I reckon if it looks clean and sounds nice, buy it. They arent that complicated and you can work it out as you go.

Yeah, I'm just trying to get the guy to negotiate at least a little on his price. He has it listed obo and won't move on it one bit.. :wallbash:

what a guy... if hes that sloppy with the posting of the sale of his car then who knows how sloppy he was with the care of the car itself. Being firm on the price is a lot different than obo....

If I were you I would chalk this up to a pass and go searching for another fd - still keep your eye on it though and hassel him every so often.

If you're selling, and you have several interested buyers, you won't know the best offer until you hear from all of them.

What were you expecting, to be the first buyer on the spot and get $2k knocked off right away?

lol. You offer him 11% below his asking price on an all ready low price and you expect him to negotiate? He probably got insulted and now doesn't want to sell it to you now. Shit, that's what I would do.


Some of you guys seem to misunderstand what OBO means. It means pony up $18k or the seller goes with the highest bidder. By no means does it mean negotiate.

Like a said an FD in that condition for 18K is not a fair price, it's a rather good deal. I'm sure he has been contacted by many people and therefore actually has the luxury to pick the highest bidder without negotiating.

I dont understand why people have this assumption that old low mileage vehicles should be worth so much... All the parts are still going to be 15 years old no matter the mileage. I think 16k is very reasonable to offer 18k+ would be for the collector not for the driver... If you plan on driving it and not letting it sit in your garage collecting dust you should email him and let him know you are a serious buyer at 16k if you are willing to spend 18k I suggest you check the for sale section of 3rd gen. I will almost gaurantee you can find a FD with a low mileage motor, clean interior with reliabilty modds already installed Shipped for somehwere around 16k with the color and trim you would exactly want.. Just to let you know Montego Blue/Tan/ 93 touring are the least rare of all the models and trim. I would pass on this unless the buyer is willing to negotiate with you.

Chris

Why would any rational adult get insulted by an offer? That makes no sense at all. As you mentioned, OBO means that he wants $18,000 or the best offer that he receives. He just got an offer and he can add it to the list of offers that he presumably is getting. If $16,000 isn't the best he receives from a qualified buyer, he simply won't take it.

Well it all depends on who you are as person. Low balling can be perceived as an insult to one's intellingence or be viewed as one person may be trying to take advantage. Whichever it may be many times it creates an adverse reaction from the seller. He may not say "dude, get the fuck out of here with that shit" but he may certainly feel it and in this case the seller didn't get back to him.

But I will admit in real life I'm kinda of an angry mofo. So my blood boils at lower temp that most :)

Sooo, I have been talking with the seller.. He said he would sell it for $17,500.. I do like the car, I am just having second thoughts because of the color combination.. I have found a few others outside of the state but they are about the same price with much higher mileage and I won't get to know how the owners cared for them.. I just don't know what to do at this point... :wallbash:

Also, the only other thing I am concerned about is how this car will hold up.. I have another car to drive but I hate driving it and it doesn't run that well.. I am afraid I will end up driving this car a lot and not sure what will happen.. Other cars I have been looking at are either an S2000 or an M3.. DAMNIT.. I need to decide what I should do :scratch:

You've got a crush on this car. You're reacting emotionally and not thinking straight. #1 is that "incident" in the test drive. You shouldn't even consider doing anything more with this car until the owner puts the engine bay right and the car is in perfect running order.
On top of that he's bluffing about others being interested. If he had another serious offer he would have told you that. He's trying to pressure you into paying over market price. The car isn't that good that it's the only one you'll find. You've already said you don't like the interior color.

You're going through the typical buyer emotions. " Oh, Jeez.....if I don't take this one someone else will snatch it up and I'll never find another one this good again." Nonsense. Don't let yourself be manipulated. You're not paying enough attention to the negative things. They may seem small now, but if you owned the car you'd find them major bitches.

Hang tough. Either get this one at a bargain price or keep searching and eventually you'll find a car you like better. With gas at $4 a gallon the market has gone soft for these cars. You do know you'd be lucky to get 16 - 17 overall mpg in a FD, don't you?

So, do you think that $17,500 is fair or should I wait and see what else I can find?

First of all, the way I read your posts, after that "incident" in the test drive this car isn't even in proper working order. Why are you even considering buying a car that isn't running properly?

There's an old saying about used cars: "You're buying someone else's problem."
My guess is this guy may not even fix the problem. He thinks he has you very interersted, so he's going to try to sell it as is, or maybe he'll knock another couple of hundred off and tell you to fix it. BAD DEAL.

Don't even consider buying this car until it's fully fixed, you can see there's been no damage to the engine bay, and you take it on a test drive and it performs to your satisfaction.....that is, it reaches full boost with no *pops* or other troubles.

On top of this he's trying to push this car at several thousand dollars above market value, and the market with the current price of gas is soft. He's hoping some starry eyed person will come along who will buy the car on fantasy and emotion and not ask too many questions.

I've bought and sold a number of cars. I know the look. You can tell when a potential buyer has fallen in love with the car. Any questions or problems that come up are minimized, "Eh, that's not a big deal. You can fix that easily."
The buyer talks about the car, he keeps touching it and feeling it, you (the seller) keep talking about the money. Keep pressing for the money. Tell 'em it won't last long 'cuz this other guy is real interested too. That seems to be where you are now.

In these situations I set standards and then I let the circumstances make the decision. This way I don't get stuck in a bad deal. If you really like this car, and I'm not convinced you're completely sold on it, I'd first make him fix it and take it for another test drive. Then I'd give him a standing offer of between $13k - $14k and walk away if he doesn't say yes. Make it a standing offer. If he says no, say "OK, well you've got my offer and my phone number, give me a call if you change your mind." Let him think on it for 2 weeks. This is a tactic that has worked several times for me.

You're in Colorado. There are FD's in Colorado. This is far from the only one. If it were me, I'd either get a good price, or I'd wait for a car that's closer to my ideal.

im with JMaxx08 ... just sit and wait on it. theres no need buying something thats expensive just to have it sit in your garage while you fix things and then it ends up that over half the summer is gone and BAMMM no driving for you.



"I just close my eyes and pump"

No, do not buy that FD.

I agree with you, except for one thing...FDs are very rare in Colorado. It is not "far from the only one"...FDs are few and far between around here. I have only ever seen one on the sreet in the last two years I've lived here, and I'm always on the lookout. In person, I've only seen three other FDs up here...one is owned by Mike B, the other is in a shop and isn't running, and the other is owned by a guy that I met at a local car meet. Also, in the last three months that I've been looking for an FD, I've only seen three for sale here. One is the car that this post is about, the other is a red one that's still up on craigslist, and the other, the owner changed his mind and kept the car. Because of this, the price of FDs around here is often above market value, not below. I think $16k would be a reasonable price, but $13-14k is just too low...I sure wouldn't sell one for that price.

Yeah, I need to let the guy know tomorrow whether I plan on getting it or not. The lowest he will go is $17,500. So I just need to decide whether it is worth it. I don't want to get the car and it ends up being just a headache for me if I start driving it more.:scratch:

I agree.

I would let it pass and keep shopping. Odds are good he'll call you back in a few weeks.