I finally decided to upgrade to a newer car from my 1988 coupe. As much as I enjoyed Cadillac comforts, it was costing too much to keep running. So last week I went to see a 2002 P5 in black mica with ~150k on it. It looks like it's in great shape leave for a key mark down the driver's side and a roughed up arm rest on the driver's door panel. Both very minor and you almost can't see the key mark unless you're looking for it. I bought it for $3,500 + tax/tags/title/etc..., my bank's loan department quoted it as being worth around $5,300 with the options it's has installed.
I test drove it and I knew it was the one I wanted. It drives beautifully! The automatic shifts smoothly, the steering feels very responsive, the brakes didn't make any noise when applied, and all the interior and exterior lights work appropriately. I tested all four windows, the sunroof, and the hatch - everything opens and closes smoothly. I checked under the hood and it's very clean - no errant fluids or rust. There's *zero* rust around the wheel wells and the underside looks just as nice. It's got a Pioneer DEH-1100MP in it so I have an AUX port, I didn't test the head unit but if it ends up not working or I don't like it I'll just throw in the Sony that's in my Caddy.
It's got an alarm system and after-market remote starter but I didn't think to ask if he had the original instructions for that or not. He's got the after-market key fob that came with the remote starter - it's got buttons for lock, unlock, alarm, start. He demonstrated the remote start and it worked so I'm satisfied but I've never had a car with that feature before so I'm not quite sure how the whole thing works with regards to how it's installed, any fail-safes it's got, the range on the transmitter, any cautions I should be aware of, etc...
The only things I forgot to check was the A/C, the power mirrors, the fog lamps, the horn, and the cruise (were I test drove it didn't have enough open road to test if the cruise functioned or not). I'm going to pick it up and do the title transfer this week, is there anything else I should check before complete the sale?
I test drove it and I knew it was the one I wanted. It drives beautifully! The automatic shifts smoothly, the steering feels very responsive, the brakes didn't make any noise when applied, and all the interior and exterior lights work appropriately. I tested all four windows, the sunroof, and the hatch - everything opens and closes smoothly. I checked under the hood and it's very clean - no errant fluids or rust. There's *zero* rust around the wheel wells and the underside looks just as nice. It's got a Pioneer DEH-1100MP in it so I have an AUX port, I didn't test the head unit but if it ends up not working or I don't like it I'll just throw in the Sony that's in my Caddy.
It's got an alarm system and after-market remote starter but I didn't think to ask if he had the original instructions for that or not. He's got the after-market key fob that came with the remote starter - it's got buttons for lock, unlock, alarm, start. He demonstrated the remote start and it worked so I'm satisfied but I've never had a car with that feature before so I'm not quite sure how the whole thing works with regards to how it's installed, any fail-safes it's got, the range on the transmitter, any cautions I should be aware of, etc...
The only things I forgot to check was the A/C, the power mirrors, the fog lamps, the horn, and the cruise (were I test drove it didn't have enough open road to test if the cruise functioned or not). I'm going to pick it up and do the title transfer this week, is there anything else I should check before complete the sale?