cidion Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 (edited) I'm looking at this OBW. Possibly purchase it today or tomorrow. Any warning signs that you guys see? Photos Carfax link $12,k ( paying cash) (I have to say that I think my avatar accuratly represents my sate of mind almost every time I post here) =) Edited January 20, 2009 by cidion I noticed something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 looks good to me. check for engine noise, the idler and tensioner bearings are a known weak spot. you've probably seen the recent thread on the H6 engine about that? very simple parts to replace and i'm replacing mine just as preventative maintenance based on the feedback from that thread. in another recent thread EVOthis (works on a lot of subaru's at his shop), said the speakers fail alot, so check all of those out. he said he just replaced some in an 02 OBW in the past week. when i picked mine up a month ago i used the car-fax info and called the places it was serviced at to get a basic run down of the maintenance that was done to mine. what all was done and also what kind of oil they used. mostly concerned with whether it was synthetic or regular, so i can stay consistent. mine was serviced by the same Subaru dealer always so it's alway had the same Pennzoil 5w-30 i think it was, non-synethic. looks like your car-fax has some contacts on it too you could check on. just make sure they know you're trying to be up to date on maintenance, not "stalk" the previous owner. i've had some places get funny about that, but they open up once they realize what's going on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skip Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 with only 60 Kmi I do not think the above warnings are of consequence yet. Beautiful car, you'll love it. The issue of oil changes is a concern The timing chain (seen below thanks to Porupine73) and it's guides need good lubricant to maintain their integrity. DO heed Gary's warning in this respect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidion Posted January 20, 2009 Author Share Posted January 20, 2009 Thanks guys for the advice / help. I'm curious about these two things: 1 Price. This is a dealer asking $12K out the lot. (I pay TN tax though..ugh) Is that average, a great deal, or just a deal. I know what KBB says, but I'm never sure how to use KBB info. 2. Dealer. Does buying from a dealer (this is a Nissan dealer) grant me any advantages over a private seller? thanks again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bratman18 Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 It doesn't sound like a bad price, my grandparents bought an 02 outback for 13k. So it sounds alright to me. The advantages to buying from a dealer are that HOPEFULLY everything or anything that needs to be or needed to be replaced or fixed was done, but of course there is no real guarantee to that. I would ask to see what was done to it before they put it out on the lot. Also see what kind of warranty they offer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 20, 2009 Share Posted January 20, 2009 It is a great car so it's going to be hard to find a great deal on something like that. The proven reliability and safety of this car makes it a great purchase over new. I like looking up cars selling on autotrader and ebay, i think those give better overview than KBB or other places like that. I prefer private sellers (i've bought 30 or so Subarus). They know the history and they aren't typically selling them with issues, or at least without issues they're willing to tell you about. People that want to get rid of a car with problems typically trade them in. But of course there's plenty of people trading in cars with no issues too, like this one. New, low miles cars like this are usually traded in for some other reason. I like knowing the service history, but since this one has most of that recorded/trackable in car-fax, you should have access to that. As for the dealer, if they're not offering any warranty or anything, then you're not really getting much for the high premium. They're making a couple G's off of that car, used cars are $$ for dealers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subyfreak Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I think the price is fair. The low miles and VDC are not all that common. No known major problems with the drive train on this model. And you are getting a car that went for 30000 new. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoobywagon Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Frankly, the price seems high to me, but it does have low miles and appears to be in very good condition. Having said that, it appears to have been on their lot for over 3 months. Lean on them to get the price down. They start losing money on anything that sits over 90 days, so they'll be getting desparate. Buying from a dealer gets you a couple of legal protections that you won't get from a private seller. Additionally, there will have been a safety/mechanical inspection when they took the car in. Get a copy of that so that you can see what they noted and what they fixed. Make sure that the dealership you work with is respectable. I've bought lots of cars from both private sellers and from dealerships. I've had good and bad experiences from both. What I've learned is that it is important to pay attention to what the seller is NOT saying as much as to what they ARE saying. Read the body language. Go to the dealership with cash (or cashiers check or whatever) in hand, but be prepared to walk on the deal. Don't marry the car right there on the lot. You'll have plenty of time to do that later. If, at any point in the transaction prior to actually signing paperwork, you get a not so nice vibe from ANY person involved, walk. Remember that you are doing THEM the favor. Its YOUR money on the line, not theirs. Negotiate your price PRIOR to discussing anything else. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidion Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 (edited) Wow, everyone's help is great. Right now, it's between the Black VDC, and This one in NC The black one is what I prefer, but I think I can get a better deal from the individual. I spoke with him and he was good to talk to. It had the AC tubes replaced last year after a tiny leak, but that's the only issues. For me, here are the Pro's / Cons Black, Atlanta car: + VDC (cars101 is hard to read. Does VDC ONLY give + 7K less miles + Black interior + Closer to drive to pick up - Two tone exterior (not a huge deal) - Dealing with the dealer - possibly higher cost +/- McIntosh sound system. (I'm excited about that, but I dont know how I'll get my iPod to play through it... trivial I know.. but still... I'm not 34 for another couple of weeks) "Green" NC car: + Less money (maybe as much as $2k less if I negotiate??) + Almost 1 color exterior + Aftermarket stereo to accept my iPod + Only synthetic oil has been used. Dealer serviced I think. - Lighter Interior (dark hides our dirt) - Further to drive to pick up Argh.. Oh... hearing what the Dealer DOESN'T say is great advice... I just don't know what to NOT listen for.. heh. =) Any help? I forgot to say, I'll be paying cash. Edited January 21, 2009 by cidion Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoobywagon Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 In order to know what to not listen for, think about it in terms of it being your car that you're trying to sell. You'll want the car to sound like a good deal to the buyer, but you wouldn't want to straight out lie about its condition either. So think about the things you would say to the buyer and then listen for those things from the seller. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 I forgot to say, I'll be paying cash.don't tell them that. don't tell them crap until you've made a deal. say ambiguous things like "give me your best deal, i'm not here to talk about details until you give me your best price". just keep repeating similar comments until dunce-headed salesmen realizes you mean business. they have LOTS of profit in used cars and will come down. most people just don't play hard enough...but then again these guys are monthly trained to sell and work people over and then joke about how gullible customers are over subway. telling them you're paying cash is not a selling point, they have counters for that. "oh, we only make money on the interest on this kind of vehicle, so we can't cut the price any if you're paying cash"...stupid stuff like that. never give away any of your hand, the more stern, confident and matter of fact you can be the better. not a jerk, but just all business. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoobywagon Posted January 21, 2009 Share Posted January 21, 2009 Rule of thumb....take whatever their initial asking price is and divide by 1.7. That'll put you in the ballpark of what they are into the car. Usually, that's their trade-in cost plus whatever repairs/maintenance they had to put into it before putting it on the lot. So in this case, if their asking price is $12k, they are probably into it around $7k. According to CarFax, it has been on their lot for nearly 90 days. It shows 10-27-98 Vehicle offered for sale. Assuming they have their finances set up much like nearly every other dealer in the world, they are officially losing money on the car at the 90-day mark. so in the next few days, they will be getting desparate to move that car. If it were me, I'd walk in with my cashier's check in my pocket. I'd talk to the sale mgr. Offer him/her....say...$10k and let them move you up a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidion Posted January 21, 2009 Author Share Posted January 21, 2009 Scooby, That's good to hear. That's actually what I did. I'm about 2 hours from the lot, and I'm sure that being there in person would help motivate them, but over the phone I said $10k was all we had. I'm waiting to hear back. I need to hear soon for work issues. (to much longer and I can't easily go down there to pick it up) I just hope He's not reading this thread. ... Although the only thing i'm saying here that i'm not telling him is... well... that I like the car. We'll see. We need to fix the roof on our house, so I'm hoping he can work some magic for us. Thanks again to everyone helping me with my adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoobywagon Posted January 22, 2009 Share Posted January 22, 2009 Being 2 hrs away from the dealership changes your tactic a bit. Tell him "Ya know, I really like that car. In fact, I like it enough that I'm coming in there with 10 G's and a pen. I'm prepared to sign paperwork RIGHT NOW. Pending a test drive and mechanical/safety, of course." You'll be amazed how fast the price comes down. Just make sure he knows how far you're driving. Make a big deal of that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidion Posted January 23, 2009 Author Share Posted January 23, 2009 Thanks guys very much. We got the 2003, VDC in Atlanta. I drove it part of the way home (1 hour) and it was very nice. It was taken very nice care of, and I think we made the right choice. Now, my problem is getting my iPhone into the McIntosh stereo. =) Thanks again so much for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scoobywagon Posted January 23, 2009 Share Posted January 23, 2009 Congrats on the new ride! As far as iPod goes...well, there's not really anything particularly for that application. Especially the iPhone. Having said that.... Your stereo is actually a Clarion part (Clarion owns MacIntosh). Pull the stereo and look on the back for a little DIN connector. Forgot how many pins on it. But if that DIN connector is back there, you may be able to add a Clarion EA1251B (?). That's one of the CeNet iPod interfaces. It will let you play music and control the iPod from the stereo, but it won't charge. Matter of fact, it won't charge anything newer than a 3G iPod. If that doesn't work, there are several other Clarion parts that might. I know that the EA1251B works on the Suzuki's and a few others that use Clarion OEM head units. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cidion Posted January 25, 2009 Author Share Posted January 25, 2009 Just a quick update on the car. Tonight, I was visiting my sister. I parked the car in front of her apartment, and went inside to get keys to other cars to park ours in the garage. (we were going to open the dash, and get the model number of the McIntosh. Her neighbor backed out of her garage, and hit the front left of the outback. She had a new car as well. 9 days old. We called the police for a report, but I'm letting my insurance battle this one. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bheinen74 Posted January 25, 2009 Share Posted January 25, 2009 sorry. that is not good. I am curious how the Subaru held up to a hit by a new car? did it fare better then the damage the lady did to her new car. Sounds like the classic example of most new car drivers, they dont know how big the car is, and no bumpers these days can go without damage, unlike old cheap cars. Just a quick update on the car. Tonight, I was visiting my sister. I parked the car in front of her apartment, and went inside to get keys to other cars to park ours in the garage. (we were going to open the dash, and get the model number of the McIntosh. Her neighbor backed out of her garage, and hit the front left of the outback. She had a new car as well. 9 days old. We called the police for a report, but I'm letting my insurance battle this one. *sigh* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.