xiong28

I think I got the deal of a lifetime, but I'm also worried that I'm missing something here.

I've been looking for a MDX for several months now. Looked at a few 07s with higher mileage, I didn't want to spend too much. I saw a posting for a 2010 MDX, with 29,000 miles for $22,900 on craigslist. From all the listings I've seen, I knew this was a great deal.

I wasn't looking to spend $much more than $15K so I hesitated at first. I texted the guy been never went through on going to look at it. I saw it today, it's in very good shape for the year. Drove nice. The MDX in general isn't as quiet as I would like it but that's ok. Clean title, no liens. I haven't ran the vehicle history report. I talked the guy down to $21,800 for the vehicle. Did I get a great deal? KBB says the car is worth $28K and from all the listings I've seen, I would say that's about right.

According to the guy. It's his wife's car but she no longer drives it. There was no license plate on the car. They never renewed it. She wants the cash to put a down payment on a house.

Can I post VINs on here? Anyone mind running the VIN for me?

CBP08TL

iTrader: (2)

I will leave this link here for you to read...

Couple warns others to do 'homework' when buying car on Craigslist | Local News - KMBC Home

It doesn't seem like YOU have done enough homework.

Do YOUR homework. It could be peanuts compared to what you could possibly lose.

xiong28

I do have to say, I did not pay for the car yet. That's why I came on here to get your opinions. I'm meeting the guy later today at the bank.

thoiboi

our opinion is that you should do a Pre-Purchase Inspection, run carfax, make sure smog is up to date.. etc etc. before you jump on a potentially 'great deal'. Sure it could be great, but if you're jumping in blind.. you can be in a world of hurt.



Do your due diligence..

xiong28

Also I did see the title. It was dated 03/15, with the odometer listed just over 28,000 miles. When I test drove it today, the odometer read 28,666.

I'll do a carfax on the vehicle. Waiting for the guy to send me the vin number. If anyone has a carfax account already and can help run a vin for me I would appreciate it too.

xiong28

I got the VIN for the car. It was in a wreck. I'm not sure why the title wasn't listed as a salvage. Good thing I came on here. Saved me $22,000!

MandoTL

Thats great to hear OP that you avoided a future headache. Who knows the severity of the accident.

When I read your post about the suv having 22k for a 2010, I knew it had to have a salvage, as most with those miles are in upper 20k. I bought my 2011 from an Acura dealer at 30.8k OTD with 36k miles/ 1-owner this past December 2014. Full service records from purchase date to the time I looked at it.

I would keep looking, but if you go pre-facelift. Go for a 2009 and up. The 2007 and 2008 faced Torque Converter (TQ) problems, that were covered under warranty.
I wanted a 2009 MDX first but I figured I could get into a 2010+ MDX which I always wanted. So I paid a bit more then my original budget, but the payments, condition mileage and year of my SUV was worth it to me. But I did heavy research on problems, values, years, differences, improvements, owner feedback, buying used car guides and auto blog websites.

Carpayment4life

I bought my wife a low mileage mdx, a couple of weeks ago, for under 19,000.
I got it from a dealer that has several dealerships ( nissan, honda, madza, gmc, etc.)
My goal was to find a clean, one owner, with correct (for the year) mileage, for under $20K.
It took 4 months, but I got a 07, sport
/tech (with quiet, non - leaking shocks), 71,990 miles.
I financed the tax and owe $363 mo./5 yrs.
State Farm Mutual, 50/100/50 is $238, for 6 mo.

I wasn't looking for a "too good to believe" deal, instead I just wanted a fair deal.

mrgold35

I will very hard to find a +10 for under $15,000 without having a ton of miles on her. Unless you need sh-awd, room, or towing, $22,000 is getting into the +2013 RDX range. You still have the basic warranty, less mileage, and updated tech on the +13 RDX. My 08 RDX is a much better city car compared to my 11 MDX. Even the previous Gen 07-12 RDX is a lot of bang for the buck.

Carpayment4life

I was surprised to read that 52% of RDX owners bought another RDX, compared to 75% of MDX owners buying another MDX.
The highest score was for the Lexus RX at 78%.

MandoTL

My aunt is actually in the market for an Acura. She is has narrowed it down to a 2011+ Ford Edge or 2G MDX. Like OP, she wants it as cheap as she can, but doesn't want major work needed to be put in.

I personally don't like Fords, never have and hated the ones my parents owned due to reliability issues. But she liked the 1G RDX, but when I told my service dealer that she was in the market, he was very upfront stating that the turbo motor requires many special fluids which price increase at time of service.

So oil changes need full synthetic oil costing $80-90, Coolant fluid is more expensive and servicing at 105k requires some other service items, on top of having to use premium fuel.

When I told her that the 1G RDX is a bit more expensive then my MDX she said I don't want one now. She test drove mine and loved it immediately, the size for her 2 daughters, comfort and AWD is needed during winter time in Palmdale, CA as it snows in the desert area. It will come in handy.

So now she is trying look at 08 and 09 models, but the torque converter issues on those years turned me off and I dont want her to have problems so maybe finding a 2013 RDX will be her best option.

Ernest72

Not that you should buy a wreck, but if the deal is good enough and the car was fixed correctly (checked by you or a mechanic) the risk is low. Only risk is resale value. My wife did 10k damage on our 05 MDX, it currently has 95k and is in great shape. Probably last a long time before I need a new one. If I was to sell I would get low balled because of the accident. If I sold that person would get a sweet deal. Of course I am not selling because the new ones are just too expensive for basically the same car. there is less risk buying a wrecked car that you know was fixed correctly and the car was maintained than a car that was not maintained. Details.

MandoTL

The only problem I see with that is many salvaged cars, the owner's in most cases are not upfront and either don't mention a wreck, don't show the extent of damages(leading to less that exact repairs to OE specifications) and the issue that many wrecked cars is it would not drive properly if it was suspension, motor, electrical issues that arise from it.

My older sister was in an accident in her 2012 Ford Fusion, she crashed into someone, using the best shop around for repairs. It seemed minor at first since she hit someone from behind. Her car had minor tweaked grill, misaligned fenders, and pushed up hood. After nearly a week of being in the shop after all repairs done.

She had a series of electrical problems, various lights on dash appeared then disappeared and knocking sounds. Mind you the shop she chose is one of the best in the county we live in, and they did not want to ruin their reputation with negative feedback. She went back and fixed some problems, but now she has issues with constant alignment issues and still has some strange knocking sounds. She wanted to sell it but realized she would keep it as her car's issues would turn off people from buying and she would be up front to buyer but it will always be seen as a wrecked car, not look how nice it's been repaired.

So my point is there is a lack of honest people who sell their cars, and trying to buy a used car is harder then ever with misleading information just to sell a car. Not saying everyone is not honest, but doing research like carfax, test driving it and knowing what you might be getting yourself into when buying a wrecked car is NOT worth it no matter the deal price.

I avoid any wrecked, "minor accident" or fender bender cars that are listed for sale as best as I can personally. So the details is what is missing in most cases, because people don't always mention every detail of the wreck or what was damaged. Yes, there might be great cars with wrecked titles, but there is always something off about them 6 months to the first year of ownership.

Since OP is looking at MDXs I would avoid wrecked ones at all costs, as potential buyers won't know if they were fixed properly with OEM parts or just bottom line shop materials.

mrgold35

The good thing about the 10-13 MDX is they haven't change them during the 4 year MMC model run. There will still be some coming off a 3-4 year lease every year until 2016-2017. I like to narrow my choices to +3 years old or +MMC model, under 35,000 miles, factory warranty still active. Other likes are: single owner, service records, clean carfax, and limited or no OEM/aftermarket mods like a hitch (previous owner might have pulled a 8,000 lbs boat with a hitch).

You just have to be ready when the right one comes along (cash, financing, and willing to travel). I had to travel to another state and spend the night to negotiate for my current MDX at a Honda dealership. The factory warranty save me about $3000 because of failing front passenger magnetic shocks, torn front endlink boot, replace Drv 1 key fob, reflash 6AT, replaced front passenger seat heater, and replaced 2nd row cup holder. Nothing but M.I.D. fluid changes after the basic warranty covered the other issues.

MandoTL

Oh I agree. It took me about 2-3 months before I could actually find any low miles, 3+ year old with 1 owner MDXs. I didn't realize that it was hard, many of the ones I had seen were 10-11 MDX with 40-60k miles on them already. And the color combinations were that much harder to find since I didn't like the colors that are most common.

Mainly black and silver. I wouldn't go so far as to travel to another state as CA has a large variety of MDXs to pick from but finding one at a good price with lots of history records, warranty and not salvaged already. Luckily I live near Los Angeles and there are about 4 dealers in a 100 mile radius.

I do plan to bring in my 'X' for some odd rattles when the 2 front windows are slightly down, any small road perfection and the whole window rattles inside door, something I do not like, as my TL never did that.

Also I am having an ongoing issue with the tailgate panel clips popping out under pressure, I am thinking they could have warped somehow so the panels are popping off. Hope it's not a trait of the MDX, does your MDX have that issue?

Possible end links or shocks or something going over small bumps, I hear a creaking sound on the suspension on the front and rear which just started about 2 weeks ago. Luckily I just got some vacation time off from work for a month and I can take it in to the dealer for warranty work.

And lastly, I hear a minor air pitched sound from the hood of the car cruising 50-60 mph, not sure if it's air resistance off the side mirrors but its a low distinct air sound coming from the front. Thoughts?

mrgold35

I have/had the same sound at a certain mph that sounds like it coming from the passenger side window near the mirror. I think it from air rolling off the exposed windshield wipers, driving at a certain mph, and if the wind is blowing sometimes (head/cross wind). I upgraded to Bosch ICON Wiper Blade and that cut down on the noise; but, they sometimes skip if it is windy and cruise is set to +75 mph (occasional skip is better than a constant noise).

No issues with panel popping out/off. You might have to get new clips to secure the panels if they were removed in the past. Some low speed creaking is normal over bumps with age/mileage. This is assuming the shock/struts and suspension are in good condition. I had knocking noise over bumps from the magnetic shocks starting to die.

SQLnovice

I just purchased a 2012 MDX with 16k miles. I searched and looked at about 14 before I finally found the one to my liking. Don't be in a rush. Car sales people normally don't like me because I go with my financing in hand and i'm never in a rush to buy. Take your time, and get out there and look at a few whenever you get a chance. You'll find the perfect one for you.

Type34

I'm not a "sky is falling" kind of guy, but I will say there are tons of scams out there. However, I've sold several cars via Craigslist / Autotrader that I've babied, so there are also many legit sellers as well.

One thing I would say is that as a seller, I ordered the CARFAX immediately so when prospective buyers came to look at the vehicle, I had a copy for them to take. That way you have documentation to back up your history.

A CARFAX is the very first step in any used car buy/sell experience.

csmeance

if you want to be a much more educated consumer/buyer, you can use this site to get the BLACK BOOK VALUES FOR A CAR. This is what the dealers pay you on trade in and what their guide is for retail.

Trade-in Values

Carpayment4life

The dealer won't offer you the blackbook auction value, for your trade in. He'll low-ball you, to make you force him to come up a little.
Usually, he/she will offer you $1,000 less than blackbook.

If he wanted your car at auction rates, he'd go to an auction.

It's good to use blackbook to estimate the dealer's mark up and it might take months to find a good internet price.
A dealer's internet price is rarely negotiable.