LuvKaya

I have been given an offer to buy a sc430 with 130,000 miles for $14k.

I test drove the car, it drives smooth. Oh, it's silver and black interior. He said he would replace timing belt and water pump which has not been done. But brakes and rotors has been replaced.

Is this a good deal? Or should I just keep looking for 1st generations deals.

LuvKaya

info from the ad:

- Silver Exterior
- Black Leather Interior
- 132K miles
- No accidents
- New front and rear brake rotors and pads
- New front shocks
- Recently Serviced

texsexlex

iTrader: (3)

...I don't think it's a bad deal since you're getting the timing belt/water pump,etc....Do you see anything that might concern you ? I know there are many Sc's out there available,so there could be a better deal elsewhere. Bottom line,if you like the car & the deal works for you, then I say "go for it"

riknchar

If the car is extremely well cared for with a good history, it will probably be fine. The price does seem slightly high to me for a 1st Gen, though, given the miles. I'm in the process of purchasing a 2002 SC430 right now for $16,281 -- my car only has 43K miles and has a great 2-owner service history.

Autotrader has hundreds of 1st Gen SC430s for sale nationwide right now, and with Fall right around the corner, I believe dealers will start getting aggressive on pushing out the convertibles before they stuck holding them until April. When I was looking for my SC, I saw lots of cars that had sat on the dealers lots all summer--so there should be some great deals to be had right now. Also recommend you check CarGurus.com.

Good luck!

LuvKaya

Yeah I'm having trouble with the mileage. Thanks for your suggestions.

kjcole

Price seems slightly high to me for that age and mileage. I got mine (2002 with 75K miles) five years ago for $17.5 K - one owner, but it needed tires and timing belt.

Bgw70

$12k is more reasonable for a car with that many miles...I would take a pass...

LuvKaya

Thank you to everyone that gave me their input.

bobster99

Only you will know if the price is right and you get that knowledge by looking at a lot of them and then you will usually find out that the first one you looked at was a really good deal .

Prices vary greatly between markets so unless you are willing to fly/drive somewhere for a better price you will have to use your own judgement on that.

Maintenance is everything. 130K on that drive train is nothing and with a new timing belt and water pump, well you have most of the bases covered.

Cube

For 14k at 130,000 miles, there are more things to consider. Theres the suspension as well. The wear and tear of the bushing. Price should be negotiated if possible.

sc430faste

Use edmunds TMV calculator, they are the only ones that take average cost from actual sales from the registry of motor vehicles. Currently SC430 with that many miles should be around 8-10k. These things are built like tanks but timing belt/waterpump and suspension are very costly (especially ball joints, upper/lower control arms). At that mileage is where the suspension components tend to fail, so unless they have been dealt with, I would factor that in. If you do the suspension yourself you only have to pay parts, but take it to someone and replacing lower/upper control arms, ball joints and tie rods will easily be atleast $1,000. I got my 02 sc430 with 70k miles for $11,500 2 years ago. Last year had to redo the whole front suspension , tires, brakes for about $1,600 to pass inspection at 90k miles. I still havn't done timing belt which will be about another $1,000 ... see how it adds up?


The suspension is really the weak point of our cars , they seemed to use softer rubbers for better ride but around 10 years/ 90-100k the rubber is shot.


Link for edmunds TMV --> http://www.edmunds.com/tmv.html

kjcole

Amen to the suspension. Looks like I'm going to be replacing most of the wear parts on the front of mine when I put it up for the winter this year. Happily, these front suspension systems are relatively easy to work on (compared to front drive vehicles), if you have a little experience and the right tools.
Important to keep up on the suspension of these cars or you'll be eating through tires like crazy.