I looked a 2001 Kaiser with 113k yesterday. Had a number of issues, but generally seemed to drive fine. It's at a dealer so no service records, just a trade in.

  • Transmission or motor leak, oil was on transmission near pan. It looked like motor oil, not transmission fluid.
  • ABS light on (from carfax 07/20/2016 109,630 Service Facility Brake booster replaced/repaired)
  • Both seat levers to flip backs for rear access busted
  • Crappy falken tires with a conservative 40% tread left
  • The window track issue on both, driver's needed a lot of help getting up. Passenger is almost as bad
  • Body damage on rear bumper, looks like backed into something
  • Rear camera but no display for it
  • I saw some rusted screws under the hood at the front near radiator. It came from OH, last 2 years here in WA. I didn't check for rust in the other usual places.
  • Only one key, no fobs
  • Body is in decent shape, some scuffs and scrapes but nothing major except for the rear bumper
  • Minor shake on highway around 60mph+
  • Seahawks logos everywhere :P
  • Silver is my least favorite color


Obviously the leak and ABS are the largest concern, with the leak being the first concern. I wiped some off with my finger and it looked more like brown oil than purplish transmission fluid. Could be a seal on the rare of motor leaking down onto the transmission. I didn't smell any burning on the test drive or after. Transmission seemed to shift smoothly, no big jerks or clunks. No exhaust leaks. no CEL.

Dealer is asking $6k. I was honestly thinking about offering $3k because the sales guy kept saying make us an offer as I was listing off all my worries. I left without making an offer. But even at $3k I'm worried about that leak. I could take it to a mechanic but then I'd have to pay $100 or more for them to track it down. And then the hassle of bringing it back if it turns out bad.

What do you guys think?