QuestionHello,
I am considering purchasing a used Pearl White 2003 Mitsubishi Outlander XLS AWD from a Mitsubishi dealer in Vernon, Connecticut. It has a selling price of $12,900, which is the lowest price anywhere in the area that I've seen. The current mileage is 41,000. I took the car for a test drive and it seemed to operate very well. The exterior has two or three very small knicks in the paint where there are signs of a little bit of rust (This seems like normal wear, I suppose..?). The plastic front bumper also has some areas where the paint has worn off for whatever reason (No dents or knicks, though). Otherwise it is in excellent condition. The interior is in good condition with the exception of some of the plastic in the cargo area which has some pretty noticeable scratches (from cargo, I suppose).
Anyway, I like the car a lot but am a bit concerned about its history as relayed to me by Carfax. Nothing is glaring about the history (no accidents, floods, etc), but it still seems a bit odd to me.
This is what I can piece together from the Carfax timeline (My interperatation):
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12/20/2002- The car was registered as a rental vehicle for a major car rental company in Boca Raton, Florida for about 6-7 months.
07/16/2003- The car was sold at an Auto Auction in Florida to a dealer in Massachusetts with 3,366 miles on it.
07/20/2003- The car was sold at the dealer (Very quickly!) with 3,381 miles on it (It must have come up on a truck- this is the last time the mileage is reported). The owner has it for about 1 year.
08/05/2003- The car is serviced at a service facility.
06/29/2004- The car is offered for sale in Dudley, MA
11/30/2004- The car is offered for sale at the Mitsubishi dealer in Vernon, CT, which is a part of the same group of dealers as the dealership in Dudley, MA that it was at before.
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The car now has 41,000 miles on it. The weird thing is that that one owner in MA put at least 36,000 miles on the car in only one year!
Also, the car has now been on sale for almost a year without being bought and I cannot figure out why (Although I would like to note that I rarely if ever see Outlanders on the road in this area). It also seems a bit strange that it was moved from the MA dealer to the CT dealer (Although it is still part of the same dealer group). Any ideas?
I also did a wider internet search for Outlanders up for sale, and found two others in the surrounding region with strangely similar histories (originating in Florida as a rental or corporate vehicle and then being bought by a dealer in Massachussetts (I assume the same one, maybe at the same time). They all seem to have accumulated a good deal of mileage in a short period of time after they were bought from the dealer in Mass. Now they are all up for sale with similar mileages. Could this just be a coincidence in that a lot of people like to trade in their vehicles right around the time that the warranty ends? If it isn't a coincidence, then what is it?
So what do you think? Does this car's history seem a bit too questionable to you, or is it still a good deal? I do like the car and it performed very well on the two test drives a took it on with the exception that it would pull a bit to the right at times. If I do decide to buy it I will have it checked by my mechanic first. Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
-Michael
AnswerHi Michael and thanks for the question. No, the info does not seem out of line for the vehicle. A little of history. Manufacturers sell many of their vehicles to rental companies when they introduce new models or when they are having a problem selling them. Obviously Florida is one of the largest rental fleets in the world, yet the market for large SUV models especially those with four wheel drive or AWD is not too desireable. As to the miles I do not have an answer to that question. If possible you might find out the name and phone number of the owner who put the miles on the vehicle and contact them personally. I would not let the fact that the car was owned by a rental company bother me too much, but I would take the car to a quealified mechanic and pay him to check it over carefully. Best of luck. Bud
