Hi OzBargainers, we are looking for a second hand car for the family.
Wife is coming off of maternity leave and returning to work. We both need to drive to work so looking for a second car on a budget. Our budget is $10-$15k, the key for us is reliability and affordability to maintain. Ideally SUV as we can appreciate the space with the baby, but not a must.
We've been looking at CRV, RAV4, Camry, Accord around 8-15 years, but having difficulty finding a decent example.
Any advice will be appreciated!
TLDR : Looking for a reliable second hand car that is $10-$15k.
First rule is Japanese or Korean at that age.
Second rule is that, at that age, its the individual car far more than the manufacturer. You can get crap Toyotas (not that they necessarily deserve the 'unbreakable' praise any more). So low km to the extent you can and do your research on the car itself, not on the model or the manufacturer. They are all perfectly fine manufacturers making perfectly fine cars.
Third rule, which might be arguably inconsistent with rule 2, is that service records are important but cars do not explode if service intervals are 18 months instead of 12. If they have been serviced regularly over the past few years then they are almost certainly fine even if you dont have evidence of earlier services. aka - people freak out about servicing, but most modern oils can last 15-20,000km before they need changing and there is a fair bit of contingency on that. Brake pads and other consumables are easily replaced if needed. Is that ideal - no, if you can find one with a proper service record then that is better. But if you find one and the service record is a bit unclear/imperfect then its still something you can look at. By all means, if you can, send the car into a local mechanic for a full safety inspection (eg mycar offer this service for $250, plenty of others do the same). Note - I will get a lot of people telling me I'm wrong about servicing. If you prefer to follow their advice then go for it.
Final rule is that 2nd hand car prices have been ridiculous for a while but are starting to head down. The longer you can wait the cheaper they will become. However it will be a fairly slow decline so if you need one now then dont wait expecting to save a lot.
In terms of best bang for buck, Toyota is always more expensive because of its brand cachet but the Camry is a good car for your needs. Rav4 are expensive because the current model is really good but hard to find, so everyone is after a previous model. For your price your best bet is probably a Forester, a Sportage or perhaps an XV (smaller but still quite spacious). Or maybe an ix35 if you dont mind the fairly weak engine. You might be able to sneak in a Mazda 6 wagon. Avoid the Captiva which you will see a lot of.