Car buyer potluck

It is an interesting thing to buy an older used car in a private sale.

I recently purchased a 1988 Range Rover from a charity here in Albuquerque. They received it as a donation car. I can't expect that they know everything about the car, but I thought the story I got was a good one. I'll give the charity the benefit of the doubt that they didn't know what I'm about to share.

Based on what I thought I knew about the car, the Kelley Blue Book value was around $1800. I knew through my mechanic that the vehicle was going to need some work, so I worked the price down to $1000 even. (I was buying this auto as a replacement for my Saturn which was stolen on New Year's Day. The settlement check from the insurance company was to cover cost and mechanical work.) This was based on 71k mileage on the odometer and what I valued as fair condition. The beast has a sound body but a hideous paint job, and the seats are leather but are really cracked. These are a couple of the things I used to come to that conclusion.

Now the machine is in the shop preparing to undergo an overhaul: New hoses and belts, oil change, a few new gaskets, a new power steering pump and gear box, and a new transmission to top it off as a proactive measure. It'll need new tires once it's roadworthy again, too. This will push the limit of my settlement check, but it should do the trick for a while. OK so far, right?

So my wife's aunt sends an email showing how to use Google to search a VIN number for a car. I was curious, so I tried it. Nothing shows up except a CarFax paid search listing. I thought it would be worth $20 to check it out. Ouch, was I right. The search is relatively uneventful except that in 1999 my car's title listed mileage at 124k and then when a new title was issued in '05 it was issued with a Not Actual Mileage title. That now catches my attention. I have no hard idea why the mileage has gone from 124k in '99 to 71k today. Could have been rolled back. Could have had a new odometer put in. I just don't know.

So I go back to kbb.com (Kelley Blue Book online) and recheck the car value for private sale. It says that because of the unknown actual mileage the car is in "poor" condition. It's too big an unknown. Even assuming mileage of 159k (124 in '99 plus 5k per year since) and a fair condition, it only lists at $1050. Yikes. I got out by the skin of my teeth.

I'll soon write on my theology of car buying. I believe that buying a car is no different than my stand on any major politial or social issue. They all require me to use my faith and beliefs properly. I'm rethinking my decision in light of this new finding, but I believe at the moment that I still made a good choice. More to come on that, though. Buying a used car is harder than I thought, but I got the basics right. It's all potluck.