Hi,

I really fancy the Eldorado and I found an ad that sounded really great.

This is what the ad states:

"1997 Cadillac Eldorado Touring Coupe for sale. Needs some small work done.
-Brakes need replacing ($150 at cantire)
-multi function relay apparently dying(a couple sensors lights are wonky but works fine) So I purchased complete 2nd steering column/airbag/wheel, comes with the car
-minor cosmetic repair on one rear quarter panel."

I am no professional mechanic and therefore I am wondering if that really is only "small work" or if that is a money sink. Or can I go for it? The car looks quite great and the owner is asking 4300 Canadian $.

Can anybody PLEASE give me an opinion?!?!?

Thanks in advance,

Florens

 

Not sure how the economy is in your particular province but that asking price seems awfully high for a vehincle with that many issues. You need to take into consideration that the vehicle is 11 years old and probably needs other maintenance done for it to be a vialble driving car.

Since you are a mechanic and can perform the work yourself then it looks like the labor will only cost you your time and the parts you probably get a decent price for. I would suggest that when you do go to look at the car that you do a thourough inspection of the car and keep a tallied list bring a clipboard and write down anything that you see wrong with the vehicle and next to that write down how many hours you think it will take you to do and an estimate of parts. Other things to look at are what condition are the tires in? Would you need to replace them? If yes then you should deduct that from your offer.

Depending on what figure you come up with you should offer 1/3rd less his asking price of say $3k. And if you estimate that the car has more than a 3rd of the asking price in repairs then use your own discretion. As far as the lights you should get a diagnostic done to the car and write down all the codes. There are people on here who know what the codes are if you do not have a book to look them up in.

 

I ECHO / DITTO villanous

any 10 year old car wil need about $1,000 to $1,500 just to get it all nice and proper, including maintenance but NOT PAINT, so if the asking price is lets say $4,000, the final cost is really $5,000+ ...

ANY issues, body repairs, electrical work you add to that ..

you are probably looking at paying $6,000 for the car when it is all said and done, but if it needs paint, add another $1,500, which brings it to around $7,500

in other words, consider ALL COSTS to get the car the way you like it ...

what is the kbb private sale price?



.

 

Hi,

thank you very much for your replies.

The KBB private sale price for an Excellent Condition would be around 7000$

If I were a mechanic, I would certainly proceed as villanous suggested. But as I already stated: I am sadly "no professional mechanic".
So it might be essential to go to an auto repair shop to get an idea of the car?

Best wishes,

Florens Knorr