Have I made a mistake?

[LiquidVX]

I paid $8K which I felt was a bit high after seeing the car in person

Well that makes me feel pretty stupid. I paid $11k! I could not get the guy to go down. We discussed price over the phone and I was willing to pay $11k based on his description. I guess he figured he had me over a barrel considering how far I had come to just see the car, and he knew I had the money since we were talking $11k initially.

• My front bumper support was completely rusted through, and sitting loose in the front bumper.
• The transfer lever was completely rusted through, and broke off in my hands the first time I put it in 4WD locked mode.
• The windshield wipers had a lot of surface rust. Pulled them off and refinished them.
• Rear license light bracket completely rusted through.
• There is surface rust all over the suspension and bolts everywhere on the undercarriage of the car.

- ditto.

The car is from Kittanning, PA where there is no ocean but there is a river. I think road salt is the main culprit since there is little white spots everywhere there is rust.

I may not have made a mistake but I have certainly learned some valuable lessons from the experience.

[VX KAT]

The car is from Kittanning, PA where there is no ocean but there is a river. I think road salt is the main culprit since there is little white spots everywhere there is rust.

I grew up right around there, seriously tough on cars...rust came through on all the sheetmetal, despite that "undercoating" they always charged ya for.

[wintermute]

Well that makes me feel pretty stupid. I paid $11k! I could not get the guy to go down. We discussed price over the phone and I was willing to pay $11k based on his description. I guess he figured he had me over a barrel considering how far I had come to just see the car, and he knew I had the money since we were talking $11k initially.

I may not have made a mistake but I have certainly learned some valuable lessons from the experience.

I wouldn't beat yourself up about it. You have almost half the miles I do on your odometer, which is a good thing. I don't think the wear you pointed out necessarily means the mileage is inaccurate. Anything is possible, but it could have low mileage and still have sat outside in the weather.

I've seen VXs in worse condition with higher asking prices. Many. I've also seen lower priced ones that looked cleaner from the outside. How is your VX mechanically? With 35K, it should be in great running shape. If the wear on yours is mostly cosmetic, than I would say you're still in pretty good shape. With some TLC, that VX can be good as new.

Forgot to mention, the VX I bought has a warped exhaust manifold/leak and I just opted to put a new timing belt in it due to the mileage and signs of neglect, just to be safe. $$$

I think I learned some valuable lessons in my transaction too. Hindsight is always 20/20. On the bright side, we have projects for the summer, and rare, relatively low mileage VXs worth restoring, IMO.

The low miles on your odometer should help you with resale down the road, should you decide to fix it up and sell it later.