Tips on Buying Cars: 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe, mile powertrain warranty, hyundai santa fe

Question
Hello Bud - I'm looking at purchasing a 2001 Hyundai Santa Fe, AUTO 4Door, V6 2.7L 2WD GLS model, loaded, 46K miles, from an individual. I've seen a photo of the vehicle and it looks CLEAN! He wants $11,200 for it, which is a tad above my $10K threshold.  Other than test driving it and finding out if he owns it outright, what else should I be asking? Am I correct to assume he may be "highballing" the price?  Also have you heard anything (good/bad) about this make/model of vehicle?  Any recalls, etc??  I appreciate any info you can provide.  Thanks!

Answer
Hi Rudy and thanks for the question.  The price is slightly high, but not terrible and he will probably negotiate.  I would definitely take the car to a mechanic you trust and PAY them to carefully inspect the car.  I would also check that the mileage carefully as that vehicle had a 100,000 mile powertrain warranty.  I do not know if it can be transferred.  I would also go to edmunds.com and see if the vehcile had been damaged.  These seem to be great vehicles for the price.  They have small problems ie: window regulators, trim etc but mechanically they seem to do very well.  Best of luck to you.  Bud