I looked at an '01 convertible with 61,000 miles for sale at a local Ford dealer. The carfax said the mileage was correct with 3 owners and in very good condition. I almost bought it but some minor issues bothered me so it was sold to another party. They wanted $8,999 for it but accepted my $7,000 offer. The problems were;
Fog lights would not come on;
Air bag light was on (there was a hole in the drivers seat back on side)
Check engine light on
Release for gas lid would not work, pull emergency cord in trunk
Panel holding interior lights above rear view mirror was in trunk
Steering column would not go in and out, could pull it 3 inches out
Auto setting on AC/heater seemed to not work properly with fan
Side mirror switch did not work
Car drove ok (not as fast as my '99, thought it should be faster) and had navigation (prefer gages)

What do you guys think? Did I miss a deal or just a bunch of electrical gremlins? I was worried someone who did not know what they were doing had "worked" on an electrical issue. Thanks!

 

you dodged a bullet!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !

 

With these cars I would not buy unless everything worked rather you knew what the mechanical history was or not.
An unkept car as described above is a mess looking for a wallet to drain.

 

Just bought a 2000 Coupe in Blue with 73K miles. The cars in really good shape and everything works fine and has already had alot replaced on it recently. Only thing wrong with the car is it has a parasitic drain I'm having an Auto Electrician look at it next week. I payed $4,000 for it but originally he wanted $8,500 for the car. I just kept revisiting his craigslist ad from time to time just randomly looking for an XK8 coupe and over a few weeks he kept lowing the price..8,500...7,000...6,500...4,000

 

See if the little flap over the key hole on the trunk moves freely. If that sticks open, it may be cause of the parasitic drain.

 

Larube, you were smart to walk away, keep looking, don't buy a known bag of worms..

 

Is it a question of mechanical history...or medical history?
The previous owner traded it in for a reason. I'm thinking insanity brought on by acute frustration due to lack of wallet stability.

 

Maybe they just traded it in on a new car??? I found a 1995 Trans am Convert LT1 6SP with only 36k on it. The car is like new, then some. I snatched it up and it sits in my garage for warm days, no rain, nor salt anywhere in sight. I suspect it was prob traded in on a new Camaro or the like