I'm looking to buy a car around $7500 for a family with a good safety rating, goes easy on the petrol and has reasononable kms I am reading all the online advice but would appreciate more eg where to buy from, what to look for , who to hire to check it all out, is it better from a car dealer or priv etc…any suggestions on models and years
Any help would be appreciated as I really don't know much other than the basis about cars.
Thanks
Thanks heaps ! 4 in the family including a toddler (with a baby seat) and 8 year old . I think 4ish safety rating. Located in Melbourne about 40 mins from the city. Looking at a sedan or suv but guessing an Suv will eat a lot of petrol so something medium sized. Automatic and as recent as possible something 2007 or anytime after. Basically something safe all round, medium sized that will last not particularly fussed about anything else as long as it has a good reputation.
Is it more worth it to wait and get a manual license?
you are asking a lot for that money
maybe a 2012 Mazda 2 Neo, or 2010 Mazda 3 Neo, or 2011 Toyota Corolla, or 2011 Toyota Camry, or 2009 Toyota Aurion
Thanks heaps wow didn't know $7500 could get a 2012 where have you seen them and where is the best place to look for those cars at dealers or priv and if purchased from a dealer should you still hire someone to check it out first?
Mazda 6
commodore station wagon on LPG. Cheap to run, cheap to service, cheap to insure, heaps of space
Or even on petrol. They aren't as thirsty as they used to be.
Some of the things I always look for and could be a little difficult in the $7,500 price range:
If you stick to those criteria you'll generally avoid most lemons as they are well looked after and too new to have any major problems. So if you use the above you could get a good private deal, I generally avoid dealers :)
Outside of that Toyota is pretty reliable probably the Aurion would make a good family car, otherwise Mazda is pretty good as well. If you don't mind Korean brands Hyundai and Kia cars aren't bad these days either.
Personally I look for just over 100 000 kms as:
1) Most manufacturers have their major (most expensive service) at 100 000. Obviously check this is done. Buying at 95 000 would be a bad idea.
2) Modern engines and lubricants will see cars do 300 000km+ easily these days.
3) Thankfully a lot of people see 100 000km as a negative and brings the price down nicely :)
P.S. - Look on Pickles / Manheim auction sites in winter. As a bonus, they come with a basic mechanical report and I have found the auction guys to be very up front & honest regarding the condition of vehicles.
Thank you very much going to go along with those precautions and things to look out for and have a look at what's out there only reasons I was looking at buying from a dealer was because a lot of them said they came with mechanical insurance etc..
Excuse the bad typing lol not enough sleep
Do I just ask racv to check the car over?
Oh and yes I always haggle ;)
Hey mate, make sure you press reply to reply to the person you're talking to otherwise they won't know you've responded.
Thnx still working it all out will do that now :)
My family got a 2008 Aurion Persara for 11k, really low mileage, something like 58000km I think. But it has lots of little dints here and there. That car was so cheap but it drinks petrol like crazy, very nice to drive but it feels massive on the road. Lots of space in the car and a huge boot! It already has many new scratches now(three months later) from people's shopping trolleys :(
Have you got any connections with car salesman? That's how we got ours so cheap.
Can they spend more?
$7,500 isn't gonna get much…
Just had a look on car sales.
For a Mazda 2 neo you are looking at $9,800 for a MANUAL.
Same with Toyota Corolla 2011 manual.
You can get a 2009 aurion but that is getting a bit old.
I'd buy from a dealer ideally a Toyota/Mazda/whatever dealer rather than some random used car place.
You could look at somewhere like car city who have a reputation to maintain.
Also get a 3rd party warranty
I had a 2007 Hyundai Tucson as my last car. Great car, very reliable, good fuel economy, decent storage.
I would almost ask a friend or relative to inspect and negotiate on your behalf to ensure the car is fair value, condition and price
I'd also get racv checks. Can't go wrong with a Aurion and they're good for resale
I often buy/sell for my family because of similar situations
I thought Aurions have poor resale values?
Perhaps but I'm saying there will always be demand (if you keep the kms down)
happy to help, but need WAY more info
how many in the family? ages?
what do you think is a good safety rating?
what do they want to do in it?
do they have any manufacturer preferences?
sedan/wagon/suv/people mover?
auto/man?
country or metro driving?
where are they?