New Purchase Question/Dilema

[wannadriveasube]

Hi all - this is my first post to this board and hopefully not my last as I plan to be a Subaru owner soon. I need some opinions here about a purchase I'm about to make.

 

My wife and I have been shopping for pre-owned '03 Foresters. Most of the ones we've seen have been in the $15k-$16k range. Today we saw one at a local Subaru dealer that was siginficantly less expensive and it's making us suspicous. It's an '03 silver, Forester X with 32,000 miles on it. The dealer's asking price was $13,999 which is already way below the average we've seen. On top of that, he was willing to take my beat up old camry in on a trade and knock off another $1000 (or knock off $700 w/o the trade).

 

Visual inspection of the car was good. It had some minor cosmetic blemishes which is normal for a pre-owned. It also seemed to drive pefectly. We took it on the highway, etc. There are two things I'm suspicous about.

 

1. The carfax reports an accident back in '04. I don't know the nature of the accident but theres nothing visually wrong with it. Actually, we found the receipt from the body shop in the glove compartment and it seemed to only be some damage to the fender.

 

2. Inside the hood, there was what looked like a thin layer of oil on everything inside. The hoses, nozzles, etc. I asked the dealer about it and he said it was something they spray on the inside of the hood to make it look more shiny and new. He opened the hood of another one and sure enough, it had the same thing. Does this sound legit?

 

The car comes with a 2 year powertrain warranty in addition. I'm not sure what we should do next. Another dealer we visited had the same car with the same specs, and the lowest he could go was 15,999. We know this car has been sitting on their lot since Dec. and they obviously seem desparate to get rid of it. Is this a good deal, or something thats too good to be true?

 

Any advice would be most helpful!

 

Thanks...

 

W

[Strakes]

That blasted silicon detail spray those guys spray on used cars...all it does it let dirt stick to it after you start driving it. I hate that detail spray, but that sounds legit.

 

The documented fender-bender and the long-time on the lot is probably why the price is lower than similar cars without a damage history. The carfax report is probably why it's been sitting there forever. As a result, they are tired of it not selling, and it's fast approaching the no-profit zone because the payments are eating away at the potential profit. The powertrain warranty is a plus. If you are unsure the fender was repaired right, tell them you'd consider it, if you can have a trusted Subaru mechanic look over it at his shop. A properly repaired fender isn't something, I'd worry about. Frame damage hidden by a shiny new fender is very serious and can usually be found out by a good mechanic or even collision center. If that's the case, run away. If the repair is proper and checks out, and you don't mind that later re-sale of this car may be harder with a carfax record, then it may be good for your situation.

 

Do you care about re-sale value? Are you the buy it and run it to 200,000 miles and re-sale value won't matter kind of guy? Deep down, what's your gut tell you?

[fastwgn286]

carfax say where it was registered? i know that some dealerships bought cars that had fender benders or were in floods (the dealership that i worked at did that a few times, so double check the tire well for any water stains or water still in there ). they will typcally lower the price because of fender bender stuff because they knocked a few bones off the price they bought it at.

 

if you have doubts, don't buy is the best way to go. but take it to your mechanic to get his stamp of mechanical approval before buying.

[fastwgn286]

most dealerships will take any trade in, and 700 sounds about right for an old camry (a 94 loyale with an oil leak can fetch a grand!). they will probably just sell it at an auto auction, or to a wholesaler

[3Pin]

You can get a brand new Forester for about $20K. What they are asking is about right, but as they say, everything is negotiable.

[wannadriveasube]

I think like you say, that this accident in the history, while maybe nothing major, is probably a big if not the main factor in its low price. I decided that I'll have the car looked at by a mechanic I trust, and if they say it looks to be in good shape, I'll probably go with it.

 

Believe me, I would buy a new one if I could, but this will be parked outside all the time on city streets and its just not worth it for me yet. But hey, if I like this car, maybe my next purchase will be a new subaru?

 

W

 

Edited to add: This is a 1989 Camry!

[Subaru_for_LIfe]

I think like you say, that this accident in the history, while maybe nothing major, is probably a big if not the main factor in its low price. I decided that I'll have the car looked at by a mechanic I trust, and if they say it looks to be in good shape, I'll probably go with it.

 

Believe me, I would buy a new one if I could, but this will be parked outside all the time on city streets and its just not worth it for me yet. But hey, if I like this car, maybe my next purchase will be a new subaru?

 

W

 

Edited to add: This is a 1989 Camry!

 

I have an '03 Forester X and I bought it new. I've already put on close to 50,000 miles on it without any major problems. They've totally redesigned the Forester from the '03 and up, you won't see any of that silly wheel bearing issues and head gasket problems anymore.

 

A small fender bender is nothing to worry about if repaired right. Mine was run over by a Hummer last year from behind, but after the repairs I couldn't tell the difference in looks and driving.

 

Good luck with your decision.

[fastwgn286]

I think like you say, that this accident in the history, while maybe nothing major, is probably a big if not the main factor in its low price. I decided that I'll have the car looked at by a mechanic I trust, and if they say it looks to be in good shape, I'll probably go with it.

 

Believe me, I would buy a new one if I could, but this will be parked outside all the time on city streets and its just not worth it for me yet. But hey, if I like this car, maybe my next purchase will be a new subaru?

 

W

 

Edited to add: This is a 1989 Camry!

 

welcome to the club!