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Buying a used car (Canada)
Aridhol
Daddliest CatchRegistered User regular
Daddliest CatchRegistered User regular
The wife and I went to the bank today and secured a $10,000 car loan so we can stop driving beater cars and barely making it to work and back. I have read as much as I can on how to buy used on edmunds.com which I know is american focused but has great tips.
The purpose of this thread is to help me decide WHICH used vehicle to look for and possibly purchase.
We've re-evaluated our needs and have come up with the following list
-4 doors
-good-great gas mileage
-good for future young children
-looks "young" / sporty
-low/cheap maintenance
-1999 or newer
I also am wondering what the opinion is on VW Turbo diesel of the 1999-2001 range as we've seen a couple and have been told that "diesel is awesome and for sure the way to go"
so Recommend On!:
The purpose of this thread is to help me decide WHICH used vehicle to look for and possibly purchase.
We've re-evaluated our needs and have come up with the following list
-4 doors
-good-great gas mileage
-good for future young children
-looks "young" / sporty
-low/cheap maintenance
-1999 or newer
I also am wondering what the opinion is on VW Turbo diesel of the 1999-2001 range as we've seen a couple and have been told that "diesel is awesome and for sure the way to go"
so Recommend On!:
Aridhol on
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As for finding the cars themselves, I find autotrader.ca and buysell.com to be pretty good resources.
That's all I got -- sorry!
I could be wrong, but I've heard VW's are pricey to repair. Talk to someone who's owned one and see. The best info is from the horse's mouth.
Honda CRV
Toyota camry
Mitsubishi Lancer
I see a bunch of civics and different price points. They don't *look* particularly sporty but not bad at all. lots of room, good mileage ratings.
More advice/suggestions would be awesome.
Camry doesn't seem to have very good gas mileage, mitsubishi is very nice but the options near me are at the very limit of my price point and neither of us likes the CRV, appreciate the suggestions though!
Based on where you live, I'd be checking every car you look at for rust. Be wary of vehicles that were reently repainted, especially if they're not from dealers. If possible, you might even want to look at something very noncoastal, where rust is much less likely in newer cars.
My advice would be to try and get a vehicle that is a year or two old, or find one that has warranty left on it, the last thing that you want is to get a vehicle and then a month later have the motor implode on you. Yes, you can have a vehicle inspected by your own shop, or by BCAA (or whatever the local version is) but they don't always catch things that are internal in the powertrain that may cause big issues down the road, and then your $10,000 car can turn into a $15,000 car.
Two things you need to look at in my opinion:
1. What you want.
2. What you can afford.
I have a lot of people that have a set price in their mind of how much they want to spend, but don't always think it through.
An example:
Gentleman came on to my lot last week looking for a Jetta Diesel. He said that his price range was $15,000 and he was financing. We had a 2003 with 145 Kilometers (not sure where you are at, but I am in the lower mainland in BC in Abbotsford, about an hour from Vancouver. Most people buy these for commuter vehicles, so higher mileage is not unheard of) on it for $13,995 that we were clearing out that fit his price range. We also had a 2005 that just came off lease with only 75,000 kilometers that was $19,000.
We test drove both and he kept leaning towards the 03 because of the price. So I sat down and explained to him that because of the age of the 03, the longest term he could get was 3 years at 7.9%, his payments would be approximately $490 per month including taxes, for a vehicle with no warranty.
The 2005 was what is called a CPO or Certified Pre Owned (we have a VW dealer in our group so we have access to these vehicles). It qualified for two important things:
1. Extended warranty included (worth its weight in gold!)
2. Special finance rates at 2.8%
So now, even though the 05 was more money to start with, with the special rates and a term of 5 years, his payments would come down to $380 a month.
Kind of seems like a no brainer to me.
http://www.srtsalesteam.com
Eventually had one dealer pull a couple of cars for me to test drive on a Saturday.
My requirements were:
- 2006 or newer
- 4 door
- automatic
- Decent gas milage (no hummer/SUV's)
- Around $10,000
- Lowest KM possible
Managed to get a mid-trim level 2007 Ford Focus with 30,000 km for $10,500 and after tax/warrenties I wanted it came to almost exactly $12,000. On the dealers website it was listed for $12,499 but "since I was a good guy" they were going to sell it for $10,999. I probably could have gone lower but it was what I was willing to spend. IF YOU ARE NOT HAPPY WITH THE PRICE, DO NOT SIGN ANYTHING AND LEAVE. This is probably the second biggest purchase you make (behind a house) and if you are not happy, don't do it.
If you go newer, you can get the balance on warrenties left. I still have 3 years/70,000 on the powertrain and 1 year/20,000 on the comprehensive warrenties.
Some other models you could look at are Mazda 3 or 6, Ford Focus/Fusion, and what others have said.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Also, unless you're planning on buying two cars with that $10,000, look for something 2004-05 or newer. 1999? What are you smoking? That's 10 god damn years old!
What's the general opinion on a Mitsubishi Lancer http://www.usedvictoria.com/classified-ad/9498651
Edmunds says the TMV is $4400 so this would seem like a deal if there are no problems with the vehicle.
I bought a 2005 Hyundai Elantra in early 2008 for $8000 from a dealer. At the time, 2005 Mazda 6's were coming off lease and priced around or just over 10k. Unless BC used car prices are drastically different from Ontario, for 10k you should be able to get a car no older than 3 or 4 years that meets your needs.
Quoting car prices without mileage is like selling a desktop PC by the number of keys on the keyboard.
Eg. Two months ago when I was shopping for a used car we took a Mazda3 out for a spin. 2006, fully loaded manual transmission with 40,000km. It was under $10k. Drove it, didn't seem quite right, looked at the CARFAX, rebuilt from salvage - NEXT!
Excellent example of why "If it's too good to be true, it is" applies so heavily to buying a car. No one sells a car for thousands less unless there is a reason for it.
You know I thought the same thing and I was weary on my 2003 Grand Prix. It being a salvage title and all. I got it for $5500.
Not a damn thing wrong with it after 6 months of checking up vigorously. It had been rear ended and totaled for God knows what reason. (I work at a dealership, free inspections from my friends).
I would ask whoever sells you a car to take it to a shop beforehand (one you trust) and have them inspect it for a few bucks.
EDIT: Now I know you can't have every car looked at. So just take the ones you REALLY like.
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