Hi all,
I bought a used 2007 Lexus IS250 about 2 years ago from a Sydney dealer for $11k, its had a power steering problem which appeared a few months after I bought it. The power steering would randomly fail (sometimes multiple times a day, other times it would go weeks and be fine). I have tried to get this fixed by my mechanic, an autoelectrician and a Lexus dealer. All of them tried something, but the power steering would still fail. Its a hard one to fix because it fails so intermittently and randomly. I am sick of spending money on it, plus it also now needs a belt tensioner and an alternator overrunning clutch which I have been quoted $1100 to fix.
These problems, plus the fact that our family is about to get a bit bigger, mean that I am on the hunt for a bigger, more reliable car.
My options are:
1) Trade in my Lexus (hopefully get around 7-8k for it) and get one of the following used cars from a Toyota Dealership:
• A 2017 Toyota RAV4 [85,000km] for $27000. My Mrs would probably steal this car from me and I would get her old 2008 RAV4. She loves hers. Only down side is its a bit more than I wanted to spend.
• A 2014 Mazda CX-9 [95,000km] for $25000. Seems like a good idea as we would outgrow this anytime soon.
• A 2014 Nissan X-TRAIL [70,000 km] for $21000.
There are some others I would consider like an Hyundai ix35, Kia Sorrento or Subaru Forester, but I am in a large regional town and the above cars are the only ones the local Toyota dealer had.
2) Same again, trade in my car but get a NEW car:
I had a quick look at the new MG's because they were the same price as the used cars I was looking at. They looked pretty nice and they come with the 7 year warranty. Can you really go wrong with this? The one I was most interested in was the ZS Essence - Ex demo. I didn't see the kms but they had reduced it by 2k down to $24000. I understand that everyone says they're Chinese junk but are there any actual known problems or downsides with them? Its cheaper than the RAV4, brand new, and comes with warranty. All you seem to be sacrificing is some resale value in 6-10 years time. I would rather have the warranty TBH. The other benefit is that I don't think the new car prices have been inflated due to Covid, so you don't feel like you're getting ripped off (as much).
3) Try to sell my car and worry about getting a new one when prices settle:
My father-in-law has an older Pajero that he only uses for towing his show cars around. He said I can borrow it indefinitely (providing he can swap it with his Commodore if he needs to tow something and I go halves in rego with him). This sounds like a great deal, as it would allow me to sell my car while prices are high and then wait until the market settles before getting myself a new car. The only issue is selling my Lexus. I have it listed on Carsales for $9500 as I have seen others on Carsales with similar km to mine and they are going for 11-13k. I figured with the problems this is a fair price. I have had lots of interest, about 15 enquiries in a week (95% has been from Middle Eastern gentlemen - they must like Lexus'). I am honest about the problems in both the ad and when talking to them and then I get lowballed, they offer me $4-6k.
Are there any other options other than selling privately, such as selling to a wholesaler, auction house or dealer? How do I go about this? I am in a large regional town so it wouldn't be as easy as somewhere like Sydney.
Am I being realistic about the price on the car?
I could fix the the belt tensioner and alternator problem for $1100 but I doubt I would get anywhere close to that money back in the sale. Then I have no idea who to go to with the power steering issue.
This would be my preferred route to take however the only issue is getting rid of my Lexus for a price I'm OK with.
If you're going to sell privately, you're going to have to bite your tongue…once it's sold the buyer can't really do much when the problem rears it's head but you may cop a bit of flak for it, depending on the buyer and when it appears.
I'd have an issue with that personally and I'd just trade it. At least the buyer getting it then could potentially get it sorted thru the dealer thereafter.
Whilst the MG idea is sound, I don't think they're going to hold their value. You may have 7 years trouble free but if it falls apart after that time or you just want to sell, what will it be worth? I'm sure you could justify it by having it so long. I guess have a look at Great Wall and similar as that's how I think they will fare over the longer term.
Out of that list, I'd get the newer Rav (and I don't like Rav's). Next would be the CX9. We did have a 2014 CX9 Luxury and it was an excellent car. Absolutely nil issues in the 6-7 years we had it since new, nice to drive, plenty of room. Would highly recommend this option but I think the newer Rav will serve you better. Otherwise trade yours, sell the current Rav so the wife can upgrade and drive the FIL's car? Will soften the blow of the more expensive car and then look at getting something else for yourself down the track. I'd just want the baby in the safest car most of the time (if that makes sense).