Second-hand sweet spot?

[vaultedskies]

Is there a "sweet spot" in terms of kms/years or in general when buying a second-hand car?

Eg:
Do you just go for the lowest mileage in your price range and preferred brand?
Do you try and get something with a few years left on the warranty and/or service plan?
Do you buy an older, better spec/class car with high mileage rather than a newer, lower spec/class car with low mileage (or vice versa)?
Is there a certain mileage/age cut-off point that you just don't buy?

Criteria would be reliability and minimal maintenance costs, as I don't know enough about cars to try and fix any major issues myself and I don't want the car to be a money pit. Usage is basically only for work and back. Budget around R150k.

Thanks guys!

 

[irBosOtter]

Yes lowest mileage has first priority for me.
Yes regarding a few years left on warranty and service plan
Lower spec with lower mileage is better for me.

I will never buy anything with more than 60 000km's on it and older than 3 years

But If I was rich then none of this would really matter, if it breaks just buy another one
But I'm not, have to work with a budget so all these things comes into play

 

[skeptic_SA]

French cars (Peugeot / Renault / Citroen) are notoriously finicky after 100 000km. Some people speculate its because cars are built to be replaced by that point in their lives, and so the French don't over-engineer their cars. No point. They headed for the crusher anyways. The tolerances in the materials wont allow for longevity past 100k. So if buying French - buy new or something sub 20 000km if you plan to own it for 3 or 4 years.

Toyota's on the other hand are renown for being the Mugabes of the car world. They go on and on and on and on and on.. My 5c

 

[vaultedskies]

Yes lowest mileage has first priority for me.
Yes regarding a few years left on warranty and service plan
Lower spec with lower mileage is better for me.

I will never buy anything with more than 60 000km's on it and older than 3 years

But If I was rich then none of this would really matter, if it breaks just buy another one
But I'm not, have to work with a budget so all these things comes into play

this! +1

edit: also, thanks for the feedback! I like your thinking.

 

[SauRoNZA]

Personally the big trick is teaching each car you consider on it's individual merits and taking a look forward by 2-3 services.

One brand will see you needing to change the cambelt at 90 000km and the next at 180 000km while yet another will use a cam chain instead.

Also buying a car that has it's cambelt service due at the very next service can be a very good deal, because that person is fearing the worst taking it to a dealership and is therefore selling it to negate that cost...something which is often quite silly...because now they spend 10x more to buy another car instead.

Another big ticket item to consider is the conditions of the discs and pads and when they will need to be replaced. Again this puts you either in a bargaining position or will make you walk away depending on what else is already on the list.

Something people also forget is the whole annual vs mileage thing when it comes to servicing. People will buy a car that is 12500km away from the next service...yet it's actually due the month after because it hasn't been serviced in 10 months etc.

For me the sweet spot is it's actual age, not so much it's mileage. When a car is in that 3-5 year gap is when it's still virtually new but the owner is approaching the end of their loan term or has just paid it off and is now itching to get something else.

3-5 year old car with a <100 000km on the clock is a much better deal to me than a brand new car in pretty much every case.

Case in point I bought my Golf 5 GTI at the 3-4 year mark with 95 000km on the clock for the same money that a brand new Polo would have cost me at the time. So I got a much bigger car with a whole lot more features for the same money.

Today my GTI is now 6-7 years old and still worth more than that brand new 2012 Polo which got knocked with depreciation and also won't sell nearly as easily.

 

[Coasti]

http://pcfastlane.com/used-car-deals/

 

[vaultedskies]

French cars (Peugeot / Renault / Citroen) are notoriously finicky after 100 000km. Some people speculate its because cars are built to be replaced by that point in their lives, and so the French don't over-engineer their cars. No point. They headed for the crusher anyways. The tolerances in the materials wont allow for longevity past 100k. So if buying French - buy new or something sub 20 000km if you plan to own it for 3 or 4 years.

Toyota's on the other hand are renown for being the Mugabes of the car world. They go on and on and on and on and on.. My 5c

yup, I won't ever buy French. I think Japanese is probably my best option given the need for reliability and affordability.

 

[SauRoNZA]

We got it the first time.

 

[vaultedskies]

http://pcfastlane.com/used-car-deals/

thanks for this link, the article looks interesting (and I love Excel the pics just don't seem to be loading in the article...

 

[Drifter]

Also take into consideration what kind of mileage. I would rather buy a 2012 with 80 000 kms on th clock if 70% of that was open road, than a 2012 with 40 000 kms that did it all in bumper to bumper traffic.

 

[vaultedskies]

Personally the big trick is teaching each car you consider on it's individual merits and taking a look forward by 2-3 services.

One brand will see you needing to change the cambelt at 90 000km and the next at 180 000km while yet another will use a cam chain instead.

Also buying a car that has it's cambelt service due at the very next service can be a very good deal, because that person is fearing the worst taking it to a dealership and is therefore selling it to negate that cost...something which is often quite silly...because now they spend 10x more to buy another car instead.

Another big ticket item to consider is the conditions of the discs and pads and when they will need to be replaced. Again this puts you either in a bargaining position or will make you walk away depending on what else is already on the list.

Something people also forget is the whole annual vs mileage thing when it comes to servicing. People will buy a car that is 12500km away from the next service...yet it's actually due the month after because it hasn't been serviced in 10 months etc.

For me the sweet spot is it's actual age, not so much it's mileage. When a car is in that 3-5 year gap is when it's still virtually new but the owner is approaching the end of their loan term or has just paid it off and is now itching to get something else.

3-5 year old car with a <100 000km on the clock is a much better deal to me than a brand new car in pretty much every case.

Case in point I bought my Golf 5 GTI at the 3-4 year mark with 95 000km on the clock for the same money that a brand new Polo would have cost me at the time. So I got a much bigger car with a whole lot more features for the same money.

Today my GTI is now 6-7 years old and still worth more than that brand new 2012 Polo which got knocked with depreciation and also won't sell nearly as easily.

Thanks for the good advice. I guess once you've narrowed down your options it's a good idea to take the car to a trusted mechanic to check for any issues like discs, etc.

 

[skeptic_SA]

Also take into consideration what kind of mileage. I would rather buy a 2012 with 80 000 kms on th clock if 70% of that was open road, than a 2012 with 40 000 kms that did it all in bumper to bumper traffic.

And if the previous driver was a woman. That's VERY important too. We ALL know women are MUCH better drivers than men. A car with 200 000km with a woman previous owner equated in value to a car previously driven by a man with 5000km on. My SO told me this btw. It MUST be true !

 

[Coasti]

thanks for this link, the article looks interesting (and I love Excel the pics just don't seem to be loading in the article...

It should be a sticky, but then there won't be no more "which car should I buy" threads.

 

[ScottulusMaximus]

I will never ever buy a new car, it's just throwing money away... I'll let the previous owner pay the depreciation and swoop in when the idiot buys the next model to impress his friends.

 

[vaultedskies]

And if the previous driver was a woman. That's VERY important too. We ALL know women are MUCH better drivers than men. A car with 200 000km with a woman previous owner equated in value to a car previously driven by a man with 5000km on. My SO told me this btw. It MUST be true !

obviously!

 

[vaultedskies]

Also take into consideration what kind of mileage. I would rather buy a 2012 with 80 000 kms on th clock if 70% of that was open road, than a 2012 with 40 000 kms that did it all in bumper to bumper traffic.

How would you know though if you're buying from a dealer? won't they just tell you what you want to hear...?

 

[Fazda]

French cars (Peugeot / Renault / Citroen) are notoriously finicky after 100 000km. Some people speculate its because cars are built to be replaced by that point in their lives, and so the French don't over-engineer their cars. No point. They headed for the crusher anyways. The tolerances in the materials wont allow for longevity past 100k. So if buying French - buy new or something sub 20 000km if you plan to own it for 3 or 4 years.

Toyota's on the other hand are renown for being the Mugabes of the car world. They go on and on and on and on and on.. My 5c

Nope, you've got it wrong.

French cars are very HIGHLY engineered.

The only reason we have a problem with French cars in SA, is because of the support network not always being what it should be.

In the good old days the Peugeot 404 and 504 were the Rep car of choice and if you go through Africa, Peugeot is still the car of choice.

It has absolutely nothing to do with under engineering.

If Peugeot /Citroen/Renault had a similar supply and support chain, to say VW or Mercedes, they would be selling like hot cakes. In Europe, they are recognised as top rate cars, and sell alongside VW, for example, without any hassles.

I agree that I wouldn't have touched one about 10 years back, but there has been a massive transformation in SA, since then - it is simply because people pig headedly refuse to actually give them a chance any more, that they don't sell well here.

 

[skeptic_SA]

Nope, you've got it wrong.

French cars are very HIGHLY engineered.

The only reason we have a problem with French cars in SA, is because of the support network not always being what it should be.

In the good old days the Peugeot 404 and 504 were the Rep car of choice and if you go through Africa, Peugeot is still the car of choice.

It has absolutely nothing to do with under engineering.

If Peugeot /Citroen/Renault had a similar supply and support chain, to say VW or Mercedes, they would be selling like hot cakes. In Europe, they are recognised as top rate cars, and sell alongside VW, for example, without any hassles.

I agree that I wouldn't have touched one about 10 years back, but there has been a massive transformation in SA, since then - it is simply because people pig headedly refuse to actually give them a chance any more, that they don't sell well here.

Nope, you've got it wrong.
Oh wait. That was your opinion. I see. Sorry. Yes youre entitled to yours. Apologies.

 

[Drifter]

How would you know though if you're buying from a dealer? won't they just tell you what you want to hear...?

That is the conundrum, isnt it?

 

[KingMikel]

My 1st car was a 2nd hand 2004 Corsa Lite Sport - 165k km at the time, in June '10.
Absolutely 0 issues except the usual Corsa issues - Hunting revs :/

2nd car was a 2014 Brio with 16k km. Wanted to flog the Corsa, it was old.

3rd car - 2014 Civic 1.8 Exec - 10400km on the clock. I wanted more power, maintenance plan etc. I don't want to worry about the car for the next 5 years.