Hi there! I am in the market for a new car and I stumbled upon a beauty of a car, the 2004 Lancer Ralliart, while searching craigslist. It is completely stock 5 speed manual. The problem is the car has 144k miles on it. The ad claims the only work needed on it are some new tires and an alignment.

The asking price is 3500 dollars.

He says he has never needed any work done on it, changed the oil in it every 3000 miles, and that it was mostly used for highway driving.

Now I want to pick your guys collective brain on whether this seems like a reasonable deal, a shadily lowball deal or not worth it due to it most likely being a ticking timebomb with that many miles. I will of course also consult my friend, who is excellent with cars, and then if he finds nothing probably ask a mechanic to look at it. But I am just looking for some preliminary thoughts here. In doing all my research I have come to be a pretty big fan of this model, so even if I decide to not get this one I'm probably still gonna be in the market for one, even if I have to wait a bit longer to save up some more money.

 

Well the first question that comes to my mind is, ask if he has had the timing belt, water pump and the pully belt replaced. Those would be the main issues around this time. My ralliart just hit 140,000 yesterday and it's still running strong! I haven't had any big replacements yet, and a lot of my parts still look like their in good condition.

 

Depending on how far you are willing to travel I may sell you mine.

 

if taken care of and maintained, the motor should still be good for some time yet, but if the seller can't produce proof the timing belt and water pump was done, i would offer him 2500...parts plus labour will cost at least a grand...and tell them that too...

 

Well, I had planned on giving you guys a report from my meetup with the seller today. However, as things often do in life, things didn't workout. I had made plans yesterday to go and meet up with this man today, and when I texted him and told him I was on my way, he informed me that he had forgotten his nephew's birthday party and had to attend, and he couldn't step out or even try to achieve the meetup afterwards. Asked me if I could meet him tomorrow. Well, this was enough to make me stop wanting to do business with him.

However as I said earlier I would still love to get myself into one of these lovely vehicles. So, I will probably still be around the forums, mostly lurking until the day I get my hands on one. Thank you guys for the valuable information about the services that need done.

And also, depending on the deal, a road trip to Boston or somewhere near there might not be out of the question, so be expecting a Private Message, Ralliartize It.