Hey Guys,
I was researching on the resell websites for used car under 4k and i see a lot of options where the car has run 200 thousand km or are our 14 years old. I want a recommendation if its safe to buy those cars. If yes which brands and car will you suggest ? Its a difficult choice to make. i am not going above 4k as rehistration and other costs would be 1k i assume.
Good advice
Think Toyota Mazda etc
My personal favourite is Toyota Camry.
Negotiate … A lot. The sellers of these cars often get very few offers so you should be able to easily negotiate.
at that price tho id suggest hyundai accent.
spend 1k get xcel
For $4k you are going to get a piece of shit. Catch the bus until you can save more money.
Depends on where OP lives, that may not be viable. Where I live there's no bus and the train is a rural one that is 20 mins from my house. A car is essential
What? I spent less then $4k on a car 5 years ago, and it's still running just fine today.
Should be able to get something quite ok for $4k these days. Every one wants to be seen driving new cars so older not so flash cars can be good value.
I'm running a 99 Mazda i got for 3.5k has been no problems
Plenty of commodores and falcons < 4k
Don't be afraid to purchase a high KM car.
One of my commodores has done over 220k and my calais is sitting on 279k
My brothers Mitsubishi wagon has done 320
The work ute has done over 500
A couple AU falcons at work have done close to 400k
Yes these have had repairs in the past but nothing too costly
Yep, but for a high km car make sure it is a common model without too many fancy bits on it. Base models of the above or Corolla, Pulsar, Mazda. Even Hyundai is OK. Picking an uncommon or Euro model is a recipe for expensive parts and repairs.
There are heaps of decent cars around for $4k. Sure, they might look a bit rough, but will get you from A-B just fine. The key is to either have some mechanical ability, or be related to someone who is and be able to properly inspect it.
How long do you intend on keeping it? Can you drive manual? If I were you i'd look for a Hyundai Getz or something along those lines. Probably fold like paper in a crash though.
I bought a 2005 Honda accord euro for about $5000 2 years ago with about 140,000km, Great car.
For the life of you, don't get a commodore. 4K is a great budget for an older used car, plenty of good stuff. What you want is reliability if you're not keen on working on it yourself. I second the Honda Accord, or anything Toyota, though a Camry may just be too boring imo, for a car like that 200k km's is only half its life. My first car was a 2003 Mitsubishi Magna TJ, 200k on the clock, did nothing but change the oil and brake pads for 5 years and it was rock solid, good looks, and surprisingly enjoyable to drive too despite the body roll.
Why not commodore? They are cheap, simple, comfortable, spacious and heaps of spares available. Guy at work has had two $1500 commodore without any trouble, except the first one got written off in a crash, only sold the second to get a 4wd. There are heaps of them on the roads still too.
Sure, the size doesn't suit everyone, but if it does suit then I don't see why not. Same goes for the Falcon from BA onwards.
This is awesome. Thanks guys!!!
So here is what I get
Toyota or Mazda are my best option.
Go for a sedan so it's safer
Don't worry about kms or how many years old of it has roadworthy certification and no mechanical issues.
Mitsubishi Lancer
I'd stick to the Japanese brands and stay away from the Europeans. Make sure it has a roadworthy certificate otherwise you could be up for a fortune to get it on the road.