What to buy?! Urgent

[car_greener]

Hi, Guys

I am in Kingston ON, I just got my G2 license two weeks ago and am looking into buying a used car for a family of 3. I would be interested in North American makers, 2001 or newer, low maitenance cost, auto, 4 dr. I have a bit tight budget - max $8000 all inclusive.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance! :-)

[The General]

Your choices are limited...

Look into a Buick Century, a Chevrolet Impala and a Buick LeSabre. These are basically the only fair North American cars that were available in 2001-02.

These are by no means cars that I would normaly recommend though.

[car_greener]

Thanks General!!

Any reason you would not recommend those cars? Any recommendations for North American cars not far from my price range?

Thanks again!

[The General]

Those cars are as close to being recommended as they can get. Even in a higher price braket, I could not add any other cars. Keep in mind that I base my recommendations mostly on reliability and cost of ownership.

Thinking back, the Century was acutally a good car. The reason is simple: This car's technology is very old and therefore all the bugs have been worked out.

[car_greener]

Hi, General

I found these two in my area, could you help to take a look? Which one should I choose and anything special I should pay attention to?

2001 CHEV Malibu LS, 1 owner, local car, loaded with pwr. seat, alloys, ABS, air, undercoated. 72K. $7,600.

2002 BUICK Century Ltd., 1 owner, 3.1L V6, loaded with power seat, CD player and chrome wheels, $6200.

[The General]

I would stay away from the Malibu. There have a been a number of brake problems as well as the aforementionned electrical issues.

Go for the Century. Test drive it and if it works well, get it inspected before you buy it.

[apl]

for 3 people a older echo may be ok...........likely find one in that price range with 100k or so............won't have the bells and whistles but should give good service very economically until you can afford better

[car_greener]

That Buick Century mileage is too high: 150,000km, I have to give up.

I am planning to check this two out tomorrow -

2003 Chevrolet Impala,96,600 km, Off GMAC lease, 1 owner, very clean. PRICED TO CLEAR, $9,200;
2002 Buick Century Custom Special Edition,99,800 km, $8,401

the impala is a bit high than my budget... do you guys have any comments?

[car_greener]

That Buick Century mileage is too high: 150,000km, I have to give up.

I am planning to check this two out tomorrow -

2003 Chevrolet Impala,96,600 km, Off GMAC lease, 1 owner, very clean. PRICED TO CLEAR, $9,200;
2002 Buick Century Custom Special Edition,99,800 km, $8,401

the impala is a bit high than my budget... do you guys have any comments?

Forgot to mention this Buick Century has 2 owners already, it was returned from lease and owned by second owner then traded in...

[car_greener]

Hi Guys, I decided to go for the buick century. Test drive is great and it is from a big dealer, but the final price is a bit higher than my budget: $8900 after tax.

I will pick it up next Tuesday after they do the re-safety certificate, again, it is a big dealer and I think I don't need to inspect it again.

Thanks guys again for your suggestions and comments...:) :)

[woohoo!]

Congratulations on your purchase, car_greener :-)

[The General]

I would still recommend that you get the car inspected. The size of the dealer is completely irrelevant to the condition of the car!

[car_greener]

Hi, General
I have already put my deposit on it and ask them to do the rust proofing for this car. They told me they will do the safty-certifying again before I pick it up which is today.

Is it too late?

[car_greener]

BTW, there is a dealer warranty 7000km/7month whichever comes first. Is it still necessary for me to inspect the car?

[The General]

BTW, there is a dealer warranty 7000km/7month whichever comes first. Is it still necessary for me to inspect the car?

Yes! This warranty will do nothing for you if the car has been accident or if you experience a major failure once it has expired. The inspection will let you know, from an unbiased source, what you have bought.

It is not too late. If you can, get a copy of the dealer's inspection so that you may compare the "results".

[car_greener]

I tried but did not make it today - drove the car to a car mechanic but it was too late today, it will be the first thing in the morning tomorrow.

The guy who sold this car to me is OK, he did not say too much about my inspection just said 'that's your choice, no problem'.

I just got a report called 'service history report' dated as yesterday from the dealer, is this the inspection report?

I will let you you guys know the results tomorrow.

[The General]

I just got a report called 'service history report' dated as yesterday from the dealer, is this the inspection report?

This report will give you the number of owners and sometimes an idea of the car's mileage through the years.

[car_greener]

Finally I got the car inspected this morning, the car is in good shape, just the outer tie rod slight play, and the a little bit lower intake seepage.

The dealer agreed to take care of the first one but will talk to the inspector about the second one.

I will pick up the car tomorrow afternoon after they take a look at it.

[The General]

...and the dealer's inspection never found any of these problems?

THIS is why they should always be inspected !! :twisted: :evil:

[car_greener]

I picked up the car today!!

The dealer fixed the first problem right away, they ordered the gasket and asked me to come back some time next week.

Thanks General for the suggestions, or else i will be ripped off...

[apl16]

good job, greener............my best advice...........listen to the general...........happy motoring! :)

[car_greener]

Hi, General

Another quick question - I am a little bit concerned about the gas usage of my car, the tank is 64L, it was full when I picked up the car and the mileage is 99950km, now it is 100110km and I have already used 2/3 of the gas which is roughly 42L, so my average gas usage per 100km is about 26.25L. Is that too high? Or is there something wrong with my car?

I just drove it locally, I have already taken it into account along with my driving experience, but I still think it is too high. Any idea about this?

[The General]

Yeah, that's not good...

That's more than twice what it should be doing. There might be a problem with the gas gauge or worse, a serious issue with the car.

Many GMs from this generation had faulty fuel sending units (located in gas tank). Check this out.