Cherry

[Jarf]

Just found my dream car.
Have also tried to update my computer skills, will have to see if this works, my 1st attempt at pasting??

http://newlondon.craigslist.org/cto/4687366648.html

Was all set to call and make the buy and for some reason decided to check my passport, damn thing is expired and will take me 6-8 weeks to get a replacement.
No way in hell, this thing will still be around by then so I may as well share.
Pisses me off as its "only" 10 hours south of me, argh, grumble grumble.
While steep in price, it sure looks the part and I would happily pay the toll, even with a 90cent dollar
@&$#^^#(()(&^*%$!!@%W^T&&^W !

[marlinh]

I think if you go straight into an office you can get a new passport quite quickly, since it's a renewal.

[Jarf]

Thanks Marlin, will look into that but I think that since it's expired I will likely have to go through the whole process again, at least that was the drill last time around.
Am currently looking at shipping quotes, as well as that may be another way around, this ones a LOT closer so it should be cheaper than the last one I checked on, but time will tell.
Doubt it will be available for long as it certainly looks sweet, still a little gun-shy about buying things sight unseen but I may have to make an exception on this one.
J

[dlb]

i was going to say buy it sight unseen but then i saw the price. $6500 is too much to take that kind of risk on, although the car does look excellent. those are my fave seats, the '87/'88 dlx cloth ones, and original floor mats even.

are there no members in that area who could check it out for you?

[ARCHINSTL]

Wow!
Gee, but those body-color window frames add to the appearance.
Tom M.

[BrownBadger]

That os beautiful, but it may take some time to sell at that price. Id call up the seller, explain your situation, and see if maybe they will hold it with a deposit. Ive done that as a seller and a buyer before. Sometimes a simple deal and no more hassle trying to sell to someone else is worth waiting to make the sale.

[Jarf]

I think I'll give that a shot BB.
You're right DLB, the entry fee is rather steep, while beautiful, I would consider that to be top dollar (at least for me) for a DLX.

Just got the shipping quote back, somehow I thought it would be cheaper as its 2000mls closer than the last one, hah.
The pill on that is still the better part of $2K

Will give him a shout in a little while and see what the deal is, if he wants to wait till I get my passport sorted out, I could theoretically go down just after TG and drive it back up for significantly less. All depends on how firm he is on the price though.
It certainly would be a lot cheaper to just fly down and drive it back.

Have a buddy with a Legacy and while he loves it he has nothing good to say about maintenance costs.
His is a stick but he still went through brakes (fr and rear) before 50K and some other dumb stuff.
Been (unsuccessfully) hunting a Subie for several months now, but I really don't like the stories I am hearing about engine problems on higher mile cars and the low mile ones are still running in the $8-10K range for a 10 yr old car and there hasn't been too many of those, at that.
Then theres the fact that it is rife with things I hate - airbags, abs, traction control, computers galore.
Despite their efforts at anticorrosion, they still seem to rust away like nobodies business.

Cherry just keeps looking better and better all the time, even with the steep entry fee.
Besides, Rusty would yield about 10yrs worth of spares.
Rusty still gets approached at least once/week with an offer to buy (though I have never entertained the prospect) in spite of the her air conditioned rockers and fenders.
Not that I am trying to talk myself into this, or anything

[florykitty]

it is very overpriced ,

[irowiki]

Eh, I don't think it is overpriced.

[Gottolovem]

Good ones are harder and harder to find If you truley are after a pristen t4 and can pay the price go for it.

As brownbadger says offer him a substantial deposit to hold the car and his asking price if it is as advertised when you get to it.

[dlb]

it is very overpriced ,

i personally agree that the car is overpriced in that i would never pay $6500 for ANY vehicle--daily drivers depreciate way to quickly. however, we have seen a handful of low miles, pristine condition tercels sell for about this much so in that sense, i think this car is priced reasonably.

btw, anyone here who has a comparable tercel should print a copy of 'cherry's' craigslist ad and hang on to it. it could be useful if you wind up haggling with insurance companies about how much your car was worth when they try to write it off for a paltry $400.

[Gottolovem]

Hagerty sells insurance plan called "agreed value"

[Jarf]

Price is a subjective thing.
While I think $6500 is WAY over the top, the reality is, at least up here, these cars are rarer than hen's teeth and dinosaur eggs.
If I lived in a place where these things were still relatively plentiful, my attitude would be considerably different.
But when I put it all into perspective, if I can't find something I like in the $6-8K range, then maybe it's worth paying the premium for something that is near pristine.
Especially as I have a fondness for them, which isn't shared with the current crop of available vehicles.

In 2003 I paid $3500 for my current T4, which I also way thought was too much, especially as it had 273K on the clock.
Hindsight being 20/20, it was a deal.
11 years and 150,000km later, I really can't complain and if it wasn't for the rust, I wouldn't be looking now, as the mechanicals are still 100%.
Given that a dollar doesn't buy what it used to, I find I am constantly "updating" my perspective on what things are worth.
The reality is, that $3500 10 years ago, is probably roughly equivalent to about $5K today, at least in terms of purchasing power.
Too bad my income hasn't enjoyed a comparable increase!

I made the call but haven't heard back, will just have to see how it goes.

Marlinh is correct on the passport situation, anything is possible IF you're willing to pay.
Replacements can be had in as little as 2 days if one is willing to the pay the $150 surcharge.
10 days for an "express" issue as long as one drops off and pick's up at a passport office.
This of course means actually going to a passport office, which is "only" a 2hr drive each way
(8hrs of my life, not including waiting in line-ups and $100 in fuel, total, all in)
Using snail mail is what turns it into a 6-8wk affair.
The caveat being that it must not be expired for more than one year, so no matter, I will have to get on to that asap, as the old one expired 11 months ago.
While not a fun way to go, it is at least doable.

[Jarf]

DLB - the insurance "scam" isn't limited to T4's.

Wife hit a deer a couple of years ago with her Rav4.
Adjuster told her it was a right-off and they wouldn't fix it.
Thats when I got involved as I didn't understand how something we paid $14K for only 2 yrs earlier was somehow worth less than $5K all of a sudden.
Turns out he was making his assessment based on it being a stripped base model, not the loaded Limited that it is.
End of story the car got repaired, but not without a fight.

While buying agreed value insurance is another possibility, as is having a professional appraisal done, neither is cheap as you WILL pay more for the policy, either way.
They get you coming and going.
Personally, I only carry liability on MY cars, as none of them have sufficient market value to justify the premiums they charge for coverage.
Even simple things like glass coverage (as well as fire or theft), are all "packaged" with collision, so it quickly becomes an all or nothing affair.
That said, if I consider what I have (personally) saved over the last 20 years of never having made a claim, I am money ahead.

[ARCHINSTL]

btw, anyone here who has a comparable tercel should print a copy of 'cherry's' craigslist ad and hang on to it. it could be useful if you wind up haggling with insurance companies about how much your car was worth when they try to write it off for a paltry $400.

I did that when that 37K SR5 NC car sold for $10500 back in 2011 via eBay. Have also kept every receipt for stuff I've spent on Goldie since I got her in 2005 (some expenses would be disallowed, like polish and oil and AF, but I figgered - Overwhelm the adjuster!).
See: https://tercel4wd.com/forums/viewtopic.php? ... ngatrailer Our thread is 4 pages long, but interesting. The owner of this NC car (dale) joined and promised to tell the story of the car, but reneged.
See BaT, esp. for the many, many, comments: http://bringatrailer.com/2011/03/06/198 ... ercel-4wd/ You might recognize a certain commenter... One, named richard r, said he owned 4; I asked if he was a member here, providing the link to the club's site, but he never answered.
Tom M.