Looking for Expert Opinions, What would you pay for this car, assuming you WANTED to buy it. Options

[Langing]

1997 ST Limited Edition Celica Liftback 5-speed 1.8L L4 engine. . . ABS, Alloy Wheels, Leather Seats. . . Very Clean. . . approx. 100k miles.

Photos show both the outside and inside were well kept and in very good condition. They are asking $5.5K!

What's the maximum you would offer for this vehicle?

[VavAlephVav]

KBB is a pretty good price if you consider a car that was owned by somebody who didn't do anything but change the oil. I only paid $2000 for mine, but within a year I've rebuilt brakes, CV axles, needs struts and tires, and a whole new motor.
but I know if I had gone and bought the one the dealer had for $4500 it would of had a nicer paint job but it still would have needed plenty of work.

also when buying stuff from used dealers take a good look at the frame or the bumpers, to see if its been wrecked before. look at where the fender meets the door, is the color the same? do the pinstripes match?
lots of used car guys will buy something at an auction that's been smashed into a ball and then take it to a cheap body shop and fix it up. and still try to sell it for top dollar.

[Langing]

KBB is a pretty good price if you consider a car that was owned by somebody who didn't do anything but change the oil. I only paid $2000 for mine, but within a year I've rebuilt brakes, CV axles, needs struts and tires, and a whole new motor.
but I know if I had gone and bought the one the dealer had for $4500 it would of had a nicer paint job but it still would have needed plenty of work.

also when buying stuff from used dealers take a good look at the frame or the bumpers, to see if its been wrecked before. look at where the fender meets the door, is the color the same? do the pinstripes match?
lots of used car guys will buy something at an auction that's been smashed into a ball and then take it to a cheap body shop and fix it up. and still try to sell it for top dollar.

Many thanks for your constructive comments VavAlephVav. You've clarified the relationship between quality of maintenance and true VALUE, and I understand (and agree with) what you say about the perils of, and approach to, buying 'used.' A well documented maintenance history is an essential part of the buying transaction. See the thread by njcccmd2002 about the 96 ST Anniversary Edition with BEAMS he superbly renovated and sold. That Celica conveyed real, lasting value to the buyer.

http://www.6gc.net/forums/index.php?showto...2+project+BEAMS

Maybe it's late and my thinking is fuzzy, but your statement "KBB is a pretty good price if you consider a car that was owned by somebody who didn't do anything but change the oil" didn't compute, at least at first. If all the owner did was change the oil, I take that to mean the owner basically didn't do maintenance, and the car is definitely going to need a whole lot of work after you've bought it.

As you went on to explain, even if you pay the dealer asking (inflated) price for a car such as the one I pointed out, you are STILL on the hook for a couple more thousand (not to speak of the heavy duty work/time) to fix what wasn't taken care of before you bought the car. So, if I paid the asking $5,500, I've got to plan on spending more, and devoting more time, to fix stuff, so in my mind I should be thinking $7,500, plus a lot of sweat.

I guess under that view your statement is correct, the KBB dealer $3,200 IS INDEED a decent evaluation (and lines up well with opinions expressed on this thread) because + $2,000 = $5,200 (which is the asking price). But if I pay the asking price, I'm going to end up ACTUALLY paying $7,500, when I should have paid the $3,200 KBB price ($3,200 + $2,000 = $5,200), which is about $2,000 less than asking price. Am I getting this right?