I'm considering that '95 E320 Wagon.

[FC]

The wife is on board as long as it is in good mechanical shape.

I called the dealer and he says the car is "excellent, excellent, excellent. Everything works. I has been taken care of." I buy that. Thanks to Sarafil, I know it is a one-owner car and cosmetically it is in GREAT shape. Seller said he would have no problem with me having my mechanic check it out. Unfortunately he does not have records for it. I still need to check it out and drive it this weekend.

Is there a way of getting a hold of the original owner and asking him why he got rid of it and if it gave him any trouble? :paranoid:

I mean, having driven the same car for 10 years is reason enough to dump it if they could swing a 50K car 10 years ago and want something newer.

At benzworld.org it seems that whenever a thread is started about this car having serious issues, it is because the thing has 200K+ miles. Except, of course, for the head gasket and engine wiring harness I mentioned in the other thread.

It has 101K now, and I don't see us keeping it past 3-4 years/160K miles (unless we totally love the wagon).

Thoughts?

[dan]

Is there a way of getting a hold of the original owner and asking him why he got rid of it and if it gave him any trouble? :paranoid:
if I were the original owner I know I wouldn't particularly want to be contacted by a potential buyer if I had already traded it in

[FC]

Is there a way of getting a hold of the original owner and asking him why he got rid of it and if it gave him any trouble? :paranoid:
if I were the original owner I know I wouldn't particularly want to be contacted by a potential buyer if I had already traded it in

I figured. But assuming the person doesn't mind a 2-minute conversation, how bad would it be and can it be done?

[SARAFIL]

Is there a way of getting a hold of the original owner and asking him why he got rid of it and if it gave him any trouble? :paranoid:
if I were the original owner I know I wouldn't particularly want to be contacted by a potential buyer if I had already traded it in

I figured. But assuming the person doesn't mind a 2-minute conversation, how bad would it be and can it be done?

If you were to ask me to give you the name of the previous owner of any vehicle on our lot, I would have to say no. Sure, there are some rare exceptions, such as the "this car belonged to (insert name of famous athlete, etc. here)", but for any other case, I think it is really sleazy. Plus, we also agree to not disclose any of the buyers information when they buy a new car from us.

[lemming]

Is there a way of getting a hold of the original owner and asking him why he got rid of it and if it gave him any trouble? :paranoid:
if I were the original owner I know I wouldn't particularly want to be contacted by a potential buyer if I had already traded it in

I figured. But assuming the person doesn't mind a 2-minute conversation, how bad would it be and can it be done?

If you were to ask me to give you the name of the previous owner of any vehicle on our lot, I would have to say no. Sure, there are some rare exceptions, such as the "this car belonged to (insert name of famous athlete, etc. here)", but for any other case, I think it is really sleazy. Plus, we also agree to not disclose any of the buyers information when they buy a new car from us.

in the used car market, caveat emptor. so whatever you can do to assure yourself that you are buying what you think you see, then i say go for it as much as you can.

when i bought my 993, i tracked down the 2 prior owners and grilled them about the car. i didn't go through the dealer, i called porsche of america to find the originating dealership and then made a lot of calls and digging to find the owners as well as the service managers who serviced the car.

i don't think it's sleazy, particularly, in light of the "average" dealer set of practices. is it being pushy? absolutely. but i have seen too many good friends who insist on never buying new cars get creamed by things that never came up when they bought their used cars....things that even pre-purchase inspections missed.

[clyde]

A little while after I traded in my wife's car on the RX-8, I got a call from the salesman. He said that they had a potential buyer and that the buyer wanted to ask me a few questions and asked if that would be okay. I would have preferred that they just told the guy no, but I thought that was a semi-reasonable middle ground. They didn't try to pressure me at all beyond just simply asking and saying "you certainly don't have to if you don't want to."

[dan]

did you?

[clyde]

What does that have to do with anything?

[dan]

:speechle:

[Rob]

I just got off the phone with the guy that bought my M3. I don't mind telling him the car's history at all.

[zach]

I just got off the phone with the guy that bought my M3. I don't mind telling him the car's history at all.

I'm still in contact with the guy from whom I bought my M3. He has an e39 M5 now.

[SCA]

When I purchased Old Whitey (E34) nearly four years ago, our BMW Sales Rep. gave me the name and home # of the former owners (elderly couple) who had traded it for a base E46 325i. I called and spoke to the husband for 5-10 minutes. BTW, he sounded as though he was on deaths door

[SCA]

I just got off the phone with the guy that bought my M3. I don't mind telling him the car's history at all.

I'm still in contact with the guy from whom I bought my M3. He has an e39 M5 now.

I speak with the original owner of my M3 every now and then. He certainly has climbed the M ladder as he now owns a 2002 E39 M5.

[lemming]

on balance, we're more similar than we are different.

(sigh).