Karl just called me. He said it looks great. The paint is excellent. Runs good, interior is good. He gives it an 8 out of 10. So right now this one is looking very good for $8800! 2 more cars to look at at this point...pics coming soon.

Only couple things "wrong:"

ding on fender - apparently not too big (not a biggie)
one tiny paint bubble under gas door - unfortunate
normal hood herpes on the underside of the hood

I wish it didn't have the paint bubble. Right now that'* my biggest concern. :(

I have some deciding to do:

I've always wanted an Aurora. If the Aurora is really nice AND has the Audobahn package, I'd love it. It'* cheap enough so I could pay it off in two years, keep it, then look for an 03 SSEi. I could probably find one with lower miles than this one in NH.

The 2001 in Binghamton is another option. It is older though, but has 70,000 miles as opposed to 108,000 like the gray 2003. The 2001 is also $3000 more though. Geoff is checking out the 2001 and the Aurora for me.

The 2003 Karl looked at is in my favorite exterior/interior color choice though. And since it'* running well, I'm not TOO concerned with the fact it has 108,000 already. In a year Id have it up to almost 140,000. 3 years I'd have it up to almost 200,000 miles! It would be nice to have a lower mileage car at the rate I drive though instead.

The paint bubble really concerns me. It can't be too hard of a repair, but then I have to worry about having it done right/having the paint match, etc. I could always get another Bonne without any bubbles, but have it sprout up sometime down the road. Unless there'* something I can do to prevent it from happening. At $8800 though it'* a good car. :?

Decisions, decisions....

Here the "car and driver" review.....

http://www.bonnevilleclub.com/forum/...=907853#907853

ok. Checked them out today since it was too late friday to go. They weren't open, but I got to look at them and I have pictures, which will be linked to here.

2001 - Overall it was in really good shape. No dents, no paint chips, one small scuff (almost missed it) on the very bottom of the front bumper. Interior was very clean, with a couple age wrinkles in the seats, but less than I would have expected. Heated seats, HUD and Sunroof. No floor mats in it. Only three issues that I found. If you looked in the gas door and looked at the inside left, you could see the paint flaking in there a little. If you looked at the back bottom corner of the rear doors (with it closed) you could see a little paint missing on the rocker. This was not visible when looking at the car. I noticed it when I bent down to look under it. The underside looked on par or better than the 2003. and the last one was on the roof there is some insulation in the channels and it was out a little bit on the passenger side. The tires were all very good. I'd say 3/4 life left at worst. Overall, I'd give it a 8-9

Now, for the aurora. They had a 97, a 99 and a 01. The 97 and 99 were the same price, with the 97 having 67k and the 99 having 80k. the 99 had all options but sunroof (there were only 5 options to choose from). The interior was decent and the exterior wasn't bad. Didn't spend too much time on it cause he wants a sunroof. Looked at the 97. It had been repainted and they did a bad job and the front bumper just didn't look right to me, so I stopped looking at it.

The 01 was nice. was only the 3.5. decent options. Didn't spend a lot of time on it, but did take pictures before the camera ran out of memory.

Look at the pictures and decide. I would lean towards the 03 myself I think, but the 01 wasn't bad. They might be able to play with the price some

Pictures:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/49603684@N00/tags/tfc/

Thanks Geoff! The 2001 sounds nice! I'm leaning towards the 03 myself, due to price, interior, exterior color.

Does anyone know if a dealer requires a car to be registered to take it in as a trade-in? Especially if it'* an out-of-state car anyway. The Sebring has been off the road for a year+ and I don't want to waste money on registering it just to trade it in the next day. I could probably file for a refund, but I'd rather not go through the process. I just want to hand over the title to the dealer and bring my new Bonne home.

They will just need the car..

I'll call the dealer and explain the situation on why it'* not registered. Hopefully he'll say the same thing.

Then he'll know I'll be driving it up there unregistered.

Pete...

don't bother telling them.. they won't care.

I wasn't planning on it at first, but I was afraid of driving 200 miles to have them ask for proof pf registration. If I don't have to worry about it I'll just head up there Thursday, maybe have an 03 on Friday.

When I called CARMAX last year they said to buy my car it would have to be registered. That'* why I figured I'd have to do it here.

I just went through a similar thing with my 01. I renewed the plates on the 95 in February and bought the 01 at the end of March. In NH as long as I was transferring the plate (not getting new ones) I just had to pay the difference. You can also go there in the Bonneville, work the basis of the deal and put a small deposit on it to hold it.

If it was possible, I'd like to drive up there Thursday, and bring the 2003 back the same day. I'd rather not drive 400 miles round-trip, then another 200 back up the next day. But if that'* how it has to be done I'll do it.