[pxpaulx]

The wife and I (mostly I) have been looking for a couple of weeks. Finally decided on a 2003 EX SSM AT with 89K miles (honda full mats and rear tray are the only extras) - typical new-think dealer, no haggle, 30 day/500 mile bumper to bumper and another 30 days powertrain. They also have a return policy for the first week too.

Price is $9,980 (tax/title/fees another $250 - had a trade-in, 2008 hyundai accent, got close enough to what I wanted). First off, now you know why I wanted to get back into an E! Anyway, drove it last night, drives straight, body lines look straight, doors shut properly. There is obvious wear on the interior (nothing excessive though - I know from experience keeping the car scratch free is tough, especially the trunk area). drove about 10 miles - Engine was smooth, cruise, air, heat, radio all work, steering is fine (no major wobbles, stays straight), tires about 60% left on wear and they gave me their used vehicle check list shows everything is good. Carfax shows 2 owners (first was a lease), no incidents.

One thing kind of made me raise my eyebrow, but then I checked the E they had next to it (a 2008 model) and it was similar. What caught my attention was a 3/4" space between one of the headlights and the bumper (on the outside of the headlight) - I noticed there is a space there on the 2008 they had as well, I am guessing this is just some movement of the plastic fender due to age (the other side of the car had only about 1/4" space). That is my only worry, so, should it be a worry at all?

Finally, trade-in aside any thoughts on the asking price? It seems reasonable given what I have seen for sale for the last few weeks, and what is currently being offered (closest in price is a 2003 ex/AT 82K miles at $10,800 - but at a little used car lot - compared to a large multiple dealer business with a short warranty provided, seems like a decent tradeoff at a good price).

Comments appreciated! Off to the trading post!

 

[jesbecause]

Body lines are often a tell tale sign of other things gone wrong . Do the fenders line up with the hood , while looking at the car from the front . Does the fender overhang more on one side ? Pics would be better , also price seems high for a 2003 with 80 plus miles , almost 10 grand , compare on E-bay , I've seen alot cheaper vehicles .................

RUBY

 

[pxpaulx]

Thanks for the input! Regarding the fender yes, everything does lineup, looking inside under the hood doesn't show anything out of the ordinary - I will double check it over before we finalize everything but the body lines are definitely straight. In particular all of the panels line up as well as I recall my 2004 (which we bought as new/old inventory).

I certainly don't think it is the best deal, but reasonable considering our trade (essentially getting KBB excellent value). Checking over completed ebay listings (only 2 current listings, and closed listings) it seems a reasonable price from a reputable dealer (not some local 12 car lot) - with the short term warranty they provide and return policy anything glaring that may arise should be adequately addressed. I don't have the patience for a private sale of the hyundai accent, and would rather trade it in.

For reference, another 'no haggle' dealer has a 2005 FWD AT for $12,491 with 65K miles. One of this dealer's other network dealers also has a 2005 EX AT AWD with 65K miles for $13,650 - other than the age and 25K less miles, I don't see an advantage to getting either of these over the older model - correct me if I'm wrong!

 

[Alaskan_Toaster]

Since you've already seen the CARFAX report, then I won't bring that up. I like edmunds.com for a good price comparo because it is based on the zip of where the car is being sold. Up here, there is an added markup, because at the dealers NEW, there is a steep one (not that everyone pays it..LOL). Anywho, based on a Minneapolis zip at random (seeing your profile), edmunds puts the TMV (True Market Value) at:

$9400 Retail
$8300 Private Party

Hopefully that will give you some more info for your negotiations (maybe start @$8800 OTD?)..... :shock::razz::razz:

Good Luck and post pix if the deal goes right!! 8)

 

[pxpaulx]

Oh yeah, definitely looked all of those up! Around here to perpetuate the Minnesota nice mystique it seems that all the dealers (at least the bigs ones, which this is one of the bigger multi dealers) have turned to the no haggle, one price sales pitch. So unfortunately no haggling (which I think I was pretty good at!).

The deal is done, and, hmm, Sandy I think is the right name (good fit for an SMM - which was easily my fav color pre-CK/RR but I digress)...she is in the garage!

Anyway, a new question. We were kinda suckered into a warranty. Not really suckered, we were both concerned as this is the highest mileage vehicle we have owned. Got a 3/36 bumper to bumper for $2K, but I am thinking I will probably call in the morning to cancel it (luckily we paid for it separately and I work for a bank - so any threats they can make about how it is hard to cancel I can throw right back - not that I think they would do that, haha).

I checked out some of the recent edmunds and msnauto reviews, and browsed around here for some high mileage discussions and I dont think there is anything worth worrying about (and $2k in the bank will go a long way towards fixing alot of things). Any thoughts beyond that or should we just cancel the warranty without any more thought? Again, input appreciated!

 

[hownowcb]

Welcome back, pxpaulx! Seems to me you got a reasonable deal for our neighborhood. I'm not a huge fan of extended warranties, though I saved a bundle once, back in the 80's. As you note, I think the $2K in the bank for anticipated problems is a better way to think about it. My 2003 has about 86K on it, with nary an issue that's needed a dealership visit. Time soon for the serpentine belt change and major fluids change, but that's sure a lot less than $2K.

The reflectix, by the way, was nice the few times I've used it. Thanks. ;-)

 

[pxpaulx]

Thanks for the response - I will be picking up some new reflectix in short order - they worked so well!

My wife would like to give the warranty some more thought, we have 60 days to cancel without charge (of course it would probably be another 60 to get our money back, whereas today I can just cancel it without too much hassle). We are getting just over $400 back from gap insurance (call me a sucker, but it was a Hyundai Accent - resale/replacement isn't exactly stellar!), and we actually only had to pay $1700 as the bank loan we got (financed about 2/3 of the new E) covered some of the warranty amount, so after getting the gap back it is more like $1,400 of real actual out of pocket money. Looking at some of the warranties available online it looks as though the one we got is pretty competitive (considering the current age/miles and coverage for 36K/3yrs).

Anyway, thanks again for the re-welcome, looking forward to being an active participant in the forums again!