EoH Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 My little brother was planning to purchase an older vehicle and I was wondering what he should look at in order to buy a decent car. For example such as milages on the car, what he needs to check aside from records on the condition of the car (such as ICBC) if it has not been reported and how to check for interior damages and such things like that. PS. Is high milage such a bad thing if the car is kept in good conditions? Cause I read somewhere that a car that's been driven 100k on the highway is better then a car that's been driven 100k in the city. Is that true? If so, why? Thanks in advance! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
No_More_Larchide Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 My little brother was planning to purchase an older vehicle and I was wondering what he should look at in order to buy a decent car. For example such as milages on the car, what he needs to check aside from records on the condition of the car (such as ICBC) if it has not been reported and how to check for interior damages and such things like that. PS. Is high milage such a bad thing if the car is kept in good conditions? Cause I read somewhere that a car that's been driven 100k on the highway is better then a car that's been driven 100k in the city. Is that true? If so, why? Thanks in advance! Think about when you drive the highway vs the city. In the city you stop and start, stop and start and so on. Your car accelerates and decelerates, changing gears constantly. On the highway, you are at a constant state of motion, less gear shifts are made and the engine is allowed to operate at the optimal capacity for longer periods of time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LostViking Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Check out the electronics on used cars. Heat, AC, defogger (front and rear), headlights, highbeams, windshield wipers (and fluid), radio, CD player, power windows/locks, that sort of thing. On older vehicles that are being sold cheap, you should expect some problems with these sorts of things, but certain things can be really annoying (or costly to repair). If you need something to drive (like wipers and headlights) make sure they work. If your looking at a vehicle that has had its engine rebuilt, it will look very shiny and sort of like new (though it won't be perfect). Don't fall for this until you get down and look at the engine from beneath the car (bring a little flashlight), as some people just pressure wash the engine from the top to make it look clean and pretend its rebuilt. It you look from underneath and there is gunk and grime everywhere, it wasn't rebuilt. Check tire treads, a lot of used cars need new tires as soon as you buy them, which brings up the cost. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromotacanucks Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 have you ever tried the VW FOX? it´s small, easy to drive, nice space for a compact model and with the same enginering of the VW Golf and VW Polo. I have one and it´s a very nice car, for city and road... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dittohead Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 How much does he have to spend? an average car drives about 20,000 km a year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoH Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 How much does he have to spend? an average car drives about 20,000 km a year. Around 10,000, I believe. I'm just afraid he'll get scammed since he doesn't know what to look for when checking out used cars. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoH Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Double post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Offensive Threat Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Does he have any needs or desires beyond just something to get him from point a to point b with minimal cost and fuss? For 10 grand there are a LOT of options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JRSJ Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 My rule of thumb is you can always tell a lot about how a car was treated by the condition of the tires. Uneven wear, bald or cracking tires means the owner didn't follow a maintenance schedule. Seriously, next to changing fluids, taking care of your tires/brakes/suspension is the one of the most important, considering its the part of the vehicle that is in contact with the road all of the time. If there's uneven tire wear... ...then alignment is out.. ...if alignment is out... ...then the tires were probably never rotated... ...if the tires were never rotated... ...then the brakes are probably toast... ...if the brakes are toast... ...then the wheel bearings are probably too... ...etc. All the other posters have valid and true points. Just do your research on the make and model. Buyer beware with private sales, a reputable seller would keep all receipts of any major work done to the vehicle. Don't be afraid to walk away from a car, and never be uncomfortable with haggling. Its an art, and you can do it without insulting the seller. Also, higher mileage cars have their quirks. I have a love for mid to late 80's imports. I've owned a 1989 Ram 50 (Mitsubishi), 1986 Toyota Van, and now a 1989 Toyota 4Runner. My van was at 340K before I sold it, and my 4Runner is just rolling over to 259K. I wrench on my own cars, so I don't really fear having to do any major work. Considering how much your brother has budgeted to spend, just steer clear of anything older than 2000's, and keep it within 100-150K range if possible. I'm sure there is more I could write, but I'm tired. Good luck and happy hunting! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Armada Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 have you ever tried the VW FOX? it´s small, easy to drive, nice space for a compact model and with the same enginering of the VW Golf and VW Polo. I have one and it´s a very nice car, for city and road... Except we don't have them in North America Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EoH Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 My rule of thumb is you can always tell a lot about how a car was treated by the condition of the tires. Uneven wear, bald or cracking tires means the owner didn't follow a maintenance schedule. Seriously, next to changing fluids, taking care of your tires/brakes/suspension is the one of the most important, considering its the part of the vehicle that is in contact with the road all of the time. If there's uneven tire wear... ...then alignment is out.. ...if alignment is out... ...then the tires were probably never rotated... ...if the tires were never rotated... ...then the brakes are probably toast... ...if the brakes are toast... ...then the wheel bearings are probably too... ...etc. All the other posters have valid and true points. Just do your research on the make and model. Buyer beware with private sales, a reputable seller would keep all receipts of any major work done to the vehicle. Don't be afraid to walk away from a car, and never be uncomfortable with haggling. Its an art, and you can do it without insulting the seller. Also, higher mileage cars have their quirks. I have a love for mid to late 80's imports. I've owned a 1989 Ram 50 (Mitsubishi), 1986 Toyota Van, and now a 1989 Toyota 4Runner. My van was at 340K before I sold it, and my 4Runner is just rolling over to 259K. I wrench on my own cars, so I don't really fear having to do any major work. Considering how much your brother has budgeted to spend, just steer clear of anything older than 2000's, and keep it within 100-150K range if possible. I'm sure there is more I could write, but I'm tired. Good luck and happy hunting! Thanks for the insight, I was also wondering if brands would be an issue, I know he has some sights set on something like a honda prelude, vs corolla, and possibly a BMW, all within a 150k milage range. Apparently all these cars have a history of being in some minor accidents (such as bumper to bumper) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grapefruits Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I drove a 92 Honda Civic until it got stolen and written off, it had over 350K on it. Pissed me off too, really wanted to see what I could get out of it. Ran a 94 Tercel to over 240K before it blew up. Getting the car checked out by BCAA is also a good idea if the car is more than a few thousand dollars. I believe members get a good discount on the inspection. I always ask for the VIN number before I go and look at the car. Run it through here: http://www.aircare.ca/inspinfo-get-results.php. It will give you a good idea of the vehicle history. Miles driven a year, maintenance, etc. Pull out the dipstick, and smell the oil, check the color. See if its gritty. Same with the transmission fluid. Check to see if all the lights work, interior and out. Same with interior quality. If a person doesn't keep up with those, they're less likely to keep up with other maintenance. It doesn't hurt to walk away sleep on it. If the engine looks really clean, like it's just been clean, might be a sign of leaks. Go for a lengthy test drive. Make sure you get the car up to temperature. I'm always leery when I get to the place and the car is running or if it's already warmed up. I like to try starting them cold without touching the gas pedal, see how it starts and responds. Research the car online. It's always a good idea to see if used parts are readily available and cheap if its an older vehicle. That's all I got right now, and I'm sure I'm missing a tonne. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 have you ever tried the VW FOX? it´s small, easy to drive, nice space for a compact model and with the same enginering of the VW Golf and VW Polo. I have one and it´s a very nice car, for city and road... Does it come with free regular estrogen injections? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dajusta Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Corolla's will edge out any other car on reliability. Hands down. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromotacanucks Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Except we don't have them in North America yes there is. it´s made in Mexico and it´s sold in USA/Canada as "VW Lupo" actually it´s a nice car. honest to be true. it´s a simple car with no fancy things of the Japanese compacts but the "VW Fox" is a strong car with an economic engine and designed to don´t demand to much maitenance... I drove mine on a trip for 3555km in 4 days and the only thing I had to do was to add 1psi on the tires before a hard part of the trip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromotacanucks Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Does it come with free regular estrogen injections? I´m sorry but I don´t buy a car only because it looks "macho"... for me if the car is ugly but do the job that´s what I want. What´s the point of have a "shocking" car with tons of colours and other things if you really don´t use them? and it´s a Germany project, simple, only the necessary and does the job very well. Mine is the 1st generation of the Fox. when I was deciding what car should I buy the dealer offered me a more popular and well know model but I´m tall and I wanted a tall car... I gave an opportunity to the new model and I´m happy with my decision. the car is strong, economic, I lost the count of how many aircraft engines I carried on my car and how many other heavy things I also carried there because I can remove the other seats (inclusing the foward passenger seat) and transform it into a small cargo car... for a rookie driver I think it´s a great choice because the car is simple but good. you don´t need tons of things you never gonna use and will pay more for that. and. the VW Fox has the SAME enginering of the VW Golf, Jetta and Passat. the SAME gearbox, the same brake system and the same engine tecnology (fuel injection) so who knows how fix a Jetta knows how fix a Fox... this is the especification of my little warrior...Engine: EA111, BAH; 8V, 1599 cc, cast-iron cylinder head, RSH (roller rocker arm)Power: 101 hp (74 kW) @ 5750 rpmFuel Injection: Motronic (Benzin ME7.5.10 until 2006)Torque: 140 N·m (103 lb·ft) @ 3250 rpm0–100 km/h: 10.5 sTop Speed: 170 km/h (110 mph)Boot: 260 L (9.2 cu ft)-1,236 L (43.6 cu ft)Transmission: 5-speed manual (Audi MQ200 manual gearbox)Fuel capacity: 50 L (13.2 US gal; 11.0 imp gal)Brakes: front disks, rear drums Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dogbyte Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Whatever he gets you should take it for an inspection before you buy. Honda's are super reliable but you can also get a lot of decent vehicles for that price. The mileage really doens't mean much unless it's really high. You really just want to judge how well it's been taken care of. One thing I always do is get the seller talking a lot about it. You can usually get a pretty good read on it. Someone that knows the vehicle well and almost doesn't want to part with it is ideal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dumbledore Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 Just to emphasize, get it inspected by a mechanic before you make any decision. Also, buying from a well-known dealership may protect your bro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gman Posted January 22, 2014 Share Posted January 22, 2014 I´m sorry but I don´t buy a car only because it looks "macho"... Me either, I buy what I like. I don't like cutesy girly cars. If "status" is a complete non-issue, why buy new? If the only aims are point a to point b in the most economical means available you'd do a lot better buying used. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aeromotacanucks Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Me either, I buy what I like. I don't like cutesy girly cars. If "status" is a complete non-issue, why buy new? If the only aims are point a to point b in the most economical means available you'd do a lot better buying used. I bought my car new for 3 reasons: 1) it was a new model (you couldn´t find used cars) and it was perfect to me. (compact, tall and with cargo capacity, volume and weight)... 2) but a used car has a lot of problems. you have to check a lot of things including documentation, financing and the car itself. I wasn´t interested on this task... 3) buy a new car in my country is cheaper than buy a used car... and girly car? Fox isn´t a girl´s car at all. at least isn´t like a Japanese car that can´t survive a long travel because the computers and sensors will fail at somepoint. it´s a Germany car. and Germanies know how make cars... ok. one day I will buy a VW Golf. my sister had one, damm hell that car was amazing! then she bought a Chevrolet Spin (sooner will be in USA/Canada). when she invited me to drive her car I thought I was driving a North Korean train going uphill! I told her "If you want a van buy a Dodge, at least you will have an engine to carry your stuff, but no! big car and no engine. horray!" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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