My friend is moving out of the country and selling her rogue. I am turning in a lease at the same time and need another car.
It's a 2018 Nissan Rogue SL (platinum? or premium?) with moonroof and leather seats and all the fancy stuff. No apple carplay though which sucks. 125,000 kms, no accidents.
It's been well maintained, has recently had breaks, callipers, transmission flush and a couple of bearings replaced. It passed a safety inspection a couple months ago but I will redo it. Comes with a set of winters and a new-ish set of all weathers and I also have a set of winters that will fit.
The big issue that I thought was minor but apparently isn't, is a large rust spot above the windshield. This is apparently common in these cars. I asked for an estimate at an autobody garage and he said he would absolutely not buy the car because of this. He estimated $1k CAD to replace it and said basically it's a huge hazard that affects the structure of the windshield and even if it's fixed it will keep coming back. Is this true? Is there no way to prevent it from coming back? Surely there must be ...?
Because of this and the age of the car and her motivation to sell quickly she is asking CAD $11,000. This appears to be a couple thousand lower than what the market is looking like. The car also needs an alignment. I am trying to get an appointment with a garage for a safety inspection and to advise me on the car's value. I want them to also make sure the transmission is working well and there are no other red flags.
Is it worth buying the car and getting the spot fixed and driving it for a couple of years and reselling it (will I have trouble reselling it?)? I just don't want to be tied into a long term car loan or lease and I desperately don't want to deal with the used car market. This just seems like a win-win for both of us and the timing seems meant to be.