Is this car deal too good to believe?

Go check it out and take it to a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection.

Rylan said:
Go check it out and take it to a mechanic for a pre-purchase inspection.

Exactly! Don’t leave anything to chance. Also, do a compression test while you’re at it.

A shiny engine bay always makes me suspicious.

Noor said:
A shiny engine bay always makes me suspicious.

Yeah, it’s probably all that coolant sprayed on the engine cover.

Noor said:
A shiny engine bay always makes me suspicious.

Maybe it’s just some tire shine special they used.

Noor said:
A shiny engine bay always makes me suspicious.

Totally. About 5% of the time, it’s someone who takes excellent care of their car, but 95% of the time, it’s someone trying to distract you from bigger problems.

It’s almost always too good to be true. The freshly cleaned engine bay could either mean someone really takes care of their car or someone’s trying to hide something. Given how uneven the shine looks, I’m leaning toward it being the second option.

A 10-year-old car with low mileage can be risky. Things like belts, hoses, and clips could be aging, and fluids might not have been properly changed. Plus, tires could be dry rotted if they haven’t been replaced.

@Ellis
People keep saying that, but it’s really not the case for a low-mileage 2016 Mazda. The belts and hoses are probably fine or easy to replace. I’ve had my 2014 Mazda 3 for years, and the hoses are still great even at 180k miles. The only thing that really needs replacing at this point is the serpentine belt, which takes just 30 minutes to do. Fluids should be fine too; just the oil might need changing.

My guess is that it might have been in an accident. Get a trusted mechanic to inspect it before buying.

Yeah, someone’s probably trying to pull a fast one on you.

It’s probably a salvaged car.

I paid $13,500 for mine in 2017 with 29k miles.

Larkin said:
I paid $13,500 for mine in 2017 with 29k miles.

How did you get such a good deal?

Haven said:

Larkin said:
I paid $13,500 for mine in 2017 with 29k miles.

How did you get such a good deal?

I got it in Florida.

I saw a similar ‘too good to be true’ deal, looked up the carfax, and found out why it was priced that way. I was super excited at first but after checking the carfax, I moved on.

Misha said:
I saw a similar ‘too good to be true’ deal, looked up the carfax, and found out why it was priced that way. I was super excited at first but after checking the carfax, I moved on.

A car with super low miles at that age? There’s definitely something fishy about its history.

Check the VIN number.

Just because it has low mileage doesn’t mean it won’t cost a lot in maintenance. The car’s age means things like electronics, hoses, and belts will need to be replaced or fixed soon.