XLR Pricing

[DanF]

​I just joined this forum to learn about XLRs. I been waiting for the right time to buy one. My question is, how do you determine a fair price when buying from a dealer or a private individual. Do you use web sites like KBB, Edmunds or Nada? or are those just a guideline for pricing? I'm finding that some XLRs are overpriced and then also there are some great deals. If you had a XLR to sell how would determine the price? I have found a 05 XLR with 8000 miles at a dealer for $33500, I don't want to overpay, just pay a fair price.

 

[mtrocket]

​I just joined this forum to learn about XLRs. I been waiting for the right time to buy one. My question is, how do you determine a fair price when buying from a dealer or a private individual. Do you use web sites like KBB, Edmunds or Nada? or are those just a guideline for pricing? I'm finding that some XLRs are overpriced and then also there are some great deals. If you had a XLR to sell how would determine the price? I have found a 05 XLR with 8000 miles at a dealer for $33500, I don't want to overpay, just pay a fair price.

Yes, KBB, Edmunds, and Nada are just guidelines to begin pricing. When looking at an XLR older than '06, I would make sure the driving lenses are not melted first. If they are, that would be a major bargaining point because to replace the headlamp are $1250 EACH. An '05 with only 8000 miles is an unbelievable find. There was an '05 here in Montana with 20,000 miles that the dealer was asking $28,800. $33,500 does seem high for the XLR you found but if it is in EXCELLANT condition, I guess it's not too bad. It depends on how much you like the car, the color, etc.

 

[DanF]

The color is Crimson Pearl, the only thing I found wrong was a 1/2 cut in the rear bumper and small scratches in the same area and the Nav disk was missing. I test drove it and put the top up and down several times, everything worked fine. Supposedly a women owned it and never drove it. It was just traded at a VW dealer. I thought that was strange but people do the strangest things. I had to take a deep breath and walk away to research the price a little.

 

[mtrocket]

Guess I misspoke about the year of the one here in Montana; my Dad just stopped by and said the XLR here that was for sale was an '04. Anyway, the driving lens melting issue is kind of hard to see unless you know what you are looking for. The upper amber lens is not clear, looks brownish and somewhat wrinkled. The rear bumper is a huge bargaining point; if the rear bumper has to be replaced it's $2000+ by the time the new bumper is painted and installed. You may be able to have the rear bumper repaired, but again, the cost would probably be in the $1500 range. Like I said, asking $33,500 would be a good price for the XLR you are looking at if it was in excellent condition, but since it is not, I would say around 28-30,000 would be fair. Again, it would depend on the driving lenses.

 

[DanF]

Thanks for the info about the driving lens I have to go back and take a look at them. The 28K range is what I researched but there are hung up on the low miles and trying to get top dollar.

 

[Victor-V]

Thanks for the info about the driving lens I have to go back and take a look at them. The 28K range is what I researched but there are hung up on the low miles and trying to get top dollar.

In the trunk on the driver's side there is a wheel well that holds all the electronics for the top, magnetic ride and so on........have the dealer pull the carpet back and look inside and check for water damage to any of the electronics. The electronics will look corroded if there is a problem. There is a tube in the bottom that is suppose to let any water out if any should gets in there but sometimes they get plugged up with dust, dirt and even leaves (so I've heard). This would be my first stop and then have the dealer run the service history from the VIN.

Good Luck.

Mike

 

[DanF]

In the trunk on the driver's side there is a wheel well that holds all the electronics for the top, magnetic ride and so on........have the dealer pull the carpet back and look inside and check for water damage to any of the electronics. The electronics will look corroded if there is a problem. There is a tube in the bottom that is suppose to let any water out if any should gets in there but sometimes they get plugged up with dust, dirt and even leaves (so I've heard). This would be my first stop and then have the dealer run the service history from the VIN.

Good Luck.

Mike

This is the main reason for joining this forum, you guys are great in educating us newbies on what to look for. I appreciate your help, I will look in the trunk and see if I can find it.

 

[XLRATING]

Also, if you check the service records and see a lot of work (even major work) early in the car's life, but all is well after that, don't worry about it. For example, after buying my car I found out the rear differential fluid had been replaced 3 times in the first year it was out. Had I known that before I bought it, I probably wouldn't have gotten it - which would have been a huge mistake because it's had no problems and has otherwise been great. Point is whatever was going on got fixed & was no longer an issue after that first year.

If you see a recurring problem that continues to present, be concerned. As well if you see things replaced that look like it was due to abuse. But lots of times I think these cars are a better deal for the second owner because the first owner has already had all the widget problems fixed for you!

Good luck in your dealing!

 

[Crimson Pearl]

8,000 miles on a 2005 XLR is extremely low and that's why they are asking 33.5K.

Find out what it would cost to fix the problems on the rear bumper cover and deduct it from the 33.5K, then offer that. You can find the updated 09 nav. disks on eBay for a reasonable amount.

Find out if the Onstar module has been updated from analog to digital.

How is the interior?

 

[BusaMan]

Talk to me about that OnStar module upgrade. My '06 has the "olde" OnStar, and turn-by-turn is a kludge. I understand that the '07 model has the "good" turn-by-turn; i.e., that it works in an integrated fashion w/ the nav' system. Does a module replacement solve this? If so, what's the cost of the upgrade?

Tim

8,000 miles on a 2005 XLR is extremely low and that's why they are asking 33.5K.

Find out what it would cost to fix the problems on the rear bumper cover and deduct it from the 33.5K, then offer that. You can find the updated 09 nav. disks on eBay for a reasonable amount.

Find out if the Onstar module has been updated from analog to digital.

How is the interior?

 

[Crimson Pearl]

Onstar was originally Analog. At some point, new Onstar units were digital. For some period of time, Onstar offered service for both. The FCC mandated that all Analog service would be terminated in February of 2008. Some vehicles with analog Onstar could be updated to digital and some couldn't. I had a 2002 Tahoe that could not be upgraded. Shortly after that, I ordered a new 2008 Tahoe.

However, my 2005 XLR was able to be upgraded and I had it upgraded to digital. I am a strong believer in having Onstar in both my Tahoe and XLR. I have both Onstar Safe and Sound Service as well as calling minutes.

If you currently have Onstar service, it is digital. I do not know if your current digital service can be upgraded to the "latest and greatest".

My advice to the OP concerning whether the 2005 XLR has been upgraded was due in part to my concern that this upgrade may or may not still be available. He should find out and if it has not been upgraded to Digital, that should be done as part of any agreement to purchase the car.

I have used "turn by turn" in my 2008 Tahoe and thought it worked well. I have not tried it in my XLR, as I have found that the integrated Navigation system (with the latest Nav. Disc that is available) seems to work well for me. I did have to spend some time working with it to truly understand how to best use it.

 

[SrChief]

I have a 2007 and OnStar will only download Turn by Turn directions. They say they can not download to the Nav system and I have the 09 disks. When I was trying to use OnStar and download to the Nav I ended up with the Nav system trying to take me Home and turn by turn to another destination. I had a woman's voice giving me directions to home and a man's voice giving me the directions across town. I went to a dealer and told them what it was doing and the only response I got from them was to ignore the woman's voice! Of course this is the same dealer that has crushed my rocker panels twice when raising the car. They have the second set of panels on order now! Used OnStar on the trip to Bowling Green and Turn by turn leaves a lot to be desired. I am going on a 300 mile trip tomorrow and am going to try and use the Nav system. On the BG trip I drove 1740 miles round trip.

 

[BusaMan]

Last year, I drove to/from northern MN from CO. It was about 2,200 miles, all in all. I was in the "trial" period for OnStar, so I had the turn-by-turn service. It was unusable. Essentially, it stored (in the mirror, I was told) a sequence of dictated and recorded turn directions that you played MANUALLY. There was no integration w/ the nav' system; i.e., it did not give you the "dings" when you were approaching the turns, nor did it display the forthcoming events. It was akin to one writing the directions down; e.g., "Go 2.3 miles to Hwy 50 and turn right.", "Drive 8.3 miles to I-25 and turn north.", etc.

My solution??? Plug in my Garmin and don't even try the turn-by-turn service. I had been led to believe (in an earlier post on this site) that the '07 model had the integrated turn-by-turn, but it doesn't sound like it. I'd look into upgrading the system, if I thought it would work as well as my wife's '11 SRX, which is really sweet.

Tim

 

[ECurtis]

Last year, I drove to/from northern MN from CO. It was about 2,200 miles, all in all. I was in the "trial" period for OnStar, so I had the turn-by-turn service. It was unusable. Essentially, it stored (in the mirror, I was told) a sequence of dictated and recorded turn directions that you played MANUALLY. There was no integration w/ the nav' system; i.e., it did not give you the "dings" when you were approaching the turns, nor did it display the forthcoming events. It was akin to one writing the directions down; e.g., "Go 2.3 miles to Hwy 50 and turn right.", "Drive 8.3 miles to I-25 and turn north.", etc.

My solution??? Plug in my Garmin and don't even try the turn-by-turn service. I had been led to believe (in an earlier post on this site) that the '07 model had the integrated turn-by-turn, but it doesn't sound like it. I'd look into upgrading the system, if I thought it would work as well as my wife's '11 SRX, which is really sweet.

Tim

I agree with Tim. Since the navigation disks are really out of date (even if you have a 2009 disk) and the turn by turn is clumsy I just use my phone or my Tom Tom GPS.

I have even compared both directions to my childhod home in Chicago and found that the navigation disk would have taken me to the wrong location. Tom Tom would get me there.

What's important to note is that this address was established way back in the 40"s. So your phone or portable GPS is the better option in my opinion.

Interesting, that because of technology changes and the car being out of production, we have this navigation system that can't be used reliabily. It is almost like having an 8-track (if you remember those).

So I say don't worry about not having a disk.

I also think that $30K would be a good price given that you do have to repair the bumper. They might have to remove and repaint the entire bumper to make sure that they get a good match.

Also along with all the things the others said, I would ask to see if there were any outstanding recalls on the vehicle. If there are I would have them done before completing the purchase. You can get a copy of the service bulletins

for your year from this site.

Good Luck and hope sooon to wish you congratulations on your new XLR when you find the right one.

---

The future of the XLR is HERE! It's just not built yet!

 

[DanF]

In the trunk on the driver's side there is a wheel well that holds all the electronics for the top, magnetic ride and so on........have the dealer pull the carpet back and look inside and check for water damage to any of the electronics. The electronics will look corroded if there is a problem. There is a tube in the bottom that is suppose to let any water out if any should gets in there but sometimes they get plugged up with dust, dirt and even leaves (so I've heard). This would be my first stop and then have the dealer run the service history from the VIN.

Good Luck.

Mike

I look at a different 05 XLR yesterday and tried to locate the electronic area when the salesmen was gone, no luck, how far do you have to peel back the carpet to see this? Is it under the side carpet or floor carpet? I tried peeling back the side carpet but didn't want to get carried away doing this. If someone could post a picture of the location that would be helpful.

 

[DanF]

Since this XLR was traded at a VW dealer they have no history of service,etc. I did send Cadillac Tech the vin number in this tread I found:
https://www.xlr-net.com/forums/cadillac-xlr-general-discussion/2900-warranty-history-vehicle-builds.html
He send me a lot of useful info about the car.

 

[mtrocket]

Since this XLR was traded at a VW dealer they have no history of service,etc. I did send Cadillac Tech the vin number in this tread I found:
https://www.xlr-net.com/forums/cadillac-xlr-general-discussion/2900-warranty-history-vehicle-builds.html
He send me a lot of useful info about the car.

Yea... Bruce is one-in-a-million!!!

 

[mtrocket]

If someone could post a picture of the location that would be helpful.

Not able to get a picture, but if you pull the carpet up on the left rear of the trunk, there is a black cover that is easily taken out. The top electronics are under this cover. Very easy to find and remove and put back into place.

 

[Victor-V]

Not able to get a picture, but if you pull the carpet up on the left rear of the trunk, there is a black cover that is easily taken out. The top electronics are under this cover. Very easy to find and remove and put back into place.

What Rod said. Here are some pictures.

 

[DanF]

What Rod said. Here are some pictures.

Thank-You, I was looking in the wrong location.