LordZed wrote:

To be fair, the steering wheels wear out very fast. You have to constantly keep the rear in control and from murdering people 

Apparently, owner #1 of the car I am going to look at didn't wear his out enough...

I don't get how these tools get so sideways in these cars... If you drive it like you're >17 years old, you'll be fine.

So that was a wasted trip.

The car had been repainted from the RF fender all the way around to the LR quarterpanel.

Color match was OK, but not holding up well after 45k.
The spoiler was broken off the trunk lid. An unfixed part from the crash?
The hood had a spot of the corrosion these cars are noted to have.
Retractable shade for the glass roof would not retract without significant effort involving realigning the guides.
Steering wheel leather was all but dissolved and tacky. Nearly the worst I've seen on any car with >50k.
About ten 1/8" stone chips in the paint on the RH side. The subpar paint on the right. 
LR parking light lens was no longer attached to the housing.
The exhaust was super loud on startup, but strangely quieted down at idle. However, it droned REALLY bad in 5th and 6th.

When I started it the second time for the test drive, I caught a whiff of coolant through the vents.

Sales guy didn't even try to sell the car or talk to my wife (didn't even greet her when we arrived).

The ask was $23,600. I offered $20,500(way more than fair, considering I would need to be fixing/correcting the noted issues, and they have been sitting on this car since September to which he said, "not gonna happen." Guy came back with $23,600.

Walked.

Last edited by krazykarguy (2017-02-04 23:20:28)

In hindsight, it was better that I didn't go for the red car. It was insulting that the sales guy knew I had come from over two hours away and wouldn't even work with me on a deal.

Today, I went to check out a different gray car (lacking the big brakes and had the 18" wheels, but nicely optioned otherwise), only to have missed it by 45 minutes.

0 for 3 this week.

Challengers are too big and heavy (2" wider, 10" longer, and 450 lb heavier than a Mustang GT), not to mention that the handling is a distant second compared to the Ford. I am not a Mopar guy at all, either.

I wrote back the owner of the dealership (replying to a 'give us a second chance' e-mail) on the first gray car (post #24) I drove last week (with the loud cherry bomb exhaust) to see what he could do for me. I can buy a used leather steering wheel on eBay for $75-$100 and a brand new one for ~$200. The sales manager had noted that they could put the exhaust back to stock - but I'm sure that would cut into any negotiations I could do.

In the e-mail I said that I would take that car as-is, but he'd need to make a pricing concession to reflect that. Let's see where that goes.

That's a '12. Good find, though!!! 

There were a handful of improvements made to the '13-'14 cars, especially Premium trim cars:
- 8 hp power bump (from 412 to 420)
- HID headlights and LED running lights (in grille) and LED taillights
- Functional heat extractor vents on hood
- Body color rockers and lower body panels
- Ford Track apps and 4.2" multi-function screen between speedo and tach (which also ditches the circa 1996 'Nite-Glo' gauges found in the '10-'12 cars)

Thanks!

If anyone finds a car local to them that I'm interested in, I'd be very grateful if you could check it out for me. I'm not averse to shipping the right car.

I've seen enough cars now to know what to look for, I could give you a laundry list to take to a dealership.

Any Massholes on here want to check this one out?
https://www.cars.com/vehicledetail/deta … /overview/

Last edited by krazykarguy (2017-02-07 13:46:01)

A couple of further questions to the peanut gallery:

At what point as a used car buyer are you being too picky with issues on a used 3- to 4-year old car?

Is requesting a lower price due to paint scratches and worn out steering wheel leather appropriate? What value do you place on these 'discounts'?

What value is added if a dealership corrects deficiencies for you? Is it gratis and considered normal to close a deal? Does it eliminate the possibility of negotiation?

The gray car I am considering now has a $24,796 ask.
It also has a worn out steering wheel (my biggest concern), and deep paint scratches (through clear and color coats) on the hood and fenders, as well as the ridicouls exhaust.

Do I tell them I will correct these issues and offer $21k-$22k? (no fix-it obligations on the part of the dealer)
Do I let them replace the steering wheel and offer $24k?
Do I let them fix all my concerns and offer full price?

Last edited by krazykarguy (2017-02-06 12:21:36)

What is the preferred method for pricing a car on the lot?

For the '14 GT, I looked up as a CPO car and as a dealer car, as this dealership has a "lifetime powertrain warranty" that is included with the sale. I don't believe that the car is 'officially' a Ford CPO car because of this. I was also told that this warranty is included with all cars, and cannot be removed and the price negotiated down.

This car's price as listed on several major pricing sites:
KBB.com: $20,718-$23,893 ($24,144 CPO price)
NADA.com: $24,450 (clean retail) ($26,225 CPO price) - this seems high
edmunds.com: $23,973 (clean dealer) ($24,917 CPO price)

To me, this car should go out the door for $22.5k-$23k, with the issues noted but not corrected.

I'm not sure what other pricing tools are available to check.

I also can source OEM take off mufflers locally for $125-$150, which I would do in this case.

Last edited by krazykarguy (2017-02-06 13:07:01)

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5977105427.html

Not sure if Brembos... appear to be silver painted calipers.

n_r_child wrote:

http://denver.craigslist.org/cto/5977105427.html

Not sure if Brembos... appear to be silver painted calipers.

That car has been on cars.com for quite some time. Those are the standard brakes - the Brembo calipers are a flat dark gray (and almost vanish behind the wheel).

A rare color combination, for sure.

I am trying my best to find a nice car. The problem is that they are all priced like they are 'nice cars', and these cars also suffer at the hands of owners who beat on them or make questionable modifications.

I've actually come to terms that I will probably have to accept a car that doesn't have everything I want but is in great shape. The gray car that got away on Sunday is a great example of that - the car had below average miles, leather, parking sensors, and heated seats - but lacked both the Brembo brakes and the 19" wheels that they require. Even though I didn't see it in person, the pictures looked great - plus it was listed for $19,800. 

No wonder it disappeared.

Just priced out insurance on them. A 2013 is $1137/year, and a 2014 is $1310/year. Actually less than I had thought! I can knock another 5% off for signing up for the tracker program, plus whatever I can earn in 90 days (up to 30% more).