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Old WRX, New Engine

2K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Haw1es 
#1 ·
Hey, all. Looking to buy my first car and am in need of advice for one I went and took a look at today.
It's a 2003 WRX that was listed at 165k miles, with a sticker price of $10k. Now, I know this is way too much for a car with that mileage and was planning on going in and giving the car a look over myself to check for what sort of mods have been put into it, if any, and then offering between $6k and $7k for it. Later during the day that I found the ad for the car online, it was taken down. Gave them a call later in the week to see if it was still for sale as they still had an ad up for it on ebay, but as I said it was not listed on the dealer's actual website, and they told me yes, but its in the shop for work. Didn't even think to ask for what, and instead asked them if it'd be alright for me to come by and check it out this weekend. Of course it was alright.
So, today, I bummed a ride from a buddy and we drove the hour and a half trip to the dealership, for them to tell me it's still in the shop. Wound up not being able to go into the shop, but they brought the shop manager out to talk to me about it and the car happened to be by the door so they let me look at it from the doorway. From where I was, the body looked good; aftermarket headlamps and wheels though, possibly a carbon fiber hood. Couldn't really look at it though, as I was about 10 feet away and the car is black so it'd hide small rust, dings, and scratches pretty well. What I did notice though, was the engine was pulled from the car and sitting next to it. Shop manager explained to me that the thing had thrown a rod, cracking the block. He pointed out another engine sitting off to the side a bit and when I asked him what it was he told me it's a brand new factory stock 2.0 like the one the car drove out with when it was new. When asked he told me that everything else from the original car (tranny, turbo, clutch, exhaust, etc.) was staying and that there wasn't any sort of aftermarket stuff put onto the car other than the things I mentioned earlier. Course, I didn't really get to look at it myself because of the lack of up close and personal with the car. I put a refundable $200 deposit down so they'd get the job done faster and call me back so I could check it out properly in two weeks time.
He was pretty blunt with me and told me that before, he probably would have let me take the car at $8k but now that they had to put a new engine in, they're sitting firm at the $9,999.00. The fact that they were doing a full engine swap just completely caught me off guard so I couldn't even begin to try to haggle properly. So I just payed the deposit and told him to call me when they were done. Now, my logic is that they didn't pay more than $6.5k when they bought it unless they were crazy and went way past KBB value (even less than that if they bought it with the 'naded engine), and the new engine cost around $2k, so they've invested around $8.5k; and just because the engine is brand new with no miles on it doesn't mean the rest of the car suddenly loses the 165k put onto it. What do I offer and how do I haggle it when I go back? Should I even go back for anything other than my $200? This whole thing just turned sideways for me and I don't even know how to approach it, especially with it being the first car I've bought for myself.
I'm thinking go there and offer $8k. If they refuse to come down, remind them that I'm paying cash that day and let it go to $8.5k. If they come down to around $9k I'll probably take it with a stipulation that they increase their warranty (3k miles or 3 months for any car you buy from them) for me and see if they'll work that. If they don't work with me, I take back my money and walk. $10k will just drain everything from my bank, leaving me with nothing saved up if something happens making me really apprehensive about spending that much, but I did look at the KBB value with everything the same but down to 1000 miles and the car's value shot up to $14k.

Sorry for the wall of text, thanks in advance for any help/advice.
 
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#2 ·
I'm going to start off saying that I am not great at haggling, and I am pretty skeptical when it comes to "stealer ships" But that being said...

You called them asking if you could come by and have a look at the car, but the manager didn't let you get close enough to the car to get a good look at it. Thats a little sketchy
They also told you that there were no aftermarket mods on the car besides what you mentioned, which is fine but unless you know what you looking at (and even if you do) it can be hard to tell if someone didn't just take off mods before they sold it.
Last but not least you talked about there price. assuming they bought it for BB value (they prob got it for less dealerships are in the business of making money not giving good deals)
then they bought a new engine for the car... but what you are forgetting is that they have to pay the mechanics for the labor taking the old engine out and putting the new one in (not as small task, nor cheap). with all that said you kind of ruined your negotiating power with them by putting a deposit down (IMO) showing them you are interested in the car enough to have them hold it for you.
Again I'm not a pro in situations like this, but if I were you I would ask the dealership if they can pass your number along to whoever sold it to them so you can ask them questions about the car. Whoever sold it was the person that had the time in the car, and they have already sold it so if they agree they would have no reason to lie to you because they already got their money. I know its a longshot that the dealer will be willing to do this (or they might say they will contact the previous owner and not do it) but it can't hurt to ask.
Hope it works out... if not keep us updated on your next target.
 
#4 ·
That all sounds too shady to me. If you cant get the $200 back, it would be a small lose compared to getting a $10000 car that craps out on you later and you have no additional funds to repair it and its value is no where near that amount. I have been in your shoes many times and made poor decisions because I got excited about something, usually to regret them later. I bought my 02 WRX about 1.5 years ago with 150,000 miles for $5500 and some people told me that was too much to pay. I haven't regretted it yet, but the car is still running great at 167,000 with a stage 2 tune since I got it. The car was owned by 2 different people the first purchasing it new and selling around 30,000 and the second owner had it until I bought it and had extensive maintenance records and didn't run the nuts off it. So basically my advise is to be patient and find a better deal and don't trust ******. WRX's are not the most plentiful cars but they are out there.
 
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