I'm new to the forums. I wanted to ask a couple of general questions about these cars.

First off, do all 1st gen. C70 convertibles have fairly large gaps between the rear bumper & rear quarter panel, near the rear wheel wells? I included pics of the C70, the gaps are a little more obvious in person. I looked at a white 2003 C70 last week and now this '04 I'm thinking of buying, and both have fairly large gaps in that area, but neither looked like they had been hit & both have clean CarFaxes.

It irritates me when I look at it, but I'd be more comfortable with it if that's just how they all were built. Any comments on this would be helpful.

Btw, it has 101,000 miles, the "service" warning light is on, and it's had 3 owners. Near-mint inside and out (top looks fairly new, but does have a small tear), everything seems to work well. The dealer is asking $8,797, does this seem steep? No record of the timing belts being changed either...

 

I would continue to shop around. Timing belt $1,000.00 normal replacement. $260 if u do it. Those gaps are minor, repair items cost $$$$$. New roof exspensive!

 

I'm pretty sure all c70s will eventually have those gaps, mine does, as does my gf's. It happens from the most minor impact. The HPT engines are awesome, but I'd ask the dealer to change the timing belt first. That price is about right I'd say, too. I got mine for $5500, but it's an '01 and it was from a private owner, not a dealer, so that price seems about right. KBB value on that year and mileage (if the car is in "excellent" condition) is about $10k.