1St Time Buyer - Bfii Xr6T, Auto

[acollins]

Hi all,

This is my first post and wanting some ideas/assistance on what to look for, avoid and anything that comes to mind as I'm in the market for a used car and one of my options is the XR6T.

I'm currently looking at the following vehicle:

Yard Sale.

BF MkII XR6T, 2008, Auto (6 spd), White, 40280kms, Rims-standard, not lowered, price $29990.

Now I've had a look at the car (exterior only, as it was late saturday arvo):

• Little scraping under the front bumper, not much.
  
• Tread on the tires looks good, even wear, around 5-7mm tread.
  
• Rims look good, no kerb scratching, a few marks around the wheel nuts.
  
• Paint looks good though hard to see as its white, no scratches and only slight touch up on the front bumper (stone chips?).
  
• Towbar - now this is my concern... Its shown signs of use, though the rear bumper isnt scratched. Is there a risk this cars been pulling 1 tonne trailers since year dot and the engine/turbo has had more wear'n'tear than a cheap hooker? What can I do here to prevent myself getting a prematurely worn out car here..?
  

Also, considering her year (im aware she's probably a 07 made, 08 delivered) her k's around 10k more than normal or a little less considering its the end of 09.

So guys, thoughts?

Cheers,

Al.

[gregor]

Being white it could be an ex cop car (others can be too but white is most common), age and KM are around what you'd expect from a chaser too. You wouldn't want to be paying anywhere near 30k for a chaser, they usually go at the auctions between 20-22k. Finding out if its been a chaser should be your first priority. There are signs like marking above doors, extra holes in the engine bay or boot, sometimes they have slotted rotors and of course the name in the service book.

If it's not a chaser that's not a bad package but you still would want to get a couple of grand off it. Regarding the tow bar I wouldn't worry too much - as long as the transmission feels good you should be ok. Most people that are going to regularly tow large objects would probably go for a 4WD anyway.

Dont worry about the scrapes under the bar, chances are you'll do it sooner or later too.

[acollins]

Thanks for the advice.

• I didnt see any obvious markings above the doors, but I'll have another closer look upon my test drive Wed night, also then look for the engine bay and boot for additional holes. Why the engine bay?
• The rotors werent slotted.
• Its probably a stupid question, but will the name in the service book be something like 'West Australian Police Force'..?

With the transmission I take it that I should look out for the obvious. Such as delayed, clunky gear changes - both up and down? Smooth acceleration and smooth gear changing?

It would be hard to really test out all the 6 gears under any sort of pressure without getting the used car salesman 'up in arms' :-)

I also remember there being some sort of stolen/major accident car register that you can use to check.

Al.

Edited 22/11/09 09:42 AM by Buf-Phoon
quoting post directly above

[gregor]

I'm not sure if its national but you might be thinking of REVS?

There's lots of info on here on how to spot an ex chaser. But yeah the owner name in the book would be something like WA Police.

I would try to drive more than one so you know what it compares with but I will say the zf is a very nice box, if it feels clunky or rough look around more. You'll be lucky if you can wind out 3 gears before the salesman protesting but most I talked to wanted me to give it a bit, that's the best selling point of these things.

[Brad-D]

Chaser run a few wires like siren control from cabin to engine bay and fix the siren, has to be fixed on the front near the bumper, so look for holes there but can be hard to see

the rubber near the seals will be worn a bit from movement of opening and closing the door with the light bar cables rubbing against it.

most dealers replace the interior where the radio and MDT computer is installed as well as dash where light bar lights are.

usually the give away is worn seats on the side where the glock rubs and should be WA POLICE, NSW POLICE VIC POLICE ETC on service manaul, best just to ask dealer straight up most will tell you and confirm preferably in writing that it has full factory warranty even through its a ex chaser

unmarked versions (NOT WHITE) have to have a look closer cause have led lights mounted too

Edited 22/11/09 10:16 AM by Brad-D

[acollins]

I'm not sure if its national but you might be thinking of REVS?

There's lots of info on here on how to spot an ex chaser. But yeah the owner name in the book would be something like WA Police.

I would try to drive more than one so you know what it compares with but I will say the zf is a very nice box, if it feels clunky or rough look around more. You'll be lucky if you can wind out 3 gears before the salesman protesting but most I talked to wanted me to give it a bit, that's the best selling point of these things.

Chaser run a few wires like siren control from cabin to engine bay and fix the siren, has to be fixed on the front near the bumper, so look for holes there but can be hard to see

the rubber near the seals will be worn a bit from movement of opening and closing the door with the light bar cables rubbing against it.

most dealers replace the interior where the radio and MDT computer is installed as well as dash where light bar lights are.

usually the give away is worn seats on the side where the glock rubs and should be WA POLICE, NSW POLICE VIC POLICE ETC on service manaul, best just to ask dealer straight up most will tell you and confirm preferably in writing that it has full factory warranty even through its a ex chaser

unmarked versions (NOT WHITE) have to have a look closer cause have led lights mounted too

Cheers for that.

I'm thinking that if/when I do go for it that I will ask them to perform a 60k (2 yr?) major service on it as part of my commitment to buying it. It seems a good idea to make sure that all the crap that needs replacing/checking as part of a major service is done as part of the purchase.

Looking forward to Wed.

Of course, there is another xr6t in the yard. A BA mk2 2004 manual with only 25k on the clock. However its lowered and despite the awesome k's on it I'm dubious about buying some goddamn dodgy spring set up.

Al.

[gregor]

The service interval is every 15k so next one due would be 45k so do that a bit early. I dont think there is a notable difference between 45k and 60k services.

[discostig]

My 45k service cost $500 base, I allowed them to do coolant system clean/flush for $60, declined a further $60 odd for injector/fuel rail clean, so watch out!

My 60k was done at XFT (sponsor) instead.

[pharkit]

He's asking too much. That's well above the redbook value. Even if it had the premium pack I wouldnt pay that much. So much better to wait until a better deal comes along. I almost bought a chaser at 22k simply because I got carried away when I took it for a spin.. All my logic went out the window and I wanted it right there and then. Glad I didnt in the end. When I inspected it, it had about 3-4 holes on the passenger side to the left of the console bay. They're pretty obvious. They told me that's where they mount their computers (or whatever it is they use to do check-ups on cars). Also on the right side of the driver seat the edge was completely warn back about chest height(very noticeable), they told me that's because of where the driver would holster his gun?? Couldnt understand that since I thought their guns were on their belts??

Seems unlikely that cops would have a tow-bar installed though, unless someone has already bought it off them and done it themselves.

The rego papers should state if its registered to the police but it may have already entered the private market since then so im not sure.

[sasgamo]

buy mine it's in the for sale section, you can have it for 21K

check the ad out bf typhoon motor 6 speed auto.