Looking to buy my first 6G Celica.. need advice!, '97 for $5.9K worth it? Options

[reeves]

I hope this is the right forum to post this in.

I had a 5th gen Celica previously and really want to get a 6th gen now.
There'a a local dealership selling a GT model for $5,900.. with 85K miles. I looked up the carfax, and there's only been 1 owner.. but it's been in 2 accidents before, 1 minor and 1 with "moderate" damage, whatever that may mean.. it didn't go into specifics about what was damaged either.

I haven't gone by to look at it yet. According to the ad, the car seems 100% stock.. the only option it had is the leather seats. And there's an aftermarket keyless alarm system on it too.

I'm thinking of buying it, but wanted to get some opinions on whether this is a good, fair, or poor deal.. considering the car's accident history & mileage. How much should I be willing to pay? TIA!

This post has been edited by reeves: Dec 23, 2011 - 3:39 PM

[richee3]

Welcome. You're in the right place! I'd say the price is a little high for that car, but if it's clean enough and you want it, you can always talk them down on the price and won't be overpaying by a whole lot. Be sure to post pictures when you look at it, and check every external panel gap for consistency. That could be a sign of how bad the damage was.

[reeves]

Thanks richee. I figured that wasn't too high a price, but it all depends on the condition of the car. I'll try to go by to look at it after this weekend if it's still there. I'm not too concerned about it cosmetically, as long as the engine & tranny is in good shape.

[RabidTRD]

Lift the front of the car with a jack, open the doors and try to close them and see if they line up and close. If not, there is decent damage.

[nics]

Price is too high with those accidents!

[Hanyo]

Price is too high with those accidents!

you have to remember the carfax relys on insurance information to determine it labeling.

Minor and moderate are based on how much damage is done in DOLLARS.

meaning if someone keyed your car and slashed your tires and it got repaired at a repair shop it would total around 3000 dollars of damage labeling it as moderate. But in actuality the safety of the car is not compromised.

Where as someone who has hit a curb and bent the subframe, and never reported it to the police. That would never have showed up on a police report.

I recomend you take it to a repair shop and have it inspected.

For a celica that age, and low miles, and one owner is hard to find.

But IMO the price is high.

[nics]

That is why its high IMO. You don't have the actual details of the accidents that happened!