Buying, Owning, Driving and Maintaining a car in North America

[kamalakannan]

Guys,
I have a Toyota avalon XL for sale price is too high from my perspective he is quoting $2500 i say $1500 he has done 157000 miles the car is almost done.

Let me know.

Would this car be reliable at this age????

kamal

Note from the Team-BHP Support : Please take the time to use proper punctuation as per Team-BHP rules. Thanks.

[kuttapan]

avalon is a good car by itself, reliability depends on how it has been taken care of. Get a check done by Firestone or some other reputable shop.

[vivekiny2k]

Originally Posted by kamalakannan

Guys,
I have a Toyota avalon XL for sale price is too high from my perspective he is quoting $2500 i say $1500 he has done 157000 miles the car is almost done.

Let me know.

Would this car be reliable at this age????

kamal

you didn't say how old is it.

Also avalon is too big a car unless you really need it. it will be pretty bad at mpg too. get carfax check since there may be a bad spot in history.

[deep_bang]

Originally Posted by kamalakannan

Guys,
I have a Toyota avalon XL for sale price is too high from my perspective he is quoting $2500 i say $1500 he has done 157000 miles the car is almost done.

Let me know.

Would this car be reliable at this age????

kamal

At 1.5Lac miles, it all depends on how it has been maintained. My general experience with Honda and Toyota has been extreamly good. I myself have a 93 Honda which has done 1.85Lac miles. Whenever i have got an oil change done, the mechanics say they dont see any porblem and it should last for atleast 50k more. I have also heard about some Honda's lasting for 3lac miles. So, i would say get it checked by someone and try to reduce the price a little bit. Look at the KBB private party value and reduce a little based on condition.

After all that, being an old car, there are bound to be small repairs. So, i would suggest you to be prepared for 200 to 300 $ the first year for small repairs (If nothing happens, that is great).

[DocG]

In the US, it's not surprising seeing cars with over 150K Miles on the odo. These cars can run a lot more. However be prepared to face relatively large repair bills. If you're buying a car for $8,000 or less, keep at least $2,000 ready in case of any repairs!

Also it's worth it looking at an older car that fits you're needs and doing an outright rebuild. One of my friends opted for that in his used Acura, and now that thing runs real strong...He also went FI, so the new internals really helped...[He got the car dirt cheap, but rebuilt everything, replacing most parts. Total cost a little over $13,000 with a lot of hours put in]

[sxv_mustang]

2500 is not bad for a japanese car.. Though the avalon is not as good as the corolla or camry from toyota its not bad either.. but once the car crosses the 150k mile mark, you have got to be prepared for the maintenance expenses.. and thats not cheap unless you find a small garage run by a mexican guy and avoid firestones and city garages :-).. Dont be surprised if you spend the same amount of money (2500) on maintenance over the next 2 years

My advice would be to buy a better car with less than 120k miles atleast even if the price is a little more than 4/5 k. This rule is only for japanese cars though.

For american cars there is only one rule... runaway if it has crossed 100k miles :-).

This is the general rule though. As always exceptions exist :-)

Nid

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by sxv_mustang

2500 is not bad for a japanese car.. Though the avalon is not as good as the corolla or camry from toyota its not bad either..
Nid

Do you have any experience to back your claim? My office colleague uses an 8 year old Avalon(she has been the first owner) and it is a great car. Roomy, comfortable, good a/c etc. Of course the handling may not please a sports car buff, but this is a softly sprung family sedan we are talking about.

Tell us how the camry is better than this car.

[sxv_mustang]

Originally Posted by kuttapan

Do you have any experience to back your claim? My office colleague uses an 8 year old Avalon(she has been the first owner) and it is a great car. Roomy, comfortable, good a/c etc. Of course the handling may not please a sports car buff, but this is a softly sprung family sedan we are talking about.

Tell us how the camry is better than this car.

The camry is IMHO a better VFM car than the avalon. In terms of cost and FE. And the camry itself is a big car.

Also camry has been the best seller in the US for the past two years which means something. And its easier to find a better used camry then a used avalon just because there are so many of them out there. Also for the same amount say 2500 $, you can find an newer camry that has run lesser number of miles than the avalon. Afterall after 150000 miles I doubt if there will be any luxury left in the car!!

Also when you refute something that I say, I'd appreciate if you could be just a little more polite. Thanks!!

[deep_bang]

the popular saying is "any honda or toyota ... " is a good buy! It is usually generalized as Any jap car is a great VFM.

In my view, Avalon / Camry are pretty much the same. In the US, i don't think spare parts would be an issue. Also, we are talking about used cars here not news ones.

kamalakannan, did you check the kbb value of the avalon you are thinking about? I found that for a reasonably good car, kbb prices are more or less correct. Just look at the condition of the engine, and other immediate repairs that may come your way. Typical things to check are tyres, brakes, AC. A general checkup at a mechanic shop costed a friend $70 when he bought the car, but this may vary by the city.

[Wind_mill]

I just landed in Syracuse , NY for a 6 months assignment. Unfortunately its a very cold place and I need to buy a Car/SUV at the earliest.

Budget - Around 3k

Here are the two vehicles I shortlisted :

1. 1996 Mitsubishi Montero 104K miles - $2900 (Individual Seller)

2. 1992 Lexus LS 300 167K miles - $2900 (Dealer) - Slightly overpriced , I guess.

I had a look at them and feels good to drive both. Fuel Lid is missing in Lexus - otherwise body is in good condition. I will be getting carfax as well.

Somehow inclined towards the Montero , its just looking like a Pajero and 4WD supposed to be good in Snow ( I heard it snows heavily here).

I need to decide in a day or two . T-Bhp friends - Whats your opinion ? Should I also look at some more options before deciding ?

[mohit]

Originally Posted by Wind_mill

I just landed in Syracuse , NY for a 6 months assignment. Unfortunately its a very cold place and I need to buy a Car/SUV at the earliest.

Budget - Around 3k

Here are the two vehicles I shortlisted :

1. 1996 Mitsubishi Montero 104K miles - $2900 (Individual Seller)

2. 1992 Lexus LS 300 167K miles - $2900 (Dealer) - Slightly overpriced , I guess.

I had a look at them and feels good to drive both. Fuel Lid is missing in Lexus - otherwise body is in good condition. I will be getting carfax as well.

Somehow inclined towards the Montero , its just looking like a Pajero and 4WD supposed to be good in Snow ( I heard it snows heavily here).

I need to decide in a day or two . T-Bhp friends - Whats your opinion ? Should I also look at some more options before deciding ?

Have you budgeted for winter tires? if it snows heavily and you have no experience of driving in snow, winter tires are a must.
Look around a bit more and talk to a few people about the winter driving conditions. If there's lots of snow and too little cleanup, a 4WD just might come in handy.

[Sudipto-S-Team]

I would go for the Montero because it is relatively newer and has travelled less than the Lexus. But do you personally know how to fix small things in the car? A 12 year old car might have a few things going wrong from time to time and unless you know how to fix them it might well turn out to be very expensive for you.

[aah78]

Originally Posted by Wind_mill

I just landed in Syracuse , NY for a 6 months assignment. Unfortunately its a very cold place and I need to buy a Car/SUV at the earliest.

Somehow inclined towards the Montero , its just looking like a Pajero and 4WD supposed to be good in Snow ( I heard it snows heavily here).

They're both good cars. Last a million miles and reasonably cheap to maintain.

The Montero is a rebadged Pajero - that's why it looks like one.

If you go for the Lexus, you'll definitely need snow/ice (usually Q/R/S/T rated) tyres up there.
You don't need to spend a lot if you buy them second hand off Craigslist.


I spent 2 years in Syracuse, and all I had was a bicycle, my feet and a dollar for the Centro buses!
It's a horrible, depressing place.

[kuttapan]

Originally Posted by sxv_mustang

Also camry has been the best seller in the US for the past two years which means something. And its easier to find a better used camry then a used avalon just because there are so many of them out there. Also for the same amount say 2500 $, you can find an newer camry that has run lesser number of miles than the avalon. Afterall after 150000 miles I doubt if there will be any luxury left in the car!!

Also when you refute something that I say, I'd appreciate if you could be just a little more polite. Thanks!!

Your initial post was that Camry/Corolla is better than the Avalon, hence I asked if you had any facts to back that claim. You still have not addressed that. Camry may be the best seller, and that is precisely why there are more used Camry's around. Avalon belongs to a higher segment, hence fewer sales. I don't know why Indians generally have this accord/camry/civic/corolla myopia and cannot look beyond them.

And FYI, miles a car has run does not mean much in US, it is about how the car has been taken care of. Assuming everything else being equal, the Avalon would be a better car per se compared to Corolla/Camry - only thing is, as someone pointed out, it is really big and one may not need such a big car.

Also, I don't know why you perceived my reply as impolite. Just 'coz I asked you if you had any experience to back your claim? C'mon man, this is a public forum and it is only natural that people ask for facts, if they have reason to disagree with your claims.

I see that you are in Dallas, maybe we should meet up sometime to clear the air.

[Wind_mill]

Originally Posted by aah78

I spent 2 years in Syracuse, and all I had was a bicycle, my feet and a dollar for the Centro buses!
It's a horrible, depressing place.

This place is really depressing .Even I just have my feet and a weekly pass for Centro.

@Mohit:
Yes , I'm new to driving in Snow.
The Montero seller says current tyres are "all season". Should I still require the Winter Tyres ? What is the actual difference between these?