StealthMODE

iTrader: (15)

ill sell you mine if you want! =D or my sti? hahah

DSav408

iTrader: (7)

I didn't know you were back in an sti. Haha

04GG

iTrader: (33)

And I think that's where that comes from. If some tard is asking $9K for a car like this, I'd definitely be asking those questions - probably not compression/leakdown, but for sure everything else with documentation for that ridiculous premium. If you're going to ask WAY more than a car is worth because you think you won the lottery, well then I am entitled to expect perfection. I agree though, even perfect, that's still too much.

StealthMODE

iTrader: (15)

lol yeah i have another one at the moment.

Rescuer

iTrader: (9)

Subaru on tracks / snowmobile

04GG

iTrader: (33)

Ken Block style Looks like the same kit actually. (One track broken...)

04GG

iTrader: (33)

Seems high but...holy crap the interior is practically pristine and low mileage for age.



1981 Subaru DL FWD Wagon ONLY 93kmi Blue 5 Speed - RARE Classic Subie!

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

I have been asked for all kinds of things, and have even been dumb enough to oblige a few because I am a trusting fool. I as well have bought/sold around 40-50 cars over the years and I do not think anyone who ever put me through a bunch of stuff with a car ever was the person who actually bought it. My last car is a great example of that. Had one guy take up around 2 hours of my mechanic's time and I split the cost of the PPI, three others wanted to meet up and test drive, many many others had loads of questions. The guy that bought it wanted to know if it was still for sale, and showed up with my asking price (I provided the full maintenance history and all that as I always do, not trying to say the buyer was dumb - in fact he was a really nice guy and a high-school principal).

Oh, I mis-read. I thought you asked him if he had these things done, implying basically that it was on him for this to get it done. Either way I did not mean to offend so I thought I should just mention that!

There's always miscommunication, it's the internet! Haha.. But seriously.. These cars, FFS I still can't call them GC's, are becoming even more special than when we folks thought they were special. They are becoming like the AE86 and 240Z. They were like Datsun 510's and they are becoming like BMW 2002's.

The simple fact is that if you want one, it's not going to be easy, because of the type of car you have chosen. You will need to get good at inspecting cars, and be able to act fast. You will need to make appointments with people, and plan on doing all of the leg work yourself, because these people are in a sellers market (even if not, they feel that way) and they do not feel that they need to offer competitive/KBB prices or do anything special to sell their car.

Maybe they are right, and maybe they are wrong but suffice it to say, the fact that it's been a topic of discussion for a few years says something.

No amount of whining on message boards will get people to price their 2.5RS's cheaper. The only way to "teach" people in these cases is to not buy the car. The problem, the real problem here, what I am trying to explain, is, there might be someone else willing or able to throw down several thousand extra dollars because they GOTTA have that car and that is exactly why they are priced higher.

A car, or a thing, is worth what someone is willing to pay for it. Period. When you find someone that has something for sale that you feel is priced too high, it's a challenging thing if you really want the item. You really need to decide how much you are willing to pay for it, and stick to your guns. Make your offer, and see what happens.

I may have mis-understood your post, but it sounds like you are missing the point here. It sounds like you would want to ask all this extra stuff in an effort to annoy a seller in a case like this, because it's annoying to you that they priced the car higher than you would prefer to pay for it.

I am not saying you are doing anything wrong here, but, this is not the way to go about negotiating the price for a special-interest vehicle.

If this were a 2002-2007 Impreza 2.5RS, sure, bring your KBB and snarky comments. But, for a 1998-2001 Impreza 2.5RS it is decidedly different, and that disparity is only going to grow as time goes on.

I get what you are saying, when talking about a common car that is priced a little higher than the rest, but things are "just different" for cars like the 1st generation Impreza. Hope that made sense!

Another thing to consider is, you are going to be working with people who might have bought the car new and all the time/money they spent on this motor that you intend to throw in the trash is important to them, and a big part of their price. It will be confusing because they are trying to sell a working, great condition car that they happened to find out "might" be worth more than they initially thought (when they looked up KBB). Now, they are going to have conversations with people who are treating them like none of that matters because they don't care about the engine.

It's like operating in a parallel universe!

If one wants to purchase an older Impreza to swap, in my mind there are two paths to take here:

1. Buy the nicest 2.5RS that you can find and are willing to pay for, and work on "all the other stuff" like suspension and body, until the engine pops, and then do your swap.
2. Save your money, and wait until you find one with a blown motor to buy. This is the ONLY place that you have negotiating ground to stand on with a car like this - is if the seller really needs to get rid of it, or if it doesn't run and they need it gone.

DSav408

iTrader: (7)

Agreed man! ^^
Subaru shopping is killing me.

razor2025

iTrader: (1)

Or buy a cheaper L, and spend some time tracking down RS parts + swap parts. But then again, even the L pricing is starting to go up, as that supply is gobbled up by swappers and just general rusting.

1JavaBlk_in_Sac

iTrader: (86)

1984 Subaru Brat
http://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/cto/4340668045.html

04GG

iTrader: (33)

How much you spent on working on the car does not factor into your selling price if those things were basically fixing issues to bring it to a functioning state. Meaning, if you did the head gasket or timing belt, then those weigh on the price to me because they are big ticket items. Conversely, if they AREN'T done, that lowers the price as well. Replacing the brakes with fresh stock brakes adds no value IMO, because working brakes are a given.

As mentioned also, the car is worth what someone is willing to pay and I'm not willing to pay an unreasonable premium, but market value is fine even if it is high, for a clean car.

I'd rather have one of these in good condition and keep it NA, NOT swap. If I were doing a swap, I'd probably care more about the body than the motor as noted.

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

I can see what you are saying, but that is a very black and white way of looking at things. Once you have the experience of buying and selling a few cars, you will realize that there are a million shades of grey.

Just one tiny tidbit of this is how these cars are not always maintained anymore. So, these days, when you find one where someone has done the timing belt (and all the other stuff that goes along with it that is not always done), that has considerably more value than simply bringing it up to a functioning state, makes the car stand out among the rest, and just does not matter to someone who is not planning on keeping the engine. Value is a funny thing.

Almost every car I have bought that had "new brakes" needed them replaced immediately because the seller had the cheapest possible crap put on, or did the work wrong, or both.

Etc, etc, etc, etc.

You keep saying "the price" or "an unreasonable premium" as though these are global or commonly-known numbers. The problem is that there is no "price" for a car like this, like there is with a 2001 Corolla or a 2002 2.5RS or something. There is not a guide you can look to in order to find out what it is worth (there are of course guides, but the numbers do not apply to these cars, obviously, as this is why we are talking about this). If you feel that it's too much, move on or, make an offer and wait, or - start shopping for cars that apply to the things you are saying. These just do not.

Like I said, I understand the logic you are applying - but it does not apply to cars like these. You might be shopping for a "reasonably priced, well maintained, stockish" older Impreza that you intend to not swap but the problem is these cars have an intrinsic value that cannot really be explained - you get it or you don't, and makes confusing things happen like when one with a blown motor but a great body is worth more than one with some dings/dents but has been meticulously maintained from a mechanical perspective.

It's because different aspects of the car have different value to different people looking at the same car.

Trying to explain this I guess is more or less impossible. It would be like having a conversation about "car per dollar" as it relates to a '72 510 and a '72 2002, with three people: a Datsun enthusiast, a BMW enthusiast, and a person who does not care about cars and owns a new automatic Corolla. It would be a never-ending conversation, and no one would be able to agree with each-other.

I remember when I bought my '95 Impreza L coupe in 2004. The owner had not done any maintenance to it at all, and did not even smog it. I tried to explain to her that it was the owner's responsibility to smog and she was like "huh?" She made a phone call and while she did that, 2 other people showed up to buy the car, making it clear that they were fine buying it without the smog. So, my choice at that point was to buy the car, or not, because trying to explain to her that her price was too high because of the mechanical issues and lack of a smog would simply mean that I did not end up with the car. This sort of thing would not really happen with a car that was not desirable in the ways that older Imprezas are (or if my wife didn't want that coupe so bad haha DOH).

I hope all that makes sense!

04GG

iTrader: (33)

Not arguing with you, I agree, and in this case, I don't place that much value on that particular car. Perhaps with a once over and a drive myself, I may see the value AND price for what it is, but based on the ad, no.

Speaking of...

http://sacramento.craigslist.org/cto/4340956692.html

wombatsauce

iTrader: (7)

Gotcha. I went back to look at the ad, but it's been pulled. Probably fits under the "you gotta kiss a lot of frogs to find a prince" area I guess.

That one you linked looks nice and makes me seem... Wrong.