JF1GG29605G805479

Non-Suzuki related topics. Anything can go here.
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Moto
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Posts: 1299
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:08 pm
Location: North Dakota
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Just about made a big mistake... So I figured I will post the data for free since I had to pay for it. (Documents available for download at the bottom of the post)

Ad
2005 WRX subaru impreza Wagon 51k 5spd - $12200 (Firm)
Date: 2012-02-25, 10:48AM CST
Reply to: [email protected]
2005 Wrx wagon 5 speed with only 51k miles. This Subaru looks and drives perfect. Comes with Miglia MT3 16x7 wheels with Dunlop M3 winter sport tires,factory option engine block heater, in dash 6 disc CD changer, Kenwood Premium factory sound, Homelink, dual mode heated seats,factory leather Momo stearing wheel,factory alloy/leather wrapped Momo shift knob,factory option boost gauge and short throw shifter. The interior is flawless and still has a new car smell. I am not a smoker and the car has never had food eaten in it. All fluids were changed to Amsoil products when purchased new. Amsoil 5-30 motor oil changed every 5000 miles. I just had NGK iridium spark plugs installed at the dealership and my average mileage jumped from 24.5mpg to 26.2mpg. This reading was taken in the winter and should increase with warmer weather. This is a great car and the new owner will be very pleased with its overall condition. Only selling because my family has gotten bigger and I need an suv. Please call or text if you have any questions. 218-310-0165. Thank you


Contact:
Texts (some paraphrasing)
Me:
If you have a little time please send some addition information regarding the wrx to ********(my private e-mail) How many other owners? Smokers car? Age of owners? Anything you have replaced, and any accidents. Thanks I am interested but live 6 hours away so i cant just pop over for a look.

Current WRX owner:
I am the second owner. I purchased the car as a lease return with less than 20 thousand miles on it. The car was daily driven by my wife. She's 33 Neither of us smoke and the car as it did new. Can i give you a call in about an hour?

*
Owner calls me in about an hour. Tells me that the title may show a salvage title due to a deer strike that required replacement of the bumper front fender and head lamp assembly. Also, tells me that the wife also has a Celica GTS for her summer car and only drives 7 miles to work every day. Other than that not a very constructive conversation, but not all that weird.
*


Texting
Me:
Still interested in the car. Everything looks fine on my end. Will you be around at all this weekend? The earliest I could get there is Saturday. Based on our call yesterday I will probably just write a check for the amount you are asking. I would like it if you e-mailed me the VIN Number. I do trust you, but I trusted the last guy too so I better at least check it. Thanks. have a good night.

**I bought a subaru last year from a used car lot. Ended up returning it the following day after I had a chance to start really going through the engine. Dealer did take the car back. Resold it and then took over a month to pay me back. (dealer was shutdown this year for similar events [12 felony accounts if I remember right].) This information was also presented in the phone conversation to the WRX owner**

Current WRX owner:
My only request is that you get a certified cashiers check from your bank. I will be around Saturday morning from 5am-noon.

Me:
No problem. See you Sat morning.

Current WRX owner:
Sorry for being so blunt but I have to be safe.

Next day*
Me:
What is your full legal name? Or who do you want the check made out too?

Current WRX owner:
Jesse S***** H******* *I'm being nice I really should post his full name*
What bank are you using?

Me:
Bremer

Me:
That is all taken car of.

Current WRX owner:
I'm going to work. I'll be in touch after 10:30PM if you have any questions. Thanks again.

later that night
Me:
I'm going to crash for the night, but could you send me the VIN number on that car at some point tonight or tomorrow? Thank You. Have a good night.

Current WRX owner:
Here you go JF1GG29605G805479

Me:
Thank You
(Rather than go to bed I start researching the car.)

Current WRX owner:
Just got 8 inches of snow. Most people could not get to work. WRX has no problem with traction. My wife and I are going to miss this car :(

......................................................................................................................
Summary of Research Findings
  • Wife is 31 not 33
  • No title transfers occurred between 0 and 48471 miles.
  • Neither the seller nor his wife has lived in the state where the car was registered (WI) from 20K to 49K miles. (Supposedly when he bought it)
  • There was a car accident and the title showed that it was salvaged. The accident did not include a deer. It did include doing a 180 off an on-ramp into a concrete center divider and the car had to be towed away from the accident. (Accident occurred in Madison Wisconsin which is hundreds of miles away from where the car is being sold)
  • It appears that "Current WRX owner" Has had the title for 29 days
......................................................................................................................
Weirdly I'm not mad about the whole thing (Other than having to redeposit the cashiers check). I'm just really glad I didn't drive six hours to get a car that likely has frame damage. Nothing could compare to what I went through last year with the outback sport.

I'm not sure I would have been able to notice the damage. The car is fairly dirty this time of the year, and if I was expecting repaired deer damage, I probably wouldn't have thought anything off it. Based off the information in the accident report most of the damage was to the rear passenger side of the car. I'm not sure I would even think to look at the rear end on a wrx. The recent snow would have made test drive conditions fun but poor for figuring out if the car drove straight.

Hopefully, this post makes its way into google and helps someone out.

The crappy thing is that someone is going to buy this car, and if the repairs were done right they might be none the wiser, but most likely there will be some serious problem down the road.

I have not let the current owner know that I have found all of this information. I'm not sure I plan to talk to him again. I will probably just get angry if he lies to me again... Who lies about the age of their wife?

3/2/2012
Update:
He contacted me last night and asked if I was coming this weekend. I was nice, but I let him know that I don't deal with people who lie to me.
Attachments
WRX Report JF1GG29605G805479.pdf
(125.45 KiB) Downloaded 516 times
JF1GG29605G805479.pdf
WI Accident Report
(113.93 KiB) Downloaded 485 times
User avatar
kizashigal
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:48 am
Location: Colorado

As the saying goes "you get what you pay for". People list on craigslist because it is free, there is nothing to prevent them from false advertising, as they don't sign a contract or provide a buyer protection clause if the ad is false. If it's too good to be true, it usually is. Always buy from reputable places, or have the car taken to one and get it checked out. Carfax is important, but doesn't tell the whole story. Secondly...go buy a Suzuki and forget about the Subaru ;)
2011 Kizzy SE AWD Deep Sea Blue

*drive it like you stole it*
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Moto
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Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:08 pm
Location: North Dakota
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If Suzuki offered a manual AWD car other than the base model SX4 I would already have one.
I have looked for used manual sx4s as well. I found one for sale in the united states.

Unfortunately, I always give people the benefit of the doubt until they give me reason to distrust them. (Probably an upper-Midwest thing)
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kizashigal
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:48 am
Location: Colorado

I do understand the manual tranny thing, but paddle shifters are cool too!
2011 Kizzy SE AWD Deep Sea Blue

*drive it like you stole it*
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Moto
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Posts: 1299
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:08 pm
Location: North Dakota
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I've driven both. The kizashi is a much nicer car, but not much compares to the power delivery of a WRX.
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kizashigal
Posts: 116
Joined: Sat Jul 30, 2011 4:48 am
Location: Colorado

Wouldn't it be fun if the Kizashi had 300 hp...hmmmm
2011 Kizzy SE AWD Deep Sea Blue

*drive it like you stole it*
User avatar
nytq
Posts: 397
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 9:47 pm
Location: Milford, PA

Selling used cars with hidden problems is nothing new as we all should know. You did the right thing trying to investigate prior to even seeing it. What amazes me are so many that just trust the word of strangers. We have so many easily accessible tools today and yet too many disregard the fact that there are many nasty people in the world looking to make a dishonest buck.
2011 SE AWD PLATINUM SILVER W/RRM INTAKE AND CUSTOM CAT BACK
User avatar
Moto
Site Admin
Posts: 1299
Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:08 pm
Location: North Dakota
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If anyone wants a VIN checked I have unlimited access for the next month. It isn't quite as good as carfax. but it seems to catch the important stuff.
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Ronzuki
Posts: 2382
Joined: Wed Nov 17, 2010 5:33 pm
Location: Lancaster County, PA

kizashigal wrote:As the saying goes "you get what you pay for". People list on craigslist because it is free, there is nothing to prevent them from false advertising, as they don't sign a contract or provide a buyer protection clause if the ad is false. If it's too good to be true, it usually is. Always buy from reputable places, or have the car taken to one and get it checked out. Carfax is important, but doesn't tell the whole story. Secondly...go buy a Suzuki and forget about the Subaru ;)
CL is not the only place where such things occur. Same applies to an awful lot of car dealers and dealerships as well (who are littering the CL with ads also). Bottom line is they know squat about what they sell used 98% of the time and you're going to pay a premium for it. They mostly can't, or won't, provide you with any more factual info than what you see on Carfax and the like. I've bought and sold cars using CL and whoever shows up gets to see the service records since my ownership, good and bad.

As with anything Buyer Be-Aware (and knowledgeable) The OP proved that.
Ron

2010 Kizashi GTS, CVT, iAWD (3/10 build date)
2011 SX4 Premium Hatch, CVT, iAWD (12/10 build date)
2018 Mazda CX-5 iAWD Touring
2014 Wrangler JKUW (GONE, traded :D :D )
1991 Samurai, 5-Speed, EFI, Soft-Top ( :| sold)
User avatar
Moto
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Joined: Sun Aug 23, 2009 7:08 pm
Location: North Dakota
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The only good thing about dealers is that they normally have the VIN posted with the car even if they don't have carfacts or alike.

Most of the pay sites primarily have dealer ads, and from what I can tell they are far more likely to lie to you than individuals. Most individuals will not respond if you ask the wrong questions in your initial contact e-mail/text (helps weed them out pretty fast.) Dealers always respond and do their best to tell you what they think you want to hear.

In the last two days I have found two cars with the odometer rolled back, and three others that appear to salvage titles with no mention of salvage in the advert.

This fun little page mines data out of craigslist from all across the country so I am checking just about every WRX that shows up just to get a feel for what I am looking for.
http://carpricegraph.com/usa/subaru/wrx

Sort of have my heart set on an 02-03 WRX right now. If I found a good one up to 06 I would go with that, but I always wanted a bugeye when I was a kid, and now they are not very expensive. I think they are probably about as depreciated out as they are going to get as you can drop in STI guts whenever you want.

Good cars with blown motors go for 4-6K right now. I should be able to find a good 02 or 03 for around 9K.

The site above also has data on Suzuki cars but they do not break it out by model so it requires a little extra hunting.
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