Let me just say... If you look hard enough, you will find thousands of dollars of work on any car... Especially a car that's 13 years old, regardless of miles.
IMS bearings are more likely to fail on vehicles that sat for long periods of time. Often vehicles that have extremely low miles or were never driven in the winter. The oil that covers a third or so of the bearing slowly leaks through and gets inside the IMS. When you start the car it begins heat cycling the small amount of oil now in the shaft and acidifies it. Eventually when the car sits again, the now-acid seeps inside the bearing and destroys it.
That being said, only you can decide what is a good enough deal for you. I know I waited a long time before buying one. However I have also worked as a car salesman and hated those people that saw a price tag of $12,000, had a PPI, the indie shop said it needs $5,000 worth of work, so they suddenly think the car is worth $7,000.....
I stress again... ANY VEHICLE THAT IS OVER TEN YEARS OLD NEEDS THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF WORK. Just depends on how hard you look.
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