Tonight's X3 Adventure
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I have been searching for a replacement for my Rav4. You know how it goes. Time for something different, a new experience. Initially an X5 3.0 or an XC90 were on the top of the list.
A number of people with more X5 experience than I have were good resources to either warn me to stay away or at least be aware of what id be getting into. The current local XC90 offerings dont fit the bill. I am trying to make a lateral move in terms of price.
A few cars that I have interest in that the wife is okay with.
X3
FX35
Murano
Camry
She is pretty set on an SUV even though i drive it 90% of the time. I have my e30 so she wants to have an SUV she can drive. Its about compromise.
So Davester and I set out for an hour and forty five minute drive to Oak Lawn IL with cash in hand fully expecting to make dave drive my chick-mobile rav4 home while I leave him in the dust with a 100hp advantage in a new-to-me 2008 X3.
The car in question
The price is right, the miles are right, the colors and options are right.
I had called the seller and he reassured me that the car has a clean title, the car was as clean in person as the photos show and nothing at all was wrong with it. He admitted that he is a dealer and has been using this as his personal vehicle for about 2 weeks. He told me he deals with mainly BMWs and is well aware with the typical follies on the E83. It made my fuzzies warm.
During the drive to the sellers house, Dave and I got so immersed in conversation that I had forgotten why I was in Illinois.
We arrive at the sellers home and upon first inspection notice some dings that didnt show up in the photos. The dings are comparable to whats on my Toyota so it doesnt bother me much.
The passenger side fog light trim ring is missing.
It falls ever so conveniently out of frame in the photo
Another interior piece of trim was missing but overall it looks acceptable and im still anticipating handing over the cash after the test drive.
The drive started off well. The car feels solid, brakes are great, ride is firm, acceleration is good. HVAC works as anticipated as does everything with the exception of the motor on the drivers side mirror. Again, not a deal breaker, just solid ammo for price negotiation.
We make our way back to the sellers house. 3 blocks away we are stopped at a red light. Waiting... waiting...sniffing...looking at smoke emanating from the hood. It almost smells electrical like something shorting out and would appear as such since the smoke was visible to me from the drivers side hood seams where fuse panels normally reside.
We quickly get back to the house and pop the hood. The slight damp portion of the valve cover seam that I dismissed earlier while looking over the engine was now precipitating substantial drops of oil out onto the manifold and sizzling off. The severity was certainly that of a fire hazard.
Alright, I know the valve cover is a simple thing and a common problem on the X3. Heck, I replaced 2 of them on the E30 this year. But this was the deal breaker. I thanked the seller for showing the car and told him I wasn't interested. His last few comments to us made it pretty clear that he knew this was an issue.
Its too bad he knew I was driving 2 hours to see the car and didnt disclose this on the phone. This is why I am not a great car salesman. I disclose everything. I can probably create an ad and point out faults on a brand new car that would turn people away even though its in brand new condition with things like "the stitching on the seats is slightly uneven on one side"...
Whatever.
We stopped at the Oasis rest stop on the way home for some sustenance. Still in a white Rav4
The mindfook of it all:
Of the cars we saw broke down on the side of the freeway:
E46
FX35
Camry
Murano
Freaky.
Somehow out of tonight's small adventure I have gained some more love for the Rav4 im trying to replace. Perhaps I will hold onto it a while longer. And in case anyone else was considering looking at this car (unlikely)
Then you heard it here first.
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Definitely an adventure as always with Brian
Sent from my SM-G930R4 using Tapatalk
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great story!
Its too bad he knew I was driving 2 hours to see the car and didnt disclose this on the phone. This is why I am not a great car salesman. I disclose everything. I can probably create an ad and point out faults on a brand new car that would turn people away even though its in brand new condition with things like "the stitching on the seats is slightly uneven on one side"...
Whatever.
however, you are being too nice. this is not 'whatever'...fuck that guy. not disclosing problems even if you drive 1 mile to see a car is dishonest, discourteous, and surely tells the character of a person. i just went through this with my 2000 mile trip to Seattle for my car. there were lots of 'undisclosed' problems with the car, even though I asked directly what problems were present or what repairs did the car need. it was a giant dickhead move to not even consider for a second I would be driving the car 2000 miles across the country.
Dan
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First e30 I bought nine years ago I drove a one-way rental car 6 hours to MN north of the Twin Cities in April for a rust free stored Carolina car with 168k for $2500. Bit high given the pre-e30 price inflation days but worth a look.
Seller had posted pics on the forums and his friends were also vouching for what a great guy he was and the great shape the car was in. Pics though did not include the passenger side which turned out to have a pulled lock cylinder and bent door skin from a break in attempt. Other surprises included an open diff making a lot of noise, shot suspension, gas gauge senders shot, and some creative wiring.
It was rust free though and best I had seen for a while, price was ok, and I had just driven 6 hours.
Bought the car, seller gave me a ride to the airport to drop off the rental, and I drove the e30 back home that night.
Bottom line is that long distance purchases can be a crap shoot. If you're lucky you get a mostly honest seller. Fully honest sellers are rare. One more reason to appreciate this community.
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Yeah people suck, but also don't buy cars from Chicagoland.
There's nothing wrong with buying a car from Chicagoland as long as you know what you're dealing with. I've had bad experiences in Illinois and Wisconsin, truth is most people who sell cars are doing so for personal gain so there's always some self preservation. You have to be your own advocate and it helps to have someone there who isn't going to be blinded by idea of owning something new.
What's your price and mileage range?
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I got lucky with my saabaru purchase from MI. Seller was 100% honest and I could tell he was an enthusiast too from talking on the phone with him. There wasn't one surprise that I found that he didn't already tell me about. Most of the time you can feel the seller out by just talking to the mover the phone. Then of course go with your gut feeling.
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I have had shit luck with craigslist 99% of the time. Most notably a trip to shell lake wi.
If you're worried about getting jumped take a friend, I usually bring a friend and my ccw
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