Hi,
I found a car I really want to buy. Test drove it and it feels great. Also had it checked out by a local Mechanic. Everything about the car checks out except two things. Mechanic has concern that some of the underbody was painted in spots where there was rust. Is this a major concern? The guy who owned the car says he was just trying to protect the underbody by covering the rust with primer. He also painted the strut tower on the passenger side since he removed the battery, a/c, and hoses when he performed a tune up on the car. He wanted it to look freshly black. There are no accidents evidenced on this car based on carfax and the mechanic checking all of the underbody chassis where there would be suspicion of a problem didn't see any body or chassis flaws.
The other concern was that the mechanic claims it will soon need a new slave cylinder and clutch. I didn't have any issues with clutch or gears on my test drive when I drove it. Also, when the owner drove me around in it with him, he did not demonstrate any clutch issues. However, the mechanic who drove it said that he couldn't get into first gear at a stop sign on his test drive and needed to help the clutch retract back to a released position. Assuming these are the only two issues that were found - would you still buy the car? Its a legit 1999 WS6 with 130k miles. New Rear, New A/C, New belts, hoses, brakes, rotors, calipers, transmission oil changed, All AC Delco parts. Your input is appreciated. Thanks!

 

How much do they want for it and do you have any pictures???

My 1999 WS6 clutches have lasted around 75K miles for me. So, if this car is on its original clutch; a new one is imminent. If its on its second, it will probably need one soon - no big deal. (This is a normal service item for manual transmissions.)

This happens some times when the driver is sloppy. He or she shouldn't have put it into neutral when coming to a stop. I suspect that this mechanic needs to go back to driving Audis with automatic transmissions.

^ This exposes what should be your biggest concern. This car is F-U-N. FUN is no longer a feature offered by car makers and most wrench turners are used to working on computers with wheels and cars that function very differently than this car. If you are going to get into this, then you should be prepared to turn wrenches yourself (this site will help) or find a specialty shop near you that specializes in F-Bodies. (Then, don't go anywhere else.)

 

Getting into 1st gear can be a slight challenge at times, especially if the car is not fully warmed up. That could take 10 miles. I put my M6 (19K miles) into neutral whenever I'm at a full stop for more than a few seconds. Shifting into 1st is then a given. The alternative is leaving it in 1st with the clutch pedal down and beating up on the release bearing. Sometimes it's a tad easier selecting a higher gear first then 1st. In any case 1st gear is always a bit notchy in my car, even warmed up....probably a trait of the T56. The trans fluid can play a role in this too.

Sounds to me like the car's owner was fastidious about maintenance being up to date on things. Did they also change the drive belt, ps fluid, coolant, clutch fluid, fuel filter, window and head light motors, speakers, etc. Those would be things to ask. Either they changed those or had a good reason why it wasn't needed yet. I'd want to know what trans fluid the owner selected. Some of them can lead to an earlier demise of the synchronizers...as can neglected clutch fluid. Since this is a 1999 it would have cellulose lined synchro friction rings. Those are touchier than the post 2000 versions. If they've been changed out, they're probably carbon now. If not, still paper and getting on in life. There are instances of original transmissions and clutches going 150K-200K miles....not the norm though. Plenty more questions I'd like to ask the seller. If they are truly fastidious, they have ready answers to these questions.

Seems to me the car should be in the $8K-$10K range. But, wouldn't be surprised if they were asking $11K-$12K if the car shifts and drives wonderfully. Most M6's have been quite abused by 130K miles via multiple owners. Your test drive didn't show anything negative which is good...and I assumed you've driven a number of T56's. Single owner car?

As far as touch up painting under the car, I just did that on my 2002 daily driver with 78K miles. I spent several hours under the car touching up every bit up surface rust I could find...there wasn't much. I want the underside to last as long as possible and be protected. I'm not hiding anything as it's a different color. I did similar things to my classic collector cars in year's past. So this owner doing this might be a very positive sign.

 

My M6 car is difficult to get into first sometimes. It's an intermittent thing and not often. Not sure why they get balky sometimes but they do. It's not indicative of a major problem lurking inside.

Agree on the owner being fastidious and taking care of the rust is a good sign. I did the same with some light rust on the undercarriage of my car. Treated it, painted over with POR-15, primer, and top coat. Why? I didn't want it to get any worse.

 

Thanks to all who replied. I ran a carfax and learned that this car was in 2 major rear end accidents back in 2000 and 2006. It had 3 owners. The guy dropped the price from 11 to 9 but I don't think its worth buying a car this used for the price and with that many accidents in its history. I would be willing to pay a bit more to have no accidents on the car.

 

Oh well. Run Forrest Run.

 

^^^^^Yup. Plenty of cars out there, no need to buy one that has been hammered.

 

For 9k, HELL NO

You can find cars with thousands of dollars in mods with no major accidents for 9k. Keep looking and be patient. A lot of guys asking over 10k even up to 12 ish have to drop to 9 ish. It's happened to several of my friends.

My cousin had his 80k original mile mint condition life long garage kept SS, forged motor built trans built 8.8 rear car up for sale for around 11 for about a year, ended up having to take 9. It had never been wrecked.

People ask a lot for the cars, but rarely get it.