I am considering Purchasing a 2000 E825, it has less than 1000 miles and has been garage kept its entire life. Owner says batteries are 1 year old and everything works . Can anyone tell me what they think the value should be ? I am looking at it on Friday. From what i have seen in a bunch of pictures the story seems to be true. It was an estate vehicle at a Private residence and was given to a staff member as a gift (he says he bought it, but I am thinking gift or bought very low) to use, but it looks like they want to turn it into cash instead of keeping it.
He says maintenance was always done… So what do I look for ?
Check if batteries are new(er) and what kind/size they are. They should be GEL, AGM or Flooded lead acid and Deep Cycle batteries 130AH or size 31 or larger. Marine Grade or even worse auto batteries are a no-go at least as far as I’m concerned. I’d check the fluid levels in all 6 batteries to make sure they were properly maintained. Any plates showing above the fluid level and you’re looking at trouble. Batteries are BY FAR your biggest cost if they’re not up-to-snuff ($1200 to $1500 for a full set) and will have the biggest impact on the selling price. DO NOT TAKE the owners assurance for this. Ask to see the receipt for batteries OR read the date code that’s stamped on every battery by the OEM. NOTE: I bought a 2001 E825 w/ 2 1/2 year old marine grade batteries (“Seller: They have years of trouble free use left”) and ended up having to replace them with Trojan Deep Cycle batteries ($1200) within 6 months. OUCH!
Any upgrades done such as motor replaced; controller reprogrammed; new tires/rims?
Any evidence of damage (cracked fiberglass; bent frame; steering issues). Does everything work? Lights, turn signals, backup “beep”. Does turf mode (limited speed and less torque) versus street mode (faster; more torque) work as expected. What is top speed (should be about 25mph on level ground w/ fully charged batteries and stock motor/programming. How does it drive and stop? Note: a stock 2000 E825 will have drum brakes vs disks on the newer models. Any odd noises when driving or stopping (clunking; excessive whining)? You may hear some “clunk” when you first take off which is OK; it’s the differential gearing. Any evidence of abuse? Interior OK (seats cracked; steering column binding?
With stock motor and programming, decent batteries, no obvious damage and in reasonable condition, I’d expect the asking price to be between $2500 to $3500. With mods of course it can go up from there. Any evidence of abuse; it doesn’t all “work” 100% or batteries are “iffy”, I’d either walk away or try to “steal” it since it will need work. If the owner is asking much less than $3000, either he doesn’t know what it’s worth or he’s selling you a lemon.
Thanks for the help Al… I am looking at it today. It appears cosmetically in excellent shape and well taken care of. But I will ask all the questions and take pictures. This person that owns it now has not owned it long. I believe he works for the original owner and he may have been given it as a gift and now he is trying to turn it into cash. He is asking for for it. I dont like it that much at 4k. But if it is all there and is as advertised , with everything working and 1 year old batteries etc. I thikn $3000 would be a great price and maybe as high as $3500 ? Would you agree on that ?
Thanks again… Hopefully I will be a new owner and enjoying this forum even more.
You might check Craigslist for your area and see what others are asking for their GEMs. That would give you a pretty good sense of the market around you. GEMs are specialty vehicles and have a very limited potential market so they can be hard to sell which works to your advantage if you want to buy.
I assume since you’re posting in the E4 forum that it’s a 4 seater. If it passes muster in all other respects and the batteries are “good” (new[er] deep cycle), $3500 would be all I’d pay for a stock 2000 4 seater E825. If it has a bunch of upgrades and was in “as new” or excellent condition, I’d probably go to $4000 maybe a few hundred over that since it’s pretty low mileage, especially if it has doors and a rear window. Anything more and I think you’d be overpaying. If it’s been on the market for a bit, you might try a lower offer and see what he says to that.
Well I just got back from looking at the GEM and yes it is a 4 seat model. And it is pretty much as described stock and clean. Garage kept for sure. I took plenty of pictures and drove it around for about 15 minutes. It topped out at 22 MPH and ran perfect. Brakes worked well, no strange noises. Paint is in excellent shape. Has a rear glass window. Only “issue” is a broken side view mirror and the Radio missing the faceplate (I dont care about this). I could see that mirror breaking all the time, the way it sticks out.The only picture i missed was the batteries. I thought I had taken one but I did not. I will get a picture from the owner. Where is the Charger on that unit ? I have read stories of what to do with he charger and recalls and all that.
Long story short, who knows how long the batteries will last. They said they were just a year old. I asked for paperwork but he said the original owner has it. I am right with you in thinking $3500.00 is the price. I asked him to tell me his best offer and he said $3800.00 I told him I had to talk to the wife and get back with him. He has no idea what he has. I showed him there were two batteries in the front and he was surprised.
I got a picture of the vin and where the cart was serviced. I am going to try and see if they will give me any information on it.
I will let you know what kind of Batteries are in it.
Interesting for sure.
I will let you know when I get the pics of the batteries.
Charger, controller and DC convertor are all located under the front cowling. You can access the area by pulling up on the gray dash; it’s just held on by Velcro. He may or may not be agreeable with you pulling apart his car to look! The first time you lift the dash, you do wonder!! The charger, controller and DC convertor will all be under the dash and visible. The white kick panel has a couple of screws which you can take off to access them when necessary. The DC convertor (72v converted to 12v) was originally an “open frame” printed circuit board which had a tendency to fail and catch fire. GEM eventually issued a recall and replaced it w/ a sealed unit which SHOULD already have been done. There were a couple of different chargers used in the early GEMs so it’s hard to tell about that.
My chief concern would still be about the batteries. If you could look at the front two and get a date code, make and size from them, it would be a really good idea. I guess you could [U]assume [/U]the other 4 are the same.
While $3800 isn’t a horrible asking price, I’d still want to be [U]absolutely[/U] certain about the batteries and would NOT just take his word for it. IF they’re good batteries and relatively new, I’d probably offer $3500 and see what he says. If they’re “iffy” in [B]any [/B]way (age, condition, type, size), I’d offer a LOT less ($2000 to $2500) in order to cover the cost of replacing them.
I think contacting the local dealer is an excellent idea if they’ll give you any information before you buy about the car and services they provided.
WOW… Not sure where you are, who you are or what you like, but I owe you for this information.,… Major thanks…
I am kicking myself for not having a picture of the batteries… I thought I was so prepared…
Tried the dealer and the number is no longer working. Trying to track them down.
I did Manage to find a resource to “decode” the Vin number and it all checks out as far as I can see.
Looking everywhere for information. As for the Recall, I think that a person with unlimited financial resources would have had this thing serviced on a regular basis. Never assume I know.,… But I am thinking the recalls were taken care of. The Gem is about 30 minutes from me so if need be I will go look again tomorrow. He says he has people coming Saturday and Sunday. I think I need to make a move tomorrow if I want it.
I am hoping he send me the pics of the batteries… and kick myself again for not know where to look for the charger…
Deep cycle is good; “marine grade” is not. Two different battery applications. I’m not a big fan of Interstate batteries but if they’re size 31 or rated something like 130AH (amp hours) and are fairly new, you may be OK. If you get the Interstate part number, you might be able to look on the Interstate website for specs.
The date code would probably be stamped something like B12 where B would be Feb and 12 is 2012.
Did you get to peek into the batteries to see where the water level was? If the owner was clueless, he might not check fluid levels regularly (I check mine at least monthly). If the plates get exposed during the charging process due to out gassing which happens w/ FLA (flooded lead acid) batteries, they won’t last long after that.
$3500 sounds like a reasonable offer to me if everything else checks out.
Can not get a date code… Called interstate and they said Date code could be in a few different places, so they couldn’t say for sure.
Current owner has only had it a couple of months. Not sure he knows that there is suppose to be water in the batteries to be honest with you. I did Not see a cap that I could pull off easily. But they would have to have one right ?
Guy says two other people coming to look at it this weekend… Now deciding whether he is bluffing or not and also wondering if the “others” really have cash and are willing to pay… But my Crystal Ball is broken, so I think I will have to bend to the pressure.
Sounds like they’re about the right size and AH. You could do a bit of research on the batteries, they may be “maintenance free” or sealed or gel or AGM which wouldn’t necessarily have fill caps.
I’m personally NOT a big fan of “maintenance free” batteries (except lithium but that’s a whole 'nother story) since charging of batteries almost guarantees out-gassing (bubbling of the fluid during charging) which will require fluid level maintenance. “Maintenance free” batteries are a fine idea in certain applications like car batteries which don’t have much extended current draw but deep cycle batteries produce power for a sustained period which will require extended charging times.
Don’t mean to worry you needlessly but batteries are the Achilles heel of GEMs and the wrong battery will frustrate you and cost you money in the long term. Been there, done that and have the scars to prove it!!!
I am in at $3600. So now nothing but positive posts right ? I am sure I will become very active in these forums. Need to learn . I will see it tomorrow again but at this point it is what it is. I will take a closer look at the batteries tomorrow. Thanks again for your help … I will be in touch