98 SL2 value?

Hi group-

I looked at a '98 SL2 this afternoon locally, it appears to be a good
deal but I wanted to toss this your way. Car is automatic, 59K miles,
power doors/locks/sunroof, also has cruise. Problems all appear to be
cosmetic, minor scratches on the front and back fenders but nothing
noticeable from 10 feet away. The lot this car is on has records of
mainenance, nothing major at all save for the normal oil, tuneups, etc
all done faithfully. Interior is clean with the usual driver's seat wear
& tear.

The car is $3800, does that sound reasonable? It appears a lot of the
online sites like Edmunds have the car booked at around $5000+, so I
thought $3800 sounded good to me, but I figured I'd check with some
Saturn experts

Thanks all!

-Russ

 

From the few options and the short discription you listed "Kelley Blue
Book" shows me a value of $3590 bucks. At a Repo Auction this car might
bring $1800-$2500 bucks...but I havent been to an auction in awhile.
www.kbb.com

 

Is that dealer offer on a trade, or the dealer sale price? I get $5980
for the dealer sale price on kbb.com, so $3800 sounded good to me
(especially seeing as I'll be trading a full time 4WD Explorer with
twice the mileage) but I wanted to check around to play it safe. You
know how it goes... you think you've got a great deal then 2 weeks later
an even better one pops up

 

$3590 was Private Party value, I didn't click many options. If you get
any lines from a dealer like "a school teacher owned it" or "some lil ol
lady owned it" dont believe it. Those are typical dealer sales pitches.
The guy selling it usually doesnt know where it came from. $3800 sounds
"fair" but if thats the price after the trade in it isn't unless your
Exploders junk.

Btw Full Time 4WD is better wrote as AWD (all wheel drive).

 

Luckily I didn't get any lines. However, the car didn't run as well as
it looked. Fairly heavy buzz/vibration at low RPM (my left leg was
vibrating slightly leaning against the door) and 3 out of the 4 power
windows had problems going up and down. He pre-empted my complaint about
the windows by saying that he had motors coming in for replacement, and
said he'd "have the buzz looked at" and will call me later in the week
to take another look/drive. I let him know I wasn't impressed at all
with the car. I had told him before driving it that I previously owned
an SL2 so he knew I had experience driving them. The $3800 was the
sticker price, my Exploder's in good condition, new tires, all
maintenance done on time and with the paperwork saved. This SL2 did
drive fine, plenty of pickup and go, save for the buzz when idling at
lights and stops.

Thanks for the tip, I'm a dunce when it comes to cars

 

Your best and most accurate resources are Kelly Blue Book (www.kbb.com) ans
to pick up a Black Book. Those are what dealers use and they are usually
more accurate then Edmunds.

marx404

 

I paid $4,400 for a 98 SL2 about two weeks ago. Manual trans, no sun roof
and 62k miles. I had to buy 4 new tires, too.

$3,800 sounds like a deal to me if the windows are all repaired ahead of
time.

The vibration is most likely the upper engine mount. That's a DIY project,
but make the dealer do it anyway (why scrape your knuckles?).

Good luck...

Warning: This is my first Saturn, so I'm NOT an expert. I get all my info
from this forum and saturnfans.com...

 

Thanks for the advice. The lot still hasn't called me back yet re:
repairs, and I've since found at least 2-3 better deals locally. One '96
SL1 was immaculate and only 53K mi on it, I just hesitate to grab a car
any older than a '98. While the miles are low, I'm always worried about
the aging of parts. Yeah I know I'm probably being overly paranoid

I'm going to hit some more lots this weekend who don't have websites so
I can see their inventory.

-Russ

 

The one I bought, I spotted on autotrader, if that helps.

I've had this car just over two weeks, but I really do like it. I've been
getting between 32 and 35 miles per gallon depending on traffic and use of
the AC. My commute is almost 60 miles each way, so this was a good find for
me.

There's a lot to like....

 

Glad to hear you're happy with your Satty. I loved my old 5-speed SL2
which is why I'm looking at getting another Saturn. I'd prefer a
5-speed, although my wife is not a fan of clutches I'll give
AutoTrader a shot, I think Yahoo uses their database but perhaps they
have more info than Yahoo. I'm not in a huge rush, so I'm content to sit
back until the right car comes along.

-Russ

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Russ Benoit
AIM: ltricshoes
http://russtopher.blogspot.com
http://thebruinsreport.blogspot.com

Where *is* that confounded bridge??????
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