New to Vancouver Looking for old Family Car Please guide
 

Hello All,

First all of all thank you for accepting me as a member for this useful and wonderful community.I will try to keep it short.

Basically I have moved to Vancouver from UK on work visa last year.

Since I have no credit history here and only having 2 months salary paid so far :) I am on a pretty tight on budget.

My budget is around 5000 dollars and in that i can only find very old 1999 Honda CRV and Mazda 5 ( my short listed cars) as I have small family.

My main question is on Craiglist most Car dealer says 1 year Free warranty ? does it really cover the main mechanical failure or gear box issue. As in UK it was pretty useless and some dealer told me that its not worth taking it and paying extra 100 pounds you hardly get any claims for it.

Does any one has personal experience of using this 1 yr Warranty that most agents give for free.

Thanksalot for your help again everyone

Welcome to BC and Revscene! Hate to say it but you chose a pretty shitty time to move here :lol

Free warranty?

:heckno:

Chances are there are very few things it would cover. And on the off chance it does cover something that breaks, you'll probably be on the hook for a huge deductible.

As a general rule, if you're looking at used car dealerships, stay away from ones on Kingsway (Burnaby) and King George (Surrey.)

$5000 should fetch you a decent little family car through private owners.

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5941448761.html
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/5867730459.html
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/cto/5943160499.html

Personally I'd get this one:

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5948554565.html

Provided the work can be verified with receipts, I'd say that Volvo is your best bet.

If you're worried about repair work, one option is to make friends with some members on here. There are a bunch of us that will often come out and help a fellow member if they need tools or a hand or simply want company. Usually a beer and burger is payment enough for us.

welcome to Vancouver bud,



those so called warranties from those dealers on kingsway usually only "cover" the first $500 of repairs.... the rest you're on your own!

Thanks Lomac and Tofu for some valuable advice here.

Lomac I didn't chose this shitty time to be here my Job chose it for me :D haha!

I have no idea about Car dealers here so I will try to avoid those area.

I am based in Richmond, do you guys know any good , reliable and honest car dealers in this area or around. I looked around a few on Yelp and google but reviews seems mixed so not sure.

Thanks,

Sam

Dont forget to factor in insurance, cause its about 1/3 of the price of the car, and since your new here, it might be even more.

Yes I heared that its pretty crazy here when it comes to car insurance.

One other suggestion in the kind of vehicle that you're looking for is the Subaru Forester. Make sure you get a mechanic to have a good thorough look at it though, in particular, oil leak = replace head gasket.

This one seems like a good buy, if it checks out mechanically.
2002 Forester, auto, 180K kms, $3000 (you'll have some $$ left for insurance and gas :D)
https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5911923844.html

https://images.craigslist.org/00r0r_...l7_600x450.jpg

Stay away from private dealers on kingsway and get it inspected by manufacturer dealership

Getting it inspected by manufacturer dealership is silly at the budget the OP is aiming for. Especially since dealerships now charge $150+/hour. Get to know some of this forum's sponsors instead. or msg MG1 to see if he would like to go shop with you!

To the OP if you have a semi long driving history, and you got your driving record from the UK, the insurance is not that bad, since it will count towards your discount rate. However do note, you have to give up your UK license and swap for a Canadian one. Can't cheat like some Richmond drivers allegedly like to do.

Craigslists ads are always buyer beware. If you are looking for an appliance mobile, you can't really do wrong with a CRV. For the Volvo you will have to check for transmission leaks, the subaru you will have to check whether the head gaskets had ever been done (at that price I highly doubt it).

id probably get a honda odyssey or toyota sienna if i wanted a larger family vehicle. they seem to go for less than comparable small SUV, and are much more spacious. would be way better for road trips. probably not a whole lot worse on fuel either.

careful of trannies on the hondas though/

No way I'd look at an early 2000's Odyssey, given how common tranny failures are.

I'd be looking for the best CR-V or Rav4 in the budget.

Well Guys thanks for the feedback and some useful tips.

Here is the thing. In 5000 budget I don't want to go for a car where I would worry that this car would fail on the road anytime with my family inside it.Weather is very unforgiving here. So that's why I am sticking to brands like Honda which I have personal experience and considered them to be are very reliable in that sense. In UK I had a HONDA JAZZ which is Honda Fit here, amazing car wish I could travel to Canada in it but it was impossible haha. It was worth every penny and absolutely loved it,and found it super reliable,It never let me down on the road.

So why I am going for Mazda 5 ???its because of this space to accommodate a small family as I have two very young kids. See my other post Mazda 5 leap in the dark. I found the design of that the design of this car doesn't look ugly and it can be a good basic car to do Walmart runs , Costco , ikea , school runs etc and just expecting it to start every single time every time :)that is my least expectation in 5000 dollars.

Some member has told me that Mazda 5 older versions has 2.3L engine which is inferior quality engine than there next gen 2.5L engine but that cost alot of $$$ dollars.

for the License yes I have already exchanged my UK lic to Canadian Class 5 lic, I have one year no claim insurance bonus certificate and have 4 to 5years of driving experience.

Thanksalot for the feedback again really appreciate it.

It really depends on how long you are staying. I suggest you find a good shade tree mechanic + BCAA coverage more than a really good cars / unicorns that people in the thread are pushing you to find. Also depends on where you live Modo Coop is a good option especially you can park pretty much everywhere.

Since gas is relatively cheap, I suggest you go with minivans that are numerous in quantity so you can get parts. Chrysler / Dodge Caravan is one, GM Astrovan are the other, Ford Winstar. They are boring, utilitarian vehicles. But hella cheap and if you are not too picky they are damn bullet proof. I have a musician friend who drove his Winstar a dozen times across the country and it still goes on ticking even though power windows / doors etc don't work anymore over it had turned over a million k and also tons of abuse. Mazda 5 is nice, but it is never a high volume seller, be prepared to pay for that.

Remember in BC we don't' have MoT inspections. Pretty much everything go.

You're better off spending whatever the warranty costs on a good vehicle history report (I suggest the full CarProof one for $75) and a decent mechanical inspection. Before running the CarProof I like to run the free ICBC VIN check, that tells you if the title is "normal" or if the vehicle has been rebuilt or salvaged.

Dealerships are generally worthless, I'd get an inspection done by one of the recommended shops on here.

Don't let the current snow fool you. Weather in Vancouver is pretty similar to the UK. Lots of rain, occasional fog, and usually decent weather come summer time. Winter, especially in Richmond, is usually tame. Just be glad you weren't sent out to the BC Interior (like where I currently live) or the rest of Canada. Plenty of snow and ice everywhere else. :p


Try to get a copy of your driving record prior to insuring whatever vehicle you decide to purchase. 5 years of driving with only one claim should be good for a decent discount, provided the claim wasn't a recent at-fault accident. ICBC doesn't consider things like hit-and-runs, windshield claims or accidents where you're shown to be <25% at fault for premium pricing. Insurance might be generally more expensive here than other places but you're less likely to be dinged heavily for little driving experience or a single past accident.

Also, as someone above mentioned, pick up a BCAA Roadside Assistance package. It's similar to AA or RAC. Pretty sure I'm in the Top 3 of RS members for how many times I've used it :lol Definitely comes in handy, though.

found this one tonight just posted

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/van/cto/5952937554.html

also found this Dodge in Richmond which looks nicely maintained and carefully driven by the owner.

https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rch/cto/5950012976.html



how much should I look to to pay for these mechanical inspections? lets say I need comprehensive one and how long does it take to do a comprehensive one usually?

how does that work here mechanical inspection?how I go about it with the seller if I want to run a mechanical inspection on their car in which I am really interested in.

Thanks

Nice find. I'd definitely go check it out.

That engine bay looks far too clean. Clearly it's been power washed/detailed. Always be a little wary of those. While I like a clean engine bay as much as the next member, for a car that has a quarter million kilometers on it is a little disconcerting. It's a good way to wash away any existing leaks or potential problems.

As for mechanical inspection, find a shop nearby and let the owner know that you would like to have it sent there for a mechanical inspection. If the car is currently insured, the owner will often take it there themselves with you footing the bill in order to get the report. That's what I usually do when I'm selling a vehicle. Most independent shops will do an inspection since it's basically pure profit for them. Just look for one online that has decent reviews.

cool makes total sense now Lomac,

some good tip there about washing the evidence :) do you work a Forensic science background :) thanks for the tips really appreciate it.

I prefer to burn my evidence, not wash it away. ;)

:awwyeah:

:inoutugh:

When looking at older honda/ subaru's. beware of the timing belt / water pump maintenance. it could creep up and surprise you

other than the dent in the front fender that crv looks decent in the pics... and stay away from the caravan, or any old caravan, unless you are looking for something cheap to do demolition derby (bangers racing!).

it's been awhile since i bought privately. the last time i did i took advantage of this:

https://www.bcaa.com/auto-service/ap...repair-service

at the time i was looking to buy a subaru, so of course i chose a subaru dealership out of the list. it's a basic checklist-based inspection, but because it was a dealership they do go a bit deeper than that since it's their brand. i made an appointment myself and the seller met me there with the car and i took him out for lunch. i had given the seller a refundable deposit based on a written agreement that the car had to pass inspection, and unfortunately it did not. i could not afford the repairs it needed and the seller couldn't lower the price further so no sale, i got my deposit back and that was it.

have you considered one of these? i see these in the classfieds in your price range:

these are just examples:

2004 TOYOTA MATRIX XR Low Km Priced to sell today $3900 https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/rds/ctd/5953445472.html
https://images.craigslist.org/01010_...hT_600x450.jpg

2005 Nissan X-Trail SE AWD - $4950 (maple ridge) https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/pml/ctd/5929801350.html
https://images.craigslist.org/00b0b_...2U_600x450.jpg

Mazda 3 GT 2004 clean low mile - $4600 (Lougheed Area) https://vancouver.craigslist.ca/bnc/cto/5909716528.html
https://images.craigslist.org/00o0o_...lR_600x450.jpg

X trail is a nice choice.

yes, but not sure about this one in particular... i'm seeing different shades of paint on this example. but at this price range it's hard not to end up with something like that.