Car guys/gals: people always want advice

[LuvMyE92]

Since I'm the "car guy" people are always asking me for advice, help, etc. That's fine. But here's the most recent one, and I'm perturbed and would like to hear others' opinions on this.

Background: Youngest stepson has a friend (not quite a former girlfriend, but close) who is around 23 or so... she has many family issues so no one there can help her, so she's asked me for advice on buying her first car. She doesn't make much money...

She sent us a link to a 2015 Mini Cooper. I was surprised how cheap (in this market) it is, around $11K for a car with only 87K miles, but in my opinion, it's not worth that because underneath it's all BMW and although I am a blue & white fanbois, I also recognize the potential money pit that an older BMW can be. For someone who knows nothing, can't work on a car, has no friends that can work on her car, and who lives in the boonies far from the dealer, I think it's a bad choice.

So the wife asks me what we should do, and I said "nothing". She's not the kid's GF, we can't save the world, and I'm a little wary of saying "buy this" because if the car turns out to be a POS, I'm going to feel guilty and the wife may want to help her out, financially. She's a soft touch, the wife.

So, all I said was "have her do her own research on what is a good car, good price, and always, without exception, get a PPI done before buying it." I also recommended, generally, to look at a Honda or Mazda.

Any other ideas, suggestions, warnings, for me to consider here?

[kyriian]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

Since I'm the "car guy" people are always asking me for advice, help, etc. That's fine. But here's the most recent one, and I'm perturbed and would like to hear others' opinions on this.

Background: Youngest stepson has a friend (not quite a former girlfriend, but close) who is around 23 or so... she has many family issues so no one there can help her, so she's asked me for advice on buying her first car. She doesn't make much money...

She sent us a link to a 2015 Mini Cooper. I was surprised how cheap (in this market) it is, around $11K for a car with only 87K miles, but in my opinion, it's not worth that because underneath it's all BMW and although I am a blue & white fanbois, I also recognize the potential money pit that an older BMW can be. For someone who knows nothing, can't work on a car, has no friends that can work on her car, and who lives in the boonies far from the dealer, I think it's a bad choice.

So the wife asks me what we should do, and I said "nothing". She's not the kid's GF, we can't save the world, and I'm a little wary of saying "buy this" because if the car turns out to be a POS, I'm going to feel guilty and the wife may want to help her out, financially. She's a soft touch, the wife.

So, all I said was "have her do her own research on what is a good car, good price, and always, without exception, get a PPI done before buying it." I also recommended, generally, to look at a Honda or Mazda.

Any other ideas, suggestions, warnings, for me to consider here?

For reliable wheels, Mazda 3, Honda Fit/Civic/Accord, Toyota Corolla, perhaps even a Lexus CT if saving gas is important, the Fit is especially good fun.

[DocL]

I'd also tell her to get the Consumer reports guide on the best used cars. I have found it very predictable and accurate.

[The0pportunist]

My advise to a noob is always get extended warranty.

Here in the UK anyway, if car has full bmw service history you can plug the plate into a website for the premium. Around £50 a month and £250 excess in my case gets most issues sorted at the dealer without hassle.

I would definitely check if the service history of the car you're about to buy is legitimate by calling the dealers that serviced it over the years and also confirm with them & the warranty company, the car has never had warranty work denied.

[HondaRC51]

One thing I learned from my father before I purchased my first vehicle was go to the dealership for the brand car you want and ask the service guys what they think of the vehicle you want to get. They are the ones that know all the issues with the vehicles, not the salesmen up front. I have gone to plenty of different places and talked with techs out in the parking lot about certain models they told to stay away from or gave good advice on what to look out for.

Also I know she isn't any relation to you but you could at least donate an hour with her at the dinner table to look at cars online if she doesn't have anyone else with enough knowledge to know what to stay clear of. Just my .02c

[Fredcohiba]

If she has family issues and no one to help her out, you would be doing a good thing by helping her out. You are the car guy, so it’s in your DNA. Give her no guarantees, only the benefit of your knowledge.

[Bc2005]

In general, Toyota and Honda have the best value for older economy cars, and Mazda is not far behind. Hyundai and Kia are also doing quite well, and I think they still have a 100k power train warranty (with some caveats, I’m sure). Just watch out for the Honda or Toyota dealer, or owner, who thinks their POS used car is like selling gold, just because of brand reputation. A good brand can still be a lousy used car.

A couple other key points:
- Did someone do proper maintenance over the years? Many cars in that age bracket have a lot of deferred maintenance (belts, hoses, timing belt, struts, water pump, etc), and someone has told the owner how much it’s now going to cost to correct those problems. The owner doesn’t want to spend $3-4k on all this maintenance, so he/she decides to sell the car. At the right price it could be a good deal for a tinkerer, but a bad choice if you have to pay someone else to do all the work.
- You mentioned living in the boondocks, which is not very specific. The buyer needs to have a mechanic within a reasonable distance that can get parts and fix the car. Something will eventually break, and that’s not the time to find out you can’t get it fixed.

Short repair war story - I had a tire bulge issue on the road with my 2021 BMW. When I called the BMW 800 number the nearest dealer was 600 miles away. It was also Friday and all the nearby tire stores would have to get a new tire from a distributor that was also 500 miles away. Tire stores in the boondocks don’t stock tires in sizes and brands that they will never sell.

[plutnicki]

I think you should share the advice you just wrote about reliability, repairs and cost of an 8 (soon to be 9) year old mini cooper.

Are you wary of giving any opinion because you don't want to be on the hook for it later?

[Mason Hatcher]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

Since I'm the "car guy" people are always asking me for advice, help, etc. That's fine. But here's the most recent one, and I'm perturbed and would like to hear others' opinions on this.

Background: Youngest stepson has a friend (not quite a former girlfriend, but close) who is around 23 or so... she has many family issues so no one there can help her, so she's asked me for advice on buying her first car. She doesn't make much money...

She sent us a link to a 2015 Mini Cooper. I was surprised how cheap (in this market) it is, around $11K for a car with only 87K miles, but in my opinion, it's not worth that because underneath it's all BMW and although I am a blue & white fanbois, I also recognize the potential money pit that an older BMW can be. For someone who knows nothing, can't work on a car, has no friends that can work on her car, and who lives in the boonies far from the dealer, I think it's a bad choice.

So the wife asks me what we should do, and I said "nothing". She's not the kid's GF, we can't save the world, and I'm a little wary of saying "buy this" because if the car turns out to be a POS, I'm going to feel guilty and the wife may want to help her out, financially. She's a soft touch, the wife.

So, all I said was "have her do her own research on what is a good car, good price, and always, without exception, get a PPI done before buying it." I also recommended, generally, to look at a Honda or Mazda.

Any other ideas, suggestions, warnings, for me to consider here?

You don't like her much, do you?

[M2siast]

Originally Posted by plutnicki

I think you should share the advice you just wrote about reliability, repairs and cost of an 8 (soon to be 9) year old mini cooper.

Are you wary of giving any opinion because you don't want to be on the hook for it later?

I agree with this.
Explaining the rationale for what you DON’T recommend is not a bad idea. She’ll think about things people don’t generally think about when they don’t know about cars.

And explaining a simple car that is cheap when new is potentially cheaper to maintain when old is also not a bad advice. And then she can make her decisions.

[86Zed]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

Any other ideas, suggestions, warnings, for me to consider here?

Best you can do is provide level headed advice, which you seem to have an understanding of. Whether or not anyone heeds that advice is up to them.

I would not recommend a 10 year old European car to anyone unware of the increased upkeep usually required. 23 means a tighter budget and a time to build credit. Find a gently used Japanese or Korean car with a reasonable monthly payment to build credit.

In the end most people end up buying what they want not what they need, myself included...

[dgoldenz]

There's a reason it's $11k.

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by plutnicki

Are you wary of giving any opinion because you don't want to be on the hook for it later?

Yes.

Originally Posted by Mason Hatcher

You don't like her much, do you?

LOL, I like her fine, but she's not part of the family and isn't even a potential mate for the kid, and she doesn't live close by so it's not like I can go with her to look at cars.

Originally Posted by M2siast

I agree with this.
Explaining the rationale for what you DON’T recommend is not a bad idea. She’ll think about things people don’t generally think about when they don’t know about cars.

Excellent point, thanks.

[Pauldunlop13]

as for the dollar amount - you said she doesn't make much - that should be the deciding factor on her car purchase

if she doesn't make much, likely a $6-$9k car would work better

1. how much does she make yearly?
2. pick less than half of that amount for what she can afford for a car
3. find a car in that price range from Honda - Toyota - Mazda
4. ask her how much she has saved to put down on it
5. ask her how much she has in a 'vehicle repair fund'. likely $500-$1k should be saved in this acct
6. recommend that she get this with a 3yr loan term - don't suggest 6/7/8 like many car loans are these days

all of these questions and subsequent answers should help her know, that you won't be on the hook for your advice - and that you are giving her the info that she can use to make a decision

[Llarry]

Originally Posted by Bc2005

In general, Toyota and Honda have the best value for older economy cars, and Mazda is not far behind. Hyundai and Kia are also doing quite well, and I think they still have a 100k power train warranty (with some caveats, I’m sure).

I agree with this advice and would add Subaru to the list of candidates.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Fredcohiba

If she has family issues and no one to help her out, you would be doing a good thing by helping her out. You are the car guy, so it’s in your DNA. Give her no guarantees, only the benefit of your knowledge.

This. LuvMyE92, are you saying you are declining to help her?! Surely not.


I have a young lady from church who heard I was a car guy and asked me for advice. She is stuck on a Toyota Rav4 and is looking at ten year old models with well over 100k miles to get one within her price range. She kept sending me links and I kept telling her they were not good choices. Too many miles and too much money. As you can imagine most of them are on “note lots”. I was encouraging her to broaden her considerations and making suggestions, but she was unwilling. I finally got pretty put out with her. I spent a fair amount of time trying to find good options for her. So I told her I wasn’t going to rubber stamp what I feel is a very poor financial decision and since she wasn’t willing to even consider the recommendations I made I had nothing more to offer her and I was going to end my involvement.

This was a first for me. I have helped lots of my friends with their car shopping. I’ve been directly responsible for the choices quite a few of them ended up making.

[LuvMyE92]

Originally Posted by tturedraider

This. LuvMyE92, are you saying you are declining to help her?! Surely not.

No, just that I am wary.

As it turns out... we bought my stepson a $4000 Chrysler a few years ago, which was basically a decent car that he drove for a year or two, then he was able to get a new Civic. His Dad, who had paid for part of the Chrysler, then gave it to his (the Dad's) Mom who is poor and in ill health... she had it for a while but now she can't drive, so he's selling it to the girl in question for $1000. I told her not to take it without first having it checked out by a mechanic, because we have no idea how much it has been neglected over the past few years while the old lady had it.

So it looked like it all worked out, and she saved a whole bunch of money. Hopefully it won't be a money pit. I'm not a Chrysler fan.

[Donatello.]

Originally Posted by LuvMyE92

Since I'm the "car guy" people are always asking me for advice, help, etc. That's fine. But here's the most recent one, and I'm perturbed and would like to hear others' opinions on this.

Background: Youngest stepson has a friend (not quite a former girlfriend, but close) who is around 23 or so... she has many family issues so no one there can help her, so she's asked me for advice on buying her first car. She doesn't make much money...

She sent us a link to a 2015 Mini Cooper. I was surprised how cheap (in this market) it is, around $11K for a car with only 87K miles, but in my opinion, it's not worth that because underneath it's all BMW and although I am a blue & white fanbois, I also recognize the potential money pit that an older BMW can be. For someone who knows nothing, can't work on a car, has no friends that can work on her car, and who lives in the boonies far from the dealer, I think it's a bad choice.

So the wife asks me what we should do, and I said "nothing". She's not the kid's GF, we can't save the world, and I'm a little wary of saying "buy this" because if the car turns out to be a POS, I'm going to feel guilty and the wife may want to help her out, financially. She's a soft touch, the wife.

So, all I said was "have her do her own research on what is a good car, good price, and always, without exception, get a PPI done before buying it." I also recommended, generally, to look at a Honda or Mazda.

Any other ideas, suggestions, warnings, for me to consider here?

So you refused to help the poor kid. Wow. SMH...

Should have at least told her do not buy more than she can comfortably afford, do not pay more than it's worth, don't buy high mileage crap, don't get scammed by a buy here pay here, if she has junk credit then buy something stupid cheap for cash & upgrade later, stick with A to B appliance like Toyota, Honda, etc.

What if she asked you to look at/drive a particular car for her? Would you tell her you don't have the time?

Do better. Be better. Doesn't matter if she is not his gf. She didn't ask you for money. She asked for advice & wisdom.

[tturedraider]

Originally Posted by Donatello.

So you refused to help the poor kid. Wow. SMH...

Should have at least told her do not buy more than she can comfortably afford, do not pay more than it's worth, don't buy high mileage crap, don't get scammed by a buy here pay here, if she has junk credit then buy something stupid cheap for cash & upgrade later, stick with A to B appliance like Toyota, Honda, etc.

What if she asked you to look at/drive a particular car for her? Would you tell her you don't have the time?

Do better. Be better. Doesn't matter if she is not his gf. She didn't ask you for money. She asked for advice & wisdom.

Did you only read the very first post and not bother to read the post RIGHT ABOVE THE ONE YOU MADE?!?!?!

Looks like you are the one who needs to do better and be better!!

[Humdizzle]

the under 15k category is pretty easy to make recommendations. civic, corolla, mazda 3 if they want something smaller. accord or camry if they need more room. browse for a few days. check out your top few choices and makes sure everything works. then send for a ppi.

sure there are other options, but if you can't spend more than 15k on a car... reliability and maintenance costs are priority number 1. styling and features come second.