Which would you buy: a MY 04 or a MY 05?

[journey]

[I posted this on the nasoic.com Baja forum as well...]
I am seriously looking at two different Baja's. Both Baja's are turbo-automatic models.

The first is an '04 with 78K mi -- it was a single owner with no accidents. The previous owner was relocated and his neighbor bought it to resell it a couple of months ago (seller indicated he has 5-6 cars and does not need it and the carfax confirms his story. So, essentially, its a single owner. I have asked if the turbo has ever been replaced and for the service history. The car is several hundred miles away, though.

The second is an '05 with 73K mi. It has power / heated seats and the hard cover for the rear. It is being sold by a used car lot, and the autofax shows two owners, although, it was in an accident at the end of last year. I have not talked with the dealership yet (next step)...

The '04 is about $2500 cheaper. The extras on the '05 add about $500 and from looking at NADA, the '05 avg out to be 1800-2000 more expensive.

If it were you, which would you buy? What other questions would you ask about?

[Kev M]

Carfax cannot be trusted.

I've sold/traded a couple of vehicles in the last few years where Carfax missed a TON of insurance fixed accidents.

That said, I'd still chose the one I thought wasn't hit.

Plus I've heard, I have no idea if it's legitimate, of some engine problems on some 05 turbos.

[Sabber]

If the dealership has that price advertised they may be able to lower it. My Baja was advertised as around 11K and I ended up getting it for $9,500, it was an '03 NA manual sport.

[journey]

I know that Carfax cannot be trusted as I have experienced this personally with a vehicle purchased out of FL a few years ago.

I have read about the turbo issues -- there is actually a posting regarding turbos on this board that has a link to another site where everyone who has had a blown turbo is providing details on their situation. This issue is not limited to Baja though. Seems to be an issue common to many 2.5L engines with turbos (I believe it was a Legacy forum / site that I read). From what I remember, there is a 'banjo' filter that was placed in the oil lines feeding the turbo and other engine sections. It can become clogged, resulting in no oil going to the turbo (and maybe the lifters?). The secondary affect for some people is that the turbo "breaks" up internally, and you end up with metal shavings throughout the oil system -- not cool. This has resulted in some engines dieing as well -- even more uncool.

There is actually a nearby 2004 Baja that has lower mileage (62K) than those listed above but the turbo was recently replaced. Per SOA, they were directed to change the oil every 5K-6K. Per a service bulliten, they were told that the interval had been changed to 3750 miles. In the thread I mentioned above, even people who changed their oil more frequently (i.e., every 3K) had issues with the turbo. Anyway, I am giving preference to the other Baja's due to the turbo issue.

[journey]

If the dealership has that price advertised they may be able to lower it. My Baja was advertised as around 11K and I ended up getting it for $9,500, it was an '03 NA manual sport.

I had thought about that as well. The '05 that is being sold by the dealership was recently reduced by $1K -- it will be interesting to see how much more they can go down. From discussions with the private owner, I think he has some room but will not go down much more, so the gap between the prices will be likely be less.

None-the-less, buying from the private seller is more attractive. The primary downside is that they are several hundred miles away...