Quote:
Originally Posted by clyde
I'm looking for another $4k beater for my kids. The idea is to have one by UMD finals in mid-May. Wish I could just clone the 2008 Accord I bought last January.
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I found an Accord last Friday on FB Marketplace, but was out of town and I couldn't talk the guy into not selling it before I got back two days later and it sold.
Yesterday, I found a 2004 base spec (or nearly so) 5 speed manual 325i on FB Marketplace. 107k miles and the photos looked like it was in decent shape. Asking price was $4200, which seemed reasonable?
I saw and drove it this afternoon and it may have actually been cleaner than the photos suggested. It's not perfect, but seems really nice.
There's a bit of a clunk in the rear over sharp bumps. I guess worst case it could be cracks or tearing at the subframe mount, but I'm choosing to believe it will be more benign, like end links. The shocks/struts may be a little tired, but I didn't see any leakage. It probably "needs" most/all new bushings, too, but not enough for someone not sensitive to it to feel like it's a problem. The tires have enough tread, but one has a little gouge on the sidewall which probably means it will need to be replaced to pass MD inspection. If I have to do one, I may as well do all four.
I bought a Carfax for it shows a combination of good maintenance from August 2008 on...as well as something I don't quite understand. The car was originally sold in November 2003 as a personal lease in Florida. It then shows it being sold to
a dealer in Miami with 27,360 miles on it. In April 2004. So, that's weird, right? Unless it was a fat fingered typo that should have been 2736.0? The next entry with mileage is three years later at 27,990, which would be nothing eye raising if it represented 25k over 3 years as opposed to an also weird 600 miles over three years. Then, it stops being weird with owner #3 who bought it in August 2008. Looks like they drove it about 14k/year for the first two years, then dropped to about 6k/year for the next seven years, and then down to 500/year over the past four years.
The guy told me it might not start up without a jump because it's been sitting a lot and it needed a jump pack to start. Once hooked up, it started right up. It was cold and I didn't see any signs of smoke. I forgot just how smooth the M54 is. Clutch was just as totally numb as I remember. Aside from the clunk and feeling just little bit less sharp than brand new, it drove great.
Interior is that sand color and I think it's leatherette because I cannot believe that leather could hold up so well. The headliner is sagging a bit and the a-arm coverings need to be re-glued/replaced. The shifter boot is faded compared to the other sand color items and has a small hole. The armrest has some unslightly wear (but nothing compared to the wear in 80% of the Accords I've seen), but beyond that, the interior looks great. Like just enough wear to not look weirdly new, but does not look old, either. It's also really clean looking.
I'm not sure if it's Orient Blue or Mystic Blue (I think Orient, but not positive). For a 17 year old car that wasn't put on a pedestal, I think the paint is pretty good shape. Some scratches and such, but definitely in better shape than the paint on my wagon when we sold it at nine years.
Engine compartment also looked pretty clean. Maybe garged most of it's life? There was some fresh plant detritus/pollen related things, but not any more than I'd expect for a car that's been outside for more than a few weeks. I didn't notice any leaks, although the hose off the power steering fluid reservoir (or was it from the oil filter? I forget) had a spot that looked it had been handled or had fluid/oil on it recently compared to the rest of the line.
Under the car, the only rust I noticed was was seemed to be a little surface rust on the bottom of the rear subframe. I had totally forgotten about the issues with cracking/tearing around the rear subframe mounts, so I didn't try to look closely. Now that I do remember, the rear clunking has me a bit feeling a bit more nervous, but oh well.
We quickly agreed on a $3800 price. Tomorrow morning, I'll go to the bank, meet the guy to get the title and keys (he has two, which is nice), and then go waste $175ish(?) at a tag and title place since the next available MVA appointment is in June.
Hopefully, the clunk isn't subframe mounts and it won't need much/anything to pass MD inspection.
This will be interesting.