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Re: Would anyone buy a repo or an aution car with low miles Posted by Ari [Email] (#2847) [Profile/Gallery] (more from Ari) on Tue, 15 Mar 2005 05:32:31 In Reply to: Would anyone buy a repo or an aution car with low miles, Addicted saab driver, Mon, 14 Mar 2005 19:10:32 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
I wouldn't buy repo. Just personal opinion. I'm sure some folks have done well there. But my concern is maintenance. Repo cars are repo'd because the owner didn't pay his/her loan. If they didn't have the money to pay the loan, what makes you think that they had the money for maintenance?
Auction cars are another matter, but still a crapshoot. Many dealers that take a 9000 in trade these days don't want to sell it. It isn't a liability issue, in terms of danger. Lot space is tight, and do they really want a 8 year old car with 75K or 105K on the lot? One that they will have to warranty? Probably not. In fact, I know they won't. Most of the Saab dealers I know auction off any 9000s they get in trade. Or they have a local used-car lot that they have an agreement with, and sell it to them.
The downside is that you lose the maintenance trail. As far as I'm concerned, that is CRITICAL. Now, if you find a decent auctioned car, and can drive it, and check it out throughly, and you know what the issues are, you can pick one up IF the price is really cheap - cheap to cover the stuff you can't / don't discover. The next stage is to buy it from a used-car lot where they already bought it at auction. There you can spend the time looking it over, getting a mechanic to look at it. You'll pay a premium - the profit to the car lot. But it gives you more time.
I was looking for a newer 9000 this summer. I called a bunch of dealers in my area, got to know the sales managers, and asked them to call me if they got a nice 9000 in trade. I got no hits that way, but it didn't hurt. I also checked every darn paper, electronic BB (This one is pretty good, by the way), and swap sheet I could find for a private party. It took a while, and I saw a LOT of dogs. But in the end, I found a very nice car with complete maintenance records.
There are folks out there that maintain cars by the book, and keep all the records. You want to buy a car from them. In general, they go broke doing it, and eventually will be happy to unload the car to you. The guy I bought it from went to the dealer to get the remote battery or brake light replaced - a very quick way to go broke.
They are out there, and you may have to travel a long way. A buddy of mine went to Texas (we live in CT). In the end, I found a great car in the next town. Be patient, and check every darn source you can.
posted by 192.249....
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