1996 Geo Metro LSi for sale $500 OBO
 

I was driving home when I saw this car. I walked back, looked at it, took some pictures, and wrote down the VIN, which told me the year and model. I could not see the first digit of the odometer and every which way that I checked the VIN, I could not learn anything for free. KBB says that it would be worth $1,650 in good condition with 100,000 miles, $1,150 with 190,000+, $1,175 in fair condition with 100,000 miles, and $675 in fair condition with 190,000+ miles.

So, it is probably in poor condition?

The VIN is: 2C1MR2266T6761600

I cannot get the pictures to load, but it looks like the factory green paint is pretty bad and there is a crack in the windshield that should not affect visibility.

KBB gets more and more out of wack as the car you are looking up gets older. Their price comes from an average drawn from whatever sources they use. As stuff gets older, there are fewer and fewer transactions for that year of that car, so there are fewer data points to average out. So one really nice car bringing a lot of money can mess up the numbers a lot easier. Just because it's cheap doesn't mean it's junk, and just because it's expensive doesn't mean it's good sort of thing. If you are actually interested in buying one, take the time to go look at it with the owner there. Mileage will have the biggest effect on what you should pay for it, you need to see that 1st digit on the odo.

So, $500 more for 90k less miles. I'll take that deal anytime.

regards
Mech

Me too. I sold my '90 Acura with 150k KMs (90k miles) for good money, and I thought I had stolen it when I bought it. Today I saw it's twin, but with 200k KMs (124k miles) sell for 1/3 of what I paid for my old one. I would happily pay $500 to even out just that 30k miles difference, and it still would have been a great deal.

I agree with the others KBB is a decent place to start when determining how much to sell your vehicle for. However you can't judge a vehicle just by it's asking price. Either high or low.

Evaluation of the vehicle is everything. If the vehicle is in your price range check it out thoroughly. Ask questions. Be cautious of the owner that can't answer or isn't willing to answer your questions.

$500 is a few hundred more than scrap price so I would definitely check it out. Tetanus (my project vehicle) was a diamond in the rough. The body was junk but the frame is in great shape and mechanically in great shape. The body can be repaired cheap. I have spent less on repairing rust than I did on the tune up.

I cannot tell anything from the VIN, Gasoline Fumes shared a link to use AutoCheck for free, according to RMay, it is "Not dead just under a different service with a cypher, figure out the cypher and all good things continue." and linked Welcome to AutoCheck

Unfortunately, I do not know how to make use of that. This is the thread: http://ecomodder.com/forum/showthrea...use-24210.html

That would have told me the mileage and whether or not it has been outside of Arizona. I honestly do not know how rust would ever develop in the Phoenix area.

Yes, I have $500. If I bought the car and could get rid of my "service plan" without incurring further charges, if I drove the car for four months without it breaking down, I would break even.

Of course, in four months it will be a hundred degrees during the day.