Lessons from my buying experience
10-10-2010, 05:37 PM
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Lessons from my buying experience
Maybe I can help the next used RX-8 buyer to not make the same mistakes I made. Fortunately, nothing too bad, but looking back, I could/should have done better.
I recently bought a 2009 Silver Sport with 14,750 miles on it for $19,600 out the door. I live in Colorado, but bought the car in Oklahoma after seeing it advertised on Car Gurus. The original posted price was $20,300 or something like that. Car Gurus labeled that price as a great price, but I now believe I paid at least $1,000 too much. I think $18,600 or less is what I should have paid.
First mistake was assuming a one year old car would be in pristine condition. As I found out, this is not always the case. I had to have a PDR shop pop out several relatively minor dents on the one side of the car. The paint also needed serious clay bar treatment to remove contaminants. The interior was decent except for scratches everywhere on the trim. Did the previous owner have a pet in the car or what?! Carbon fiber overlays covered up the front part of the silver center console trim and some Mother's plastic polish helps hide the remaining scratches. I might have expected this in a 4 year old, but was surprised a 09 was not better taken care of.
Second mistake was getting too anxious to buy and not haggling more with the dealer and/or waiting for the dealer to lower the price. Remember that the economy sucks and RX-8s are not hot selling cars.
Thirds and last mistake was not really having a back-up plan when buying an out of state vehicle. This is kind of hard because you don't really want to fly back to your state without a vehicle (lose money on airline tickets, wasted time, etc.), but you should be prepared to not buy if necessary.
Please don't take this as buyer's remorse or sour grapes. I love my RX-8 and for around $400.00 have it looking really good. Just take your time and don't get in too big of hurry. Also, be prepared for any surprises.
On the plus side, I haven't encountered any mechanical issues. Shifts fine, no strange noises, etc. One of the reasons I bought a 09 was so I would have 2 years remaining on the warranty, but hopefully I won't need it. I did, of course, look at the CarFax before buying. It was a one owner car, for what that is worth. He just happened to not care for the car all that great.
Sorry this was so long.
I recently bought a 2009 Silver Sport with 14,750 miles on it for $19,600 out the door. I live in Colorado, but bought the car in Oklahoma after seeing it advertised on Car Gurus. The original posted price was $20,300 or something like that. Car Gurus labeled that price as a great price, but I now believe I paid at least $1,000 too much. I think $18,600 or less is what I should have paid.
First mistake was assuming a one year old car would be in pristine condition. As I found out, this is not always the case. I had to have a PDR shop pop out several relatively minor dents on the one side of the car. The paint also needed serious clay bar treatment to remove contaminants. The interior was decent except for scratches everywhere on the trim. Did the previous owner have a pet in the car or what?! Carbon fiber overlays covered up the front part of the silver center console trim and some Mother's plastic polish helps hide the remaining scratches. I might have expected this in a 4 year old, but was surprised a 09 was not better taken care of.
Second mistake was getting too anxious to buy and not haggling more with the dealer and/or waiting for the dealer to lower the price. Remember that the economy sucks and RX-8s are not hot selling cars.
Thirds and last mistake was not really having a back-up plan when buying an out of state vehicle. This is kind of hard because you don't really want to fly back to your state without a vehicle (lose money on airline tickets, wasted time, etc.), but you should be prepared to not buy if necessary.
Please don't take this as buyer's remorse or sour grapes. I love my RX-8 and for around $400.00 have it looking really good. Just take your time and don't get in too big of hurry. Also, be prepared for any surprises.
On the plus side, I haven't encountered any mechanical issues. Shifts fine, no strange noises, etc. One of the reasons I bought a 09 was so I would have 2 years remaining on the warranty, but hopefully I won't need it. I did, of course, look at the CarFax before buying. It was a one owner car, for what that is worth. He just happened to not care for the car all that great.
Sorry this was so long.
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