OK, drove the 03 LeSabre out to the air base and back and had my favorite shop give it a once-over. Needs: battery, discs and pads, couple light bubbs. Guy said he thought the hood was new, there were no stickers on it re: AC or smog. A wreck, or someone dropped a bowling ball? It has good Cooper 15" tires (215.70.15), which look a little funny on a car this big. Like a 230 LB weight lifter wearing size 6 shoes.
The drivetrain purrs, it got 32.8 MPG on mostly interstate driving 50-70, according to the trip comp.
Just for chuckles I stopped by another dealer who had a clean looking Century out front. $5995 on the window, $4995 online if you look. EASY button anyone?
While Century was not on my list, this one, with 112K, steered and turned in quite sharp and clean. New parts? Gotta be.
the body and paint looked good, the interior was quite good considering the showing miles.
Not so the engine. Have you pulled half your plug wires off lately? That's what this felt like, it stumbled and staggered and finally made 60 MPH merge speed.
Probably never had plugs or wires changed. I guess even miracle ingredients go bad eventually. Or maybe something more serious.
Inside was clean, underneath looked clean and rust-free. So it's either clean under there, or the dealer oil sprayed it. Unlikely considering the engine running condition.
It started life in Seattle as a rental fleet car, after 30K and one year it was sold and had two additional owners. Also had a cracked windshield. ABS and dual zone standard, and the controls aren't near as Fuddly as the LeSabre's ancient pushbuttons, which thinking about it now provide absolutely no flexibility. You get either vent, or floor. Floor, or AC. Well, you
can mix defrost with floor. Woo hoo!
Offer them 2500 as is? With a new crate engine and polished intake and exhaust ports, this car should feel new.
I continue looking.
