I was at the very same place you are.. about 8000 miles or 2 months ago. I went the older model, lower mileage, timing belt already done, slightly more expensive , well actually it was $3000 more than it's next closest competitor.
I got a 2002. I had a shot at 2003 and a 2004, for less money than the 2002. I could see the service histories for the 2003 on line and things looked good but the timing belt was not done. on the. The 2004 had a NY salvage title.
Now the first thing I will say is what everyone said to me when I was looking. If there are features that you want, WAIT. For the 19,000 I spent, I probably could have gotten a nice 2003.
The main hitch for me, is the 2002 dosent have the bluetooth, or the steering wheel controls, or the back up camera. I have a hitch mounted cargo carrier out back now, the camera would be nice. I would use the bluetooth on the commute in too work and the steering wheel controls would be nice to play with.
On the other hand... I got a meticulously , dealer maintained, 2 previous owners, timing belt done, LC. I got it from a dealer, that had sold it to the previous owner, who traded it in on another newer cruiser. Before I lunged, I talked to the master mechanic who went through it before they put it up for sale. He gave me a list of all the bulbs, and brakes and tires, and belts and hoses, and fluids and some other stuff that they had done to prep the truck for sale. Call me stupid, but after talking to the mechanic, I took the dealer a check for half the asking price that afternoon and the balence the next evening. I never even test drove it.
8500 miles and 2.5 months later, I am as happy as I can be with the truck. I haven't discovered any "they didn't tell this was broken, before I bought the truck" issues. Well, 2 speakers are busted but I may have done that.
I am wordy m but the short of it is this. Getting a cruiser is a bit like getting married. When you run up on the right one... you will know. You will just know. When I was looking, I thought I wanted a blue one or a green one. About 2-3 weeks before I found the one I bought, I saw a thunder cloud metallic one in traffic, and thought to myself that is a nice color.
I had the autotrader app in my phone, one sunday I got up to go to work, checked the app, saw the one , went to see it as it was on the way to work. It had a ding in the bumper where a lot attendant had backed it into a lamp post. It also had 2 shakey tires on it. I called demanded that the fix the bumper, questioned the tires, and offered 1000 less than the asking price. They fixed the bumper and gave 750 off the price.
If you dont feel right about the truck you are about to buy, wait. Figure out what is making you feel uneasy.
I think a key thing in buying a cruiser is this... and granted I have only bought one, Get the one with the absolute best service history that you can. With mine... as long as I keep pouring mobil one oil into it every 5000 miles, and getting it lubed and the other period maintenance... it should run indefinitely.
