Hey guys,

Apologize in advance for the long winded post....

I've been hitting this site hard for the past 2 weeks researching C32's for my girlfriend's next car. I now feel up to speed on the typical problems these cars have and what to be aware of.

That being said I found a 2004 C32 with 105,000 miles for under $7,000 and had a buyer's inspection done on it at the local dealership with nothing major being noted. Definitely has some minor issues but given that I have decent skills with a wrench nothing that scares me.

As a precaution I had all the service records pulled for the car and to my shock I found that it had a faulty radiator at 42,500 miles. The fluid tested positive for glycol......... The radiator was replaced and a flush was performed including the T/C. The trans & T/C were not replaced.

In all the records I've found and in talking to the current owner of the car there have been no tranny issues since. The owner of the car at the time of the radiator replacement sold the car within 5,000 miles and the next owner is the guy I'm potentially buying it from. The guy I'm working with is a private seller and seems to be very honest and **** about the car. He has supplied me with info on the couple independent shops he's been taking the car to throughout the years and I pulled all records from them with nothing out of the ordinary. Again, no tranny issues to report.

Question is this: Would the positive glycol test with no replacement of the trans or T/C 60,000 miles ago scare you away from what seems like a pretty good deal on one of these cars?

Thanks in advance guys! Obviously this subject has been covered countless times but curious about this one under the circumstances.....

PS: Surprised to see one of these failures on an '04. Obviously anything is possible but I was under the impression this was pretty well isolated to 2002 MY & early 2003.

 

No.

 

Also below is a complete list of all the service history I was able to piece together from the last 2 owners.

I assume I'm not seeing all the oil changes in the documents I rounded up but this paints a pretty good picture of the car for better or worse....

 

Supposed to meet with owner of car tonight for final test drive and negotiate on the car....

Back to original question, would a positive Glycol test 60,000 miles ago scare you away from buying this vehicle? Again, Trans & T/C were not replaced only flushed and new radiator installed at the time. No further complaints with regard to the transmission since.

 

I answered your question. No.

 

Yes I saw that and I do appreciate it Pointman. I'm curious as to others opinions as well which is why I posted.

 

I think if there hasnt been an issue with the tranny for 60k miles I doubt one will just crop up out of nowhere. I say go for it if you like the car and feel you are getting a good deal.

 

I say go for it. A LOT of time has passed.

 

Cool thanks for your thoughts Enigma.

If anyone else wants to chime in I'd appreciate it. For better or worse, the more feedback the better.

 

OK, don't get it. Its a tranny explosion waiting to happen!

 

Appreciate your sarcasm Pointman

 

I was being serious. Giving you food for thought. Gotta consider the opposite end of reality. The car has a lot of miles and had glycol contamination. Perhaps it is due to go 'tick tick boom'. I'd stay away.

 

Gotcha. In your first post you said "No" so figured that mean No, you wouldn't let the positive glycol test scare you away....

 

BriBri, if I may call you so... I am messing with you. Get the car, and drive it, and enjoy it. OCD is a terrible affliction. We can overcome it together. The car is fine, the issue is behind it. Buy it, enjoy it, thank me. Buy me a beer. In that order. You're welcome.

 

Hey, at least he checked it wasn't a C180!
Go for it Brian! & welcome!

 

Thanks Ghia