Automotive Deal-breakers

In the junkyard! :p I kid, I kid, they do work for grocery getters.

Also vehicles that might be used while you're recovering from a motorcycle crash or other illness. Pretty damn hard to work a manual with a busted ankle or right wrist, or when you're having medication induced left-right coordination issues.

As for deal breakers - bumper stickers placed anywhere but a chrome bumper or rear windshield, i.e., anywhere where they might not come off easily.
 
Also vehicles that might be used while you're recovering from a motorcycle crash or other illness. Pretty damn hard to work a manual with a busted ankle or right wrist, or when you're having medication induced left-right coordination issues.

As for deal breakers - bumper stickers placed anywhere but a chrome bumper or rear windshield, i.e., anywhere where they might not come off easily.
Yes I forgot that one. Hurt my left knee (don't ask no one fucking knows HOW it happened) pretty happy that I don't have to work the clutch.
 
That's true, 10 months of rain here makes me forget that paint fade is an issue on other parts of the continent. Oh well, that would be the perfect opportunity for a thorough wet-sanding, polishing and wax job.
 
P.S.: There is no rust (yet). A repair would easily cost me 1000 Euros. Too much. It speaks for the rust protection of VW, that no rust is visible after 4 years in the salty North Sea air.

You're talking about the dent, right?
 
Yes, about the dent of course.

One has to give my mother credit for setting her priorities straight: She didn't have the dent fixed but had the tree cut down.
 
I see it more like preventing any future ramifications.
 
MWF-itis is contagious
 
MWF-itis is contagious
You know, contrary to popular belief, bad puns actually pre-date even MWF's existence. :p

He merely perfected the formula of bad joke + bad taste + inappropriate timing. :lol:
 
Lots of recent work done: that to me says the car is falling apart and will be a headache to keep running.

Any big body damage or poor paint: I want my car looking nice and if the owner bothered to take care of the exterior I'm more inclined to believe they took the same care with the rest of it.

Firm prices: If you're not willing to negotiate a price I'm not wasting my time with you.
 
Here's an angle for this thread: What have you seen on a car that would've possibly been a dealbreaker to somebody, but wasn't to you? To clarify: Has any of your cars had an issue that somebody could have deemed a dealbreaker, but has merely meant a price drop and an easy fix in your case?

With the 323F, it was probably the bent front panel that I fixed with a resprayed junkyard replacement; along with the worn-to-hell driver's seat (95k km) which I replaced with a used GT seat (300k+ km, I don't know).

With the Sapporo... hell, I'm still fixing things that are wrong with it and would've turned people off. :mrgreen:
 
Price. The 406 was 1/3 below the price it should've been, which is probably a pretty big dealbraker for many, especially with French cars. I went to see it only as a beaten reference car, to check what thing go wrong when the car is neglected. Suprisingly the owner had taken care, but he had to get rid of it quickly, because of his 200km/120miles trip to work and risen gas expenses, but he didn't have a parking place for another car, which he had already reserved. I still wanted to see one other car befor buying this, desprite the low price.

Sadly, the 2.0 Turbo one that was my main goal and almost twice as expensive turned out to have many deal-breakers, including no boost, no second gear, keyed panels and smoked interior. Luckily the cheap one was still available and I bought it.
 
Here's an angle for this thread: What have you seen on a car that would've possibly been a dealbreaker to somebody, but wasn't to you? To clarify: Has any of your cars had an issue that somebody could have deemed a dealbreaker, but has merely meant a price drop and an easy fix in your case?

With the 323F, it was probably the bent front panel that I fixed with a resprayed junkyard replacement; along with the worn-to-hell driver's seat (95k km) which I replaced with a used GT seat (300k+ km, I don't know).

With the Sapporo... hell, I'm still fixing things that are wrong with it and would've turned people off. :mrgreen:


I got my S-10 from a guy that knew nothing about cars and advertised it as only needing a battery. I brought along a battery to check it out and it won't start, but it does click, so it needed a new starter. I talked the guy down a cool $1000 because he thought it was a wiring problem. SInce the body was in nice shape and I could push start it to test drive it, I bought it after the big price drop.
 
Here's an angle for this thread: What have you seen on a car that would've possibly been a dealbreaker to somebody, but wasn't to you? To clarify: Has any of your cars had an issue that somebody could have deemed a dealbreaker, but has merely meant a price drop and an easy fix in your case?
The little KZ550 I recently bought had barely been ridden for a few years. It runs well, but needs all sorts of new seals and gaskets. Not hard work and the parts are cheap (on ebay anyway), but the few people who looked at the bike before me had decided it was too much for them to handle.
 
Here's an angle for this thread: What have you seen on a car that would've possibly been a dealbreaker to somebody, but wasn't to you? To clarify: Has any of your cars had an issue that somebody could have deemed a dealbreaker, but has merely meant a price drop and an easy fix in your case?

With the 323F, it was probably the bent front panel that I fixed with a resprayed junkyard replacement; along with the worn-to-hell driver's seat (95k km) which I replaced with a used GT seat (300k+ km, I don't know).

With the Sapporo... hell, I'm still fixing things that are wrong with it and would've turned people off. :mrgreen:

To buy my Impreza you had to accept a few things. Some cosmetic defects being the cracked spoiler and the front bumper has been damaged at the bottom, something I will rectify in about 2 weeks. It had high mileage at 214,000 kms. It was on its 3rd owner, fortunately the ministry's records showed the 1st owner did 95% of the mileage, the 2nd owner did pretty much nothing with it and the 3rd owner the guy I bought it from was a student who realized how expensive cars are to maintain with a part time job with a school schedule. The car had a bit of an odour, no idea what it is but its mostly gone now...I think. Lastly the car needed a bit of maintenance upkeep needing new summer tires, front brakes needed to be done and the rear shocks. The result, I bought this car at book value while other Impreza RS and even some TS are being listed at higher prices than what I paid for this car.
 
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