Opinions on 2008 Toyota Aurion Sportivo SX6 275,000km $6500 including 1 year warranty, RWC, stamp duty etc

[SilasR]

 

https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/details/2008-toyota-aurion-sportivo-sx6-auto/OAG-AD-19151896?pageSource=details&id=OAG-AD-19151896&fbclid=IwAR0prQcOEsdbHmcvLNpILsMjJ_iionC9bROp6GC-sL8-wn6gml2JX1itCQY

The dealer said the logbook was filled until 2010 and other than that there are some more recent service stickers on the window. 

I haven't inspected the vehicle due to restrictions in Victoria and am kind of in a bind in that I can only buy it "pending test drive".

How silly of an idea is it to purchase an Aurion with such high kms and patchy service history?

So far I've read on here that I need to be dilligent with regularly replacing the oil with high quality synthetic oil.

Does anyone know mechanic near ringwood that I could pay to come on the test drive with me and check it out?

Logbook for this model has it at $4500-$6200.

The warranty is "worth" $650, plus stamp duty & transfer fee is about $320, cost of RWC another $200, and however long is left on the rego (forgot to ask but he said he had been driving it so I'm guessing there is still some time left. All of that factored, and the convenience of having a dealer organise the transfer for me, I don't consider the price to be too bad.

The dealer is "Simple Cars" in Ringwood if that means anything to anyone.

https://imgur.com/a/Iab1dMM <- details of what the warranty costs

 

Appreciate any thoughts.

 

Cheers

[matt36415]

Not knowing anything about your particular situation..... I wouldn’t be too confident in used car warranties, you might need a lawyer to make a claim. 
a 2007 with 260,000km but I know how its been treated for a lot of that. I would suggest that spending money on having a mechanics opinion is a good idea and that buying an unseen - un driven... car with those km is pretty risky. If you are taking a risk, there should be some reward... but the price doesn’t seem good enough to warrant taking such a risk.

[campbeam]

20 minutes ago, matt36415 said:

Not knowing anything about your particular situation..... I wouldn’t be too confident in used car warranties, you might need a lawyer to make a claim. 
a 2007 with 260,000km but I know how its been treated for a lot of that. I would suggest that spending money on having a mechanics opinion is a good idea and that buying an unseen - un driven... car with those km is pretty risky. If you are taking a risk, there should be some reward... but the price doesn’t seem good enough to warrant taking such a risk.

Fully agree with what MATT36415 has posted.

I also consider a scenario of where if I buy a vehicle today, what can I reasonably expect to sell it for in the next few weeks. If you are not prepared to accept the potential loss then do not buy. 

I just did a quick search on Gumtree Melbourne Region Toyota Aurion Sportivo.

I think that this ad by a willing/emergency negotiable seller might be worth considering. 

https://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/dandenong/cars-vans-utes/2008-toyota-aurion-sportivo-zr6-6-sp-auto-sequential-4d-sedan/1243774840 

Suggest that you also have a look on FaceBook MarketPlace. 

 

[Tony Prodigy]

The OP's ad says that the car is no longer available. Hmm, I wonder if he did buy it despite the excellent advice put forward here.

Not sure why he was hell bent on buying a car with such high kays when he could find something else for similar money with much less kays. There's plenty out there if you have a good dig. 

I hope he made the right choice.

Edited October 23, 2020 by Tony Prodigy

[campbeam]

17 minutes ago, Tony Prodigy said:

There's plenty out there if you have a good dig. 

I hope he made the right choice.

I am terrible when it comes to buying cars and make lots of mistakes. It certainly helps if you can be indifferent and prepared to walk away from a bad deal/negotiation. A cheap buy can end up being more expensive in the long term with ongoing repairs. 

I think that used car warranties are not worth anything so more likely to buy from a private seller than a dealer. I am more concerned about a clear title and accident claims so will pay for a Car History Report and do a REVS check. 

[Tony Prodigy]

20 minutes ago, campbeam said:

I am terrible when it comes to buying cars and make lots of mistakes. It certainly helps if you can be indifferent and prepared to walk away from a bad deal/negotiation. A cheap buy can end up being more expensive in the long term with ongoing repairs. 

I think that used car warranties are not worth anything so more likely to buy from a private seller than a dealer. I am more concerned about a clear title and accident claims so will pay for a Car History Report and do a REVS check. 

I hate buying cars full stop. That's why, when I buy a car, I try and find the best one for the right money, look after it well and keep it as long as possible.

I will NEVER buy from a yard. All my past purchases have been private. You can get better deals, as you know, buying private but you still need to do your due diligence when buying anyway right ?

REVS check and a car history report should always be done regardless. I'm pretty good detecting accident damaged cars as I come from a spray painting/panel beating background so this is helpful for me and anybody I know who needs assistance. The encumbered aspect is more the issue these days as there are way too many who live beyond their means and finance just about everything.

I hope the O.P made the right choice.

 

[ZZT86]

I wouldn't consider it unless it had a flawless service history.

[L4WL3SS]

On 10/24/2020 at 6:31 AM, Tony Prodigy said:

I will NEVER buy from a yard.

 

Yards can be full of ****, but private can be worse. Yards have the connections to cheaply rectify issues in a car, whereas private sellers do their best to hide or band aid the problem without spending a cent. 

Yards take in a lot of business registered vehicles that have been maintained by the company. Have purchased a few ex company cars from dealers, such as my aurion for cheap with relatively low kms and had success. Have also wasted a lot of time inspecting pieces of **** from private sellers with misleading advertisements. 

[Tony Prodigy]

48 minutes ago, Metal_Head said:

Yards can be full of ****, but private can be worse. Yards have the connections to cheaply rectify issues in a car, whereas private sellers do their best to hide or band aid the problem without spending a cent. 

You make a reasonable point Adam, but I always found the yard people to be very shifty and car yard cars are more expensive than what you could get for private. I'm not saying all yards are bad, I just don't like the shifty sales tactics. When you buy private you still have to be on guard. You can usually get a feel for a person after a few minutes and if your gut says walk away then you probably should. I've walked away many times and the guy I bought my Aurion from was a total Gentleman and was completely straight with me. The car really sold itself and went over it with a fine tooth comb and was able to negotiate a deal that saw me get it for 7k less than market value at the time.

I've had it for around 7 years now and it's been flawless.

 

[L4WL3SS]

Trick is, don't go for the big corner shop allotments with the bright red & yellow triangle flags. 

Find em on carsales, the small shed guys with minimal overheads, who buy & flip cars quick. My 2011 touring cost 9700 with 120,000kms..... Cheaper than anything else I could find. Few stone chips in the bonnet & bumper I will attend to one day, but overall happy chappy. Missus Subaru liberty on carsales from franchise dealer, same Kay's, was work vehicle and it did another 120,000km without spending a cent no quality issues at all before we got rid of it for peanuts as the timing belt was due along with radiator etc.

Comes down to basics when buying a car. Look for lowest kms.... Look for service history. How does it drive? Does it shift nicely cold & hot? Does it stop good? Does it show any leaks after a drive? What's the reason for sale? Does the seller look sincere? 

Edited October 27, 2020 by Metal_Head

[campbeam]

1 hour ago, Metal_Head said:

the small shed guys with minimal overheads, who buy & flip cars quick.

I got my 2006 Aurion via eBay from a nearby vehicle wholesaler. As advertised, the car did blow some white smoke on start up but not that much. Ended up increasing my bid to win. Bit of luck that their mechanic was still on Xmas-New Year leave. Their car buyer told me that they lost money on my purchase but it is a cash flow and numbers game for them. He specifically said that he was not boasting but he looked at about 7 vehicles that morning before coming to work.

[Tony Prodigy]

All I can say is thank God I have a great car in the Aurion and that I don't have to worry about replacing it anytime soon. I'll keep it till it's done I reckon. I really hate buying cars. Takes so much time and energy and having to deal with all sorts, sifting through the B.S. and the rest of it.

 

[L4WL3SS]

I bought a 2001 au Fairmont ghia from a dealer who worked from home which picked up most his cars from the auctions. This one only had 120,000km (yes that seems to be my lucky number 😂) which was very low for that age. It drove smooth & was a very tight vehicle. Flawless. All I did to it was full sports exhaust & extractors. After a couple years I decided to sell & advertised it 2k more than others on carsales. 

Bloke came around with his son who was looking for his first car, & I quickly got tired of his questions I gave them the keys & said drive it. They came back with a huge smile, then started whinging about the asking price. I said u can go save a couple grand on other cheaper rough fairmonts, then spend the next couple years fixing ****, and u will end up spending the same money, but won't have a low km pristine example like this. Fair enough he says & the deal was done 👍

Edited October 27, 2020 by Metal_Head

[campbeam]

3 minutes ago, Metal_Head said:

u can go save a couple grand on other cheaper fairmonts, then spend the next couple years fixing ****, and u will end up spending the same money, & but won't have a low km pristine example like this. Fair enough he says & the deal was done 👍

More than likely spending more in the next few years so better off paying that bit extra for quality and reliability.

Looking at the full service history including replacement of brakes and tyres can also give you an idea of how often and hard a vehicle has been driven.  

[L4WL3SS]

There's plenty variables in a cars wear. But kms are important.... I would never buy anything over 150k. And prefer under 120k. A looked after car with low kms is a dream boat, feel like new. A high km car that's been maintained will still feel like its worn

[Tony Prodigy]

7 hours ago, Metal_Head said:

Bloke came around with his son who was looking for his first car, & I quickly got tired of his questions I gave them the keys & said drive it. They came back with a huge smile, then started whinging about the asking price. I said u can go save a couple grand on other cheaper rough fairmonts, then spend the next couple years fixing ****, and u will end up spending the same money, but won't have a low km pristine example like this. Fair enough he says & the deal was done 👍

That is some damn good logic for those who starting whinging on the price. I spend the extra couple grand any day to get the better car. It's a no brainer.

It's hard to find a proper "decent" car these days. Too many roughians out there.