Should I buy this 99 ACR???

[snowmann]

I found a 1999 black ACR in Chicago with 11.5K miles for $53.5K, seems like a good deal to me. What do you guys think? Anyone know who owns this car? The dealership is selling it for the owner and I would rather deal with the owner directly. Anyways what do you guys think?

Thanks.

 

[JonB]

Dollars, age, and miles, sound fair.

UNKNOWNS would be the major factor:

Damage?
Warranty History?
Track Miles?

 

[snowmann]

Carfax looks good, the dealer claims no track use but you really never know. Condition is excellent, or so I have been told. Given that, is 53.5 is not a great price or is it?

 

[monnieh]

Yes, that's a great price. Almost "too good to be true" price.

How many owners?

It's either a owner who just needs to dump the car or there is something not being disclosed readily.

 

[snowmann]

The carfax shows...

2 owners and it was sold at an auction??? Does that sound fishy???

 

[dblankenbaker]

If it is this car... http://wwwheels.com/cfapps/car.cfm?ID=1724192

McFadden Friendly Motors of South Haven, Michigan was offering it for sale for $59,900 last Winter. I spoke with Red McFadden (dealership owner) and offered him $55,000 w/o seeing the car. He declined, but mentioned that it had stress cracks on the hood "from being closed improperly". In late April, the same car (same VIN) showed up at FrankfortAutoHaus south of Chicago with an advertised price of $55,000. I called and said I was a cash buyer for the Viper and asked for an appointment to inspect the car. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that I wanted to inspect the frame. They called back two hours later and said that the owner of the dealership was driving the car and didn't want to bring it in unless I was prepared to pay $60,000. I said "no thanks".

I was asking pointed questions, and they did mention that it had stress cracks on the hood and the passenger door. These may or may not be fixed by now (if they're telling you it's in "excellent" condition), but you can tell from pictures that it's missing the front emblem (possible fascia replacement?).

Very frustrating that a dealership won't bend over backwards to let a potential customer see a car. 53.5 is a GREAT price if they will let you inspect the car top AND especially BOTTOM. But to buy it sight unseen... I wouldn't do it.

 

[snowmann]

Yep that is the car... Stress cracks?!?!... that does not sound good... Did you actually see the car or know someone that has? Missing the front emblem is fishy too... I don't know why someone would take that off for looks?? Very fishy... What should I look for with stress cracks??? The dealer does seem a tad shady to deal with. How would I look for frame damage... thanks for the heads up!!!

 

[dblankenbaker]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Yep that is the car... Stress cracks?!?!... that does not sound good... Did you actually see the car or know someone that has? What should I look for with stress cracks??? The dealer does seem a tad shady to deal with. How would I look for frame damage... thanks for the heads up!!!<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

I have not seen the car. I tried (even took a day off work) but it's almost like they bent over backwards NOT to let me see the car. I would be more than happy to inspect the car for you if they will let me see it. I am available this Saturday and Sunday, and every day next week. I'm gonna bet they'll give you some song and dance about the car not being available for viewing. I have never seen stress cracks on a Viper hood, so I'm kind of curious about that myself. I want to see the two big rails under the Viper straight and true front-to-back. I inspect the suspension mounting points for cracks in the welds, or for the frame being "pushed in" at those points (common for a Viper that has slid sideways into a curb). Visually, the adjustment of the cams on the suspension should be very close side-to-side (left vs right). Seeing this **visually** along with confirming the car tracks straight with a test drive will confirm that the frame is straight.

 

[lleone]

The missing emblem up front is weird. I could see it as logical if the side badging was also removed (and the rear bumper badging as well). I was very cautious about buying my snake which the previous owner had de-badge. Car turned out to be fine. He didn't touch the front emblem though. It seems really weird that someone would remove the front emblem as part of de-badging and then not do the sides, but hey, it takes all kinds. Maybe it wasn't intentional and some kid ripped it off and they never replaced it.

 

[Birvini]

I'd be more than happy to check the car out for you as well. Unfortunatly, I know what stress cracks look like. Let me know. It does sound fishy.

 

[SERPENT INDIANA]

159 total ACR packages for 2002...THEY ARE ALL RARE....34 of these were "Final Editions"....

 

[snowmann]

I just got off the phone with them and they had no problem with me flying out to look at the car as long as I put a nice hefty deposit on my credit card

If you are in the area and wouldn't mind taking a look at it, please let me know what you find. I did call him up and ask him why there wasn't a hood emblem on the car. He said he didn't know and that it didn't look odd to him

. He also said he did not see any stress cracks in the roof either. Between the front emblem missing and the fact this was sold at an auction, something is not adding up right. I am not that interested in the car now, but let me know if you take a peek and it does look pretty good (please don't go out of your way). I am dying to know what the real story on this car is.

 

[lleone]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by SERPENT INDIANA:
159 total ACR packages for 2002...THEY ARE ALL RARE....34 of these were "Final Editions"....
2002 ACR gray/silver
2002 "Final Edition" ACR
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Ooo and you have one! Aren't you special! Too bad we're talking about a '99. We'll I have a third, well I won't say, but it makes me special too!

lol... (I'd giggle if I were a girl.)

 

[snowmann]

Yea this is a 99, please keep this on topic if you can. I understand you have a really neat ACR and all, but just start a new topic. Not meaning to sound offensive, but I just want to know as much information as I can about this one particular car. Thank you.

 

[toddt]

I agree that that is in the "too good to be true" zone, and would jump on it if all is okay. If you have to replace the hood...now that is another story all together...ouch--suddenly the fantastic deal becomes a bit of a dog.

I love my 99 ACR, but I've never driven a GTS, so I have nothing to compare it to.

 

[FastMatt]

if this does not work out, I will sell my 2000 ACR for $59K... let me know

 

[Birvini]

I'm going to look at it now, be back in a while. I'll let you know.

 

[onerareviper]

One thing I've learned over the years, when buying cars. <FONT size="6">LISTEN TO YOUR GUT!</FONT s>

Good Luck.

 

[lleone]

<BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Originally posted by onerareviper:
One thing I've learned over the years, when buying cars. <FONT size="6">LISTEN TO YOUR GUT!</FONT s>
<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>

Well said.

 

[Birvini]

Here's the deal. Went to check out the car. It's sitting in the showroom and the owner was there. This car looks like an abused stepchild. Large crack on hood. Mutiple scratches all over the car, exept for rims and front facia. I think the front facia is new as well as possibly the rims. The rims and facia don't "match" the rest of the car as far as good size scratches and swirls. There are no fog lights, I don't know what that means. The interior seemed to be in good shape. The battery was dead, so could not start it up, or put it on a lift

Hope that helped!

 

[Dixter]

ACR's don't have fog lamps...

 

[Eddie N]

birvini,

ACR's do not have fog lights..

bummer on the car dude, could have been a good deal

...

- eddie -

 

[Birvini]

The owner told me that ACR's don't have fog lights, but he also told me it was pretty normal to have these large cracks on the hood. In place of the fog lights there were some kind of white/grey material.

 

[monnieh]

One Key question, was the motor rebuilt by Arrow?

I heard there was a 99 ACR floating around the country that had been wrecked.

It was a black 99 ACR that had a Arrow rebuild. I heard about this from a popular dealer here on the forum.

 

[Birvini]

This could be the one. All of engine supports, front cross member, everything that holds the engine looked brand new. Oh and I forgot to mention, the owner said he bought this car from another dealer. No mention of auction.

 

[lleone]

I found the front emblem!
http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=1851374056

lol...

 

[snowmann]

Birvini, thanks for looking at the car - I really appreciate it. If any of you guy need someone to take a look at a car in Colorado please don't hesitate to drop me an email. Or if you need a carfax just let me know. I could tell from the pictures the front fiska looked funny. I can't believe they didn't have the smarts to put the hood emblem back on car. That really ****** me off that they told me the car was in "showroom" condition and that I would not be disappointed. I can't stand used car dealers as it is, but thank God I didn't not fly all the way out there and buy that junk. I am going to steer clear of that car. Even though the price is good, I don't want a headache for 53.5K . I don't know how I could sell a junk car to anyone with a straight face, but it looks like most people out there don't have a problem with it. Oh well, hopefully I can find another black 99 ACR at a good price... Thanks for all your help again...