I'm looking at a 1st gen xB again...

...probably Saturday. Last night SWMBO was looking at a local car dealer online and showed me a MINI she thought I might like. Meh, 2006 I think, $5k or so, nothing special. She scrolled along and I saw a white xB. Hey, bring that back...

2004 xB, 155k miles, looks fairly clean. Aftermarket wheels, might be lowered slightly, and it's a 5 SPEED! The photos look like someone cared about it, engine bay looks clean, interior. The window says $3695 but the ad says $3195. I looked up Edmunds value with mileage and the same options and they said dealer sales at $2600. I'd pay $2500 for this if it drives well.

I miss my 2006 every time I need to move something, including my 56# dog. Plus it's plain white, perfect canvas for a Star Wars decor.

I've all but decided if he will take $2500 cash I'll have another Toaster.

2500 from a dealer seems a bit ambitious of a plan. KBB values it a good bit higher than edmunds, but that's rather typical.

If you zoom on on that interior picture, there is a lot of black duct tape on the b pillar. Looks like the tape might be holding on the plastic trim.

Things like that might help drive the price down.
Also be sure to tell the seller that you wish it was an automatic since that's what most buyers want.

JohnRW1621 wrote: Also be sure to tell the seller that you wish it was an automatic since that's what most buyers want.

Had not thought of this, thanks.

JohnRW1621 wrote: If you zoom on on that interior picture, there is a lot of black duct tape on the b pillar. Looks like the tape might be holding on the plastic trim.

I think that's beat up black vinyl on the B Pillar so you cant see white body between the front and rear door gap, but worth double checking in person.

Almost a year ago I picked up a clean '06 5-speed in white with 135k miles to use as a commuter and dog hauler. Aside from my friends making constant vaping jokes, I love it.

Last Fall I sold my 92k mile, 5-speed, 2005 in a private sale for $4k. These are getting cheap.

I looked at all the photos again, the tape is in the close-up photos on both sides, but doesn't seem to be in the full-body shots on either side (unless I just can't see it). Interesting. I think I'm ging to withdraw $2500 from savings and take it with me. If they take it, Toaster time. If not, moving along.

I have such a love/hate relationship with mine (also a white, 06, manual) but it has nearly 190k hard miles that I can't imagine Toyota engineers ever thought an xb would see. And it's survived sand the alternator, compressor clutch, blower motor, charcoal canister, fender liners and belly pan.

Jerry wrote: I looked at all the photos again, the tape is in the close-up photos on both sides, but doesn't seem to be in the full-body shots on either side (unless I just can't see it). Interesting.

Correct. It's on the B-pillar under the door frame. You can only see it with the door open. It's a piece of black vinyl that they put there on the lighter colored cars so that you don't see a body color stripe between the door gap. It's factory. That one is just scratched up.

These HAVE to be fun to drive right? The manuals I mean. I heard they handle pretty well for a top-heavy car.

Maybe slow-car-fast type of fun?

I know you have had one in the past and like them but I really do not like how these things drive. I'm pretty sure the one I drove had more turns lock to lock than a Ford F550. Gutless acceleration and terrible ride and handling. However if they are your thing $2500 seems like a decent deal for that one.

In reply to ebonyandivory:

I'm sure it's the literal definition of a penalty box with the automatic transmission, but they're surprisingly fun with a manual in a slow-car-fast way when you start tossing them around. I was pleasantly surprised that it didn't feel dangerously slow the first time I drove one. They're quite light.

That's not to say that they're actually fast in any measurable way. Mine feels glacially slow compared to my STI.

For comparison I found this locally.

under 2k xb

There were a dozen listed under 3k.
I always wanted to take one of these and make a sleeper out of it. Add boost and then go from there.

My old '06 is still my favorite car ever, with the Abarth getting there if the lack of problems holds as well as the Scion. I could autocross (sort of anyway), took it to the Dragon twice, and still carry a clothes dryer in the back when needed. The auto was the only thing I did not like about it.

I mainly sold it because SWMBO-at-the-time had an Element so car space wasn't an issue. Had I known that was going to go south I would have just kept the xB. 176k+ miles and only a water pump (other than consumables), and even that gave me a warning for almost two weeks like "hey pay attention to me".

It was even worthy enough for GRM:

Don't like the way these look but I do love them. My friend had one through college and we used it so much to travel for concerts. Good enough for 4+ people and some equipment in the back and fairly quiet on highway with a good stereo.

Got it. Pretending to be a non-car guy and preferring an auto made the difference.

$2500 get it?

In reply to untchabl:

$2500 plus taxes did. He wanted $3195 plus taxes...