Too much ?

[CelicaZoo]

Am I really overthinking when buying a cheap avensis estate. My budget was under £3000 for a cheap petrol estate and I know in general the avensis estate is reliable 

I have seen a 2006  1.8 VVT-i T3-X with 115k miles fsh history clean 12 months mot

the dealer is asking £2995

is that too much money ?

[Bper]

Hi Peter, obviously it depends on the condition and service history etc,going for about £2,500. Hope this helps.

https://www.motors.co.uk/toyota/avensis/trim/t3-x/used-cars/

 

[CelicaZoo]

Good condition , good service history 

[Bper]

2 minutes ago, CelicaZoo said:

Good condition , good service history 

Test drive it and see how it feels, check bodywork for rust etc. Check paperwork and IMO see if he can do a deal for cash you might get a £150 - £200 off, it also depends on how long its been sitting on the forecourt. 

 

[CelicaZoo]

He says he won't budge 

This is the advert 

https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402156591449

[APS]

There is (should be) some peace of mind buying from a dealer should anything go wrong. That's worth a bit extra. If you can't find better and cheaper, then that's probably the going rate. Use your judgement when you see it in the metal.

[Bper]

From the photos the car looks OK but obviously has wear and tear on the inside which you would expect for a car of this age. If it was me I would hava a look online at other similar models firstly to gauge if i could get a better deal. If you then feel you are happy to pay the asking price then that's your answer. But with any car of this age and price use due diligence and check out as much detail as you can. Hope this helps 🙂

[CelicaZoo]

Thanks. Funny, if my son and daughter said they wanted to rush into buying a car without seeing it (it's too far away from me so I would have to buy purely on the pictures and the dealers comments ) , I would say no way , yet I'm willing to do it !

 

Maybe I should take a breath and not rush 

[Bper]

Peter, If you cant see it don't buy it. Take your own advice take a breath and look nearer home at a car you can actually see. Plenty of used cars about and some really good deals if you take your time and shop around.

[Rhymes with Paris]

A generalisation is that the further that you have to go to look at a car, the more disappointing it will be.

There are always exceptions of course, but I have never found any in 50 years of buying cars.

Having said that,a drive and a day out to look properly and have lunch doesn't cost that much, and might be worth it if the car is as good as the advert.

I am guessing that about half that price,or more is dealers profit, but if they can source them and you cannot, that is the cost of finding.

[Cyker]

How far away is it? Make it a day trip maybe?  

When I was looking for a Mk1 Yaris D4D I had to go all over the place as they were so rare, but it was worth it as I dodged a lot of bad ones rather than buying blind (Always look under the car for rust! And make sure it has all the keys!!)

[Bper]

16 minutes ago, Cyker said:

How far away is it? Make it a day trip maybe?  

When I was looking for a Mk1 Yaris D4D I had to go all over the place as they were so rare, but it was worth it as I dodged a lot of bad ones rather than buying blind (Always look under the car for rust! And make sure it has all the keys!!)

About 3hrs from Cheshire to thatcham.

[Konrad C]

I think the price is high. I remember when I was looking to buy my Avensis back in 2015. My then Mk1 1.8 1998 Avensis was getting on, so I was looking for a replacement. I got my current T27 Mk3 1.8 2009 TR Tourer (estate) for £5600 with 51,000 miles in September 2015. My cay is on 106000 miles and just had it's MOT. 

I looked at T25 Mk2s with 1.8 engines, but wanted something a little more modern. At the time, there were some T25 costing more than what I paid for my T27. 
Back to the OP question, the car needs to be very good condition with full service history and every receipt. The body must be rust free and no sign of crash damage. All wear and tear items replaced and items like the headlights clear and not frosted. Basically the car must the best example for the money. Even then, get at least £500 knocked off!

[CelicaZoo]

Totally 100% agree but there are so few petrols around and the dealers overprice them and won't budge 

[Konrad C]

20 minutes ago, CelicaZoo said:

Totally 100% agree but there are so few petrols around and the dealers overprice them and won't budge 

I know what you are saying. I am hanging on to my Avensis, even though I only do 3,500 miles a year since 2020. Just checked on Auto Trader and is this the car? https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202402156591449?sort=relevance&advertising-location=at_cars&aggregatedTrim=&body-type=&colour=&fuel-type=Petrol&make=Toyota&model=Avensis&page=2&postcode=DA17 5DR&price-to=3000&transmission=&year-to=2024&fromsra

[CelicaZoo]

Yes

[Konrad C]

3 minutes ago, CelicaZoo said:

Yes

That has to be worth the 300+ mile round trip! When I got my car, I got the Tourer because the T27 didn't come in hatchback. So if you are looking for the estate for a reason, would the hatchback be okay? I was lucky and got my car local to where I live. If you do get the car, there one thing I would add - Bluetooth/USB adapter that plugs into CD changer socket at the rear of the stereo. It works as though the car came with bluetooth from factory, and it give the car an upgrade with minimum cost, with safety in mind. 

[Mojo1010]

Twice travelled over 100 miles to buy a car, a MK1 Yaris and a mk3 Yaris hybrid. Got them at a good price at the time after scouring the market and prices.  Both totally reliable.

The hybrid was great after 5 years of ownership sold it for £400 less than what was paid, it was last summer when used prices were still inflated. Zero road tax too. 

[CelicaZoo]

I think I'm going to put my sensible head on ( I don't have one but let's just forget that ) and limit my search to 50 miles. I might come to regret it but I don't think so

[2009joe]

Quick question what's the road tax on this year and engine wise as was thinking the government sold cars around 2014 not sure when started with low tax .like mine a 2014 2.0d4d. I'm paying 35 quid a year. My wife's proxy wee VW group 1.2 petrol dead as hell her road tax is tbh worth half the car a year lol £165 or more even it's crazy .tbh I rather go for cheap road tax bracket cars 

[Konrad C]

10 hours ago, 2009joe said:

Quick question what's the road tax on this year and engine wise as was thinking the government sold cars around 2014 not sure when started with low tax .like mine a 2014 2.0d4d. I'm paying 35 quid a year. My wife's proxy wee VW group 1.2 petrol dead as hell her road tax is tbh worth half the car a year lol £165 or more even it's crazy .tbh I rather go for cheap road tax bracket cars 

Don't worry about car tax unless you can afford the latest diesel! A lot of areas around the UK are copying the London ULEZ and diesels need to be Euro 6 to comply. Older cars will have to pay a daily charge which practically wipes out that tax advantage. Insurance is another expense. The OP has a budget which probably includes running costs.

[2009joe]

4 hours ago, Konrad C said:

Don't worry about car tax unless you can afford the latest diesel! A lot of areas around the UK are copying the London ULEZ and diesels need to be Euro 6 to comply. Older cars will have to pay a daily charge which practically wipes out that tax advantage. Insurance is another expense. The OP has a budget which probably includes running costs.

they havent brought that  s.,h.,i.,t in here in the wee 6 yet  ulez where im at 

[Roker]

On 3/14/2024 at 6:20 PM, CelicaZoo said:

Am I really overthinking when buying a cheap avensis estate. My budget was under £3000 for a cheap petrol estate and I know in general the avensis estate is reliable 

I have seen a 2006  1.8 VVT-i T3-X with 115k miles fsh history clean 12 months mot

the dealer is asking £2995

is that too much money ?

Before 2005 the 1.8 petrol had oil burning issues