Newer Beastie???

[CaptSquid]

OK, here's the deal...

While motoring about, I spied a 98 Stro that appeared to be in good condition at a CHEAP used car lot. Curiosity got the better of me, so I visited the lot today.

Seems that the van is a repo. The repoee (?) wasn't going out quiety, so he smashed the driver's window. The lot says they'll replace it. The windshield has a port to starboard crack in it; that's a bargaining chip. The driver's door handle also requires replacement, another bargaining chip. The body is straight, with only minor dents and dings. It's a dutch door van with two bench seats in back. It's missing the bottom inside door trim on the slider (another bargaining chip) and requires also replacement of the inside door skin on the driver's door; the putz broke the area where the window switches are. It also has the factory CASSETTE (!) radio. I couldn't see the odometer, because the battery was beyond flat. The lot man says it might need a new alternator.

I go back on Monday to see what they'll take and what kind of deal I can make.

What say you?

[LiftedAWDAstro]

If it runs good and drives fine you have a good starting point. All the stuff you mentioned is easy to repair as you get time and money. You can probably find the parts at pick 'n pulls.

[1Gary]

Good luck on making a deal Mike.Let us know how things work out.

[MountainManJoe]

Kelly Blue Book says $1200 for a base model with 150,000 miles.
$1600 for AWD.

[T.Low]

I sold at a dealership for three months. WHen I got fired, the salesmanager literally told me that my problem was that I came from a good family. True story.

A year after my dealership sales experience, I spied an RV trailer on a lot. I took the wife to look at it after hours one night. No price in the window, but I figured I would pay $1250 for it.

Next day i stopped by and they were asking $2750. We sat down and the guy starts writing out down payments and loan rates and taxes, then I took the pen and paper out of his hand and wrote down "$1250", circled it with a double underline and politely said "Let's get this over with so that I can go enjoy my new toy and you can move on to a bigger better paying customer. We both know you gave the guy $500 or even $250 trade value for it when he bought the new RV. Nobody other than me is looking for these little old trailers like this. Now the trick for this sale to work is to fit your square peg of a price into my round hole of a budget. In order for that trailer to move from your parking lot into my driveway, the price needs to be $1250. There's just no way I can justify any more of a toy budget than that right now. Otherwise, I really don't need an RV right now and it will remain that elusive dream of RV ownership". Seriously, thats exactly what I told him.

He came back from his sale's mgr's desk and said "OK, but at that price, we can't give you a walk through on it".

The trick to a good deal is to be willing to walk away. Politely tell them you are going to walk out if they can't meet your reasonable offer, and if the don't meet it, genuinely thank them, and give them a card with your name and number and offer price and tell them to call you if they realize later that they can meet it. They will call you.

When we bought the Murano, we went back three times before they could meet our offer. And that was in '06 when there was still an economy.

It's buyers market.

You asked what say i; that's what i say. Good luck.

[mdmead]

The trick to a good deal is to be willing to walk away. Politely tell them you are going to walk out if they can't meet your reasonable offer, and if the don't meet it, genuinely thank them, and give them a card with your name and number and offer price and tell them to call you if they realize later that they can meet it. They will call you.

Several years ago when leasing was going mainstream, Mazda was offering an exceptional 24 mos lease deal. I found a nice new ('94) Mazda B3000 4x4 extended cab (first year they shared the Ranger platform) at the local dealership and went in and talked to them. I knew all the leasing gimmicks and needed a certain capitalized cost (basically the purchase price) to make the deal worthwhile. They told me I was crazy making the offer I was making (which was probably $500 over their cost). I told them thanks and asked them to call me if they changed their mind.

It took about two weeks, but they called and I was driving my new truck!

Getting back to Mike's purchase... if the deal is right, go for it. You as well as anybody know the strong and weak points of these vans. It's hard to go wrong for the right price.

[CaptSquid]

One thing I have to remember if I keep the old girl is that she has been hit 8x in the 9 years that I've owned her. That, and the paint is peeling off in sheets. I could prolly get about $1200-1500 for her private sale because her tranny has been recently rebuilt and the cat has been replaced. We'll see what the lot wants for the 98 on Monday.

[CaptSquid]

She's a 98 White Astro AWD with 170K on the clock. The interior is in good shape, but the bottom dutch doors are stuck. The lot will replace the shattered driver's window and the battery and she's mine for $1900. Aside from having to fill the radiator (!) during the test drive, she runs fine, pulling slightly to the right. The paint is not peeling; the dash isn't cracked, and I'll need to find an armrest for the driver's door.

[astroturf]

I would worry about having to fill the radiator. It is a 98, which was at the heart of first gen dex cool. Watch for leaks.

Jim

[CaptSquid]

Don't worry, I will. I've replaced the head on the 92 Safari. But I think this one was just due to poor maintenance, i.e., failure to check levels.

[astroturf]

Well Good Luck Captain.

You gonna pick it up?

If so Congrats, Jim

[CaptSquid]

Yeppers. I pick her up on the 12th, after the lot replaces the battery and the driver's window. The repoee smashed that when they came to get the van.