Intriguing !

[regfootball]

2002 Intrigue 3.5 44,000 miles

I think i wanna test drive it!

What does everyone think of the price? Presentation wise, the car is spotless. Checked it out this morning.

Edited February 10, 2010 by regfootball

[Justin Bimmer]

Thats a pretty big price for an 8 year old car.

[Intrepidation]

LOL @ the price.

[Drew Dowdell]

$5k tops

[Intrepidation]

IMO more like 4k. Then it's a reasonable price.

[z28luvr01]

Food for thought - my father paid $5500 for his 2000 Intrigue (equipped exactly like this one but in white) six years ago.

Some used car places need a reality check. They treat anything that's not beat to hell as if it's pure gold and try to charge the moon for it. Consequently, it ends up sitting on the lot for months on end. Case in point:

2000 Blazer, 54K miles, $7995

Now, this would make a great bike hauler/Home Depot runner for me that's affordable enough to allow me to keep the Cobalt. It looks flawless, and it's a stick (!!), but it's still a 10 year old truck that I sure won't be paying almost 8K for.

[Satty]

LOL @ the price.

this

[vonVeezelsnider]

From what I understood, as nice an engine as it was, the LX5 Shortstar V6 was a bit frail.

[daves87rs]

No!

[trinacriabob]

The price is too high...even if you got to deal it down, your starting point would still be too high.

I don't like "candy apple" red as an exterior color, but that's just me. It blends in too much with the color of the taillamps, which need to stand out. It looks like it has a cloth interior, which I like.

I think the 3.5 was sorted out by 2002. What does Consumer Reports indicate? Even though that's one of my favorite car models of all time, I'd still keep the decision-making process on the logical side...the price is just too high for a brand that is gone and an 8-year old car that was a staple, as opposed to a specialty vehicle.

Snow:......what's that?

Edited February 11, 2010 by trinacriabob

[regfootball]

Thats a pretty big price for an 8 year old car.

i would normally agree with you. but since the crash, used cars have gone up in value 3-5 grand or more. the lower ceiling has been set higher due to the shortage of used cars and people rejecting buying the new stuff.

i saw a 2000 saturn with over 100k on a lot a couple weeks ago for 6 grand. it seems to me this is two years newer, nicer, much less miles, and two grand more.

when i turned my 500 in on lease, right before the crash, sept 2008. i could have bought the car on the market for like 12 grand but my buyout was 16. so i turned the car in. one year later, sept 2009, it would have been a sensible decision to buy the car for the buyout price.

the contraction in new car sales really changed the market. used cars are at a premium now, everyone is in short supply, there's not a lot of rental returns or lease cars coming back. new cars want to be profitable so msrp's are going up sharply driving the top ceiling and replacement cost up as well. go look at the lacrosse. 40k for a freakin epsilon car with a v6?

myself I would consider as much as maybe 7 grand. IF it needs nothing. 6 would be an ok price for this i think.

Edited February 11, 2010 by regfootball

[regfootball]

IMO more like 4k. Then it's a reasonable price.

wholesale shure, but the dealers need to make their 5 grand killing on every car they put on a lot it seems.

if this car were private party, you could offer them 4 or 4500......and it would probably be a go.

keep in mind this equivalent car new is now closer to 25 grand than 20 grand these days it seems.....

[Intrepidation]

Only if you feel like getting ripped off. shop around, there are better deals.

[regfootball]

Food for thought - my father paid $5500 for his 2000 Intrigue (equipped exactly like this one but in white) six years ago.

Some used car places need a reality check. They treat anything that's not beat to hell as if it's pure gold and try to charge the moon for it. Consequently, it ends up sitting on the lot for months on end. Case in point:

2000 Blazer, 54K miles, $7995

Now, this would make a great bike hauler/Home Depot runner for me that's affordable enough to allow me to keep the Cobalt. It looks flawless, and it's a stick (!!), but it's still a 10 year old truck that I sure won't be paying almost 8K for.

a lot in town here last summer had a 98 olds 88 that was pretty much exactly like my father in laws old car, except it had only 36k on the odometer. they wanted 6 grand for it.....6 grand for at the time an 11 year old car.

Edited February 11, 2010 by regfootball

[regfootball]

Only if you feel like getting ripped off. shop around, there are better deals.

most cars around here are very hashed by 7 years old. winters, salt, rust, poor maintenance. the paints on the cars around here are toast. this thing i am guessing was garaged in winter. that, and a hell of a buff job. inside and out, doesn't look more than about 3 years old. there's lots of recent lease returns that don't look near as good as this car did. tires are even good shape.

[Intrepidation]

You can always find a better deal if you are patient and look hard enough. Unless you're in a rush, which I don't see why you are, you have the Aztek, there's no need to jump the gun. You can find clean cars like that for much less.

[regfootball]

Food for thought - my father paid $5500 for his 2000 Intrigue (equipped exactly like this one but in white) six years ago.

Some used car places need a reality check. They treat anything that's not beat to hell as if it's pure gold and try to charge the moon for it. Consequently, it ends up sitting on the lot for months on end. Case in point:

2000 Blazer, 54K miles, $7995

Now, this would make a great bike hauler/Home Depot runner for me that's affordable enough to allow me to keep the Cobalt. It looks flawless, and it's a stick (!!), but it's still a 10 year old truck that I sure won't be paying almost 8K for.

that's a nice blazer.

new replacement cost for that vehicle is what, 30k?

car dealers won't give up the car unless they can make 3 grand or preferably 5 grand on the deal. they play the game of holding on to it to maximize profit per unit. they don't want to get a rep of giving cars away because then everyone will try to -negotiate- them down on everything on their lot.

[trinacriabob]

wholesale shure, but the dealers need to make their 5 grand killing on every car they put on a lot it seems.

if this car were private party, you could offer them 4 or 4500......and it would probably be a go.

keep in mind this equivalent car new is now closer to 25 grand than 20 grand these days it seems.....

I would be scouting out Intrigues via private parties, then. And you would have to take the cars to get checked over. In the Midwest, that shouldn't be as much of a problem. (Out West, where Japanese cars seem to be the norm, finding them would be more challenging.) It would take a little more work and the occasions may be less frequent, but I'm sure there are some true finds to be had.

[regfootball]

You can always find a better deal if you are patient and look hard enough. Unless you're in a rush, which I don't see why you are, you have the Aztek, there's no need to jump the gun. You can find clean cars like that for much less.

i'm not buying it. it has more to do with the condition of it compared to typical fare is exceptional, the car is rare (olds, 3.5) and it has low miles.

shopping for used cars is a wasteful cycle anyways. you can always find a better deal, then the question becomes, why do you want to spend hours upon hours chasing down vehicles. been there, done that. spending x extra time to try to find 5,000 more miles and 500 bucks. after awhile its just a headache.....which is why i usually buy close to new.

i helped a buddy get a used HHR for his mom recently. he asked me to search. i spent literally an hour on the computer. there is a ton of them. i ended up finding one in the orange his mom wanted with only 4k miles on it, for the same price he paid for the one he ended up buying with over 30k miles on it. i told him, 'you gotta go check out the orange one, its damn near new!'...his deal was, 'i have today off from work, i don't want to drive an extra 20 miles to the other deal......i can just drag my mom out there today and its out of my hair'. to me that's a sin to leave that many miles on the table for a car equipped the same. the orange one was even a year newer.

I really am more interested from the standpoint of this being one of the few W bodies I would ever consider, because its an olds and has the overhead cam powertrain. I've always really liked the introgg.

Edited February 11, 2010 by regfootball

[regfootball]

I would be scouting out Intrigues via private parties, then. And you would have to take the cars to get checked over. In the Midwest, that shouldn't be as much of a problem. (Out West, where Japanese cars seem to be the norm, finding them would be more challenging.) It would take a little more work and the occasions may be less frequent, but I'm sure there are some true finds to be had.

buying private party is as big a pain as buying from a dealer. some times the people are normal.....a lot of times they are weird psychos in some way shape or form.

CPO used cars are a great way to buy but those you really do get ripped off....but lots of people who buy them that way love the backing and the experience. I have a buddy who's bought and overpaid handsomely for 2 CPO volvos now. He just got an XC90 or whatever. He coulda got a new Traverse vs. what he paid for the Volvo with many miles on it. But, the Traverse is AMURCHAN ya know........

I think he got peeved when i told him my Taurus X shares the chassis with his precious VOlvos and costs thousands less.....like he was in denial......i said, 'look it up'.....

i buy my used ones under 15k miles and still on warranty, under 10k miles if i can help it....

Edited February 11, 2010 by regfootball

[regfootball]

anyone near this joint in MA?

05 AWD magnum cheap

i'd rather have this than an old w body anyways

[daves87rs]

most cars around here are very hashed by 7 years old. winters, salt, rust, poor maintenance. the paints on the cars around here are toast. this thing i am guessing was garaged in winter. that, and a hell of a buff job. inside and out, doesn't look more than about 3 years old. there's lots of recent lease returns that don't look near as good as this car did. tires are even good shape.

I'm going to agree with reg on this one. People have pretty much stopped taking care of their cars in this economy.

I was at a dodge dealership with a buddy when they were inspecting a just turned in 07 Caliber.

Car had 42k on it, last oil change was at 19k. Also had two used tires on it. CVT fluid was pretty much toast.

I was told this happens quite often now.

I would rather pay a few extra bucks for a well cared for car. Pay a few extra grand now, or pay even more later.....

[regfootball]

it all goes back to what the new cars are now selling for. almost nothing is under 20k. most folks can score credit on 20k for 5 years. most folks who buy new will lengthen their terms if their trade is not worth anything.....they will go 4-6 years now. Late model used can often be financed for those same length of terms, the main financial advantages to a late model used vs. new are less depreciation hit, less due on the loan, and a lesser payment. but all that is weighed against maintenance and repair costs that will arrive sooner than with a new car.

for a car like this one, anything that crosses that 6-7 year range....when cars start to become money pits.....you have to practically build into your expenditure to expect to fix stuff. but a car like this, you may be repairing less than one that is hashed and has say 115k on it. Now cars in this class are not financed as easy or as often. Folks will pay cash or somehow save their dough to buy these kinds of cars. If they do get financing its usually through higher rates and shadier operations. And the term is probably not very long.

So being able to find the well cared for long used car is important. Ideally a car like this you would trade something else and pay cash for the balance and have zero to owe, and then hope nothing needs fixing any time soon.

Problem is one fix on a car like say 3k on a tranny or 4k on an engine can negate the approach you had in mind for purchasing in the first place.

Where 5 years ago, the cost of an engine or tranny relative to the cost of a new vehicle was a much higher percentage. Nowadays an expensive fix, while being expensive, when its compared to the cost of a new car, is less of a gamble. So many new cars that you want to drive are 30k plus now.....this is what is driving demand for used.

My dad had kind of looked at new Lucernes a couple years ago, but gave up and scored his used DTS for 8 grand. I was kind of upset with him because his northstar kept stalling. I told him it was on the net....crank position sensors. I told him to just get it fixed and don't be tight. Well after a year and half he finally gave in and invested the couple hundred. THAT is a very cheap fix. Point being, his DTS was sort of a creampuff, he certainly didn't overpay at all for it, but that same car now would probably be 11-12 grand because the new one is that much more still. He probably wouldn't pay the 11-12 today for that car although compared to where the market is at now it probably still wouldn't be overpaying, even with possibly having to fix something small like that.

dave is right.....people do not take care of their cars anymore. that scenario he described is probably more and more typical than everyone would care to know these days.

Edited February 12, 2010 by regfootball

[Blake Noble]

Do you like Saabs, reg?

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1589010659.html

'04 Saab 9-3 Linear with 49,000 miles for $8900. Not too bad.

[GMTruckGuy74]

I agree with daves87rs... I had the basic maintenance (L-O-F-rotations) done on all of my leased vehicles, but anything else recommended was done only if I had the money at the time, which almost never happened (if I had owned or financed the vehicle, that was a different story). I think a ton of people that lease do the same thing - I mean, look at how many vehicle's front rims (or worse yet, all four) are covered in brake dust. The owners rarely wash the vehicle themselves, let alone take to an automated car wash!! My neighbors think I'm crazy for spending 1-2 days to detail my vehicles inside and out every spring or early summer, and then to take the time to wax them too... I'm crazy they say!! And I'm adament about getting my vehicles washed after the salt washes away on the roads - my neighbors think I like to "waste" money and time on my cars. Yet they will comment from time to time on how nice and new looking my vehicles are compared to theirs :rollseyes:

That's one of the many reasons I prefer not to buy used/preowned vehicles. You don't know what maintenance was performed or how often it was, you don't know how hard it was driven, you don't know how clean the previous owners were (detailers are great at making used cars 'look' the part on the sale lot), and you don't know what problems the previous owner(s) cheaped out on or left unattended, which causes additional problems down the road. Of course if a dealership is selling a preowned vehicle they originally sold & maintained, some of those issues aren't as bad. But think of all the lease returned and off-rental vehicles are out there on the used lots; most of my issues can apply to those cars.

On that note, I am considering a gently used 2008 GMC Envoy that's for sale at caddycruiser's selling dealership. He was nice enough to ask them about the history of the SUV and it was owned by their parts dept manager. All service and maintenance were done there, and there's a report indicating when, what, how, why it was all done. A pre-owned vehicle like that is a little easier for me to handle (the fact it is 2 years old and has only 22k on it helps too!). Now the question is can I get financed without being raped each month, and can I afford the monthly payment?

[regfootball]

Do you like Saabs, reg?

http://lexington.craigslist.org/cto/1589010659.html

'04 Saab 9-3 Linear with 49,000 miles for $8900. Not too bad.

chrome wheels = no (must be aftermarket). also, any saab i get is a stick.