Well would anybody like to be the voice of reason

[ibmx2]

I had been looking mainly for higher, but reasonable mileage VX
but after saying that green one with 26,000 miles .
It was slightly out of my price range but was ready to go for it I had negotiated slightly less than what they had sold the for

I have found another with what I would say has reasonable mileage
and seems to be very nice but I would be pushing the envelope of my finances and my wife's patience
. So what's one to do?

[RickOKC]

I battled with the same decision. Eventually I did enough research so that I felt comfortable with what I called the "final cost." (Of course, I also considered the likelihood that there could be even MORE expenses due to unforeseen issues.)

Example 1: Low miles, high price, nothing more needed to be done.

Example 2: Higher miles, lower price, but I would have to factor in the cost of... a new timing belt for example.

There are a lot of common problems with these vehicles and I called around to get estimates on how much it would cost to fix those issues. Then I just had to weigh how comfortable I felt about those two type of vehicles.

Some of the higher mileage VXs I considered showed that I would have to spend a LOT to make it equal to the higher priced VXs. Sometimes the lower priced VX would be the bargain, sometimes the "final cost" would be more than the asking price of the "expensive" examples. And sometimes the higher priced VXs were simply over-priced.

Lots of research and TONS of patience paid off. I finally found the exact condition-price balance that I wanted. (For me it was something that would require some work - part of the fun in my book! :))

[Ascinder]

Just take her for the test drive and everything will be fine ;) If she's still pissed, then at least the VX is the best doghouse you'll ever sleep in....

[tom4bren]

"Well would anybody like to be the voice of reason"

'Reason' has very little impact on 'Obscession'

Edit:

Since some folks have an obsession about spelling obsession correctly, I decided to look it up and post the correct spelling of obsession.

BTW, I'm not being obsessive ... I'd heard that if you use a word 3 times, it will automatically & obsessivly be committed to memory ... permanently.

[vt_maverick]

Somebody once told me to add $100 to your monthly payment (if you're financing) to budget for repairs, upgrades, etc. throughout the year, plus another $50-100 if the vehicle's fuel economy sucks (which ours obviously does). Use that basic formula to figure out what you can afford per month, then do the reverse calculation to determine what the maximum purchase price you can afford would be (if you have good credit, assume an 8% APR across 60 months to be conservative). Then you start looking at VX's in that basic range, while also doing the additional research to determine what a reasonable asking price would be for each vehicle you're considering.

[circmand]

how handy are you? If you can do basic repairs and have a decent down or paying cash? What is the price difference between the 2 since you do have a very low mileage example but it is still 10+years old. Not everything in a car ages by miles. The area the 2 vehicles are from I would say an Arizona VX at 50,000 is a better deal than a Northeast car with 25,000 miles. Between snow, ice salt etc the Northeast car is exposed to much more harsh treatment.

[VX KAT]

"Well would anybody like to be the voice of reason"

'Reason' has very little impact on 'Obscession'

Yeah, especially when it's spelled that way! :_thinking :p................
ok, I'll take care of it for ya..:slap:

[tom4bren]

:embarasse

I never learnt to spell very goodly (& too lazy to look it up).

Talk to you later, the bell just rang & it's time for me to put away my crayons for nap time.

Edit:

ob·ses·sion
[uhb-sesh-uhn] At least I didn't spell it this way!!!
–noun
1. the domination of one's thoughts or feelings by a persistent idea, image, desire, etc.
2. the idea, image, desire, feeling, etc., itself.
3. the state of being obsessed.
4. the act of obsessing.

[handeeman]

I have found another with what I would say has reasonable mileage
and seems to be very nice but I would be pushing the envelope of my finances and my wife's patience
. So what's one to do?

Handeeman/aka "The VOR"
says: "..... it"
"Go for it" you don't get very far pulling the envelope. Just make sure you can handle the payment with some cushion for unforseen expenses i.e.( divorce atty etc.) and if all else fails your next wife will be more appreciative of your VX since you'll already have it.

[tom4bren]

It boggles the mind.

[Kona-Vs]

Ive bough allot of used cars in my life and have always found that paying more for a low mileage vehicle was cheaper in the long run. It's much cheaper and easier to maintain than fix and repair not to mention all the time you spend on problems with high mileage. With that said, you still have to pick it up at a reasonable price I would say the best deal would be around 12k for 30,000mi or less or around 9k for 50,000mi or less, then you still have lots of years of low hassle fun. If you put it into prospective any thing is better than paying 40K+ for a new vehicle that deprecates at lightning speed. As far as the wife's reaction this to I have many years of experience but can offer NO help. :grinb::grino::upsetgray

[ibmx2]

lots of great thoughts

thanks
by the way what kind of M.P.G.
can one expect with stock size tires????

[vt_maverick]

15-19 Mpg

[ibmx2]

Oh one more thing whats it like to get a child seat in the back
I would need to have her in it maybe once a week

[tom4bren]

This thread should help.

http://www.vehicross.info/forums/showthread.php?t=18533&highlight=mpg

There is a lot of good reading if you use the search function on 'mpg'.

[vt_maverick]

Oh one more thing whats it like to get a child seat in the back
I would need to have her in it maybe once a week

Not bad, there's basically two ways to do it. The first is to recline the back seat flat backwards and put the seat in from the rear cargo door. The second (which I do because I have a pet barrier in the back) is to pass the car seat between the two front seats and onto the bench seat. Interestingly enough there's more room between the front seats in their normal position than there is with the passenger seat folded forward, so that's pretty much the only way to do it. Once it's back there you slide the passenger seat forward and step in to buckle/latch it in place.