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picking a (used) car
ihmmy
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
So I'm torn between 2 vehicles that are the same price, and I can't decide which is "better". I like how both handles, though the pedals are a touch 'funny' feeling to me in one (different tilt than my current car)
Car 1: 2007 VW rabbit, in town, 55k km, lots of shinies on it (sunroof, keyless trunk release, keyless locks, heated seats (I live in the frozen north so this is a definite bonus), cruise control, rear window defogger, etc.)
Car 2: 2009 Honda Fit, 1.5 hour drive to get it (plus time to test drive, get home, etc, hard to find time for this), 20k km, none of the above goodies but it also has remote start, which again is a definite bonus in the frozen north.
The dealers are asking the same price for each vehicle, though I can probably bargain the rabbit down a little bit as the front headlights are quite foggy and need some work
I'm car-dumb, so something that's lower maintenance is a definite bonus. My mom's bf has a Fit so we'd have matching cars (different colours). I mostly drive in-city (lots on freeways though) with about 5 highway trips a year. I need something like a hatchback where I have storage potential, but still in a fairly small car.
So... thoughts? Opinions?
Car 1: 2007 VW rabbit, in town, 55k km, lots of shinies on it (sunroof, keyless trunk release, keyless locks, heated seats (I live in the frozen north so this is a definite bonus), cruise control, rear window defogger, etc.)
Car 2: 2009 Honda Fit, 1.5 hour drive to get it (plus time to test drive, get home, etc, hard to find time for this), 20k km, none of the above goodies but it also has remote start, which again is a definite bonus in the frozen north.
The dealers are asking the same price for each vehicle, though I can probably bargain the rabbit down a little bit as the front headlights are quite foggy and need some work
I'm car-dumb, so something that's lower maintenance is a definite bonus. My mom's bf has a Fit so we'd have matching cars (different colours). I mostly drive in-city (lots on freeways though) with about 5 highway trips a year. I need something like a hatchback where I have storage potential, but still in a fairly small car.
So... thoughts? Opinions?
ihmmy on
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Again, I bought new, so YMMV (haha) but I have zero complaints. It's a quick car that practically sips gas with a decent 4-litre engine and fits a metric fucktonne in the rear. If that's what you're looking for then go for it.
On the flipside, you have the Rabbit. I've always had a soft spot for Volkswagen but I've never driven a Rabbit. If it's anything like the Golf I'm sure you'll have a solid car on your hands. And since you're buying used...make sure you scope out the available infrastructure for maintenance for each car. My gut says that you might have a slightly easier time getting parts and maintenance for a VW over a Honda. Maybe. I'm probably wrong.
My last car was a great 1997 Subaru (<3) and back in 2008 I had to replace a simple enclosure for the driver's side door light - the part had to be sent special order from Toronto. Cripes. That's a rather extreme example but you get the idea.
i have no idea what frozen north entails, but if you're in the US, it can't be that hard to find somewhere that services hondas. I could also be wrong. Try using the honda website to find a service in your area.
Personally I would go for the newer car, but two years isn't that much of a difference so that probably doesn't matter here. Have you looked at the city and highway mpg ratings for those cars in those years? That might help if fuel economy is something you're concerned about.
Oh, probably not, it's just a possibility depending on how rural he is. Northern Ontario, for example? It'd be tough in some towns to find a dedicated Honda parts dealer and distributor. Not impossible at all, but tough.
Holy shit, that's amazing! German reliability is largely a myth these days, i'm afraid. If your disposable income isnt' that tight there's an argument for getting the VW, but if you're buying used cars i'm guessing that isn't the case, so go for the fit.
As far as I can tell, the Rabbit is the Golf, just with a different name for a few years
They make cars without air conditioning?
This is pretty anecdotal as I've heard nothing but good things about Volkswagen's for my entire life.
You can get lemons from any car manufacturer.
We are from Australia, Dhalphir. 40 degrees Celcius is quite common here, in Canada it would be a national emergency...
As good as the Honda Fit(Jazz) is, the Mk5 Golf (Rabbit) is better. If you can, get a diesel with a manual gearbox.
It all depends on climate and to some extend being green (cooling air uses a lot of energy).
I suspect that sometimes, some parts of the world just don't have mechanics that know their way around the specific brands that are foreign and then the locals misinterpret the cars as unreliable.
Yep, I just bought a new used mazda 3 a few weeks ago. Was about to have carmax ship one in from another carmax and at the last minute the salesman looked at the specs and discovered that the 2008 mazda 3 I was about to get had no ac. The base mazda 3i sport does not come with ac standard. Craziness. Not something I would have ever thought to check on in a modern car, but apparently they do still make some that don't come with ac.
if you got the Fit you'd still have some manufacturer warranty right?
Downside is you don't get the creature comforts you got on the VW (not important to me personally, but can you not get a seat warmer that plugs into the lighter/power plug?). No A/C would be a deal breaker for me, but I live somewhere where the lows have been 80F and highs in the triple digits since May, not in the frozen north.
Other problem is investing 3+ hours round trip to get it means the deal can be a bit tougher. I know if I had already invested 2+ hours before even talking about price that would put some pressure on me to make a deal and Im probably less inclined to walk away from a price that's a bit too high.
Keep in mind that the resale value for a vehicle without AC will be much lower.