Used Car help

[Table 5]

Glad to hear she liked a few of the options.

I wouldn't recommend a rental car either. Having said that the reality is that often something has to give when you have so many restrictions...whether it be age, mileage, cost, history or condition. Finding the perfect newish car, with low miles, with the right history, with the right financing options, in a particular moment in time, for under 10k is not easy. It might be out there, but it depends how much time you have to wait.

Chances are there has to be some compromise...it comes down to deciding on what's most important. Do you get a newer car with high miles/questionable history, but probably comes with a factory warranty? Or you get the perfect car in terms of history/condition, but that's a bit older? Or do you get the car that checks all the boxes...but requires you to pay a few more grand.

[Cuz]

Originally Posted by Table 5

Glad to hear she liked a few of the options.

I wouldn't recommend a rental car either. Having said that the reality is that often something has to give when you have so many restrictions...whether it be age, mileage, cost, history or condition. Finding the perfect newish car, with low miles, with the right history, with the right financing options, in a particular moment in time, for under 10k is not easy. It might be out there, but it depends how much time you have to wait.

Chances are there has to be some compromise...it comes down to deciding on what's most important. Do you get a newer car with high miles/questionable history, but probably comes with a factory warranty? Or you get the perfect car in terms of history/condition, but that's a bit older? Or do you get the car that checks all the boxes...but requires you to pay a few more grand.

In the vehicle range she's looking at, a few grand more will make quite a difference.

[Table 5]

Originally Posted by Cuz

In the vehicle range she's looking at, a few grand more will make quite a difference.

And that's exactly why there most likely will need to be compromise on something else. It is hard to find the perfect car at under 10k.

[Wormius]

Nm

[Corral]

Originally Posted by Table 5

The guy asked for a reliable car and is on a fairly fixed budget. As fun as they might be, a Fiat 500 or a VW Golf are just not off-warranty cars you can in good conscience recommend to anyone with those requirements unless they have a few K in reserve.

I disagree. A basic VW golf - ie no turbo - no diesel - 5 speed std transmission is a very reliable vehicle if it has been properly maintained. And handles very well for an economy hatchback. It is way overpriced on the dealer's lot, but like i said, find one with lots of highway miles that is only a few years old - it will be less than $10K and good value IMO.

[zamler]

Fiat is the least reliable car you can buy.

[Fuzz]

Originally Posted by Cuz

In the vehicle range she's looking at, a few grand more will make quite a difference.

Yup, might be able to move up to an Impreza, the AWD is great in the winter.

[Lanny's Stache]

I worked in the Auto finance business for years, and I don't see anything wrong with using a line of credit to finance a car. It takes slightly more personal control, but just set up a monthly payment with the bank to mimic a car payment. Then you are done. I don't see why you would choose to take a higher interest rate through a fixed loan. The only one gaining from that scenario is the dealer and the bank. Dealers are actually trained to provide this advice as it works for them, not you. But the key in this is to not use the Line of Credit for other uses (ie monthly expenses, etc.).

As for cars, I would personally take a 2-3 year older Civic instead of a newer Micra. Civics run forever and should be a more comfortable car.

[worth]

So in the past week we've worked our way down to a Toyota Corolla. Of all the cars she's driven she likes the newer corollas the best.

We're getting close to buying one. We're going to see a couple more tomorrow. Would you guys have any reservations buying a 2009 model? Doesn't seem that long ago but it's 7 years ago now. This particular model is an xrs and has 41000km and seems to be in good shape. Clean car proof and one owner.

[Corral]

Reservations? depends on the price. I wouldn't spend $10K on a 7 year old car driven in Calgary's climate - 41000 kms is low mileage for sure - but car parts age regardless of whether the vehicle is driven - and there is a chance the owner has not serviced stuff like plugs, etc - and done infrequent oil changes - because of low mileage. With that low mileage I would be asking why the car hasn't been driven much.

I'd disregard the mileage and offer whatever those 2009 corollas are going for in market.

[burn_this_city]

Sounds like a good car. I don't think the mileage is low at all for that many years. If it was a commuter car it wont have piles of km. The body might start rusting in the next couple of years depending how well it was cared for. If priced well it could be good value over the long term.

[worth]

From the ad it seems like the guy might be a car guy. He apparently has complete service records for the car so will take a look at that and it's got summer and winter rims and tires which is nice as well.

[Corral]

If the service records show maintenance based on time interval rather than mileage for this car - that would be a good sign. For example, 41000 kms isn't going to wear down the tread on tires, but 7 year old tires isn't a good thing. If this car has a timing belt - it should have been replaced due to age. If its already had the brake pads replaced at 41000 kms, that tells you the car has seen lots of stop and go mileage in the city - which means more wear and tear over the long term. With a 7 year old vehicle, you can be sure you are buying a problem or two. Not a slight on the current owner, its just reality for a car of that many years.

[DownhillGoat]

Originally Posted by burn_this_city

I don't think the mileage is low at all for that many years.

5-6k a year (depending when they bought it)? I'd say that's considered low.

[burn_this_city]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

5-6k a year (depending when they bought it)? I'd say that's considered low.

Still 15ish km a day, its not like its been sitting for years or is 20 years old with 5k on it. I wouldn't take it as a negative sign is all.

[llwhiteoutll]

Originally Posted by kunkstyle

5-6k a year (depending when they bought it)? I'd say that's considered low.

Without knowing he specifics of the owner,i ts impossible to determine if the mileage is abnormally low or not.

[Canehdianman]

Originally Posted by llwhiteoutll

Without knowing he specifics of the owner,i ts impossible to determine if the mileage is abnormally low or not.

Huh? Sorry, but yes it is very possible to determine whether the mileage is low or not.

Average is around 20,000 km a year for a car. If this car is 7 years old with 41,000 km on it, then it is much lower than average.

We don't need to know the specifics of the owner (shoe size? hair colour?) to determine that.

What sort of specifics would you need to make that determination?

[Burninator]

Get an inspection.

I haven't used them, but have heard good things. http://inspectacar.ca/

[Cecil Terwilliger]

Man, worth you've been getting so much hassle about your choices in this thread lol. Everything you and your g/f pick seems to have a new group of people telling you the choice sucks.

My 2 cents is that you get what you pay for. I recently bought a car and I almost bought a 2009 Corolla with about 45k kms on it. Sounds very similar to the one you're shopping for. I ended up not buying it because I didn't want a corolla but I did have some of the concerns people have pointed out. Even if it is in pristine condition, it is still 7 years old and lacks some modern amenities. The one I almost bought I was less concerned with the condition since it had been well maintained, I knew why it was barely driven (older lady), and parked underground.

At the end of the day I'm sure you're not stupid. You know that if you buy a 7 year old car with low kms it may be in good condition overall and have low wear on specific parts but also have wear associated with a car of that age. It may require some work, sooner than later. If you buy a new car with more kms then it may also require some work since the higher kms will have put wear and tear on different areas of the car.

I think the important part is having it inspected by a mechanic you trust and planning for the eventuality of maintenance being required. A good inspection should give you a decent idea of the required replacement schedule for some easy stuff like tires and brakes. They can probably also give you a reasonable idea of other things that may need replacement going forward and how much it might cost.

There is always a risk to buying a used car. I personally spent more to get something that was newer and had lower kms knowing that the cars in my original budget may have more maintenance costs sooner. Maybe I end up getting screwed because this one has issues sooner than later. You never really will know.

What I do know is that I am so happy I don't have to stress about this anymore.

Sounds like you're doing your research and not making a rash decision which is important. Take your time to find something that works for you and is good value.

[Vulcan]

Than there is how I did it. Bought the first car I seriously looked at after driving it a few blocks. Never checked anything except I liked the tires. I tried to do some bargaining but I wanted that car. Luckily it's been good to me, knock on wood.

I have been around cars for a long time though so anything really wrong I think I would have picked up on.