My Stagea Has Landed

[gebba54]

Is it true they are required to keep the auction sheets by law?

and also are you as the buyer permitted to view them?

I bought an s2 a few years ago from a dealer, and when I asked about the auction papers they said they dont keep them. Months later I was told they are required to keep them. I have good reason to believe the kms wouldn't have matched what the auction papers said...which would explain the secrecy.

They had the auction sheet for mine but no log books, so I didn't bother getting it.

I assumed that if the Kms aren't genuine then the auction sheet wouldn't be either (pretty easy to dodgy up).

[pixel8r]

They had the auction sheet for mine but no log books, so I didn't bother getting it.

I assumed that if the Kms aren't genuine then the auction sheet wouldn't be either (pretty easy to dodgy up).

True, but I think the original point about asking for the auction sheet was to assess how willing the dealer is to show it to you.

[Stooge007]

True, but I think the original point about asking for the auction sheet was to assess how willing the dealer is to show it to you.

i have thought about this, but given i'm getting a timing belt etc. done for free, i'm less worried

plus i'm getting a pre-inspection done too, so should be sweet (i hope)

[Stooge007]

so i went down to Nagoya with siddr20 and checked out the car today

points of note:

- has the following "optional" extras:

* Front centre arm rest, some of which can be opened towards either the driver or passenger;

* Luggage bay roll-out cover;

* Luggage bay safety net;

* Privacy glass (rear doors and rear luggage area) - RS models and above;

* Dual sunrooves (front one is tilt and slide, rear is a slide-only);

* Electric, self-closing rear door (boot)...

* Extra 12v bayonet-style sockets on the left side of the luggage area, the inside of the luggage area door and the D-pillar for bayonet-fit accessories such as a torch, etc.;

* Limited Slip Differential (manual RS Four S models)

- still has the xenons, and i think they might be staying, shhhhhh

- is pretty much completely stock, has stock 17" rims, 2 of which are in pretty bad shape. they've said they'll try and replace them, here's hoping

- the 52,xxx kms is definitely not accurate, the interior wear does not support it. it's probably not too far off though

- i saw the timing belt they took out, it looked pretty fine, but due to age was showing signs of cracking in the rubber etc.

- it has tweeters in the a-pillar

- it has the cassette deck, with cd-stacker in the rear left quarter (with extra storage)

- engine seems to be in ok shape. timing belt, fluids, filters etc. have all been done

- interior is 8-8.5/10, which is good:

* Rust and/or paint bubbling and peeling under the door wing mirrors; VERY MINOR

* Rust around the strut towers, where the strut tower brace is bolted down; NONE

* Rust and/or paint bubbling and peeling in and around the sunroof runners (if fitted with a sunroof); NONE

* Condition of door seals and rust where the seals attach to the body; PRETTY GOOD

* Rust on the door and boot hinges; NONE

* Rust in the spare wheel cavity... NONE

- exterior is probably only a 6.5-7/10. there's a few scratches, and scrapes, and a couple of patch up jobs that really haven't been done that well.

this last point is giving me second thoughts (slightly).

on one hand, the engine seems to be in pretty good nick, as is the interior. and it has pretty much ALL the options you can get (i really dig the twin sun rooves, and the black paint)

State Roads are inspecting tomorrow, and i'll pretty much have to make a decision then i think.

WHAT DO I DO???

[M I K E]

how much did you say you were paying for it?

from the list you've given it doesn't sound too bad - the wing mirror rust is something you'd want to get looked at soonish rather than later so i guess if you are unhappy with some of the bodywork it may pay to get some of that looked at while they have the paint mixed up etc

at the end of the day it's your money and if you think this is the car for you then go ahead and buy it

[gebba54]

at the end of the day it's your money and if you think this is the car for you then go ahead and buy it

I agree with Mike, if your happy forking out x amount of dollars for it, go for it.

[pixel8r]

so i went down to Nagoya with siddr20 and checked out the car today

points of note:

- has the following "optional" extras:

* Front centre arm rest, some of which can be opened towards either the driver or passenger;

* Luggage bay roll-out cover;

* Luggage bay safety net;

* Privacy glass (rear doors and rear luggage area) - RS models and above;

* Dual sunrooves (front one is tilt and slide, rear is a slide-only);

* Electric, self-closing rear door (boot)...

* Extra 12v bayonet-style sockets on the left side of the luggage area, the inside of the luggage area door and the D-pillar for bayonet-fit accessories such as a torch, etc.;

* Limited Slip Differential (manual RS Four S models)

These are not really "optional" extras. Most of these are standard equipment on stageas. Your optional extras are really just the dual sunroofs.

- the 52,xxx kms is definitely not accurate, the interior wear does not support it. it's probably not too far off though

- i saw the timing belt they took out, it looked pretty fine, but due to age was showing signs of cracking in the rubber etc.

hmmm. At least you know its done now and wont need doing for another ~100,000km. Other things like coolant, transmission oil, etc will need doing when you can afford it...and eventually you'll have your maintenance schedule all worked out

- it has tweeters in the a-pillar

standard i think.

* Rust and/or paint bubbling and peeling under the door wing mirrors; VERY MINOR

I've yet to see or hear of a series 1 or 2 stagea that does not have rust under the passenger mirror.

- exterior is probably only a 6.5-7/10. there's a few scratches, and scrapes, and a couple of patch up jobs that really haven't been done that well.

this last point is giving me second thoughts (slightly).

Ask yourself if its any worse than any other 9-10 year old cars you see getting around. Usually if you can tolerate a few scratches it gives you some bargaining power to knock the price down...not sure if you've already sorted out a price or not...

My s2 was about the same, looked ok overall but there were a few nasty scratches that had not been patched up well at all.

Overall the car doesn't sound like its all that bad for a 9-10 year old car with possibly 90,000-110,000kms on the clock (maybe more?). I wont ask what the price is, but have a look on carsales/autotrader for an idea of what a manual stagea goes for (if you haven't already). An auto series 2 RS4 in good condition will sell for anything around $11-13K nowadays, and manuals are usually worth a few thousand more. Its very difficult to price stageas, since they are a car where seller and buyer may have very different opinions about their value - more so than other cars. I've seen prices ranging from $11K right up to $25K for stageas that appear to be quite similar.

[Stooge007]

so i test drive the car this morning

overall i like how it drives, as does the wife. felt more like a sedan than a wagon.

only things was in 2nd/3rd gear when it came on to boost, it would hesitate slightly, it wasn't really smooth from 4,000-7,000rpm

could this have been lack of fuel? it was pretty much running on fumes, i think they only put enough petrol in it to test everything, nothing more really.

maybe it just needed some more petrol in the tank? it was seriously as empty as i've ever seen a car, when you turned on the ignition the guage didn't move above empty, and the fuel light was on?

actually, the State Road inspection said there was a leak in a vaccuum hose to the MAF sensor. could this have caused it?

otherwise, the State Road inspection came up pretty clean for the engine, steering, suspension etc. the only real fault is the cosmetics.

the inspection revealed that tyres would not pass rego, the brake pads were between 0-10%, and the rotors needed machining.

would these get changed at compliance/rego time? i would imagine so, otherwise i don't think it would pass rego.

my concern is that they'll put new tyres on to pass compliance/rego, but then swap them back before i get it? same for brakes etc. could they do this???

anyway, i've pretty much got till monday to decide whether i want it or not

the shop is going to respray the front and rear bars, and i can get the front passenger door resprayed and also the right rear quarter resprayed for $200.

so once those are fixed, and the car is detailed, should be in pretty good nick for a 10 year old car.

price is $15,400, with 12 months rego, 12 months road-side assist, and 5 year warranty (limited, obviously).

think i need to sleep on it

[pixel8r]

so i test drive the car this morning

overall i like how it drives, as does the wife. felt more like a sedan than a wagon.

only things was in 2nd/3rd gear when it came on to boost, it would hesitate slightly, it wasn't really smooth from 4,000-7,000rpm

could this have been lack of fuel? it was pretty much running on fumes, i think they only put enough petrol in it to test everything, nothing more really.

maybe it just needed some more petrol in the tank? it was seriously as empty as i've ever seen a car, when you turned on the ignition the guage didn't move above empty, and the fuel light was on?

actually, the State Road inspection said there was a leak in a vaccuum hose to the MAF sensor. could this have caused it?

otherwise, the State Road inspection came up pretty clean for the engine, steering, suspension etc. the only real fault is the cosmetics.

the inspection revealed that tyres would not pass rego, the brake pads were between 0-10%, and the rotors needed machining.

would these get changed at compliance/rego time? i would imagine so, otherwise i don't think it would pass rego.

my concern is that they'll put new tyres on to pass compliance/rego, but then swap them back before i get it? same for brakes etc. could they do this???

anyway, i've pretty much got till monday to decide whether i want it or not

the shop is going to respray the front and rear bars, and i can get the front passenger door resprayed and also the right rear quarter resprayed for $200.

so once those are fixed, and the car is detailed, should be in pretty good nick for a 10 year old car.

price is $15,400, with 12 months rego, 12 months road-side assist, and 5 year warranty (limited, obviously).

think i need to sleep on it

someone correct me if I'm wrong, but it is a requirement for compliance that brand new tyres are fitted when the car comes into the country. Same with brakes. Basically, the dealer is required to make sure the car is roadworthy. It is from a dealer isn't it? so you will have the 3 months/5000km warranty which will cover any roadworthiness items.

I wouldn't put much faith in the 5 year warranty. Certainly the dealer statutory 3 mth/5000km warranty is good, and you should use it if you come across any valid issues in that time. But the extended warranties they offer have $$ caps on every different part of the car. For example they'll only cover $700 or so in a turbo repair, which if you look around wont even cover half the cost of a new turbo. And so it continues. It probably wont cover suspension. It should be better than no warranty at all however...

Do you really want a manual? because an auto would save you nearly $4K or you could spend an extra $2-4K and get an M35. Just a thought... seems an ok price for a manual from a dealer though.

[Stooge007]

from what i've read, brand new tyres are required for compliance.

the thing is though, the dealer itself is doing the compliance, so i'm worried they'll put OK tyres on for compliance and rego purposes, then swap them over when i go to pick it up.

same story with the brakes, the inspection noted they were 0-10% remaining, which would not pass rego.

i'm not relying on the 5 year warranty, but from what i've seen ( http://www.247roadservices.com.au/extended.htm ) it should cover almost 1/2 of things that break.

and yes, i want/need a manual. if i was going to get an auto, the missus would probly say we should just get a BA Falcon or something

i'll see how i go today, thanks guys

[Stooge007]

UPDATE

so i've bitten the bullet and agreed to buy the car

it has its pros and cons:

Pros

- manual

- colour i wanted

- twin sunroofs

- 12 months rego (saves me $'s)

- 12 months roadside assist (saves me $'s on NRMA membership)

- 5 year warranty (not worth much, but better than nothing)

- timing belt has already been done, so should be good for next 100,000 kms (saves me ~ $1,000, and i now know it's all good)

- interior in pretty good nick

- xenons left in, shhhhhhh

- mechanically, is in pretty good shape

- has an Alpine screen and Alpine DVD player, which i should be able to sell for a few hundred $'s

- will come with 3 point immobiliser

Cons

- exterior not in great shape, however front and rear bars are getting resprayed, as well as front passenger door, right rear quarter and all plastic trim pieces (half way down doors etc.), and full professional detail. i have to pay $350 for all of this . tried to argue the point, but they kept saying i'm already getting a discount (got $1500 off as i purchased while it was "in-transit"), so couldn't do it for free. wasn't worth the battle imo, and should come out from the panel shop in pretty good shape.

- tyres are shot, and they were going to put cheap 2nd hand rubber on for compliance/rego. i'm getting them to put brand new rubber on, but it's costing me another $220 (less than half price). again, they threw the whole "you're already getting a discount" at me

- brakes are shot, and rotors need machining. am worried they'll replace with dodgy stuff. will be getting these checked post-sale

what would my rights be, if it gets registered/complied with shot brakes? the State Road inspection noted 0-10% on all 4 sets of pads

overall, it's been a bit of a roller-coaster ride, but hopefully will be worth it in the end.

don't know whether i would buy sight unseen again.

due to pick up the car on Saturday morning. wish me luck

cheers

Edited October 19, 2009 by Stooge007