Calling all car experts I need your input

amother

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 10:52 am

For reference I live in the tri state where we get rain some snow and ice and we have lots of hills.
If you had a choice between theses cars which would you choose?
2009 Honda Pilot with a little over 230,000 miles in good condition don't know how the owner cared for it or a 2004 Hyundai Santa Fe with 62,000 miles without AWD and without ABS in excellent condition well maintained.
Or a 2004 Ford Explorer but don't know any details about it.

Which would you go for?

Princess23

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 10:59 am

amother OP wrote:

Get a new car if you can afford it. Old cars have too many issues.

amother

Vanilla

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 10:59 am

amother OP wrote:

I'm far from an expert, but we have a Hyundai Sonata which spends lots of time at our mechanic. When I complained to him, he said "Didn't you know that Hyundais are high maintenance?"

I think Hondas are usually reliable, but that is a lot of miles on the car.

amother

Tuberose

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 11:03 am

amother OP wrote:

Of the three, Hyundai.

amother

Tuberose

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 11:04 am

amother Vanilla wrote:

I think older hyundais had better reliability. I would not buy a newer one.

amother

Calendula

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 11:05 am

I wouldn’t go for any car that old
Not for snobbish reasons, but it’s literally throwing money in the toilet
In general, don’t go for a car older than 5-7 years and careful with the mileage and accident history
If it has a lot of miles, verify if they are city or highway miles mostly

amother

Cappuccino

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 11:11 am

Our friends father was a used car salesman. He told us in general you go with newer car and higher mileage. His reasoning was that cars are built for the miles, but the many little things start to go. If you get a newer car, you have more longevity with the little things and high miles isn't a big deal.

However, I wouldn't choose any of your options. I'd keep looking. Your high mileage car is the oldest. And your newer one is missing safety features that you want. And I'd never recommend buying a 20 year old car with no other details.

I'm wondering if you're going to a car auction and that's why you have very little info. For people who are knowledgeable and in the business, they have a lot more experience. I wouldn't buy a 15-20 yr old car at auction if I didn't have the right background knowledge.

Keep looking!

amother

Valerian

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 11:11 am

Prefacing this with my husband being the car expert but I didn't talk this through with him*

I wouldn't buy a car with over 200,000 miles (or really over 150,000) and expect it to last more than a year so price would be the biggest factor because I would spend $2k for a car for a year if a reliable mechanic said it looks ok.

Mileage matters much more than age when it comes to frequency of repairs but the bigger issue with older cars is that the parts might not be available anymore when something does break, this is something you can also ask your mechanic about that specific car.

If the prices were all the same, I would go for the Hyundai but either way if you're buying cars at this age/stage, befriend a good mechanic.

amother

Winterberry

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:29 pm

Unless you are looking for a disposable junker that you don't need for reliable transportation, none of those options are good.

230,000 is a LOT of miles even for a car that was well maintained.

Cars that are close to 20 years old - even with relatively low mileage - are going to need constant maintenance because the parts are old and just like anything the actual materials deteriorate.

I had a relatively low mileage car that I used only for short trips around town - I.e. errands. However, it was 17 years old and inevitably it needed a very expensive repair just because it was that age.

At that point, my very reliable mechanic told me that it didn't pay to make that repair but it was time to get a replacement.

yamz

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:42 pm

I don't think some posters realize that OP probably doesn't have a lot of options. Obviously she would buy a much newer car with way fewer miles if she had the money. We would all love to buy brand new cars and sell them after 3 years. But many people don't have that kind of money. Clearly, OP is trying to make the best of her current situation.

OP, the best advice you got so far is to keep shopping if you can hold out a little longer. Maybe someone has a good resource for used vehicles you aren't aware of?

amother

Winterberry

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 12:46 pm

yamz wrote:

Of course I realize - and assume other posters realize - that OP is operating within certain financial constraints.

However buying a car with extremely high mileage or that is very old is still a poor financial decision because it will almost certainly be unreliable and cost more over a relatively short period of time.

OP can be in a worse financial position by buying such a car.

If she were being given it for free that would be different.

yamz

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:00 pm

amother Winterberry wrote:

She can only buy what she can afford. So for example, if she has $4,500 to spend on a car, telling her to buy something that costs $20,000 isn't helpful. Yes, that relatively inexpensive car is probably going to need repairs and may not make financial sense for someone in a better position, but it may be all she can get. She may have to spend a lot on repairs, but not thousands at a time, the way you do when you purchase a car. People with fewer resources also have fewer options. Oftentimes they have no good options and often they are forced into purchases that are more expensive in the long run because they can't afford upfront costs. That's the reality.

Rappel

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 1:09 pm

None of the above.

When buying a car, you're either going to pay cash up front, or in 6 month installments at the mechanic. If it's more than 10 years old, then there's almost no way that it's not torn up inside. It may even pass an initial inspection, but it will still lose parts every few months -- and the older they get, the rarer they get. I wouldn't do it.

I only buy second hand cars, and I look for ones that look superficially dinged up (takes form the price), but didn't actually run too far in their lifetime. Then I bring it to my mechanic, and he gives it a full inspection. If it passes, then we purchase.

amother

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 3:11 pm

Yamz thank you so much for understanding. I don’t have any money for a newish car.
My budget is $4000.
Yes I know I can’t get very much for that price.
My husband is driving a car with over 350,000 on it and is 25 yrs old
My son also has a 25 yr old car which b”h has been doing great.
I would go with the Hyundai because it is in great condition was garaged since 2004 and driven very little, also I know the owner and she kept up with all maintenance that needed to be done.
My only hesitation is that it doesn’t have ABS brakes.
Everyone around me says I am being ridiculous for needing ABS.
Am I?

Rappel

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 3:20 pm

amother OP wrote:

How much would it cost to upgrade the brakes system?

I hear the problem of the limited budget. You have the cash flow to maintain it though, yes?

amother

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 4:10 pm

Rappel wrote:

How much would it cost to upgrade the brakes system?

I hear the problem of the limited budget. You have the cash flow to maintain it though, yes?

I don't think it would be able to be upgraded.

No I don't have money for big repairs but fortunately I have a family member who is a car mechanic but in another state that is if I would be able to get the car there also I have a friend close by whose husband used to fix cars so if needed he could do it for a bit cheaper than a regular mechanic.

amother

Wed, Jan 31 2024, 4:11 pm

amother Forsythia wrote:

FYI cars that have been sitting in a garage unused for a significant time can have their parts break from lack of usage.

No it wasn't sitting it was just used very little.