Car values is not something we are experts in here. I can offer a few comments of value in regard to buying a used car. The first is to have it inspected at an independent repair shop of your choice. If the seller won't allow you to do that, move on to a different one.
At new-car dealerships, every trade-in is required to have an inspection, but laws vary as to what is acceptable. For example, where I am in Wisconsin, the parking brake is not required to be working, BUT it must be disclosed as such on the window sticker. Safety systems must be working, we record tire tread depth, inspect steering, suspension, and brake systems. No reputable dealer who has your best interest at heart will sell a vehicle with worn parts or anything dangerous. They also don't sell cars labelled, "As Is". Those get shipped off to auto auctions where used-car dealers usually buy them, then do the needed repairs themselves before putting them up for sale. You don't get those inspections or repairs from a private seller, so you want to have a car professionally inspected on your own.
You also don't need to tell the seller where you're having the car inspected, although he may demand to go along so you don't run off with it. It's not beyond the realm of possibility the seller will steer you to a shop owned by a friend who will overlook some important details. If the seller already has a report from a shop showing it was inspected, look at the date it was done. If the shop overlooked something, either on purpose or not, they assume at least a little liability if there is a serious problem that results in a crash. You won't have much luck insisting they pay for worn parts they didn't catch, but you can have a little more assurance the car was checked over.
I have an opinion too that I share often. That is that GM is very well-known for having a lot of very customer-unfriendly business practices that are going to cost you a lot of money later, especially if you can't do minor repairs yourself. BMW, VW, Audi, and GM are the world's worst offenders. They have so many ways figured out to get your money after the sale. In my city, we have a GMC dealer and a Cadillac dealer with very good reputations, but most of their customers are well-off and don't care about high repair bills. Our Chevy dealer is a different story. He is well-known throughout the county as one of the worst dealers to work with. My 82-year-old friend just bought a new Corvette last summer, and he went to a much smaller Chevy dealer 20 miles away rather than deal with the local one only three miles away. That little dealer in a tiny town does more business than our local dealer. My city is about six times larger than the one 20 miles away, yet the little dealer has more mechanics to handle the work. Our local GMC dealer is always busy. Our Chevy dealer's parking lot is usually half empty. Goes to show the results of how you treat customers.
For reference, these opinions come, in part, from the consensus of many dozens of instructors who train independent mechanics nationwide for what used to be the Carquest Training Institute. They find the manufacturers with the most customer-friendly business practices are Hyundai, Toyota, and Chrysler, in that order. This does not mean fit and finish, ride quality, or breakdowns. It has to do with how they respond to those things and how you're treated by the manufacturer.
Something else to be aware of, especially at the dealership I worked for, is if you do have a problem the dealer is unable to help with due to franchise restrictions, you can request a meeting, usually once a month, with a manufacturer's representative. When that happens, the dealer's representative sits on the same side of the desk with you. He is your advocate in those situations, and the district representative is almost always very willing to do whatever he can to help. (I did not work at a GM dealership).
To answer your question better, look in classified ads to see what similar models with similar mileage are going for. You can buy a CarFax report, but they only show repairs and crashes that were reported. There are a lot of crash damaged repair jobs that are done by very conscientious people who do good work. My truck was one of those, repaired by a friend. I ended up with a two-year-old truck with 4,200 miles, for about one-third of the going price for a new one. The problem with looking for such a deal on a car as old as what you're looking at is it costs roughly the same amount to do a repair job, whether the vehicle is two years old or 20 years old. They're only going to repair vehicles that will end up worth more than the cost of repairs.
For inspections, my preference would be a tire and alignment shop. A thorough inspection takes about an hour, less if more than one person works on it together. They should document the percentage of front and rear brake linings remaining. That remaining life should not be listed in miles because that varies with driving style and city vs. extended highway driving. They will "read" the tire wear patterns for signs of worn parts or misalignment. Even that can be suspect unless you know for sure how long each tire has been on that car and in that location. If the car has new tires, is the seller trying to provide the best car for his buyer or is he trying to hide a miserable tire wear problem? I bought a used minivan two years ago that just had a big list of new parts and maintenance services. Since then I've done two oil changes and put gas in it. I got lucky, but it was evident the previous owner had taken good care of it.
The car should also have the computers checked for diagnostic fault codes. That may not be a standard part of the inspection unless the Check Engine light is on. A common misconception is there are no fault codes if that light isn't on. In reality, the Engine Computer can detect well over 2,000 defects and set diagnostic fault codes related to each one. Only about half of them refer to things that could adversely affect emissions. Those are the codes that turn on the Check Engine light. If there is a code, and a sensor or other part is referenced in that code, that does not mean that part must be replaced or it's bad. About half of the time the code is the result of something else, like broken wires or corroded connector terminals.
A 1997 Cadillac could have up to 47 computer modules. By 2005, that number is likely higher. Most of them also are capable of detecting problems and setting diagnostic fault codes. you might consider having the shop do a code scan to check for any additional fault codes. It takes just a few minutes and much of it can be done while the mechanic continues with the inspection. This article gives you an idea of what this looks like:
https://www.2carpros.com/articles/can-scan-controller-area-network-easy
Obviously all lights should work. You can check those yourself, but if you find one not working, don't accept the answer, "it just needs a new bulb". If that's really all that's needed, the seller surely would have replaced it. A lot of lighting circuits have been made ridiculously complicated by adding unnecessary computers. Today it's more common to need a diagnosis from the dealer than it is to need a new bulb. Be aware too, GM is famous for designing their cars to go together quickly on the assembly line, with very little regard to ease of service later. To replace a head light bulb on a friend's 2008 Impala requires the front bumper cover to be removed. It's over an hour-long job, made easier with two people, then on the package, the new bulb is listed as having a life expectancy of only 400 hours! Who wants to go through that mess every year?
If the seller discloses needed repairs, consider the likely possibility that's why he's selling the car. He probably got the repair estimate already and was as shocked as you will be. If the problem is something you can live with, you'll have some bargaining power because any dealer will see that and lower the trade-in allowance. If you can handle most of the repairs yourself, be aware GM has designed their computers so used ones from a salvage yard usually won't work. New ones have to come through the dealer, and even independent repair shops have to take the cars to the dealer to have the new computers programmed. That's one of those customer-unfriendly business practices. Unfortunately, whatever GM dreams up to cost you money, other manufacturers generally copy a few years later.
Let me know if this helps and how you make out on the deal.
Sunday, January 5th, 2025 AT 12:31 AM
