Help! What to look/ask for when buying $5K vehicle

I need a vehicle that is safe, reliable and mechanically sound in the vicinity of $5K, it needs to comfortably fit 3 children's booster carseats across the back seat . but I dont' know where to start . what questions do I ask! What checks do I have done, what will it cost to have cars checked! Aaagh! Help please

Toyota.

nissan lucino

get someone that knows a bit about cars to go along with you wen viewing a car.

ask q's like does the car have a extensive service history, when was the car last run and that does me a quick hoon around the block, how many onwers has it had, what major parts have been replaced eg- starter, alternator, camblet/chain, power steering pump, etc. and where r the invoices.

thanks ninja_man, don't want a station wagon (am being a prude i think, but hate the look of them), but thanks for your time :o)i will have to track down a mechanically minded man me thinks.

WHY ARE YOU SELLING!

See what crap they come up with . lol

What's wrong with saying "I'm over it"!

wow. that was helpful

pukus--I would reccomend you speak to a local mechanic and ask them to do an inspection for you.

AA and VTNZ checks are a complete waste of time, they will tell you all about silly stuff that won't matter and not test things that are critical.

Best to get the car looked over by a garage that sees plenty of the model in question, so if its a Honda perhaps a Honda specialist or some other garage that sees plenty of them.

Buying a car is about balance, Km's on the clock, how and where its been driven i.e Auckland City or Gore, how often its been serviced and how comprehensive that service has been. (Some people seem to think an engine oil change is a service and completely neglect the transmission etc).

With cars that age and price the most catastrophic and expensive failure is likely to be the automatic transmission. Buy manual if you can for reasons of economy and reliability.

Personally I like to capatilise on NZ's obsession with Japanese cars and get a much better value European car. They will also generally be safer and often more economical and better featured.

That said, just as all Japanese cars are not good bets not all European cars are either.

Also, consider whether its better to change your car seats for skinnyier ones than have to get a bigger car than necessary.

Its possible to get 3 of the right kind of car seats across the back of a MK4 VW Golf for example.

My picks for good buy's in your price range that may suit are:

MK4 VW Golf
Volvo S40
Volvo S60
Fiat Multipla (fantastically practical but you may not like the looks)
VW Passat
Honda Accord

Best to look at examples of those and then if you like one come back for a guide on how to pick a good one and the pro's/con's of that model.

The S40 with the right engine choice will be about the most reliable car you can buy for your money, but when you do need parts they will be slightly dearer than some other makes. The S40 also has built in child booster seats which can be super handy. Very safe vehicle and nice to drive.

The VW Golf is a really nice car and easy to maintain, very safe, parts are cheap and easy to get. Automatic transmissions are the weak point though so either buy one with history of transmission service or get a manual one.

The Multipla in Diesel is amazingly versitile, has better visibility than a car and unbelievably cheap to run. Parts and servicing are easy and cheap. Looks probably not to your taste though.

The Passat is a good larger car option. The 1.8 litre turbo engine is the one to get for both economy and power. Make sure the air con is working and use it often to keep it working. (expensive part to fix). Parts are cheap, lovely safe reliable car. As with the Golf care should be taken to get one that has had the transmission serviced.

The Accord is one of the better value Japanese cars. It is also nice to drive, generally good fuel economy and just a nicer all round car than the Toyota offerings.

You may find its easier to get a nice example of say the Volvo than a Camry, the reason is they type of person who buys those cars. How a car has been treated is huge, even the most reliable car can be troublesome if neglected and a car with a poor reputation can often be quite O.K if well looked after.

AA and VTNZ checks are a complete waste of time, they will tell you all about silly stuff that won't matter and not test things that are critical.

Best to get the car looked over by a garage that sees plenty of the model in question, so if its a Honda perhaps a Honda specialist or some other garage that sees plenty of them.

Buying a car is about balance, Km's on the clock, how and where its been driven i.e Auckland City or Gore, how often its been serviced and how comprehensive that service has been. (Some people seem to think an engine oil change is a service and completely neglect the transmission etc).

With cars that age and price the most catastrophic and expensive failure is likely to be the automatic transmission. Buy manual if you can for reasons of economy and reliability.

Personally I like to capatilise on NZ's obsession with Japanese cars and get a much better value European car. They will also generally be safer and often more economical and better featured.

That said, just as all Japanese cars are not good bets not all European cars are either.

Also, consider whether its better to change your car seats for skinnyier ones than have to get a bigger car than necessary.

Its possible to get 3 of the right kind of car seats across the back of a MK4 VW Golf for example.

My picks for good buy's in your price range that may suit are:

MK4 VW Golf
Volvo S40
Volvo S60
Fiat Multipla (fantastically practical but you may not like the looks)
VW Passat
Honda Accord

Best to look at examples of those and then if you like one come back for a guide on how to pick a good one and the pro's/con's of that model.

The S40 with the right engine choice will be about the most reliable car you can buy for your money, but when you do need parts they will be slightly dearer than some other makes. The S40 also has built in child booster seats which can be super handy. Very safe vehicle and nice to drive.

The VW Golf is a really nice car and easy to maintain, very safe, parts are cheap and easy to get. Automatic transmissions are the weak point though so either buy one with history of transmission service or get a manual one.

The Multipla in Diesel is amazingly versitile, has better visibility than a car and unbelievably cheap to run. Parts and servicing are easy and cheap. Looks probably not to your taste though.

The Passat is a good larger car option. The 1.8 litre turbo engine is the one to get for both economy and power. Make sure the air con is working and use it often to keep it working. (expensive part to fix). Parts are cheap, lovely safe reliable car. As with the Golf care should be taken to get one that has had the transmission serviced.

The Accord is one of the better value Japanese cars. It is also nice to drive, generally good fuel economy and just a nicer all round car than the Toyota offerings.

You may find its easier to get a nice example of say the Volvo than a Camry, the reason is they type of person who buys those cars. How a car has been treated is huge, even the most reliable car can be troublesome if neglected and a car with a poor reputation can often be quite O.K if well looked after.

The Camry is the popular option due to perceived reliability, but do be aware that they are not always good value for money and are quite thirsty in automatic compared to other options available. By all means get one if you like it and can find a nicely looked after one at a fair price. Sometimes that can be hard to do though, they are also a very uninspiring vehicle to drive and travel in.

Another tip for you.
You will no doubt encounter the cam chain driven vs cambelt debate. Neither option is worth going out of your way to get.

Cambelt cars require the belt to be changed typically every 5 years. This can actually be an advantage with an older cheaper car as other items like waterpumps are often attended to at this time.

Cam chain cars are touted as good as you don't need to do that servicing, however waterpumps etc still eventually need attention and when a cam chain does eventually stretch it is much more expensive than a belt to attend to.

So long as you budget for the cambelt change if due its not a problem. Also remember cambelts are changed at X amount of km's or X number of years which ever comes first. Many people forget about the years part.

nissan gtr

ktm x-bow

thankyou everyone particularly thejazzpianoma . the waterpump just went on our vectra which has caused major problems with it, if only the mechanic had changed that when he'd done the cambelt we wouldn't be in this position, but you live and learn don't you .
thankyou, i best get searching i guess . andyes i'd imagine it 's about a balance of all those things. i might look at the VW Passat, quite classy looking little vehicles.and then take a nosey at the others.
so a mechanic sounds like my best bet over the aa and vtnz checks. why don't those checks tell you what you need to know when they're there exactly for that reason!

Also if buying private; text rego plate # to 'find' (3463) to check if money is owing. Only costs about $2.
www.ppsr.govt.nz/cms/searching-the-ppsr/txtb4ubuy

sit down at the computer and have a good old look through the second hand cars for sale section on here - use the search bar at the left.

then it's just a case of narrowing the search down untill you have a candidate or two to view. good luck

$5k problems.

That's useful.Not everybody has money hanging around that matches your apparent budget

so true galex, especially when you didn't really want to be in the market for a new car, it just happened

Bollocks!

Thats very helpful, i wouldn't have thought about it from taht angle. thankyou

PukasI must tell you that the 5k price range is a pretty difficult one to be dealing in. YES definitely you WILL find some pretty darned nice cars but by the same account there is some real utter rubbish as well.
I find mysef compelled to ask the question--Why buy an unknown when quite probably you could fit a good second hand engine in your current car with a new belt and a new water pump for a lot less than the money you are talkng about.

PukasI must tell you that the 5k price range is a pretty difficult one to be dealing in. YES definitely you WILL find some pretty darned nice cars but by the same account there is some real utter rubbish as well.
I find mysef compelled to ask the question--Why buy an unknown when quite probably you could fit a good second hand engine in your current car with a new belt and a new water pump for a lot less than the money you are talkng about.!
A good mechanic with a job of that value will most certainly have a loan car for you whilst he is doing the job.
This just seems a lot more sensible than buying someone elses problems