Good price?
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iTrader: (38)
Joined: Oct 2003
Posts: 7,783
From: rightBehindYou, HI
Car Info: 1973 Huevo Ranchero
where do you live? whats the market like in your area.
go to kbb.com. it will give you some insight to how the market conditions are like in your area.
aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*
go to kbb.com. it will give you some insight to how the market conditions are like in your area.
aloha from the summit of *-^-Mauna Kea-^-*
not bad
17K for an 02 with super low miles is not terrible. Although, given what you've said, I'm not sure how good of a deal it is. Stock tires usually last more than 25K, unless the car's been beaten pretty hard. I still am running my stockers @42K, although they're about finished after this winter (FINALLY, an excuse to buy new wheels!!). So, take the 17K, add $500 (+/- $100) for tires. Add another $300 for the 30K service that you'll want to have done pretty soon, and you're darn close to 18K already. given that you can get a brand new one for a little over 22, have a full warranty, and get better financing rates, it's kinda a questionable line. Your payment on that car with a 60 month note is going to be like $350-$375. I can put you in a new WRX wagon for a lower payment than that.
If you can get it for a little less, with the 30K done and new tires, that'd be a better deal. Especially given that if the 30K is done, you'll know exactly if anything's wrong with the car.
If you can get it for a little less, with the 30K done and new tires, that'd be a better deal. Especially given that if the 30K is done, you'll know exactly if anything's wrong with the car.
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Actually, I was kinda guessing on the wheels as that was what the owner told me. After I checked out the car there is about 1/2 a dimes (vertically) worth of tread left (re-92s). I'm guessing another 10k miles left, but I can't be sure as I don't know how soft the compound is on these tires. The good thing is this owner has all oil changes and services documented including a service at 21k (unnecessary?). All tires have equal tread remaining and the owner claims and doesn't appear to have driven the car hard, let alone to have modified it. The interior is immaculate, but you can tell the exterior has a few scratches/scrapes and one door ding (minor). The owner says the clutch was replaced 5k miles ago due to a recall under warranty. Does this sound about right? Overall, the owner appears very legit and definitely seems to be the type that you would want to buy from used. I'm also getting the car checked out at a Subaru mechanic prior to purchase as a safety precaution.
I have been going through this new or used dillema for quite a while now (too long!) and have decided that the benefits of buying a barely used 04 are just not there. From my experiences, people selling used 04s don't seem to understand that you can buy new for what they are asking or a little bit more. Therefore, it was brand new or a low mileage 02 or 03. I feel for the price on this car, the benefit of buying used outweighed the benefit of buying new. If the subie weren't such a reliable car, I would have second thoughts because of the warranty. But the 5k difference, $100 - $150 monthly payment difference, and cheaper insurance warrants the difference.
Overall, I think it's a good choice and am willing to swallow the 30k service. Sorry for the long post.
I have been going through this new or used dillema for quite a while now (too long!) and have decided that the benefits of buying a barely used 04 are just not there. From my experiences, people selling used 04s don't seem to understand that you can buy new for what they are asking or a little bit more. Therefore, it was brand new or a low mileage 02 or 03. I feel for the price on this car, the benefit of buying used outweighed the benefit of buying new. If the subie weren't such a reliable car, I would have second thoughts because of the warranty. But the 5k difference, $100 - $150 monthly payment difference, and cheaper insurance warrants the difference.
Overall, I think it's a good choice and am willing to swallow the 30k service. Sorry for the long post.
If they're asking 17 then they're probably hoping for less, maybe 16? In my experience sellers generally ask more than they think they can get. How firm does the seller seem on the price?
$150 payment diff
What math are you using to get a $150 payment difference. I'm thinking your payment on this car will be about $75 less than new.
New WRX: $423/mo $0 down, 60 mos @2.9 including 5% tax.
Used WRX: $344/mo $0 down, 60 mos, $17,000 +5% taxes.
This is just using conventional financing terms. I've seen payments as low as $329 on a new WRX using smartbuy, or 360 conventional (@3.9 for 72 mos)
New WRX: $423/mo $0 down, 60 mos @2.9 including 5% tax.
Used WRX: $344/mo $0 down, 60 mos, $17,000 +5% taxes.
This is just using conventional financing terms. I've seen payments as low as $329 on a new WRX using smartbuy, or 360 conventional (@3.9 for 72 mos)
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That was strictly an estimate. After actually doing the numbers for a new 05 costing $22500 after rebate and a 3.9% apr (subaru quoted the best I could do on 60 months)/$5000 down, my payment came to $354 a month.
The buyer originally wanted $18000 and we settled for $16750 as a final. After doing the math with the apr my credit union offered me, here is what I came up with: 4.35% apr/$5000 down and a total monthly payment for 60 months of $242.
The total difference is $112 per month. Hence, my $100 to $150 estimate.
If I could have gotten a better APR on 60 months for buying new, I might have made the plunge, but fortunately my credit union offers 4.35% on a used car as their lowest rate so, to me, this justified going used especially with the low mileage of less than 25,000, a late 02 build date (less quirks for first year of model), and cheaper insurance.
Trust me though, I really wanted to go new because that new interior is really nice, but with my current financial condition I felt more comfortable going used.
Oh yeah, after getting the inspection done, the tires had 10/32" of tread remaining. About how many more miles can I get out of these tires?
Thanks for the help.
The buyer originally wanted $18000 and we settled for $16750 as a final. After doing the math with the apr my credit union offered me, here is what I came up with: 4.35% apr/$5000 down and a total monthly payment for 60 months of $242.
The total difference is $112 per month. Hence, my $100 to $150 estimate.
If I could have gotten a better APR on 60 months for buying new, I might have made the plunge, but fortunately my credit union offers 4.35% on a used car as their lowest rate so, to me, this justified going used especially with the low mileage of less than 25,000, a late 02 build date (less quirks for first year of model), and cheaper insurance.
Trust me though, I really wanted to go new because that new interior is really nice, but with my current financial condition I felt more comfortable going used.
Oh yeah, after getting the inspection done, the tires had 10/32" of tread remaining. About how many more miles can I get out of these tires?
Thanks for the help.
10/32??
Yeah, when I punched it in, I assumed you would get a better rate on new (2.9), and a worse rate on used (4.9), and I didn't put $5K down. If you qualified for 4.35 on used from your bank, your local subie dealer was probably trying to hose you on the financing.
10/32 is basically 90% new for a tire. They must have been measured wrong. 4/32 is generally considered the lower limit of worn but useable.
10/32 is basically 90% new for a tire. They must have been measured wrong. 4/32 is generally considered the lower limit of worn but useable.
Thats not true, if you are still riding stock tires at 42 you have problems. You have been using the worst tires for so long that is depressing. I wore out my stock tires at 14k, and my car hasn't been beaten. I didn't rotate them and was glad to get rid of them but still that would have only extended them maybe 10k more at the very most. Cornering hard doesn't mean a car has been beaten.
cornering vs burnouts
slow04wrx:
1) Yes the tires suck compared to a lot of the stuff on the market. I didn't put them on there, and I bought the car used, so I didn't run most of those miles. I'm putting new rims on it in the spring, and then I'll put snows on the stockers, and since I'm getting 17's, and the stock tires are 16's, there's no point in upgrading the tires for 1 year, especially since I have a house to pay for. That's really beside the point though.
2) Cornering doesn't count as "beating a car", you're right, but cornering also doesn't wear tires nearly as much as burnouts, which do count as beating a car, and in fact, many people who routinely drop the clutch on their WRX's will encounter transmission problems early on, ESPECIALLY on the 02's, AND, since he's looking at a used car, there's no real way to tell how the tires got that way, so I pointed it out as something to consider. Oh, and if you went all the way through your stock tires in 12,000 miles, you either beat your car, or have an alignment/camber problem, sorry. The only tires that have an excuse to wear out in 12K are tires like AVS ES-100's or P-Zero Rosso's, that are like gumballs.
3) it turns out to be a complete non-issue, since the car actually has more than half tread left on the tires, as was recently mentioned in the thread, proving:
1) that you can 40K on the stock tires if you don't beat the car, and
2) that your point is completely moot with respect to this guy's car situation
So don't come in here flaming me needlessly.
1) Yes the tires suck compared to a lot of the stuff on the market. I didn't put them on there, and I bought the car used, so I didn't run most of those miles. I'm putting new rims on it in the spring, and then I'll put snows on the stockers, and since I'm getting 17's, and the stock tires are 16's, there's no point in upgrading the tires for 1 year, especially since I have a house to pay for. That's really beside the point though.
2) Cornering doesn't count as "beating a car", you're right, but cornering also doesn't wear tires nearly as much as burnouts, which do count as beating a car, and in fact, many people who routinely drop the clutch on their WRX's will encounter transmission problems early on, ESPECIALLY on the 02's, AND, since he's looking at a used car, there's no real way to tell how the tires got that way, so I pointed it out as something to consider. Oh, and if you went all the way through your stock tires in 12,000 miles, you either beat your car, or have an alignment/camber problem, sorry. The only tires that have an excuse to wear out in 12K are tires like AVS ES-100's or P-Zero Rosso's, that are like gumballs.
3) it turns out to be a complete non-issue, since the car actually has more than half tread left on the tires, as was recently mentioned in the thread, proving:
1) that you can 40K on the stock tires if you don't beat the car, and
2) that your point is completely moot with respect to this guy's car situation
So don't come in here flaming me needlessly.
Originally Posted by LUvikes29
slow04wrx:
1) Yes the tires suck compared to a lot of the stuff on the market. I didn't put them on there, and I bought the car used, so I didn't run most of those miles. I'm putting new rims on it in the spring, and then I'll put snows on the stockers, and since I'm getting 17's, and the stock tires are 16's, there's no point in upgrading the tires for 1 year, especially since I have a house to pay for. That's really beside the point though.
2) Cornering doesn't count as "beating a car", you're right, but cornering also doesn't wear tires nearly as much as burnouts, which do count as beating a car, and in fact, many people who routinely drop the clutch on their WRX's will encounter transmission problems early on, ESPECIALLY on the 02's, AND, since he's looking at a used car, there's no real way to tell how the tires got that way, so I pointed it out as something to consider. Oh, and if you went all the way through your stock tires in 12,000 miles, you either beat your car, or have an alignment/camber problem, sorry. The only tires that have an excuse to wear out in 12K are tires like AVS ES-100's or P-Zero Rosso's, that are like gumballs.
3) it turns out to be a complete non-issue, since the car actually has more than half tread left on the tires, as was recently mentioned in the thread, proving:
1) that you can 40K on the stock tires if you don't beat the car, and
2) that your point is completely moot with respect to this guy's car situation
So don't come in here flaming me needlessly.
1) Yes the tires suck compared to a lot of the stuff on the market. I didn't put them on there, and I bought the car used, so I didn't run most of those miles. I'm putting new rims on it in the spring, and then I'll put snows on the stockers, and since I'm getting 17's, and the stock tires are 16's, there's no point in upgrading the tires for 1 year, especially since I have a house to pay for. That's really beside the point though.
2) Cornering doesn't count as "beating a car", you're right, but cornering also doesn't wear tires nearly as much as burnouts, which do count as beating a car, and in fact, many people who routinely drop the clutch on their WRX's will encounter transmission problems early on, ESPECIALLY on the 02's, AND, since he's looking at a used car, there's no real way to tell how the tires got that way, so I pointed it out as something to consider. Oh, and if you went all the way through your stock tires in 12,000 miles, you either beat your car, or have an alignment/camber problem, sorry. The only tires that have an excuse to wear out in 12K are tires like AVS ES-100's or P-Zero Rosso's, that are like gumballs.
3) it turns out to be a complete non-issue, since the car actually has more than half tread left on the tires, as was recently mentioned in the thread, proving:
1) that you can 40K on the stock tires if you don't beat the car, and
2) that your point is completely moot with respect to this guy's car situation
So don't come in here flaming me needlessly.

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LUvikes,
I apologize, but I was slightly off on that 10/32" estimate. I looked at it briefly after the inspection was first done. After looking at the paperwork again, the wear is actually 6/32" in the front and 5/32" in the rear, which I'm guessing should get me another 5-10k possibly? Also, the brake inspection showed 8 mm at the front and 6 mm at the rear. Would you be able to tell me how much brake life is left?
As far as slow04rex, in the short time that I've been here, I've noticed he has a habit of flaming. Don't mind him, you seem to know your subies very well. I appreciate all the help.
I apologize, but I was slightly off on that 10/32" estimate. I looked at it briefly after the inspection was first done. After looking at the paperwork again, the wear is actually 6/32" in the front and 5/32" in the rear, which I'm guessing should get me another 5-10k possibly? Also, the brake inspection showed 8 mm at the front and 6 mm at the rear. Would you be able to tell me how much brake life is left?
As far as slow04rex, in the short time that I've been here, I've noticed he has a habit of flaming. Don't mind him, you seem to know your subies very well. I appreciate all the help.
Originally Posted by chrisrex
LUvikes,
I apologize, but I was slightly off on that 10/32" estimate. I looked at it briefly after the inspection was first done. After looking at the paperwork again, the wear is actually 6/32" in the front and 5/32" in the rear, which I'm guessing should get me another 5-10k possibly? Also, the brake inspection showed 8 mm at the front and 6 mm at the rear. Would you be able to tell me how much brake life is left?
As far as slow04rex, in the short time that I've been here, I've noticed he has a habit of flaming. Don't mind him, you seem to know your subies very well. I appreciate all the help.
I apologize, but I was slightly off on that 10/32" estimate. I looked at it briefly after the inspection was first done. After looking at the paperwork again, the wear is actually 6/32" in the front and 5/32" in the rear, which I'm guessing should get me another 5-10k possibly? Also, the brake inspection showed 8 mm at the front and 6 mm at the rear. Would you be able to tell me how much brake life is left?
As far as slow04rex, in the short time that I've been here, I've noticed he has a habit of flaming. Don't mind him, you seem to know your subies very well. I appreciate all the help.


