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He is very athletic and has a job and can afford gas and he was hoping for an older 4Runner. A lot of them have high miles, but they keep their value and aren't cheap even for the old ones. Looks like he can get an 1998-2001 and they are everywhere on the road for the price we have to spend. We both like the body style of it. I'm not going to drive it, but I can see what he likes in them. People say that they will drive for many many miles if they were taken care of.
Things we have been asking the sellers of vehicles:
#1 has the timing belt been changed?
#2 does it leak oil?
#3 do you have maintenance records?
#4 is it a non smoking vehicle -- this is just for him personally. He is a healthy runner and let's be honest, smoking is gross, especially stale cigarette smoke in a vehicle.
Another car he likes were Volvos. Seems he could get a 2003-2005 model for his price. These are everywhere on the road too. Since he has shown me these two vehicles it is amazing how many of them I see driving around town.
Are these ok??? Do you have any suggestions?
He wanted leather/ vinyl ONLY because he works out every day (mountain biking, running, rock climbing) and leather is so much easier to keep clean than cloth.
Anyways, open to the experts out there. PS - I'm the mom.
Haven't had coffee yet and messed up the first sentence. Buying a vehicle for my son.
Also, we are open to any vehicle, but another one we were considering for him was a VW Jetta / Passat possible wagon (so he could put a thule rack on top for his bike).
He is paying for part of his college and it is more than 6K a year. I can pay that (many parents pay for their kids to go to school) and he get his own car or he can pay for the college and I pay for the car. Everyone is doing their part. He has actually been a college student with no car, but now it is getting harder on him since he is in so many extracurricular activities away at college (president of an organization, volunteers for MANY organizations, has a job) Not sure if you have seen the cost of school lately, but it is outrageous.
My son doesn't drink and not having a car has put him in a situation where he had to make a decision of whether to get into another student's car or not.
I appreciate your concern BostonMike7, but he is hardly a freeloader and definitely not spoiled. We're all on the same team. He goes to school with MANY students who have new cars bought for them and all classes are paid for by the parents. He works, goes to school full time, volunteers his time and is succeeding in school and the community. Can't ask for more than that, right?
I don't think I'd buy a $6k Volvo or VW. Both tend to be problematic when they get older and very expensive to fix if something goes wrong. I'd stick to Toyota or Honda, preferably a stick shift. A clutch is a lot cheaper to replace than an automatic transmission.
I appreciate your concern BostonMike7, but he is hardly a freeloader and definitely not spoiled. We're all on the same team. He goes to school with MANY students who have new cars bought for them and all classes are paid for by the parents. He works, goes to school full time, volunteers his time and is succeeding in school and the community. Can't ask for more than that, right?
No you can't. My apologies. I recently graduated only 10 years ago and it's just different to see what's done these days vs when I was in college. But, that's not the scope of your thread here.
Your list of questions is very good. Here's something i'd recommend as well. Buy a VERY popular model car. Why? Cost of parts tends to be cheaper when there are many models on the road that need to be maintained. The 4runner is a good example, but so is the Volvo S40 which may be on your list. Volvo will prob be a tad more expensive to maintain than the Toyota, but not much. If he were to get a rarer example like an S60R, the price of parts goes up dramatically due to it not being a common vehicle.
Do you live where it snows? The 2005+ S40 can be had AWD or FWD and auto or manual trans. Is there a preference? Volvo's can be a little problematic, but so can a higher mileage 4-runner.
I think the issue will be finding a car that was maintained well, vs which brand/make will last the longest. I've seen poorly maintained Honda's has issues at 120K miles. and I've seen well maintained Fords go 200K without much trouble.
I would say no to a mid 00's Volvo since I believe those years is when they were owned by Ford and quality took a hit, IIRC. I owned a 94' 850 Turbo and it was a good car, so I'm not anti-volvo, but they had some years where quality and dependability took a dive. Also, no to a used VW out of warranty, just no.
You really cant beat the tried and true method of Honda, Subaru, and Toyota for reliability, gas mileage, utility(Subaru wagon), and cheap ownership. Sure, they arent flashy, but for 6k and for a car just to get someone through college, they cant be beat.
Thank you both. Gave you both positive ratings if that means anything lol.
Will see if I can find a stick shift.
There are a few 4runners with stick shifts out there, but few and far between, and you would be hard pressed to find one with leather. I think their automatics last just fine.
I would shy away from a VW or Volvo. I had a foreign car i college and it broke me financially. I passed it on to my brother and got a used Toyota pickup, which has been bulletproof.
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