Sportcross for sale

[Dr. Zoidberg]

A 2004 with 150,000 miles for $7,850. A decent example, and sadly a better color, albeit higher miles -- and soon due for it's second timing belt. Someone made the same choice as me with the "Altezza-delete" on the tail lights. Those wheels are actually optional wheels on the IS300, surprisingly (he blacked out the center caps).

I noticed the ad reads like a dealer listing, or perhaps "selling for a friend," so I googled the vin..

Turns out the car was only bought a few on months ago on DreamCarExchange, an auction site I've never, ever heard of. It sold for $6,550. This link has better photos and it appears the current owner even reused a photo or two for craigslist... The auction shows the various imperfections at the end of the album.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE! The Carfax from the auction is still available -- and guess what?

Two accidents since 2016. And when you consider this was sold after the auction, that means this car has now had eight owners. There is no actual service noted since 2010 (unless you counting "tint" as service). There is no indication that the original timing belt was replaced... This is an interference motor, by the way. But selling three months after purchasing isn't suspicious, right?

This is why it took me two years to find mine. There are so few to begin with, and the first wave of 2nd owners drove these hard. It took me 10 months to find one locally that wasn't a salvaged title, and then it took over a year to find one that wasn't slammed to the ground, or didn't have 200k miles.

[WhoIsTheLeader]

That's gonna be a hard no for me. Wagons are cool, but this car has a seriously sketch history. It pays to do some research.

[Taylor Martin]

@dr-zoidberg Dang... certainly doesn't look like an 8 owner car, but your diligence has proven that it is.

[Peter_Black]

@dr-zoidberg eh. at the same time, if its had 8 owners but they all took care of it...does it matter?

(in this case, yea, its obvious ppl didnt, but still)

also, id like to know what those accidents were. a minor fender bender that someone did through insurance will still show up and wont bother me THAT much.

[Roadkilled]

@dr-zoidberg The first owner buys in March 2004 and it goes up for auction in June 2005. Did the owner trade it in or was is repossessed? Either way, I would expect that this owner didn't take good care of the car.

The second owner buys the car in June of 2006 and it goes to auction in February 2007. This mean it set on a lot for a year, was bought and was probably repossessed. Again, I would be suspicious of how well it was cared for in this period.

I would guess that this car has had a hard life. I wouldn't want to risk what's hiding under the skin.