New (to me) car advice

[ApolloSZ]

Sup. Haven't been on in a long time. Was browsing and saw a car thread with some good detailed info. Thought I'd ask for opinions on a car I'm looking at (as my 1996 Toyota Sprinter is starting to get a bit old and wheezy XD).

The one i've got my eye on is a 2007 Subaru Legacy S, NZ New (only registered here this year, was in Japan previously) - 100,617KMs. Car yard is replacing the Cambelt if it hasn't been already, will be getting the mechanical warranty, and a AA Check (Automobile Association) for it. Its very clean and tidy, even the engine bay/firewall doesn't seem to have any of the worn in grime etc you get with time.

[mjr]

Sup. Haven't been on in a long time. Was browsing and saw a car thread with some good detailed info. Thought I'd ask for opinions on a car I'm looking at (as my 1996 Toyota Sprinter is starting to get a bit old and wheezy XD).

The one i've got my eye on is a 2007 Subaru Legacy S, NZ New (only registered here this year, was in Japan previously) - 100,617KMs. Car yard is replacing the Cambelt if it hasn't been already, will be getting the mechanical warranty, and a AA Check (Automobile Association) for it. Its very clean and tidy, even the engine bay/firewall doesn't seem to have any of the worn in grime etc you get with time.

I don't know how much they're asking for it. Here in the States, there's Kelley Blue Book, where you can put in the make, model, year, and mileage (or in your case, KMs) and get a "value" for the car.

The KMs seem OK, based on the years, but I don't know how many of those are "city" vs "highway" (i.e. low speed, stop & go, vs faster).

But why do that, when you could have a Horse Outside (NSFW)?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljPFZrRD3J8

[purple]

Can't offer much advice on cars (I still need daddy for that) But at least if you go with the leagacy it is a L4 for acc levies on the registration costs (the lowest) which is a nice annual saving.


If the AA give it a clean bill of health well I trust their checks.

[ApolloSZ]

Nice, I like cheaper rego. My old sprinter has to be warranted every 6 months due to age, so a once a year thing will be nice too. Hope your not too cold down south purple, and the wind here isnt too bad either today XD

MJR - They are asking 10995 here, but thats NZ dollars. Today thats 8,378.69 USD (according to xe currency). Kellys popped up during my research, but it demanded a ZIP code before it would let me go any further and I couldn't be bothered faking one.

[mathnerd]

It was in Japan before this year? I'd try to find out where, and if it was in a tsunami zone. I don't know about other countries, but I know that fraudsters in the US try to pass off cars that were totaled in various floods as good vehicles in other parts of the country. Make sure it's never been water damaged.

[protege]

Its very clean and tidy, even the engine bay/firewall doesn't seem to have any of the worn in grime etc you get with time.

It might have been steam-cleaned before you got it. Here in the US, many used-car dealers will clean the hell out of their inventory before selling it. Still though, I'd ask to see any service records, or see if there's a Carfax-type service to see if it's been wrecked or an insurance claim has been filed. Even if the AA has checked it out, you can never be too careful. Who knows, you could save yourself a world of expensive headaches.

[ApolloSZ]

Protege - They do have the service History. But my poor Japanese skills will not be up to task for reading it XD. I'll also need to track down the manual in english etc to make sure I get the right oil in future etc.

We have carjam here, but new to NZ it basically lets me know the vehicle isn't wanted by police or debts. I took it for a test spin on the weekend, handled really nice and I liked it. Radio needs the band expander put in, they are doing that. Took it up hills, motorway, hard cornering in a parking lot, hard breaking, left it idling and listened to engine, all came up fine imho. AA check is tomorrow, its full mechanical inspection, so I'd hope they'd notice any crash damage. And I'll be buying a mechanical warranty aswell.

AA check comes back ok, I'll be getting the car, then looking at replacing the touch screen inside as it too, is in Japanese. NZ model didn't have the screen in, so no english option on it.

[ApolloSZ]

Full mechanical check came back fine, its looking like all systems go. Worst thing on it was two small cosmetic scratches (which I'd seen already) and a curb scratch on the wheel (again that I'd seen).

Sadly screen replacing is looking horribly expensive... but thats what FM transmitters and phones are for! XD