Checking out a 96 Talon AWD TSI tomorrow, What should I be looking for?

[MitchelRL]

I'm getting tired of my 325i and when I was on a drive tonight a 96 Talon AWD TSI caught my attention.

It has 91,000 miles on it, only flaws I could see with it (at night with a poor flood light on it) was some scratching on the trunk lid and a little touch up paint on the rear quarter panel, along with some worn spots on the side mirrors and on some of the black paint on the rear hatch. It's in good condition though.

They're asking $6,999 for it, Is this a realistic price for this car, provided everything else works perfectly on it? Or is it too high?

Are there any problem spots that I should look for when I take it for a drive tomorrow?

I used the search feature prior to posting, but I couldn't really find an answer to what I was looking for. I found some recalls on consumerguides, but Those were minor if that, except for the whole Timing Belt Flaw.

Any help would be appreciated.

 

[97GS-TSpyder]

i wouldnt offer that much. if offer liek 4 and see what t he say
go to KBB.com and see what you think...

 

[2fast420a]

Check all the fluids and make sure they look nice. Also do a carfax to make sure the title is clean. 6999 is a little high for a 96 even with that low of miles. Also if you have a local DSM club see if someone might be willing to come with you to look at it.

 

[halik008]

as everybody said $7000 is high for that car. See what the KBB says and offer his $1000-$1500 under that price.

Check for any signs of collision: paint overspray on the trim and under the car, replaced bolt on body pannels, paint chip that have been sprayed over, shady welds cover over with tar, prime overspray, etc.

Push the car by brining it up to 60 mph from stop while noticing the rpm's, turbo boost, any unusual noise, shaking, etc.

Also don't forget to check all the little stuff, a/c works, heat work, wipers work, windshield washers work, radio work, mirrors work, etc......While these are not that important and can be easliy fixed down the road, they are good opportunity to talk the price down!!


Somebody will chjip in with more info...

halik

 

[MitchelRL]

thanks for the tips.

There may be a few DSM people around here, But I don't know any of them.

I guess we'll see how much this guy will limbo to get me to trade in my bmw =P, He won't know that I'm a car salesman =)

 

[cuttheduck]

I'm getting tired of my 325i and when I was on a drive tonight a 96 Talon AWD TSI caught my attention.

It has 91,000 miles on it, only flaws I could see with it (at night with a poor flood light on it) was some scratching on the trunk lid and a little touch up paint on the rear quarter panel, along with some worn spots on the side mirrors and on some of the black paint on the rear hatch. It's in good condition though.

They're asking $6,999 for it, Is this a realistic price for this car, provided everything else works perfectly on it? Or is it too high?

Are there any problem spots that I should look for when I take it for a drive tomorrow?

I used the search feature prior to posting, but I couldn't really find an answer to what I was looking for. I found some recalls on consumerguides, but Those were minor if that, except for the whole Timing Belt Flaw.

Any help would be appreciated.

When i was looking at 95-96 tsi's they were usually between 75,000-95,000miles for about 4,700-5,300. Some were AWD and some not but all were in good shape. Any more and your paying too much for that car. 95 w/ 77,000 on the clock cost me around 4,700. Unless your area is alot different that is WAY overpriced. IF i know what I know now i woulda picked up the AWD w/ slighly higher mileage for about the same price. Oh well
Hope it ends up good for yah.

 

[MitchelRL]

that helps me out a lot.

I'm just hoping that they'll give me $7,000 for my car. and drop to about $750 above their wholesale price. I'm gonna have to work em I think.

 

[Daem0n]

The only piece of advice I tell people when looking for a used car is to be a complete jackass. Go over the car with a microscopic, fine comb. After all, this might possibly be your car. Make note of every single imperfection about the car, and make sure the owner knows about it. With me, every ding, dent, paint flaw, low fluid levels, unusual noise, unusual smell, or anything I deemed was not 'factory spec' was $100 off the asking price. Also, leverage is the name of the game. Take your time. Not only will you be doing a quality job of inspecting, you'll be wasting this guy's time. As such, he'll be more tempted to jump at your first price offer, since odds are he may have other commitments to be fufilled that day. After that, you'll be ready to start haggling the already adjusted price.
Of course, since you're a car salesman, this probably isn't news to you.

Maybe after you get the car, you might want to do a little write-up with tips and strategies for not getting ripped off at the dealer the next time any of us go used or new-car shopping? You know, something to help us out since you're on the inside.

Hope all goes well.

 

[MitchelRL]

Tip #1

Don't buy a Kia, it will depreciate half it's value once it's off the lot.

Tip #2

Befriend a car salesman. If you have a buddy on the inside, he will work his ASS off to save you money.

Tip #3

Do not buy cars from Canada, If they have a salvaged title, you will never know about it and it will not show up on Carfax

Tip #4

They're having warranty wars right now. some of the cars with the best warranties are the crappiest cars. Dodge, Kia and Volkswagen to name a few. Kia needs the warranty just to move their cars off the lot, and they'll be quick to void the warranty if you break any of the conditions, same with dodge and volkswagen/audi

Tip #5

European and Japanese cars are the way to go. stock up on KY if you buy domestic auto's (trucks are an exception though)

Tip #6

No matter how nice a car salesman seems, remember that he gets paid on the cars he sells, not the people he's being nice to. A lot of it is an act

Tip #7

Try to get with the most experienced and tenured car salesman at the lot. They don't have to lie and cheat to sell cars and you'll get a much better result in dealing with them.

Tip #8

DO YOUR RESEARCH!

Tip #9

Always sleep on it. They'll tell you it won't be there tomorrow and so on and so forth, but it's all BS. They just don't want you leaving and buying from another lot.

that's all I can really think of off of the top of my head. I can give you more if I have more time

 

[MitchelRL]

I'm going to take some pictures of it and post them up to see what yall think.

 

[halik008]

Mitchel,

this might also help you...

I picked up new DSM over the weekend after selling my manual 96 TSi AWD oh maybe like 2 years ago.

It's a 1995 Talon Tsi FWD, auto, leather, 80K, rebuilded tranny (less then 1K on it still with warranty), rebuilded engine (less then 15K on it), new used OEM turbo (les then 2K on it), new tire (around 10k on them), 1g BOV, full 3" CAT bnack Flow Master Exhaust, aftermarket wires and plugs, no rust, no ding or scratches, shiney paint no sading (repainted at some point), spotless interior. I paid $4300 for it.

Only problems it have is that the passanger electric door lock and the washer pumps do not work. Still have to find out if they need to be replaced or if it's electrical problem that happened during the tranny and engine work.

Hope this gives you idead on the pricing...

halik

 

[MitchelRL]

here's some shots of the front and back.. They are high res.

Front

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

Rear

You must be logged in to view this image or video.

it's got some dents and dings, the sunroof also does not work apparently, some of the black type paint on the top of the car and on the side mirrors is worn out and it has some retarded Aftermarket pedals in it.

He bought it from an Auction in Reno and he was stupid enough to admit that (he doesn't know that I'm in the biz)

If the car is near flawless it tops the NADA book at $5,300. So if he doesn't drop his price by about 2 grand he's not earning my business.

 

[MitchelRL]

thanks for all of the help and suggestions by the way. you all are a nice group of people.

 

[halik008]

yeah,

deffinately not worth anything he's asking in that condition. Mirrors aren't that big of a deal the housing can be replace @ around $50 each side. But if the clear coat is coming off the roof that's big trouble, there is nothing you can do to stop it from getting worse except getting it repainted....

halik

 

[MitchelRL]

the hood is horrendous as well. I'll see if he's willing to play ball though. I'm not going to give him anywhere NEAR 6,900$ for it,

 

[cuttheduck]

Thats how my mirrors used to look.
A little high gloss black paint and they were looking great.
Defintely would NOT need new housings.

 

[JFZERO ECLIPSE]

make sure you look specifically at at clutch,transmisson and the transfer case. :thumbdown :thumbdown .In my 95 talon tsi awd my tranny and transfer case blew after a 200 mile trip. 2g's are kinda known for blowing trannies very quickly. John

 

[MitchelRL]

is that what some commonly refer to as "Crank Walk"

 

[25psi]

Crankwalk will kill the engine not the transmission.

 

[MitchelRL]

welp, After going down to BMW Track Day down at Portland International Raceway...I've decided to stick with BMW's, just not with mine.

Thanks a ton for all your help here. I love DSM's and I'd love to own one someday, just not until I get bored with an ///M3 or something.

you guys have a really chill community here, thanks again for the suggestions and what not. I really appreciated it.