Buyer Beware -- Why a Low mileage older car might bring grief to an unaware new owner!

 John, here is a little story of "buyer beware" and "why cars need to be driven."  Last week I almost bought a 2008 Mazda MX-5 from xxx in Florence, Kentucky.  The car was listed for $14,000 and had only 20,000 miles on the clock.  Why so few miles for a vehicle that is 16 years old?  Beautiful car on the outside; hardly a scratch on it and interior show-room new.  The CARFAX report showed that the car had only been driven an average of 588 miles per year in each of the last 8 years and prior to that only an average of 1,868 miles a year with its first owner.

Beautiful on the outside.....but just under the skin.....

I looked at the car last week but then thought "this is too good to be true" -- the CARFAX report showed that March 19 (this past month) the car's owner took it in for service at xxx in Florence for a complete vehicle inspection.  But the same day CARFAX reports that the owner sold it for cash to xxx just down the street.  What gives?

As I talked with the salesperson at xxx they assured me that the car was in perfect condition (trust but verify, I said to myself).  I was ready to have a cashier's check cut as I wanted this car!  

But on Monday I made a quick trip back to northern Kentucky and walked into the service department at dealer number 2.  I asked them to print out what they found when this older but very low mileage car was inspected only a week and a half earlier.  I gave them the VIN number and the service desk man said: "Oh, that's xxx car........the old guy only drove a few miles a year, babied the car and told us that it sat -- not driven -- during the nearly two year pandemic."

Then he printed out the list of things they found wrong and handed it to me:

Rear main engine seal -- remove transmission to replace 

Camshaft belt dry rotted

Differential seal leaking

Manifold gasket leaking

Brake seals leaking and fittings corroded 

Injectors corroded and need replaced

Condensation in engine; fuel system needs cleaned

All of the hoses dry rotted and need replaced

All four tires dry-rotted and unsafe

Approximate cost to have all of this done: $4,000 plus the tires for total cost to bring the car up to snuff -- around $5,000.  To paraphrase the technician I talked with:

"The biggest thing to worry about is dried out seals. When a seal (like an engine rear main seal and differential seals) are left unused for long periods of time, they dry out. When this happens and you use the vehicle, it has a tendency to rip/tear the seals and can cause massive oil leaks. These seals are usually in bad spots where you cannot easily get to them, which means they cost to get replaced."

Pointedly, if I had not done due diligence I would have paid $14,000 for a sports car that needed $5,000 worth of work done on it.  The moral of the story: Cars are meant to be driven.  One needs to be skeptical of an older very low-mileage car.  Cars not driven deteriorate in the garage!

Ed