Anyone in San Mateo have time to look at a car?

[mlambert890]

Hello all...

If anyone happens to be in the San Mateo area and doesnt mind stopping by this place on their lunch break or if they have a free moment:

www.contiautosales.com

There is a 2002 Silver there that I would love to get the story on. I'd be happy to buy you lunch or a six-pack for your trouble!!!

Thanks!

 

[ImolaOrange03]

Hello all...

If anyone happens to be in the San Mateo area and doesnt mind stopping by this place on their lunch break or if they have a free moment:

www.contiautosales.com

There is a 2002 Silver there that I would love to get the story on. I'd be happy to buy you lunch or a six-pack for your trouble!!!

Thanks!

I strongly suggest that you run a CARFAX on the VIN. "JH4NA21622T000079" is the VIN that Conti posted. I ran a google search on that VIN and it showed up in a couple car dealerships in the past, including a russian salvage yard Garant Motors in Riverside, CA.
Prelim CARFAX says 23 records.

 

[mlambert890]

Carfax is clean... That Russian place seems to just track Manheim results. All that might mean is that the car went through auction which, at his point, 99.9999% of NSXs have, to be honest.

Unfortunately, thats as much of a sniff test as can be done really. Carfax/Google/Prime. It passed those. Of course Im still suspicious as, at this point, I supect a gigantic percentage of NSXs have gone through some level of accident and repair (if not full blown salvage) and are the passed off as "showroom fresh"

Stinks having to search remotely and not be able to have a look yourself

 

[ImolaOrange03]

Carfax is clean... That Russian place seems to just track Manheim results. All that might mean is that the car went through auction which, at his point, 99.9999% of NSXs have, to be honest.

Unfortunately, thats as much of a sniff test as can be done really. Carfax/Google/Prime. It passed those. Of course Im still suspicious as, at this point, I supect a gigantic percentage of NSXs have gone through some level of accident and repair (if not full blown salvage) and are the passed off as "showroom fresh"

Stinks having to search remotely and not be able to have a look yourself

My nephew purchased a used car from a small independent dealer in San Mateo. Had a clean CARFAX with it. When he took it to a mechanic to look at, mechanic said the bottom frame is bent and car was in a major accident. My nephew went back to dealer to get refund and dealer told him to get lost. Nephew eventually went to local TV news and TV station did an investigation and found that the dealer also owned a body shop and was making repairs and not reporting them. TV pressured dealer and dealer eventually refunded all the money back.

Yes, make sure someone who knows NSXs goes to inspect this car. I'm not saying this NSX is bad but its a lot of money for a salvaged NSX.

 

[calexand]

I'd be happy to go look at it, if you haven't already gotten someone else to do so. However, I will only be able to look at what is visible, and take it for a drive (assuming they let me). You will certainly want a full inspection after that from a dealer or mechanic putting it up in the air, etc. However, I live in the area, and could give you a couple of nearby suggestions for that if you get to that stage (including Hilltop Auto in Daly City).

This is all so long as it is as a fellow NSX owner helping out as well as he can, not something where you would hold me responsible for something I didn't find. Email me if you would like my help (by clicking calexand on the left).

Chip

 

[mr_na2&ap1]

Hey Spookyp,

That NSX has been posted on craigslist.org for quite some time now. I remember when it was first posted, (maybe about a month or two ago), a friend of mine sent me a link to the posting and the listing said, ". . . passenger side door was professionally repainted/repaired. . . ." As of right now, the listing doesn't mention that at all, here's the link:http://sfbay.craigslist.org/pen/ctd/1273883991.html. Just thought I'd chime in on what I saw and hopefully, it was an error or a mistake when they were typing up the post.

 

[mlambert890]

Thanks guys for all of the input and the offers as well. Totally agree on Carfax. Its almost useless in many ways - I just use it as some kind of baseline.

I missed that Craigslist post - that is good sleuthing. I dont mind some pro paintwork, but if Im going to settle for that, Ill settle for it from a private seller here Prime rather than some creepy dealer who is either clueless about it or covering it up.

What I was mainly hoping to get was just a once over to determine if it was good enough to spend cash for a PPI on, but in this case Im going to pass.

Im looking at a couple of listings in the sale section and will see if I can make one of those work.

I cant tell you how many times Ive confronted dealers in the past few weeks with a lot of knowledge about the car they are listing (along the lines of "look, I know the door has been done and it needs timing belt and water pump, so lets just negotiate") and these guys get borderline hostile. Then two days later some idiot just buys the car sight unseen.

On a Viper I had a PPI done that TURNED UP ISSUES and before I could negotiate with them (I was willing to accept it if they would correct some/split the difference) the car was sold right out from under me to some guy who just walked in and bought it after one test drive!

Its just amazing how even in this market these dealers can still find people so eager to be taken.

 

[BATMANs]

I don't trust carfax after a friend crashed his Supra, didn't report it to DMV and even though the insurance paid for repairs at a local shop, it pulled up nothing. Nada.

At the end of the day, it's a used car......

 

[ChopsJazz]

If you still need someone to look at the car, I am available. I'd be happy to help.