What to look for when buying an MP3

[Tom03es]

I saw a Laser Blue MP3 at a small local dealership today at lunch. I stopped by very briefly just to take a look at it. I want to go back after work and give it a test drive. Here's what I know about it:

Sticker price - $10,9xx
mileage - 53,xxx
some dents, dings and scrapes along the side body work. The back bumper cover looks very dinged and scuffed up- I will check for rear end damage later. Overall, the scrapes and dings are pretty eye catching.
The tires are mis-matched- Kumho Ecstas on the front and Toyo Proxes on the back (at least on the right side- didn't check the left side).
The Racing Harts looked to be in good shape.
The tint job needs to be redone on the rear window as it's bubbled up.
The head unit was missing; looked like it was pulled out but the metal bracket that mounts it is still there- did they do this from the factory?
The exhaust tip looked bigger than what I remember on other MP3s and MS.

My ES has only 36,000 miles on it and I haven't had any issues with it in the 13 months that I've owned it. Is there anything to look for on this car with more than 50K miles on it? Is there an easy way to tell if it's been beat on?

Why I'm even considering it- my ES has that silly sport-matic transmission, I absolutely love those Racing Hearts on the MP3s, I perfer to drive manual transmissions, the suspension already matches my ES after I upgraded it (minus the front sway bar) so that isn't an issue and I like the looks of the MP3 over the regular sedans.

Based on that, what do you guys think?

Thanks for any help.

 

[Kooldino]

The MP3 doesn't sound like it's the most well taken care of. I saw one for sale around here recently for $6K or so. Check that one out.

If you plan on moding the car, the MP3 might be the way to go since it's manual, etc. But only do it if they either make the repairs or drop the price for you.

 

[Tom03es]

I ran the car through edmunds and KBB and for the condition I feel it's in, I will probably offer $7500 if I'm still interested after the test drive.

I found the car online here:
http://www.ksautonet.com/Forms/Map.asp?StockNo=435990&DealerID=1999

Notice the cigarette burn on the driver's seat lack of floor mats. Plus I saw the windshield has a crack in it on the driver's side.

And if you notice from the engine bay pic, the car has a cold air intake- which leads me to think a kid owned the car (even though I'm 28 and I would add one if I bought it and it didn't have one already).

We'll see how the test drive goes.

Thanks

 

[lasermp5]

Man, for the condition it's in their sticker price is waaay off. Keep pointing out all the little stuff and hit them low. I would say in the condition it's in it's worth maybe 7-8k topps?

 

[Rotary_Powered]

There have been MP3's offered here that are in much better condition than that one for much less. Hell a few MSP's have gone for a little more.

 

[bharper]

That one's mega-overpriced. The bumper needs a total repaint, and the driver's seat is shot. I paid $8500 for mine with the same mileage as that one, and other than needing new tires, it was in like-new condition. That one's not worth any more that $6500 or $7000. And the heat shield for the exhaust header is missing for some reason. And the tail pipe is definitely aftermarket, and is most likely attached to an aftermarket muffler or cat-back. Other than that, if you suspect it's been beat be sure to test the clutch for slippage (from a stop, try to start in 5th gear. If it stalls, clutch is good; if it slips and bucks forward, it'll need replacement in the near future). Jack it up (or have them put it up on the hoist) and check the suspension/undercarriage for evidence of collision damage. Check the oil for metal shards. For a car that has so many scratches and dings, you will probably want to run a CarFax on it for theft/collision history.

 

[winty87]

I'd say 8 at max. When I bought mine last summer it came to 10xxx after tax and all that and it was in perfect condition aside from curb rim rash from the 1st owner and I only had 58xxx miles on it. So if that one has a dinged up driver side and that cracked rear bumper with the other misc. items your gettin gyped just my .02.

 

[winty87]

Id say 8,9xxx max. I bought mine last summer with 58k exact in perfect condition. The interior and rims look good but then again thats only one rim they have pictured. So yeah if that much stuff is missing or mismatched on it 8,9xx or 9 max is my .02

 

[winty87]

I'd say 8 at max. When I bought mine last summer it came to 10xxx after tax and all that and it was in perfect condition aside from curb rim rash from the 1st owner and I only had 58xxx miles on it. So if that one has a dinged up driver side and that cracked rear bumper with the other misc. items your gettin gyped just my .02.

 

[winty87]

I screwed up my posts....I'm drunk. But my input is legit!!!

 

[JoeManNorth]

I wouldnt even buy it. If it's in such bad shape and the tires are miss matched (witch can lead to tranny issues and are a good sign someone was burning some rubber) You know the car wasnt cared for. How about the engine oil? I bet it's black and thick. I checked the autotrader and found like 20 MP3's in the states. I'm sure you'll find a better one.

 

[MP3N.Y.C]

Offer 7g for it. It is scratched and dinged, no radio, some other exhaust other then the RB axle back, heat sheild taken off the manifold and whatever else you can find wrong with it. More then likely they got it at an auction and cleaned it up as much as they could. Give it a full inspection if you go back to check it out. Put it on the lift, take it out for a ride and point everything out to them.

A suggestion...

Peter

 

[ForBidden]

i bought the car u were looking at luckey for u the tranny went out... but its all good there fixing for free i bought the car for 8grand told them to fix the window and they did

 

[joka1]

I screwed up my posts....I'm drunk. But my input is legit!!!

lofl i tend to do that alot!!

the tranny going out is bad but atleast the dealer is good and is fixing it! best of luck with the new car or should i say addiction...... (i know some plans for it )

rob

 

[ForBidden]

they found a tranny with 20k that there gonna put in

 

[Tom03es]

Well, good luck with it. The more I looked at it, the more I didn't want to part with my car (even with its sport shifting automatic). That MP3 looked like it was "rode hard and put away wet". Mine is in great condition and I wasn't too sure I wanted to "trade down" on it.

Hope you do it proud. Bring it out to some autoxes sometime! http://www.wichitascca.org/SoloII.html
We've got a couple events left this season for you to give it a proper flogging.

 

[ForBidden]

it probly was but its got 54k shure a few dents and dings but it nice hella nice plus most of every thing is fixed now.