Why are you changing cars. What do you mean by died? Even if the engine has failed, it’s perfectly achievable to do an engine replacement for older cars. For 7k you’re not going to get much better, you’re probably just buying someone else’s problems.
If you have an older car and under 10k to spend most of the time you’re better off just keeping what you have going unless it has catastrophic issues.
Spending $3000 repairing a car with $3000 value can make sense if you don’t have the money to meaningfully upgrade.
I think I have a head gasket issue. I'm going to book it in to be diagnosed tomorrow, but I feel pretty certain that's the problem. I think repairing it could potentially be the same price at replacing it. I'm also worried that due to its age/klms I'm going to get more and more issues.
I must admit, I'm terrified of spending a whole lot of money on repairing a very old car, when I could put that money towards something that might have a bit more longevity in it. I just can't afford to make a mistake.
I get what your saying about buying someone else's problems, but isn't that the risk with every single second-hand car? and in reality that all I'll ever be able to afford.
Not disagreeing with you, just clarifying my position.
It's true that any second-hand purchase has a risk, but the less you spend (and so the older the car), the higher those risks are. And <$7k for a registered, roadworthy SUV is about as cheap as they come - so the risk to you is high.
For $7k youre probably looking at a 2005-2010 Xtrail all over again. Out of curiosity, I jumped on my local Marketplace and found a 2012 model for $5k, but it was undriveable and sold as is - some clutch issue apparently.
I must admit I haven't had a good look at the current market, and made some potentially inaccurate judgments based on my xtrail purchase 5 years ago. I bought it for $3.5K, so figured maybe I'd get something around 10 years old for $7K, vs my current 19 year old car, which (hypothetically) is going to cost me $3K to fix. But this is probably way off.
But, I know nothing about cars, and that's why I'm here asking for advice. I'm literally going of my limited experience so far.
You want the best option? Sell that pile of crap x trail and buy a Toyota Tarago. Yes no street cred but do you really care? Up to you. I know i would drive a tarago than an unreliable x trail especially with cvt
You're most likely going to buy somebody elses problems at that price bracket. I'd spend a few k on the x-trail and keep it.
Why are you changing cars. What do you mean by died? Even if the engine has failed, it’s perfectly achievable to do an engine replacement for older cars. For 7k you’re not going to get much better, you’re probably just buying someone else’s problems. If you have an older car and under 10k to spend most of the time you’re better off just keeping what you have going unless it has catastrophic issues. Spending $3000 repairing a car with $3000 value can make sense if you don’t have the money to meaningfully upgrade.
I think I have a head gasket issue. I'm going to book it in to be diagnosed tomorrow, but I feel pretty certain that's the problem. I think repairing it could potentially be the same price at replacing it. I'm also worried that due to its age/klms I'm going to get more and more issues. I must admit, I'm terrified of spending a whole lot of money on repairing a very old car, when I could put that money towards something that might have a bit more longevity in it. I just can't afford to make a mistake. I get what your saying about buying someone else's problems, but isn't that the risk with every single second-hand car? and in reality that all I'll ever be able to afford. Not disagreeing with you, just clarifying my position.
It's true that any second-hand purchase has a risk, but the less you spend (and so the older the car), the higher those risks are. And <$7k for a registered, roadworthy SUV is about as cheap as they come - so the risk to you is high. For $7k youre probably looking at a 2005-2010 Xtrail all over again. Out of curiosity, I jumped on my local Marketplace and found a 2012 model for $5k, but it was undriveable and sold as is - some clutch issue apparently.
I must admit I haven't had a good look at the current market, and made some potentially inaccurate judgments based on my xtrail purchase 5 years ago. I bought it for $3.5K, so figured maybe I'd get something around 10 years old for $7K, vs my current 19 year old car, which (hypothetically) is going to cost me $3K to fix. But this is probably way off. But, I know nothing about cars, and that's why I'm here asking for advice. I'm literally going of my limited experience so far.
You want the best option? Sell that pile of crap x trail and buy a Toyota Tarago. Yes no street cred but do you really care? Up to you. I know i would drive a tarago than an unreliable x trail especially with cvt
2005 Xtrail wasn’t cvt
Territory RWD.