Car purchase: Is buying a 2-3 years old Toyota still the most rational decision?

[vicmj]

@kmoreno I recently purchased a 2014 Toyota Auris SW (dog) with 82k km on the counter for 8k Eur (really great deal I know). I drive between 14 - 16km/year and I expect I will replace the car before the battery fails. I get an average mileage of about 1L for every 23km, a little more if I drive like a granny..

In terms of total costs, I don't know how road tax & insurance compare to your country but in the Netherlands its all rather expensive in my view. Car insurance (all risk) amounts to € 432/y - road tax equals € 684/y. Expected maintenance cost over a period of 10 years for a Toyota is around € 4500.

In other words, my total expenses over a decade for this car is about € 25k without petrol or periodic vehicle inspections. Petrol adds another € 11k. With inspections, tire replacements, liquid refills and a little mix of the unexpected, I'd estimate to spend around € 40k from the day I purchase it until the day I replace it.

I've not looking into Dacia, but seeing the comments it may well be worth it OP!

 

[kmoreno]

@vicmj Thanks for your comment!
The 40keur figure helps putting things into perspective... It makes me realize how much money is spent on this 'tool'.

Insurance costs in Luxembourg are crazy high, at least in comparison to France. I got a quote of 1keur /year for a toyota corolla and the same for a dacia sandero stepway (both brand new).

 

[vicmj]

@kmoreno I have to admit, I only recently started looking at it like this but it's good to put things into perspective and first base your purchase what you need. You can buff up the total expenses to whatever car you'd like to drive afterwards; there's a 'golden ratio' there somewhere.

I also prefer to look at this as a monthly average expense to see if I can cover it long term. Excluding the initial purchasing, I know this Toyota will cost me € 267 monthly for the next 10 years. Right now it's less because I no repairs yet, but there will be more expensive months in the future.

 

[kmoreno]

@vicmj Indeed, the monthly expense helps realizing how much of a liability a car can be. If you do not use it every day, it is just a black hole swallowing your hard earned money.
I am glad i did not own a car during the covid times since it would have made me even more anxious about this fact.

The issue i have is that, since i know that the purchase price and the recurring expenses linked to the car itself (insurance, gas, repairs), i am now stuck wondering what is the right amount to spend on a car. Some redditors have already convinced me that getting a hybrid car may not be the smart choice.
Now i have to figure out if i should rather pick a 5 year old vs 2 year old car since the older car may need significant repairs sooner.

 

[pisos]

@kmoreno If you plan to have a kid in the near future, I'd go with a bigger car.

I like MPVs, but I know that they are being delisted in favor of SUVs. However, that may be an advantage, because you may get one cheaper.

If you want a Toyota, you may try and get a Prius+. Kia Carens is probably the best buy in that category right now, it is cheaper and not a bad car (the motor lacks power in the cheaper models, but that's it).

 

[kmoreno]

@pisos I get your point about getting a bigger car. I bounced ideas with my gf about whether we should get a larger one or not. We are fine with a 'compact' car that is as large as a Corolla or CHR (4.38m long).

The parking spaces in Luxembourg are pretty narrow and we are worried that we may have difficulties if we go for a larger car.

I shortlisted the Yaris even though it is a small car it should have enough room for 2 people and a kid. ... I assume

 

[pisos]

@kmoreno Everyone that lives in European cities have parking space issues.

Trust me, the main issue is not where the kid sits. It's everything that you have to carry because of the kid. Baby strollers do not look like much, but they occupy A LOT of space in the trunk. Depending on the model, I'm not even sure that you'll be able to fit the stroller in the Yaris's trunk...

And that's my personal preferences and phobias, but when I go to an Ikea, I like to have space to carry the furniture in my own car.

 

[funemma]

@pisos Strollers like the babyzen YoYo will fit behind the front seats in most cars, but yes, if you get what amounts to the oversized American SUV of strollers popular with some people it'll take a lot of space.

I've got two kids (age 4 and 5 now) and could easily do with a Toyota Yaris for everything they need. That kids needs a lot of space is a myth. I've got a bigger car (BMW estate) because I like hauling my own stuff around. E.g. kite surfing gear, skis, building materials etc. take up space. Kids really don't.

It has more to do with how much crap you're used to needing to take around.

If you go on a city trip to a foreign country for 2 weeks by yourself do you take a small backpack? Small suitcase? Big suitcase? Two of those? People extend those same packing habits to their kids. So yes, if you're on the high end of that scale you'll need a bigger car.

 

[kmoreno]

@funemma My gf and I are used to travel light. We did a 2 weeks trips to Japan/Korea using cabin luggage only. We do not have hobbies which required large gear and we live in an apartment so we are cautious about accumulating too much stuff.

My parents also never had a huge car (Skoda Fabia, Renault 5 or Clio) so i never felt the need of buying a larger one. I will google for strollers and check how much room it would take.

I found out that the Yaris has an 'okay' trunk, larger than the Renault Clio, one of its main competitors in the french market. So it may not be that bad of a choice.

 

[pisos]

@funemma Not saying that you are wrong (everybody has their own life experiences), but my experience with my two kids says that. Yes, our strollers were on the medium-large side, but it's not just that. You need to have a medium-large handbag for clothes, food, diapers etc. etc. And sometimes, when you go with the kid to buy stuff, if you don't have a bigger car, you'll have problems.

And once I went to USA for work, for two weeks, and I only bring a small suitcase with me, so I'm not on the high end of that scale. ;-)

But yeah, as I said, different life experiences, so both our opinions are valid.

 

[kmoreno]

@pisos I guess i'll have to strap the kid to the roof of my future car
Indeed the stroller was my fear, as well as extra luggages for weekend trips. Fairly new yaris are priced in 2keur range from corollas so i guess i'd go for corolla if i pick toyota.

 

[huntun]

@kmoreno You gonna need a bigger car, longer, with plenty room for stuff, I have 2 year old baby, trust me.

 

[xer123]

@kmoreno I bought a second hand Toyota Prius about 5 years ago. I drive appr. 10k km p.y. Excellent car.

 

[tetomapa]

@kmoreno Toyotas are very reliable but Mazda and Honda are pretty close so I'd look at those as well. Dacias are definitely not as reliable according to my mechanic.

 

[kmoreno]

@tetomapa Thank you! Several redditors have mentioned reliability/safety concerns about Dacia. Between the japanese manufacturers i would focus on toyota since there are more cars in luxembourg than the other 2 brands.

 

[coachtjsmith]

@kmoreno I know it’s only a data point, but my father bought a Dacia Logan new in 2007, and still drives it without any issues today. I think it has around 220K km driven and the only thing he needed to do was just the regular maintenance (oil, filters, tires etc).

Someone above was saying you can’t find parts for it, but I don’t think that’s the case. They make a lot of them in Romania and the brand is owned by Renault, so I think it should be fairly easy to source any genuine parts for them.

 

[tfosria]

@kmoreno There are too many personal opinions here, what's reliable, what isn't etc etc.

I'd suggest - be rational, seek help from someone who does this day in day out. When I was buying my used car, I googled around for "used car consultant." I paid him around 100 EUR, told him what my requirements are and he told me what models are the most reliable and would fit my requirements the best. He owns a garage as well and knows which models/engines break, what requires maintenance etc etc.

So then he searches online for few cars that fit the bill, then asks you if they look good. Then he goes to the used car lot/dealership and does a test-drive. They already know him everywhere, so they don't try any bs tricks on him. He then produces a report for you saying what repairs the car would need, what they're trying to hide etc. It's quite elaborate.

On the top of that, he tells the salesman in the shop about all these issues and asks if they can discount the price by this amount as the buyer (you) will have to pay for it. He also negotiates generally for you on the price, as he knows how likely the shop is to give a discount based on his past interactions. He then charges 50% of the reduction in price as his commission.

I bought 2 used-cars this way and couldn't be happier. No guess-work about this or that brand, no opinions, no bs, no stress... Much better than overthinking this and buying some crap car/brand/model after spending weeks researching it...

So please - consider using a professional who knows what years/models/brands are reliable and what the typical issues are with them. And avoid going on test-drive yourself, you will not be able to tell at all if there's something wrong with the car and how serious it is to fix.

Realize how little you know and act accordingly..

 

[kmoreno]

@tfosria I actually used the services of such specialist for one of my previous cars. It gave me a lot of confidence in regards to the specific car i was interested in since i lived far away from the seller and i could not test drive the car. The consultant only checked that the car was in good condition and that there were no hidden defects.

Thank you for reminding me of it. I was not aware that such professional could also make a selection for the client to choose from.

That is a great suggestion!

 

[scythain]

@kmoreno 20k euro budget? I bought a 3 year old Toyota Auris in great condition in Germany for 11k.. Call it prejudice but I wouldn't trust Dacia, let's see how it goes in another 10-15 years. Even if you get the warranty which covers everything, you lose time, nerves and effort every time something breaks. 1 year later I had to do nothing and am very happy with the car.