i've been in car sales industries and i can tell you there is no honest dealers here. all they want is make money

trade-in in dealership is rip off and you will find over average price for buying used car in most dealerships

when you buy a used car, make sure its local bc car (not cars from usa or cars from other province) with its accident history and make sure it has clean title

there is a reason why we call dealership stealership

Nice finds Thumper!

This Mazda 3 looks very tempting and the details looks even more tempting :) Thanks the nice share.

That Nissan seems too big and looks like to have quite a bigger engine which means big engine big on maintenance.

I am after a car

Which is Low on Maintenance or easy to Mantain like six months check up with Mechnics

Should be reliable easy to replace parts no major issues with transmission , engine etc.

and in Budget.

Can't go on with more points due to budget constrains so need to keep that list limited.

Do you guys know any good Place that can perform Full inspection in Richmond area that you have personal experience of using or around Richmond.

I would take it to the dealer. Mazda = mazda dealer.
I mean who would know the car better than the dealer?
+ they always want to find everything that's wrong with the car anyways right?!?!

Just FYI, not that it makes a big difference, but I'm pretty sure that's a GS, not GT.
GT's have a wing/spoiler and I believe they come with leather seats.

What do you think of this one guys ?

2007 Mazda MAZDA5 GS for $4,000 in Richmond | autoTRADER.ca

The dealer doesn't know any more than anyone else. Unless you get a mechanic who's had special training (unlikely) or has a lot of experience with that particular chassis (also unlikely) they're no different from the guys at any other shop.

maybe it dosen't matter anymore for a car this old, but back in the day when i had the inspection done on the car i was looking at with the dealership i chose (bcaa accredited), they also did a manufacturer recall check, and were able to give me a fast estimate for the repairs needed using oem or aftermarket/used parts. they also checked for known issues that i didn't have to tell them to do, such as a body weld problem known for the model year i had, as well as pull the past service history from the database.

very sensible tip thumper will look for bcaa approved shops.

i'm not saying underscore dosen't have a point. for a car this old it might not matter anymore depending on how many owners it's seen, etc.. check how much the dealer charges first and then decide if it's worth the value of the car...

as for an indie shop in richmond, HBL Autosports seems to get good reviews:

https://www.yelp.ca/biz/hbl-autosports-richmond

I've used this as a general guideline for Canadian used car prices, if you punch in the numbers, you'll get a range.

http://www.vmrcanada.com/canada_makes.htm

The Mazda5 you posted is priced pretty well.

VMR Canadian Used Car Prices - 2007 Mazda MAZDA5

That one is the first year of the MZ3. GS had the 2.0 (similar to Protege/P5), GT had the 2.3.

My GF has an 07 MZ3 GT, hatch, auto (same drivetrain as MZ5). Bought at 90k from the original owner and was only dealer serviced, now at 170k. Aside from regular synthetic oil changes and cabin air filters, I've done:

- 100k rf engine mount, front pads and rotors
- 120k struts, plugs, thermostat
- 160k battery, f/r pads and rotors

As soon as the weather cooperates, I'll be replacing the front LCA's (new bushings/BJ's), front wheel bearings and flushing the tranny fluid.

Overall, it's been a good car and only needed basic maintenance.

Having said that, I've heard of PCV failures causing oil consumption/seized engines and failed TCM (tranny control module) which is an easy fix but expensive part.

Have you bought yet ... this was posted in the CL thread by someone and it might fit your bill, already has snow tires on. Pretty low kms for a 99. You and your whole family can go camping and sleep in that thing, so damn cavernous.

1999 Honda Odyssey - $3488, 179K kms

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/cto/5956368916.html
https://images.craigslist.org/01313_...3S_600x450.jpg

These are great cars! smooth and comfy

Common things to check:
AUTOMATIC TRANSMISSION
TIMING BELT MAINTENANCE