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Sun 25 Nov, 2007 06:37 pm
Greetings everyone!
I am so glad I found this forum!
I live in Toronto, Canada and want to buy a used car. I have a 5000 dollar budget, and need advice on which make/model/year would fit in my budget and needs.
I don't know anything about cars except for driving them, and this will be my first car. I want to decide on a make, model and year, so that I can start searching for it. I thought that I should buy a car that's not more than 7 years old, so somewhere in 2000. I know that milage is what matters most, but cant rely on that as so many people rig the odometer.
Anyways.. here are my few questions:
1. I have heard that it's the best to buy a Japanese used car, as it is less likely to break down. is this true?
2. I really like the way German cars look, and 2000 Volkswagen Jetta seems to be in my budget range, would you say it would be a good idea to buy one? or should I stick with Toyota/Honda/nissan?
3. I heard Jetta's parts are very expensive and Electronics break down often.. how true is this? Is repairing Jetta way more pricy that repairing Japanese makes?
4. I know dealerships are expensive, what about dealer auctions? is that something I should look into or should I stick with private ads?
Basically as you can see I have a dilemma of deciding what make and year car to choose. I don't expect to buy a good car for dirt cheap.. I just don't want to be ripped off.. So maybe you could toss an advice or two?
Thanks!
First, it is very difficult to rig a modern odometer.
$5,000 will not get you a German car that is not going to eat you up with repairs.
A good used Japanese car is probably your best buy in your budget.
Stay away from Dealer Auctions, they are not where the uninitiated should play.
Good Luck,
RH
Skip the VW. They're ok cars, fun to drive, but they're expensive to repair and will most likely have more problems than most Japanese cars and some domestics.
Honda, Toyota and Nissan are great cars, but Honda & Toyota really hold their value, and it's tough to find a good one in that price range. If you can, that's excellent, but keep an open mind on American cars too, usually you can get more bang for your buck. GM has used a pretty solid V6 in many of their cars, I think it's the 3.4 liter, but not positive.
A ton of Canadians have been buying used cars in the US because of the weak US dollar. Look into it.
i used to drive a variety of VWs for about fourty years - price going up and quality going WAY DOWN , also expensive to repair .
in 1999 i bought a new olds-intrigue (3.5 twin-cam engine , so called "short star" - the caddy northstar engine with 6 instead of 8 cylinders ) .
it's held up very well . the first major expense was installation of new rear-shocks and one front-wheel bearing this year , cost $1,400 including tune-up and some other work ) .
i would certainly consider a GM car again , would probably opt for a one year old chevy impala - they sell for around $14,000-15,000(probably less for cash in january) with lots of warranty left .
a little heavy on the gas but performs well under all conditions .
the disc anti-lock brakes with traction control are excellent in winter-driving .
a used 1999 intrigue can probably be bought for around $4,000 cash - have it checked and certified by a RELIABLE independent mechanic .
btw i have had the car RUSTCHECK'ed every spring - well worth the money imo .
hbg
I purchased a Jeep Liberty about a year ago. It was a 2002 with about 80,000 miles on it. I busted your budget by a factor of two, but if you're willing to accept something with higher mileage, you can probably get one in your range. They have a 3.8L forward mounted EASY to work on engine. The only thing I've had to replace so far was a battery and wiper blades (and change the oil of course). It's fairly quick, fun to drive, and underneath it all is still a Jeep, meaning it will drive through/over/out of just about anything.
Also, if you're not buying a car that you already know well (from driving it), then you're best off buying from a reputable source such as, surprise!, a used car dealer (one attached to a dealership). You'll pay more but they will back up what they sell better. The last thing a new car dealer wants is a bad rap (or even protesters) over at the used lot next door.
I didn't see anything mentioned about this. If you are serious about a certain car and are actually considering buying it from a dealership, have them run a vin check on it to see if the car has been wrecked before and how many times. If they want a sale, they will run the report.
TTH wrote:I didn't see anything mentioned about this. If you are serious about a certain car and are actually considering buying it from a dealership, have them run a vin check on it to see if the car has been wrecked before and how many times. If they want a sale, they will run the report.
It's called a Carfax. It'll show if the car has a salvage title, and any accidents that had a police report submitted(the car could still been in accidents if there wasn't a report).
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