Purchasing a Second-Hand Car (Budget $15k)

bigboichad on 17/06/2022 - 10:56
Last edited 17/06/2022 - 10:57

Hello fellow Ozbargainers,

My partner is looking to purchase a second-hand sedan car with a budget of ~$15k, mainly to travel to work, etc.. We are both international graduates who just started working a couple of months ago, hence the low budget. The reason she needs a car is because I will be moving interstate for work in a couple of months, leaving her without a car to travel to work.

Cars isn't really our forte and need advice on purchasing it. I am more inclined to purchase Toyota, Mazda or Honda cars because of their reputation in making robust cars, but am happy to hear your suggestions and experience. What criteria do you prioritise when purchasing second-hand cars? How do you rank them?

Most of the cars we looked at is either older (2006 - 2009) and have lower mileage (<100,000 km) or newer (2012 onwards) with higher mileage (>100,000 km). Not sure which option we should consider.

Side note, is RACV vehicle inspection worth it if there is RWC? What precautions should we take if we purchase from a private seller?

Poll Options

  • 9
    Buy a car with newer model year but higher mileage (>100,000 km)
  • 36
    Buy a car with older model year but lower mileage (<100,000 km)
Automotive Car

Comments

  • oscargamer on 17/06/2022 - 11:00
    +13

    Any of your 3 choices will be fine, but PLEASE buy a car with a complete service history. Lower km with no history is WAY worse than high km with a history.

    • bradl822 on 17/06/2022 - 11:43

      This exactly

    • Caped Baldy on 17/06/2022 - 11:46
      +2

      Also, get insurance and the vehicle checked by a mechanic and a PPSR report.

      • oscargamer on 17/06/2022 - 11:50
        +2

        Fully comp……PLEASE

      • randomusername2017 on 17/06/2022 - 11:59
        +1

        Check under the bonut….

      • Tavisophical on 18/06/2022 - 14:45

        How does one get a mechanic to check a second hand car?

        • Caped Baldy on 18/06/2022 - 15:39

          You can arrange a mobile mechanic to check it out

    • bigboichad on 17/06/2022 - 12:25

      Yeah 100%, seen a lot of dodgy cars without a complete history. Wouldn't want to touch that with a 10 foot pole.

  • cashless on 17/06/2022 - 11:03
    +1

    Camry

  • Drakesy on 17/06/2022 - 11:03

    Just FYI
    100,000's isn't high mileage

    200,000's is high mileage.

    Most cars should run up until 200k's without issues.

    • Xistn on 17/06/2022 - 11:14

      Oh that was goood one…

    • pegaxs on 17/06/2022 - 11:20
      +6

      Came here looking for $17,000 Dodge Journeys or XC60s with "booster seats" and was not disappointed.

      • websterp on 17/06/2022 - 11:40

        Or else OP should consider getting a 85k car on finance.

        • Xistn on 17/06/2022 - 11:59

          its 100K bro

        • bigboichad on 17/06/2022 - 12:40

          Yes! Now that makes more sense financially than to purchase an engine for $8000 when your overpriced car is worth $17,000.

      • randomusername2017 on 17/06/2022 - 13:49
        +1

        Out of warranty BMW sales seem to be under reported these days…

        • srhardy on 18/06/2022 - 13:59

          As long as you do your servicing via 3rd party and source parts on ebay, wreckers as a common 'service' cost is $5000! (last 3 bmw services were over 3k each at the dealers!). they are not a cheap car to keep serviced! But, yes they are worth it… Kicks the humble toyotas ass and then some! But not for the lazy budget buyer.

          BTW: my bro just picked up a 3k 20 year old bmw3 series 4cl for $3k and spent another 3k on getting it back to awesome. Amazing value and will be a neices first car for L/P's as its super safe car build and quality inside and out.

    • bigboichad on 17/06/2022 - 12:37

      Hmm, the mechanic and price of the car seems a little dodge-y to me.

  • AndyC1 on 17/06/2022 - 11:15
    +3

    Yes get a RACV inspection as they will check it for faults. The RWC is to say it can be registered and driven on the road, but it may have faults.

    • Quantumcat on 17/06/2022 - 11:26
      +1

      This, the RWC says nothing about it being in good condition mechanically, just that the windscreen isn't broken and the lights work.

      • AndyC1 on 17/06/2022 - 12:05

        RWC covers more than just the windscreen and lights.

        • Quantumcat on 17/06/2022 - 12:24
          -1

          Yes but the things it covers are things that make it safe to be on the road (lights, brakes, mirrors..), not things that mean in might break down in a few months and cost $1000 to fix

          • AndyC1 on 17/06/2022 - 12:30

            @Quantumcat: Exactly what I said.

            • Quantumcat on 17/06/2022 - 13:20
              -1

              @AndyC1: I was agreeing with you 🤔 Not sure why you had a problem with that.

  • ESEMCE on 17/06/2022 - 11:19
    +1

    Toyota, Mazda, Kia or Hyundai
    All are generally highly reliable and relatively cheap to maintain.

    You ought to be able to buy a more recent model Kia or Hyundai than you will a Mazda or Toyota at the same money/model segment.
    Ideally want a private sale with good service history.

    • BrettSh on 18/06/2022 - 11:29

      Yep, my better half has been driving an Hyundia Elantra for 6 years now. Hyundia & Kia share a lot of components and they are definitely up there with the Japanese.

    • bigboichad on 20/06/2022 - 13:54

      Is it worth considering purchasing it directly from a dealership?
      Most of the dealers I have dealt previously doesn't know the history of the car, which kinda throws me off honestly.

      • Euphemistic on 20/06/2022 - 14:10

        At a dealer you’ll pay a little more, but have guarantee title, and some form of warranty if under certain age and condition.

        It depends a bit on the sealer too wether they choose to sell ‘good’ used cars vs whatever they can get.

        Went to a dealer in the last few days and found one car hadn’t been cleaned before putting it out for display. Not sure I’d trust them after that.

  • F1ProjectOne on 17/06/2022 - 11:30

    Look around the car, take pictures of the bottom of the car, drive it and look out for weird noises or behaviour. Next, if you're keen on the car, get the pre purchcase inspection from a local mechanic for ~$70-$100 instead of RACV $300+.

    • forged on 17/06/2022 - 12:48

      Can't speak for how good RACV's inspections are, but be careful… I got an inspection from a well-reviewed local mechanic and they missed a LOT of issues.

      • DragoBoyz on 18/06/2022 - 11:26

        What sort of issues did they miss?

        • forged on 19/06/2022 - 11:46

          They did note a “high pitched noise from the rear” which “probably isn’t the diff” - it was the diff.
          “No sign of accident damage” - looking closer, there’s a bunch of filler in the boot lid and signs of previous damage at the front.
          “Bit of a sump leak, but we tightened down the screws to pass RWC” - sump was still leaking. Rocker cover and a couple of other gaskets were leaking too.
          PCV membrane was torn, leading to inconsistent idle.

          They only charged about $50 for the inspection, so I can’t complain too much. But definitely not happy that so much was missed.

  • cille745 on 17/06/2022 - 12:33
    +1

    One thing to check is to ensure that low km cars have still been serviced by time instead of kilometers, this is often skipped.

    • bigboichad on 17/06/2022 - 12:35

      Would it matter if I can get a pre-purchase inspection by RACV?

      • Presence on 17/06/2022 - 12:48
        +1

        Yes.

        You want:
        - RWC
        - Compete service history, as per manufacturers advice (either time or distance as appropriate).
        Then book a RACV inspection.

        RACV isn't magic. They can't check a lot of things reliably.

  • bobbified on 17/06/2022 - 12:40
    +1

    Stay away from Peugeots!

    • nubzy on 17/06/2022 - 13:00

      Only if you want to miss out on a reliable, comfy, well equipped and very frugal car for little $. Your loss.

      • bobbified on 17/06/2022 - 13:13

        It really would be OP's loss if he got a Peugeot for his partner! 😁

  • MS Paint on 17/06/2022 - 14:11
    +3

    I would purchase a car with 100k country kms over a 50k km city car any day of the week.

    Short trips, often when the engine doesn't get to full operating temp, heaps of braking etc is detrimental to engines and other components.

    • brendanm on 17/06/2022 - 17:43
      +2

      People are so scared of kms in Australia for some reason.

      • Exec-Matrix on 18/06/2022 - 07:52
        -2

        Agreed…its an NPC thing I think. A friend of mine has 96k on his perfectly fine 2012 Suzuki Vitara and he's already talking about selling it at 100k because it's "high"

  • Euphemistic on 17/06/2022 - 15:35
    +1

    About 13000km per year is considered average. I’d pick a car that has between 10-13k km per year on it. Less than that and it’s been sitting around too much, much more and it’s been driven a lot and possibly not serviced enough.

    Stick with Japanese or Korean brands. Pick the smallest car you are comfortable with. Pick something that you see plenty of on the roads.

  • Exec-Matrix on 18/06/2022 - 07:51
    +3

    Don't be scared of high mileage if you have comprehensive if not complete service history. Even call the workshop if you have to.

    I begrudgingly bought a 2010 Toyota Aurion SX6 with 237k for $7k as I needed a car ASAP and it was the only decent local car available now.I had no intention keeping it long term.

    It surprisingly had its FULL service history with same mechanic for 8 years and a couple years later I still have it, kept the services up and it's soldiering on.

    • BrettSh on 18/06/2022 - 11:41
      +2

      Have owned a few Toyotas over the years. In my experience and from conversations with various mechanics, properly serviced Toyota engines have very long lives. Also, any decent (well serviced) late model car that's done lots of "hot" miles in a relatively short period of time is a better bet than a much older car with equivalent mileage that has probably done lots of short trips.

  • DragoBoyz on 18/06/2022 - 11:52
    +2

    RWC basically means the car is safe to be on the road. It does not mean the car will be in good mechanical condition.
    The RACV check will be a better indicator but it is by no means a 100% tick of approval. They can and will miss things depending on who does it and how thorough they are. They will have a check list to go through that will be different to a local shop. But unless you have a trusted mechanic to take it to RACV will be fine.
    If you can find out details of previous owners when inquiring that will help a lot.

    Take it for a decent test drive. Try all the functions in the car (aircon, heaters, fans, reverse sensors, radio etc etc). When you test drive it have the radio off and listen for weird noises. Make sure the steering wheel is straight and the brakes don't feel weird. If you don't know what you're looking at in the engine bay definitely get someone else to look. They probably won't test all the interior functions so you do it.

    Newer car high kms: likely a company car that drove on the highway a lot. If it was a government car or say a sales rep car it will have been serviced regularly but usually not much care has been taken to look after cosmetic problems. If its a city car scope out the owner. Look like a hoon? Conservative? Get a back story and go off trust. For the cars you are looking at they will go well over 200k. If its sitting at 140k and you only drive it 10k a year it has plenty of life left.

    Older car low kms: make sure you know why they are selling it. Did they upgrade? Was it a trade in? Can't give you a straight answer or seems dodgy? Just not using it enough? How many previous owners? If you are not looking at hoon cars (commodores, falcons, wrx etc) this is less of a concern. Again use your judgement, if you think they've flogged the car they probably have.

    Make sure there are no major issues affecting the cars you're looking at. A classic is a VE commodre timing chain wearing out or a Subaru thats gonna blow a head gasket soon. Ask if they have had these issues fixed and if they don't know be prepared to foot the bill.

    Also remember that a dealership is not necessarily safer than private. They can get crapoy trade ins or bandaid fix auction cars they do the bare minimum on to get out the door. Take someone else with you, preferably someone who knows a bit or is able to help you away from awkward situations

    • BrettSh on 18/06/2022 - 22:22

      All good advice :-)

  • payless69 on 18/06/2022 - 13:47

    A Camry with a patched ceiling?

  • srhardy on 18/06/2022 - 14:05
    +1

    Avoid DSG autogearboxes as they are expensive to service and fix. Best to buy a stick over DSG. Around 2014 a lot of cars got new entertainment systems with carplay and safety equipment like reversing cameras, auto braking ect… Look for the safert'y packs they save you money from screwing up (and thats 99% of accidents) ~ tyers, downgrade from 19/20 down to 15/16/17 max. Rubbers better, rides better and cheaper than 18/19/20" rims and runflats. People LIE, so if you can buy a car from someone you know thats upgrading thats better than a car yard anyday and avoid caryard warranties, they are 99% worthless

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