New Guy......questions!

[TheEricHarris]

Yeah, I'm that guy....please bear with me

I just sold my 2006 Pontiac GTO yesterday to another enthusiast, so now the hunt is on for my next vehicle. I sold the goat because we moved from Las Vegas to Woodland Park, CO a few weeks ago and the goat just isn't a practical car up in the mountains at 8,500'. I drive to Cripple Creek, CO everday for work, which is at almost 10,000', so you can guess that snow will be a factor in my commute each day. So my next vehicle has to be AWD!

I've pretty much limited my choices to either a Magnum RT AWD or a Subaru Legacy GT wagon/sedan. I've always been a fan of the Magnum since it came out, so this just may be my calling to own one.

I found a pretty nice 2007 RT AWD Mag at a local Dodge dealer in Colorado Springs. It has 13,500 miles, it's Red with tan leather, sunroof/heated dual power seats/homelink (no nav). They are asking 21,900. Since you guys are the experts and I'm still absorbing all the information on this forum, I was hoping you could guys could answer some quick questions since I'm thinking of test driving this thing tonight.... and you know how that can go....the car sometimes follows you home!


1. What is a fair asking price on this? According to KBB, they are priced very good.
2. The lifetime powertrain warranty would not apply to me right, since I'm second owner? Their web site says it's certified, does that give me a better warranty than the standard 3/36?
3. How hard is it to add the roof rails? I'd love to mount a couple bikes or skiis on the roof.
4. Can anyone here lookup the VIN and see if it was a demo/rental car? Also maybe see if anything major was done or if it was a buyback? VIN is 2D4GZ57207H687868
5. How do the factory tires with AWD handle in the snow? Any mountain people own one of these? How does it do in 6-12" of the white stuff?
6. Anything I should check over, like common issues?

Damn, this car has me excited. Can't wait to test drive it and see how she does.



EDIT: I just realized I didn't put this in the Magnum section.....perhaps a mod could move this for me? Thanky.

[Super T]

1 - You could get it for 20,000 flat out the door I'd think, but that's definitely ballpark. The depreciation in the first 24 hours of ownership on these things hurts!
2 - I believe it can be transferred once for like a $100 fee or something
3 - The factory rails are mounted using studs that are welded to the roof supports. Redfox99 did it but it'd be a lot easier to get a quality Thule or Yakima rack
4 - can't help ya there
5 - I can't imagine the AWD would have problems... granted Chicago winters don't compare to yours, but my RWD RT and SRT have both been fantastic in the snow.
6 - There are some common TSB's but I honestly don't know which apply to the AWD cars.

[TheEricHarris]

Thanks for the quick response!

Just ran a CARFAX on her.

Private lease, 8 months of ownership. Was owned in Iowa and Texas.

25 months or 22,575 miles remaining of warranty.

This is interesting. Wondeer why it was repossessed? Hopefully just couldn't make the payments:
01/29/2008 Virginia
Motor Vehicle Dept.
Roanoke, TX

Title issued or updated
Vehicle repossessed

[TheEricHarris]

Oh, if anyone needs a Carfax report, PM me the VIN. My as well get my $30 worth!

And... will SRT8 wheels bolt right onto a Magnum RT AWD? The wheels that are on this thing are boring and are the only thing holding it down IMO. I've read that wheels for the AWD are harder to find.

[Super T]

awd is a different offset, i don't think the srt wheels will work.

[gotls1]

Greetings from a fellow GM convert! I think you'll really like the Mag - it's practical, yet you don't feel like you're giving up too much of the fun factor.

Like Super T said, I bet you could get it out the door for $20k-ish. Just make sure you really go over it well and check it out. If you've got a mechanic friend near by, it'd be good to get it on a lift and check out the underside for evidence of repairs. Sometimes dealers "forget" to mention those things.

[TheEricHarris]

Thanks again.

Now I can post a link to the actual car:

http://www.perkinsdodge.com/used-inv...seHistory=true#

She's definitely BRIGHT RED. Buy my GTO was Brazen Orange, so "bold" colors are nothing new to me. lol.

[PAMagnumguy]

Wow, that's a nice Magnum. And a real nice price too, but I agree that you could probably get it for $20K out the door.

Beautiful state, Colorado. Wifey and I rented a Mag out there last summer, Rockies are awesome!!!

[AJ_Gil]

As far as the altitude goes the HEMI works well up there. We went up to Asheville a couple of years ago and heading up the steeper inclines with the cruise on 75 the thing didn't even downshift. At the time I had a CAI, Zoomer Cat-backs and a Superchips tune in it. I think you'll be pleased in the hills.

[TheEricHarris]

Talked with the dealer. It has 25months/22,000 miles of B2B warranty left. Since it's CPOV, it has 8yr/80,000 miles of powertrain warranty. That should give me enough time to break anything I hope.

[Spittin Game]

Umm, nice name...

[TheEricHarris]

Huh? My name is Eric Harris, so I'm "Theee". Had this screenname forever.......theericharris@hotmail/aol/yahoo/etc.

I see you are from Denver, so I'm assuming you think I'm mocking the Columbine killer 'Eric Harris'. Really wish people would understand there are thousands of people with the name 'Eric Harris' out there. Oh, I own ericharris.com too, before the Columbine thing happened. Should see all the hate mail I got during that first week!

[Super T]

Huh? My name is Eric Harris, so I'm "Theee". Had this screenname forever.......theericharris@hotmail/aol/yahoo/etc.

I see you are from Denver, so I'm assuming you think I'm mocking the Columbine killer 'Eric Harris'. Really wish people would understand there are thousands of people with the name 'Eric Harris' out there. Oh, I own ericharris.com too, before the Columbine thing happened. Should see all the hate mail I got during that first week!

Oh man, that's gotta be rough! At least I know I'll never run into another person with the same name as me!

[Spittin Game]

Huh? My name is Eric Harris, so I'm "Theee". Had this screenname forever.......theericharris@hotmail/aol/yahoo/etc.

I see you are from Denver, so I'm assuming you think I'm mocking the Columbine killer 'Eric Harris'. Really wish people would understand there are thousands of people with the name 'Eric Harris' out there. Oh, I own ericharris.com too, before the Columbine thing happened. Should see all the hate mail I got during that first week!

My Bad!

[TheEricHarris]

OK, test drove the Magnum tonight.

First, the reason why it's priced at 22K is because it has some cosmetic issues. Lots of small scratches (some may buff out) and on the driver side front fender there are some nice scrapes with a dent. The dealer said they priced it low due to these blimeshes. Didn't talk numbers with them but if they come down $3k or so, I'd probably take it and have it fixed. Not totally sold on the bright red, a bit much!

I thought the car handled quite well and had enough oomph to satisfy me. Thought the ride was great and felt sporty. Definitely going to look for more RT AWDs, hopefully in better condition. I'm kinda hoping they call me back desperate for a sale before the end of the month. Who knows!

I did find this guy: http://www.autotrader.com/dealers/dd...r_id=242564707

I love the white and it even has the NAV. Too bad it's about 60 miles from me, but I might check it out this weekend. Seems like a good starting price, $19,000 with 32k miles. Not finding many RT AWDs around my area :(

The search continues!