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Question: I have found a '91 turbo 4eat with 75k original miles on it. The body is in good shape and all told they want ~5k for it. I already own an NA L and I was curious to see what people thought I should do. I am poised to buy but not really all that enthusiastic about the 4eat setup. Any comments would be welcomed, even negative ones...

Wow, that's really low mileage.

I personally am of a mixed opinion of mileage... I don't think it's nearly as big a deal as most people make of it. I mean, if an old car has low mileage, it probably was driven a lot in cities and stuff, which is harder than highway driving. Also, it could have been used for a lot of short trips, which are also harder on the engine than long trips.

But these engines are tough as nails anyway. And you can buy the automatic now and swap eventually if you decide you want a standard. You might find, though, that you like the automatic when it's paired up with a turbocharger.

I think five grand is a bit high. Then again, these cars aren't exactly common.

Do you know anything about its owner history and/or service history?

No, I don't have a service record for the car but I checked carfax for their 'free' check and it turned up 12 records for the car. That doesn't make me feel too good. I wish I knew somewhere I could get a free report that at least gives some idea of the content. I don't want to shell out $20 if I can help it.

Maybe someone on the BBS currently has a CarFax membership and could help you out... Or you might ask the seller if they can get you a CarFax report; it's a reasonable request.

Don't be worried by the number of records; 12 is probably an average number for 1991 model year cars. 'Memmer, every time the vehicle undergoes a state emissions or safety inspection it generates a record.

Yea, my 94 had 8 records and they were all registration and emissions.

How many owners has the car had? I don't like buying a car if it's had more than one owner, but that's just me.

As far as mileage goes, in my experience I actually prefer more mileage on a car than less than average as cars are designed to be driven, not sit around. Too much sitting can cause all kinds of problems with seals, electrical, and hydraulic lines as moisture sits and things freeze up more. Of course too much mileage isn't good either.

eg - the only electrical or hydraulic issue I've had with my car is the battery was replaced. At 12 yrs old. I still have the original alternator and everything else. (my engine leakes oil like a bastard, though). I put about 25k a year on.

My sister's '92 Maxima bought with less than 90k two years ago has had lots of electrical problems and things I asociate with lack of use. The car was meticulously maintained, but lack of use still took its toll. And damn Nissan parts are expensive!

Steve

Damn Scott, a 4eat huh? I was realling hoping it would be a 5mt. I say still try and get it and we'll worry about the tranny swap later. I'd try and get it for around 4k though if you can.

That rat bastard won't back down off of $5400.00. My bank won't approve a straight car loan over the book value. I'm totally bummed. The payments and interest go up significantly for the type of loan they want to give me instead. I told him I wouldn't pay over book. The car is sweet so I'm debating taking the hit, any comments?

Damn! I don't know man. I really want to see you in that car but $5400 is pretty damn salty. I paid $5900 for my 92 5mt w/ 104k miles in '96. 75k miles is sooo low for '91, I wonder if it was garaged kept and all that.

If it has NO rust, a clean body (no dents or scrapes), clean interior and the engine and drivetrain looks clean (no obvious leaks) I would still consider it. I know you've had your eyes open for quite some time and the pickings have been very slim, so if you pass on it it may be along time until another one rears it's gorgeous head!

And oh man, I love that color!

If I were you I'd stand my ground. It's perfectly reasonable to refuse to pay over book value. He might or might not have other buyers, but it's harder to sell cars than one mind think, even when they're gems like this. And $5400 is really, really high for a 13 year old car. It's not literally a gem.

These cars are rare, but they're not soooooo rare. Another chance will come up, particularly if you're willing to travel a little. Like, maybe you could buy 91White-T's and make a deal with a shop beforehand to swap a manual transmission in. Or maybe consider this one: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=16121; it's in Lancaster, which isn't very far at all from you. Then there's also this one: http://bbs.legacycentral.org/viewtopic.php?t=16148. Both are 5-speeds, and have much more reasonable asking prices.

Think of it -- I've owned three sport sedans. I know I'm lucky, but not that lucky.

Just my opinion...

I agree completely. I think it's too high a price to pay. I love silver though and that makes it a hard car to let pass by. I'm supposed to go look at it this Satuday. I'll still go check it out and maybe haggle him down a little bit. He claims he paid book for it which is probably BS.

I'd steer clear of the second one Scott. It looks to have pretty bad rust issues. Well, then again if you got it you could probably fix all the rust and get a custom paint job for less then the 5k+ one and it's a 5mt.

The first one says it's rust free so maybe you should give a call on it.

I don't know though, 75k miles is almost HALF the miles of my car. I hope I never have to sell mine because I can tell ya right now that I'll want more $ then anyone would want to pay.

Extraordinary low lieage isn't always good. Bring cash and tell him he can have book now or sit on it. If he still won't budge, he may call you back in a month or two with a change of mind when he realizes not many people think an old Legacy is worth that much.

Steve

Too bad you couldn't get the loan ahead of time, cash in hand always makes people melt just a little more.

that's way too much for that car......I don't care about mileage

What is book value for it?

Ya, it is.

You know, I was thinking about it Scott and I think I'm letting the fact that I really want you to get a turbo Legacy COMPLETELY blind me to the fact that that is way to much money for the car.

Josh, IIRC Scott told me that KBB is $4300 for it. So it's ridiculous that this guy thinks he'll get $1100 over KBB for it!

$4300? That may be dealer retail price...

I get $3245 private party when I put everything in, even saying it's in "Excellent" condition.

Scott, this isn't being sold by a dealer, right?

I just looked it up in the KBB under Suggested Retail Price and got $4410 for it.

I'm not totally sure but I think it is on a lot.

Ah, ok.

Well, one of the important reasons for the huge markup between private party and dealer retail price is reconditioning: when receiving a trade-in, a dealer is expected to do some necessary maintenance and repairs before reselling the car. Given that, the dealer should be able to produce some documentation showing the work that they did to justify the high price.

vrg3 wrote:Ah, ok.

Well, one of the important reasons for the huge markup between private party and dealer retail price is reconditioning: when receiving a trade-in, a dealer is expected to do some necessary maintenance and repairs before reselling the car. Given that, the dealer should be able to produce some documentation showing the work that they did to justify the high price.

HAH....reconditioning.....my arse.....they just make it look pretty.....that's 100 bucks if that for a detail

That's my point.

If a dealer wishes to charge the "dealer retail" markup, they have to justify it. That's rarely done, so rarely is the markup warranted.

Am I seeing a crease in the driver's door? It's in the front of the door, down low. For $5400 one wouldn't expect the body to be in that condtion, at least I wouldn't.

there is a ding in the fender the drivers door and the rear quarter and it looks like sprayed over rust on the dogleg infront of the rear wheel arch between there and the back door. i woudnt pay more than 3500

There's a dent on the fender too.

Steve

Thanks for the comments. I'll try and haggle him down and I'll go have a closer look at it as well.