Buying used RAV4_Australia

[australiachris]

Hi everyone, 

I'm looking for advice. I want to buy a toyota RAV4 from the year 2009 to 2014, ideally with kms bellow 120k. I manage to save $14k (AUD) as I am only starting my career as a veterinarian this year. I'm looking for a reliable car, that can take me to rural farms and if needed I could sleep inside (when working in distant properties). 
To be honest I don't have a lot of knowledge in cars in general but I heard that RAV4 would be ideal for my situation. I would like to know what people would recommend? Diesel vs petrol? manual vs automatic? Private vs dealer? Older car with less mileage vs newer car with more mileage? GX, CV... ? 2.0L, 2.5L VS 3.5L? 4C vs 6C? 

So far from rav4world.com the advice I got were: Petrol over diesel, low mileage older car vs high mileage newer car, automatic vs manual and if they had to pick a car it would the V6 3.5L Rav4.  

Thank you for helping out! 
Chris

Edited May 23, 2020 by australiachris

[campbeam]

When I am researching a vehicle, I mainly start looking at 2 websites, RedBook and Australian Car Reviews.

https://www.redbook.com.au/cars/details/2009-toyota-rav4-cv6-auto-4x4-my09/SPOT-ITM-279835/ 

http://australiancar.reviews/reviews.php#!content=guide&make=Toyota&model=RAV4&gen=917&pno=0 

I would also select the V6 3.5L RAV4 because I absolutely love that engine. It is prone to oil sludge but that just means it needs regular oil and filter changes with quality oils. 

Another similar vehicle that you could consider is the Toyota Kluger. 

 

[ianskluger]

Hi Chris, my wife owns a 2012 RAV4 V6 which now has 114K on the clock (which is actually low for its age). We have had no issues with the car (we bought it when it was 18 months old and 14K on the clock). I would recommend the V6, it is the same 3.5L motor that is in my kluger, neither the RAV or Kluger motors have caused us any issues. As Ashley suggests the main thing when buying any of these cars is checking the service history. The only issue I know of with the V6 motors is they will eventually fail if the oil hasn't been changed regularly. The V6 RAV's are only available in auto (just like the kluger), and also ensure you are looking an an AWD car (they will have a badge on the back), the best way is to look for the down hill descent button inside the car which is only on AWD models. The V6 model was discontinued in 2012, so finding a low km one with good maintenance won't be as easy as the other variants. I've been told by my toyota dealer a lot of people are looking for them, because the next model only has the smaller petrol engine. The kluger is also a great car, but it is a lot bigger, I tend to take the RAV if I know we are going to be in car parks or city parking bays. We live 5km up a graded dirt road and both vehicles are great in slippery conditions (rain or snow). Toyotas are certainly reliable, have easy availability of parts and will certainly do the job you describe. Good luck with your search.

[Tony Prodigy]

Firstly, you can't really go wrong with any Toyota. The main thing is to get one with a service history. If you are more inclined on the RAV 4, then I'd definitely get the V6 as it will drive superbly over a four. Being relatively light too, fuel economy would be much better than that of a Kluger.

Kluger is quite heavy and consumables will wear out faster and be more expensive. The RAV 4 is more car like and therefore a bit more forgiving on the hip pocket. It is quite roomy and practical too. If I didn't buy an Aurion, RAV 4 would've been my second choice.

[australiachris]

Thank you everyone for the help, really appreciated! When looking for a car, do you recommend any particular website? For the moment I'm mostly using carsales (occasionally gumtree and Facebook market place). 

[Tony Prodigy]

The usual suspects these days are those you mentioned. Car sales is usually a good place to start.

[ianskluger]

In my experience Car Sales is the best site, and you can also arrange car inspections prior to purchase to ensure you know what you are actually buying. I find gumtree tends to have the lower priced cars there, and perhaps isn't as secure as car sales. Certainly do your homework, and don't go alone if you happen to find a car through gumtree. Pre-purchase checks are always good, because you don't have to necessarily attend, but it confirms the car and the seller actually exists as well if it is a private sale. Pre-purchase checks can also check whether there are loans outstanding, or the car has been a write-off... in my view they are well worth the money for a private sale not through a dealer. As mentioned, make sure the service history of the car is good, a low km car with no service history, could be worse than buying one with higher km's but full history.

[Tony Prodigy]

57 minutes ago, ianskluger said:

In my experience Car Sales is the best site, and you can also arrange car inspections prior to purchase to ensure you know what you are actually buying. I find gumtree tends to have the lower priced cars there, and perhaps isn't as secure as car sales. Certainly do your homework, and don't go alone if you happen to find a car through gumtree. Pre-purchase checks are always good, because you don't have to necessarily attend, but it confirms the car and the seller actually exists as well if it is a private sale. Pre-purchase checks can also check whether there are loans outstanding, or the car has been a write-off... in my view they are well worth the money for a private sale not through a dealer. As mentioned, make sure the service history of the car is good, a low km car with no service history, could be worse than buying one with higher km's but full history.

Good advice there. You have to stay one step ahead of the scammers.