Looking at a 97 5spd
08-02-2008, 06:11 AM
#1
Looking at a 97 5spd
Right now I have a 95 5 spd which is a great car and I wish I could keep it forever. However its starting to have alot of repairs needing to be done and I'm just not sure if I want to start fixing everything thats wrong or if I should use that money to find a lower mileage 4th gen. I found a 97 5spd dark blue with a grey cloth interior that has 39,xxx miles. From the pictures I see looks good on the outside. The car is located about 2 hours from where I'm at so I haven't been able to go and look at it in person yet. It's at a dealer and they're asking $7,000. I looked on KBB already and the suggested retail is $6,800. I figure with the low miles on this one it will end up lasting for a long time. I'm just trying to get some opinions as to whether or not you guys think that $7,000 is a good price or if I should be trying to get the dealer to go lower. Thanks for any input.
08-02-2008, 03:51 PM
#9
It's one of those deals that seems too good to be true. I would of course do a carfax and make sure to take a good look at it before buying. I'll have to give the dealer a call and see if they know why the mileage is so low on it.
08-02-2008, 06:55 PM
#10
It has nothing to do with being a 97. It has to do with the car being 11 years old with extremely low miles. Either it's not actual mileage or the car has been sitting which is far worse for a car then driving it.
08-03-2008, 05:11 AM
#12
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I agree, and will add one more reason to that, another reason you'll see cars with unusually low mileage is because they were totalled when fairly new and the cost, or someone willing or able to profit off repairing, didn't come up until years later.
In for the results of the carfax.
08-03-2008, 09:55 AM
#13
I was just able to get the Carfax and here it is...
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_Displa...CA21D8VT869428
The record says it was serviced just about every year from 97-05 but then theres a 3 year period with no records of service. And the last reported mileage was 21,xxx which makes me wonder what happened in between 21,xxx and 39,xxx miles. Theres no records of any accidents. I still don't know what to think about it. I guess the next step is to call the dealer tomorrow or take the 2 hr ride to go look at it.
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_Displa...CA21D8VT869428
The record says it was serviced just about every year from 97-05 but then theres a 3 year period with no records of service. And the last reported mileage was 21,xxx which makes me wonder what happened in between 21,xxx and 39,xxx miles. Theres no records of any accidents. I still don't know what to think about it. I guess the next step is to call the dealer tomorrow or take the 2 hr ride to go look at it.
08-03-2008, 10:47 AM
#14
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I was just able to get the Carfax and here it is...
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_Displa...CA21D8VT869428
The record says it was serviced just about every year from 97-05 but then theres a 3 year period with no records of service. And the last reported mileage was 21,xxx which makes me wonder what happened in between 21,xxx and 39,xxx miles. Theres no records of any accidents. I still don't know what to think about it. I guess the next step is to call the dealer tomorrow or take the 2 hr ride to go look at it.
http://www.carfax.com/cfm/ccc_Displa...CA21D8VT869428
The record says it was serviced just about every year from 97-05 but then theres a 3 year period with no records of service. And the last reported mileage was 21,xxx which makes me wonder what happened in between 21,xxx and 39,xxx miles. Theres no records of any accidents. I still don't know what to think about it. I guess the next step is to call the dealer tomorrow or take the 2 hr ride to go look at it.
08-04-2008, 03:28 PM
#17
i paid $7000 for mine at the dealer, it had 172,xxx on it. if that is the true mileage, jump on it! at least you'll respect the car for what it was made for. what if you pass on it, and some 16 year old chick gets it and runs it to the ground?
however, just because an accident was not reported does not mean it did not happen. i'm fairly certain my 97 i30t was in a wreck, but it was not in the carfax. chances are, they had a mechanic friend who fixed it for cash, therefore not reporting it.
you can't always trust carfax.
however, just because an accident was not reported does not mean it did not happen. i'm fairly certain my 97 i30t was in a wreck, but it was not in the carfax. chances are, they had a mechanic friend who fixed it for cash, therefore not reporting it.
you can't always trust carfax.
Last edited by tyler5619; 08-11-2008 at 08:08 PM.
08-04-2008, 03:33 PM
#18
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Join Date: Sep 2003
Posts: 477
I don't think all states Police or bodyshop report wrecks something to think about. Sounds however like this was just a lightly used car. How much would your insurance company value the car if you wrecked it the day after you bought it? can you get a $7000 loan on a 11 year old car? I think those reasons should push the price down. The dealer probably bought it cheap at auction.
08-04-2008, 09:36 PM
#19
I know I'll probably regret it in a couple months but I've decided to to just fix up the few things on my 95 and keep that. As much as I'd like to get a lower mileage vehicle there is nothing wrong mechanically on mine it's mostly some rust repair and replacing some worn parts. The idea of having a car payment was really turning me off. Not that I can't afford it, it's just that I really don't want to have a car payment. So thanks anyway for the input guys but I think I'll be sticking with the 95 for now and save up for newer car down the road.
08-04-2008, 09:48 PM
#20
Hmm, yea that 1997 looks pretty good considering the car fax was clean, but you gotta weigh the benefits vs. the costs.
The 1997 probably has less headaches, less things about to go wrong, less things wrong with it, but other than that isn't really that different of a car. Is that worth 7 grand to you? A LOT can be done to your current car for 7 grand.
The 1997 probably has less headaches, less things about to go wrong, less things wrong with it, but other than that isn't really that different of a car. Is that worth 7 grand to you? A LOT can be done to your current car for 7 grand.
08-11-2008, 06:46 PM
#22
love my 96's both se 5spds would'nt trade em for the world i like when you pull up to a stoplight rev ur engine and the people just laugh at u but when u race there in ur review mirror ignorant b!t(hs
08-12-2008, 11:13 AM
#23
I would give serious consideration to the 97 but check it over first. You can't trust carfax. I work at carmax, and on a few occasions we have had some people bring their cars in to have appraised which they bought maybe a year or two ago. One that sticks out was a SRT-4. Guy said he bought it at the Toyota dealer down the road from us. Toyota showed him a carfax it was "clean".
We look the cars over for clamp marks on the frame or welds etc. They found clamp marks told the customer. Then we ran an autocheck, and it said the title was salvaged!! As you can imagine the customer not knowing any of this when he purchased it was highly pissed off.
So you can't always go by carfax or even autocheck. I would have it looked at and check for frame, welds, bolts turned etc before jumping on it.
We look the cars over for clamp marks on the frame or welds etc. They found clamp marks told the customer. Then we ran an autocheck, and it said the title was salvaged!! As you can imagine the customer not knowing any of this when he purchased it was highly pissed off.
So you can't always go by carfax or even autocheck. I would have it looked at and check for frame, welds, bolts turned etc before jumping on it.
08-12-2008, 01:30 PM
#24
low milage is possible, but its not that good....my friend bought a 96 240SX with 25k on it...he is the 3rd owner though, and it has been in 2 wrecks already...so it stood for a long time...and when he got it, the lifter was knocking, so yeah....but it was a nice car...engine bay was spotless, interior was clean, looked awesome
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