Those of you who have contributed to the "baby boomer" thread know I am seriously considering purchasing an 8.

A couple threads I have read have given me pause. The 8 I have tested for the weekend is an 05/03 build according to the door jam sticker. It seems some say to beware of any 8's built before 2004. The recalls for airbags, trans shields, and flash updates have me worried.

From the sticker on the car, I think the car was put into service about a year ago. It supposedly has been a dealer car all that time (demos, salespersons drivers, etc)

Does this make sense? Being put into service almost a year after it was manufactured and then a dealer car for another year?

What do you think?

 

get a good deal, get all the flashes and tsb and everyting done and it'll be fine. Ask for the maintenace records too. dealership always forget to do them on their demo cars and basically it means the car has been dogged badly. If you do it make sure you are getting a killer deal.. and see if they''ll throw in an extended warranty for free or at a good discount/

 

This doesn't directly answer your question but you may want to check for lefover new 04s. Quite a few people here have gotten discounts that placed the cost at or below a used 04.

 

Shouldn't be a problem if you trust the service manager enough to produce a printout of all the history and work done on the vehicle. Also, depending on the mileage and whether it lacks some items that you wanted on the car, you should have a lot of leverage to get a good deal. Lastly, I would ask that they perform a free maintenance on it (oil change, tire rotation if needed) and make sure to inspect the body with a magnifying glass in order to detect any flaws it might have picked up while part of the dealer inventory for the last year or so. Mine is a 7/03 that I bought in 8/04, and I have had no issues if that makes you feel any better.

 

I have an 05/03 build...second shipment into the US I believe

No problems whatsoever...with TSBs you'll be fine

even without TSBs none of them are critical...but TSBs are free so :D

 

Forgive my ignorance, what are TSB's?

 

Technical Service Bulletins.

You will find most of them on http://www.finishlineperformance.com...ins_index.html

 

Doh!! I should have known that.

 

I also have a 5/2003 built car (first shipment to the US). It has been a fine car with no problems. Just review all the TSBs and, if you should have an issue, print out the TSB and go the the dealer to get it fixed. You do need the two recalls done (transmission damper and passenger airbag wiring) and the PCM firmware level update.

Yes, there is a convenience issue here but that should be offset by a killer price. I paid $31,600 for an MT, GT with no other options/accessories, from what I hear you should be able to get the same for $7,000-$8,000 less, maybe more.

 

I have a 5/03 build too - never flooded or had any other issues, now have 23k miles on it - so I dont neccessarily think that build date should really be a gating factor.

 

Another 5/03 build here, and have had no issues.

You mentioned the car was possibly used as a demo. My only concern is the RENESIS probably saw repeated high RPM's during the break-in period, instead of the break-in procedures being followed.

 

Another 05/03 build here. I would do it again in a heartbeat! I won't say I haven't had any problems with the car, but any problem has been corrected, under warranty, by my dealer. Just got new brakes, a battery and headlamp assemblies. There's really not much difference in product between an early built '03 and a current built unit. And your warranty covers the car for 4yr/50k miles if you experience any issues. Go for it!