Hello Scotty and Friends,
Tomorrow, from a private seller, I'll be looking at a 2009 Scion TC with an automatic transmission that has less than 237,000 miles on it.
If I like the car after a personal look over and test drive, I will have a pre-purchase inspected. Sadly, this will probably have to be done by Pep Boys or Lemon Squad as all local mechanics nearby are off on Saturdays and Sundays. I've been burnt for months on trying to find a car and then the next day it being sold, so time has become a factor.
My concern, especially for the high mileage, is what has been mentioned on carcomplaints.com (it says for number one issue "Ridiculous oil consumption" -yikes!) and other searches about excessive oil consumption, which I believe has to do with bad pistons (rings?). What are your suggestions when having it inspected? Or just other concerns in general?
Buying a used car in my price range has been...trying. So...many...scams.
-Steve-
One thing for sure that will tell you what kind of shape it's in is to check the oil. If it was just changed, I would be leary of that. Take a day off and stop by a real mechanic. The guys at chain stores are useless.
concerns in general
Concerns: fairly old car, w/high mileage & no mention of maintenance. No price given. So a 14 year old car with about 237k miles. What's the asking price? Price matters, not 'sometimes', it always matters.
3100
Just got back from looking at it and a test drive.
The person I have been in contact with on Facebook Marketplace only speaks Spanish, but we used Google Translate the best we could during our messages on FB Messenger and in person. It was mentioned in the ad that the shock absorber is damaged, so there's that so far.
Everything looked visually good under the hood. Body is in good shape. Inside the car looks decent. Trunk can still open, just the rubber/plastic that is normally there to do it isn't there anymore (This is quite common over time from what I understand).
He eventually got an older family member on his phone (his sister or cousin - I forget) for translation help. Took the car for a test drive. Made sure to turn the car a full left and right to see if it made any crunchy noises, etc - no issue there. Got it up to 60 twice. Once slowly and once decently fast - no indication of transmission issues. Braking might be a problem, as you have to put a heavy foot on it to slow down - might need new break pads.
Asked questions through his family translator. He has had the vehicle over a year, but he got a newer Mustang so he wants to sell it. I told him it looks pretty cool (has spolier and also neonish-green rims on the tires and some parts of the overall black car), but made my concern about the potential oil consumption issue that TCs might have. I asked if he has to top off the oil every so often. He said he has the oil changed every 2 months, which is abnormal in my book, though I did not do a follow up question to see if he drives it over a certain amount of miles within that time.
So I asked him before I can purchase this, would I be able to have a mechanic look at it. He said no and didn't have much of an explanation. Just so there was no confusion or assumptions, I said I would pay out of my pocket for it to be inspected. He still would not agree to it.
I finally decided to check the exhaust pipe with a paper napkin - can tell it is burning oil.
This is the point when most people would walk. I asked him let me think it over for a day. To restate, he is asking for $3100
Ran VIN on vehiclehistory.com, nicb.org/vincheck, and vincheckpro.com. No theft, accident, salvage, or flood records found.
Thoughts?