Purchase Price Advice and Counsel- 05 S
11-26-2009, 12:42 PM
#16
Banned
Join Date: Jul 2009
Location: Pa
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4 to 5 year old car with 24K miles. Not excellent condition. Good at best.
Age has nothing to do with a condition rating. The condition is the condition.
No. With dealers at least it is not possible in almost all cases.
Sometimes with a private sale it is possible in very unique cases.
I'm not sure where this comes from, but again, the condition rating has nothing to do with who is selling the car. If fact, dealer prep, warranty and reliability will often improve the condition of a car.
Beware of the private seller. They can offer no warranty, are usually asking top dollar, and have much more emotional and financial interest in the sale than a dealer does. This is not always the case, but stop and ask yourself why someone is selling a car themselves instead of trading it in...they want more money.
Age has nothing to do with a condition rating. The condition is the condition.
No. With dealers at least it is not possible in almost all cases.
Sometimes with a private sale it is possible in very unique cases.
I'm not sure where this comes from, but again, the condition rating has nothing to do with who is selling the car. If fact, dealer prep, warranty and reliability will often improve the condition of a car.
Beware of the private seller. They can offer no warranty, are usually asking top dollar, and have much more emotional and financial interest in the sale than a dealer does. This is not always the case, but stop and ask yourself why someone is selling a car themselves instead of trading it in...they want more money.
11-26-2009, 12:53 PM
#17
Burning Brakes
Join Date: Sep 2008
Location: NJ
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4 to 5 year old car with 24K miles. Not excellent condition. Good at best.
Age has nothing to do with a condition rating. The condition is the condition.
No. With dealers at least it is not possible in almost all cases.
Sometimes with a private sale it is possible in very unique cases.
I'm not sure where this comes from, but again, the condition rating has nothing to do with who is selling the car. If fact, dealer prep, warranty and reliability will often improve the condition of a car.
Beware of the private seller. They can offer no warranty, are usually asking top dollar, and have much more emotional and financial interest in the sale than a dealer does. This is not always the case, but stop and ask yourself why someone is selling a car themselves instead of trading it in...they want more money.
Age has nothing to do with a condition rating. The condition is the condition.
No. With dealers at least it is not possible in almost all cases.
Sometimes with a private sale it is possible in very unique cases.
I'm not sure where this comes from, but again, the condition rating has nothing to do with who is selling the car. If fact, dealer prep, warranty and reliability will often improve the condition of a car.
Beware of the private seller. They can offer no warranty, are usually asking top dollar, and have much more emotional and financial interest in the sale than a dealer does. This is not always the case, but stop and ask yourself why someone is selling a car themselves instead of trading it in...they want more money.
No dealer will give you excellent value for your car if you are trading in. None. Doesn't matter if its pristine or not. Once a car leaves the lot is not pristine.
Moving down from that most people will not pay for excellent values. People can ask for excellent value prices on their offerings but only a poorly informed consumer would pay for it. Especially a car 4-5 years old.
A car's condition can be improved, but are you changing every belt, hose and every other wear and tear itiem in a car that 4-5 years old when you recondition it. To me you need to do that for it to be in excellent condition.
11-26-2009, 07:03 PM
#18
Racer
Join Date: Dec 2005
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I disagree... Being neurotic, ALL my cars are in excellent condition. 
No shoe has ever stepped on the carpets and you can literally eat off of them. They look exactly as they came new from the dealer. The engine is the same. No tears on the leather. The car drives perfectly. The wheels are straight and have no curb rash. The INSIDE of the wheels are free from brake dust and are cleaned and waxed as the rest of the car. There are no dings/dents whatsoever. The paint has no "spider webbing" and have minimal scratches. I have all records down to EACH GAS FILLUP kept in a notebook in the car.
To me, a car described above or close to it can be deemed "excellent".
No shoe has ever stepped on the carpets and you can literally eat off of them. They look exactly as they came new from the dealer. The engine is the same. No tears on the leather. The car drives perfectly. The wheels are straight and have no curb rash. The INSIDE of the wheels are free from brake dust and are cleaned and waxed as the rest of the car. There are no dings/dents whatsoever. The paint has no "spider webbing" and have minimal scratches. I have all records down to EACH GAS FILLUP kept in a notebook in the car.To me, a car described above or close to it can be deemed "excellent".
11-27-2009, 12:29 AM
#19
Instructor
Thread Starter
OK--I hear you all...
...regarding condition. I guess my standard for Excellent is lower than most on this forum. I accept that. Your 'Excellent' is probably more in line with my definition of 'Concours'. Either way, it is semantics. I understand the point.
The 05 car is the car with NO warranty (to speak of), and is being sold by a dealer. The 06 is a private sale but has 2 years left of a CPO warranty.
I have agreed to a price on the 06, am going to see it on Tuesday and hope to have it shipped by next week's end. I still like the color and options on the 05 better, but the newer MY and the warranty on the 06 are too hard to pass up.
As a reference point, both are under $30K....and both are GREAT cars.
The 05 car is the car with NO warranty (to speak of), and is being sold by a dealer. The 06 is a private sale but has 2 years left of a CPO warranty.
I have agreed to a price on the 06, am going to see it on Tuesday and hope to have it shipped by next week's end. I still like the color and options on the 05 better, but the newer MY and the warranty on the 06 are too hard to pass up.
As a reference point, both are under $30K....and both are GREAT cars.
12-02-2009, 12:52 AM
#20
Instructor
Thread Starter
DEAL DONE!
I am now the proud owner of an 06 S:
Arctic with Black
Sport Shifter
PCM
Sport Chrono (plus)
Bose
Climate Control
Preferred Package
Colored Crests
Headrest Crests
Heated Seats
Power Seats
Mods:
Clear side lenses
Spyder exhaust
Clear Bra
Built in radar
36K miles
2 years remaining CPO warranty
I am thrilled with my purchase---now I just need to await delivery!
Thanks to all of you who supplied me with your thoughts on the 2 cars that I was considering.
Arctic with Black
Sport Shifter
PCM
Sport Chrono (plus)
Bose
Climate Control
Preferred Package
Colored Crests
Headrest Crests
Heated Seats
Power Seats
Mods:
Clear side lenses
Spyder exhaust
Clear Bra
Built in radar
36K miles
2 years remaining CPO warranty
I am thrilled with my purchase---now I just need to await delivery!
Thanks to all of you who supplied me with your thoughts on the 2 cars that I was considering.
12-03-2009, 12:54 AM
#23
Instructor
Thread Starter
PHOTOS TO COME
I don't have any decent pics yet as the car has not yet been shipped to me. Hope to have it next week and pics to follow. I live in CA and purchased the car in Denver. Transport picks it up in the next 2 days, then to me mid-week (HOPEFULLY!).