Yea the Vehicle History Report came back clean. Still may have been in an accident that wasn't reported but that eases my mind a little. No title issues. Clean title. Is the tranny pretty much a dice roll? But even if the tranny made it to only 130k (like the other guy said) thats a good 3-4 years I got out of it. If only there was a way to guarantee that lol.

 

I'd be curious how many people give older cars (excluding restored classics, etc) not only new paint jobs, but new colors - especially something as drastic from white to fire engine red. A paint job that costs at least three grand on a car not worth ten (or maybe twelve, if the paint job was done a few years ago) is unusual. I suspect most people in that situation would be painting it while fixing other damage, then possibly selling it off soon thereafter. Maybe a body shop owner can give you a better idea but that's my thought.

And as for your transmission lasting 150k, congrats - I wish mine lasted. You must admit though, you treat your cars the way they ought to be treated (much better, really) and are a trained mechanic. Most modern XK8 owners were/are not wrench turners and the vast majority probably sold them not long after the warranty let out. Weren't they also the ones who believed the dealership when they told them the transmission was "sealed for life"?

 

Painting new cars - yes, it happens, but it's not usually the norm. Nowadays you can get a better deal wrapping it and still preserve the original paint job for when the car gets sold. Even a good wrap is going to cost $5k.

And as for validation, it's nothing personal - just a trend I've noticed with people asking for advice on forums, generally. Opinions and beliefs are like small children to many people and they react accordingly when they are challenged - you don't sound like one of them; apologies in advance.

 

If you're resourceful you can get a great wrap job for under 2k. Especially here on the west coast.

As for the validation thing don't worry about it ha ha!

But guys I decided to go ahead and get it. After getting a ridiculous 3k offer from Carmax last night on my BMW I figure I can't come out too bad on this trade lol. Gonna go pick it up now.

May the luck of the dice be with me!

 

Good luck and enjoy