2003 Impala 3.4 14k $9,000 - Good Deal Or Bad Deal???

[Sschev]

An older couple who are friends have an 2003 Impala 3.4 V-6 with most of the power options. They bought it new and it know has 14k miles. They can not drive anymore and want to sell it for $9,000. Is this about right or is it high. I know for a fact it has never been wrecked, stolen, flood or any of that kind of stuff. It has always been garaged and looks new and drives great. I appreciate your feed back.

[57chevyragtop]

Originally Posted by Sschev

An older couple who are friends have an 2003 Impala 3.4 V-6 with most of the power options. They bought it new and it know has 14k miles. They can not drive anymore and want to sell it for $9,000. Is this about right or is it high. I know for a fact it has never been wrecked, stolen, flood or any of that kind of stuff. It has always been garaged and looks new and drives great. I appreciate your feed back.

Seems a fair price to me with the super low mileage and other facts as you state them. It now depends on the loan interest rate you can manage to get if you are going for a loan. Also the value will decrease more rapidly if you drive a lot of miles annually. That said, if you like the car well enough, it's a good buy in my opinion.

[carterpuma]

definitely sounds like a good deal to me but check edmunds, nadaguide, and kbb to be sure.

[Colt Hero]

I dunno. I can tell you that my 2002 3.4 base model Impala went for $17900, but I could've bought it for $17500 if I had wanted to make a home trip. This car is almost 4 years old. If you figure that the typical life of a car is around 8 years, you're basically splitting the cost of the car with the previous owner - except they got to drive the car when it was new, and you will be driving it used. If the number could be any lower, it probably wouldn't be a LOT lower, but maybe the original owner should pay a little more than you for having the car new (maybe $750-$1000 more)? Start at $7500 and work your way up to $8250. You might need the extra bucks to fix the intake gaskets ($500-$1200 depending on where you live or who does the work)...

[57chevyragtop]

Just a couple of thoughts to add to my previous post. Depending on the state your in, taxes will be 6-900 and you may want to try to talk it down to at least cover that. I have had no trouble with intake gaskets with my 02 impala at 65k and don't think you should be concerned with that. At 14k the car is still basically new, especially a garage kept, undamaged and well-cared for vehicle.

[Colt Hero]

57chevyragtop,

Looking at my records, my '02 started having coolant issues at 67,650 miles ("LOW COOLANT LEVEL" warning message appeared for the first time). Before that, I was constantly monitoring the fluid level and checking the engine for any signs of external leakage because I was told that "they all leak" (which I didn't believe at first ... now I do). One thing that did concern me back then (and which now I know is a leak) was the dampness along the black "V" seal behind the power steering pump. This dampness turned out to be a very slowly-developing leak because now I can periodically see tiny bubbles from the dye I had poured in last year popping out of this seal - and just below is some (perpetual) "mud" - which I now know is an accumulation of road sand mixed with trace amounts of coolant. Interestingly, yesterday I went out to lunch with a few co-workers. The guy driving had a company car: 2005 Impala 3.4. So I popped the hood to inspect his engine. Guess what? Same dampness in the same spot. So the problem is very likely beyond the 2001-2003 model years that everyone talks about! The only difference might be that the later model year Impalas (post 2003 - which supposedly have the better gaskets) might have to be driven harder or longer to make the problem manifest itself. I've driven my Impala almost 20k miles per year so far and the company car Impala is around 30k+ per year. If you're just driving around town, maybe you can ride (apparently) "problem-free" in a 2001-2003 Impala for 7 years or so (my Dad, an around-town only driver, has a 2003 Impala with around 50k on it and so far no complaints of missing coolant. But then again his mechanic let a Taurus coolant system corrode to the point where three freeze plugs rusted out - one behind the tranny that cost $700 to replace! Hmmm ... is that dishonest or incompetent?).