on the odo, that is not a concern for you. Give it a drive, and see how it drives, if not done so already. Try haggling hard, and complain that it was a rental car, and therefore telling them that the car is less desirable to you. You may be able to write a super deal on this car. Remember that car sales are way down right now. Dealers are hot to sell at reduced prices.
December 28, 200817 yr Author Got it for 12k. Runs great. A customer walked on the lot to come see it as I was leaving and asked me if I wanted to sell it to her. Edited December 28, 200817 yr by 9098
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