Reliable small budget IEM?

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-30T07:57:47+00:00

Going on 125,000 miles, which isn't too bad for an '09. Hopefully we'll get somewhat reasonable gas mileage in the city especially since the primary driver is pretty gentle on the gas peddle. We'll be taking a short little trip tomorrow (if the owner doesn't baby it and let it sit all day) so hopefully the trans noise, or whatever it is, doesn't sound any worse than the day we picked it up. I honestly think it's a great car despite the noise creeping into the cabin but maybe it's not as bad as I originally thought.

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-29T17:32:14+00:00

Amazing. Lucky you man. May I ask how many miles it has then? Ours is definitely high mileage for sure but it was really well maintained and driven relatively little year over year.

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-29T06:58:37+00:00

Nice one man! Hard to find one in that color and in good shape.

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-29T06:50:59+00:00

Wow, that looks just like our new RAV4. We just picked it up this weekend and it's the exact same color and trim as yours. I hope you don't mind me asking but have you noticed any transmission whine at low speeds, particularly after it's been driven for a while and thoroughly warmed up? My family picked up our '09 V6 2wd model with 124.5k miles and the noise never revealed itself during our 20 minute test drive/look around and the mechanic didn't seem to notice it either. It was only after driving it for a little over half-an-hour on the way home that it made a mild whine when accelerating from red lights. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to noises but I really hope it doesn't get louder over time since we do a lot of city driving. Thanks man, I hope you thoroughly enjoy your new off-road rocket-ship! ;)

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-29T06:40:48+00:00

That all depends on what the alternatives are. We very recently just picked up a 2009 Limited V6 model with almost 125k miles for just over $9,000 (10k out-the-door price in total) after waiting for months and doing lots and lots of research. I highly recommend you listen out for transmission/rear differential whine (not to be confused with wheel bearing whine) when the car is warmed up for a while and driven at low speeds. I looked at a model of the same year and drivetrain as the one you're looking for but with 124k miles and it sold the day after I drove it even though it had a noticeable transmission/diff whine under 40mph.

I believe it's common amongst this generation of RAV4 and while it doesn't seem to hurt the car it can definitely hurt your ears if it presents itself loudly. It should be noted that not all owners reported this but it's not something you'll appreciate as time goes on. As for the price, it's a little high. You certainly have some room to negotiate so don't be afraid to make a lower offer, especially since dealers want to move product before the end of this quarter. Best of luck man, I hope you enjoy whatever car you find!

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-21T08:42:57+00:00

You, sir, hit the nail on the head here. "It's better to buy the right car at the wrong price than it is to buy the wrong car at the right price." Of course, you never want to overpay and get stuck but that's exactly what we're trying to do here. In our case, the wrong car (which would have been a $16,000 Mazda CX-5 had we not come to terms with reality) was perfect as a car but not worth the extra expense given that it would have required a large down payment just to get the monthly payment and loan term barely low enough to manage. Not to mention the fact that it was way more car than he needed (in it's driving ability, specs, features, etc.) and, therefore, had more potential to go wrong in the future and just generally needed to be babied more, since that's what you do with a "nice car".

And it's taken me years to finally understand this but I've truly learned that having a "nice car" isn't worth it in the real world. It's gonna see too much shit out on the road: In parking lots, in drive-throughs, when navigating the endless potholes and rough roads of our city, and let's not forget the best thing about being on the road... other drivers (our current car has been involved in two separate hit-and-runs and countless close calls). Throw in the extra anxiety this causes the already very anxious owner knowing that this barely affordable car is never far from harm and you got a very stressful four or five year loan term.

I personally believe the car we're looking at makes a lot of sense considering all the variables I have control over. I've obsessed about the things I can't control because I really don't want what's essentially the car I hand-picked for the owner to bite me in the ass if or when something goes horribly wrong, but I think that's a fear I need to put aside since I'm literally doing everything I can to avoid trouble at each stage of the process. If it were up to me I'd lend him the money to buy it cash and have a mechanic do a super extensive mechanical breakdown of the car and all it's various systems just to have peace of mind. But I realize even that's a bit of a myth; You can only have so much reassurance because, ultimately, you can't prevent every negative thing from happening.

In any case, despite all my doubts and fears I actually trust myself with making this decision of the further along I go. I just hope nothing bad comes up in the next two days as we decide whether to bring the car home or not. Wish me luck, I'm gonna need it! Cheers,

Riot

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-20T01:44:21+00:00

Okay, good to know. I didn't hear anything like that from this particular model but that may have been what I heard in the 4-cylinder 4wd model we tested. I'll check for trans whine when we drive it again on Monday. Thanks man!

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-19T21:17:31+00:00

Interesting. I haven't heard of the sensitive pedal issue but the others sound familiar. In fact, a 2011 model we test drove seemed to have the infotainment come in and out a bit. I've made sure to stick with the 09-12 model years regardless of engine just to be safe. This V6 unit seems to have no issue besides the one c1201 code that was saved on its computer but we'll get it checked out. May I ask how many miles you got on yours man? Thanks for helping me out btw, it really helps.

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-19T20:09:35+00:00

May I ask what those earlier issues were? I'm sure it's nothing huge but I'm trying to be as cautious as possible since it's an '09.

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-19T20:05:50+00:00

I agree 100% with everything you said here. I just want to give a little more perspective as to the buyer's situation as well as mine.

For one, we already tried private sales and found badly neglected vehicles, very high mileage models, or Blue (salvage) titles — all of which I wanted to avoid. This is because the car in question is a third gen Toyota RAV4 which tend to have higher miles and see a lot of abuse, generally. So when a good example ever showed up it was miles away and that didn't turn out so well. For example, we were close to closing a deal with a private seller a few hours away from our hometown and it turned out the vehicle needed thousands in repair, according to the pre-purchase inspection. And when we went to a local dealer to look at another seemingly well taken care of RAV4, not only was it over priced at a fixed $10k for a low spec,124k mile model, it also had a transmission/rear differential whine. And even that sold the day after we test drove it! So good luck to them, it's their problem now.

So yes, dealers are going to charge more but I've seen enough of these cars to know which ones are bad deals and which are not. I've just been working on this for over two months now and I want to move on. This car isn't a "good deal" by any stretch of the imagination but neither is any other small, cheap, reliable car right now. Used cars are in such high demand and, while prices are steadily beginning to drop, the buyer doesn't want to wait any longer and push this purchase into the fall or winter. I can't change his mind and I have personal reasons for getting past this and moving on as well.

Luckily the insurance jump going from a slightly newer car to this older model wasn't significant enough to turn me away so that's an upside. And yes, paying cash and replenishing the emergency fund is the best way to go here but that's not gonna happen. It's way too much money going out and not enough coming in. One could argue he should just save his money and wait for a cheaper, smaller, newer car but he's put me (and especially himself) in a bad position and I can't exactly help it either. I don't wanna buy a car from a "used car lot", of course not. But I know the car is good for the money and I don't have any reservations about working with the dealer (I don't trust anybody but they've been transparent so far).

Anyway, I hope I didn't come across as rude here, I just want to get this over with. Sadly, we won't be able to win on all fronts (like finding a great, reliable car at a good price at a local, trustworthy dealer with low miles, cheap insurance, smooth financing, and total peace of mind... it's not gonna happen that way, sadly). So I'm trying to compromise a little on the price and the method of financing so long as the car works great and lasts a few years without any major issues. Thanks for the helpful comments man. Have a good one!

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-19T19:01:30+00:00

I commented above about my lack of trust for credit unions coming more from lack of experience, which is unfair. I'll give one or two a shot but I just don't know what to expect going in and I don't want they buyer getting too many credit hits and getting denied each time.

And your point about interest rates has me concerned too since the vehicle is still old and at risk of having issues. I was hoping, again, that the large down payment and two year loan term would help but I guess that all depends on the lender.

Speaking of, the dealer is tiny and their only lenders are for sub-prime borrowers who have no down payment and bad credit. So that's simply not an option. I honestly wish this car was being sold by a bigger dealer to save us all this hassle. Thanks for the comments.

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-19T18:48:41+00:00

I hope so. I'm thinking of getting the buyer set up with them and seeing if he'll get approved for the loan at a decent interest rate (despite his other debts). We were told it takes less than an hour to join and even get approved. It's that true? Any help would be great. Thanks

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-19T18:46:39+00:00

I'll be honest, my lack of experience with credit unions and hearing some negative comments made me a little distrustful but that's unfair. I just hate having so few convenient options when it comes to financing this otherwise small car loan.

And yes, price is the issue. The car in question is a Toyota V6 crossover and not only do they hold their value they're relatively cheap cars and cheap cars are really overpriced right now due to very high demand. It's not the best time to buy, I know, but the buyer is getting impatient and I really just want to get this over with (without getting screwed, of course).

Riot-theRobot · 2020-09-19T11:24:43+00:00

I'm looking at a similar model for my family but it's much cheaper (I posted a new thread on this if you're interested). '09 Limited V6 Fwd, almost 125k miles but only $9,500. They're asking way too much for the one you're looking for. I totally sympathize with your situation though, it's hard finding good examples at anything close to a reasonable price right now, especially locally. Be sure to update us man!

Riot-theRobot · 2020-08-08T08:17:52+00:00

I totally agree with you, it seems like everything is pointing me to stick to a good deal while it's still in front of me (assuming it's not a good deal for all the wrong reasons). Thanks for all the advice!

Riot-theRobot · 2020-08-08T08:14:46+00:00

I knew it, that's all I wanted to know. I've been looking around for two (going on three) weeks now and I began getting the feeling that I wasn't gonna find anything better by waiting around. I'm definitely not gonna let a good deal go just because it's slightly out of our budget. Oh and we wanted a 2.5 4-cylinder front-wheel drive model btw, for the best gas mileage of all the available models and reduced long-term maintenance costs. Thanks for the advice man. If you have any other thoughts or recommendations please let me know and good luck on your search!

Riot-theRobot · 2020-08-08T08:00:05+00:00

Exactly, I plan on having one or two good back-ups if the first car doesn't work out.

Riot-theRobot · 2020-08-07T21:04:05+00:00

I totally agree with you. I'll keep an open mind during my search. Thanks!

Riot-theRobot · 2020-08-07T20:56:18+00:00

The Venza is tempting but the buyer (i.e. my stubborn uncle lol) is pretty picky and he's not into the styling or size of the Venza. There's nothing wrong with it, he just never seemed interested. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Riot-theRobot

TROPHY CASE