I bought my 2008 Toyota Sienna for $4500. I talked him down from $4900.
It had:
230k miles (269k now)
an engine replacement (2010 engine with 110k miles, replaced at 201k on chassis)
severely worn out sliding door rear hinges, bad enough to be grinding the body under the 3rd row windows down to bare metal
broken power steering rack (found that a few weeks later)
balding tires
rattle-can patch job (black paint on factory black paint, not a deal-breaker for me)
blown out rear shocks
more that I’ve forgotten (noted down in my records)
I bought that van because 1) it was a really good price, 2) engine and transmission are in really good shape, 3) rust-free, and 4) I knew what most of its issues were before I bought it and was able to fix it all in my garage.
Also, I have 5 kids, so the minivan was a necessity. $5000 is the bare minimum for a family car these days.
I cannot comprehend owning a $5000 car.
That’s insane that some people have up to 5k to spend.
We don’t - hence the loan
I bought my 2008 Toyota Sienna for $4500. I talked him down from $4900.
It had:
I bought that van because 1) it was a really good price, 2) engine and transmission are in really good shape, 3) rust-free, and 4) I knew what most of its issues were before I bought it and was able to fix it all in my garage.
Also, I have 5 kids, so the minivan was a necessity. $5000 is the bare minimum for a family car these days.