KawiLex

What's a fair offer on a very clean 2000 in excellent cond. with 110000? Only problem I could find with a cursory glance was a set of tires made in China.. not sure who the joker was that did that..

What is a fair offer?

mappo

It depends. Maintenance records? Timing belt service done? Does it have just the right combo of options/color that you're looking for? If yes to all that, maybe $7K-$8K. If no, then something less.

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

timing belt is usually a bargaining chip i like to use, for about $1k. at 110k miles it should have been done already. i would offer $7 and go from there. is it a private seller, dealer, original owner?

Legender

Based on what I've seen around here...$6500-$7000 for a good clean 2000 with good maintenance records and excellent condition. A steal would be somewhere less than $6k for those miles.

KawiLex

Well this guy wants 8..
it's had the timing belt done... the history has items like " C/S STEERING WHEEL TILT GRINDS NE" at 4500 miles, ... then " FRONT/REAR BODY" at 27000.. what?

Then the " NON WARRANTABLE OPERATION CODE".. there's a couple of those..

Lastly "CYLINDER HEAD COVER GASKET" at 66000...

I wouldn't have thought this engine would ever have that issue.. I'm not sure if that's the Valve cover gasket or HEAD GASKET ??

thoughts?

timmy0tool

iTrader: (7)

yeah that's the valve cover gasket. a BHG is very rare on these cars.

sounds like a car with maintenance up to date, but there are other factors that will make you pull or not pull out your wallet. how's the car's overall condition? interior? within your budget? in the end, ask yourself if you will be happy making this purchase. some think $8k is change, but some can barely come up with it.

what was his asking price?

KawiLex

He was asking 9. I think 8 is a little high.. especially since it needs tires.. but have a look:

http://kansascity.craigslist.org/cto/4677577288.html

This is for my mother, so I'm trying to be picky and I feel a lot pressure about making the right decision and not spending too much.. however, i need to pull the trigger soon.

I realize that it's likely impossible to assist me with this without having driven the vehicle, but I drove it and it drives well.

I have a 2002 and this 2000 is super clean..

RugbyDad

Consider this. I paid 8.5k for my 2000 with 30k less miles on it. Fairly clean. little nicks in the paint and a horrible repair job on the front bumper. I haven't the slightest clue what happened to it. Partial maintenance records but after driving her for 5 months, I don't regret my decision.

Super clean you say? Buy it.

KawiLex

Thanks for the feedback guys.

mappo

BTW that's not a platinum edition. It does look quite clean though from what's visible in the pics.

Legender

The ad is still posted, so maybe it didn't sell. Or, you didn't pick it up yet.
I think 8 is too high.. worse... you've got a bad combo going on... time pressure to buy a used car...
With limited time you can only purchase what's being offered at the moment, more time, you can shop and wait for what you want.
I too bought a car for my mom, but took about 6 months to find a 2001 LS430 with 140k and less dollars than what you're looking at.
It does look clean, but there was one posted here in DFW for less money and just a few more miles... In my experience, proper and timely maintenance will trump higher miles...

Or... look at this for about the same money...
http://dallas.craigslist.org/dal/cto/4740827762.html
I know.. not in your area, but still, not a bad deal for a 430.