Buying a 2002 Toyota Rav4...

[OpIv37]

I talked to my son about this today.
He was a buyer for a very major car franchise, purchased or established prices on over 50 cars a week.
With that knowledge, he changed jobs to become an insurance adjuster.

I asked him what he would look for in this situation, and he said that other than the validity of the mileage claim, which if you buying from a dealer is not really an issue, the timing belt and the catalytic converter would be important.

If the timing belt has not been replaced, that would be a significant expense, and would be due at that mileage level.
If it has been replaced, there is usually a notification somewhere on the vehicle.

The catalytic converter is a little harder to judge, but not an inexpensive fix.

The other stuff you read in these threads, like carfax etc., aren't viewed seriously by people who do this for a living.
A whole lot of things are never reported to carfax, but are easily discernible by a rained appraiser.

Question: since your son is so knowledgeable about cars, what does he drive?

[Captain gameboy]

Question: since your son is so knowledgeable about cars, what does he drive?

He drives a 2009 Acura TSX. Five speed stick.

More important, he finds and buys buys three mis-appraised cars a year at wholesale and sells them on his own.

[OpIv37]

He drives a 2009 Acura TSX. Five speed stick.

More important, he finds and buys buys three mis-appraised cars a year at wholesale and sells them on his own.

Love Acura. My last car was a 2009 TL Tech but it got totaled in 2016. I thought I’d pick up a 13 or 14 TL with the AWD certified used but they weren’t selling any because of the Takata air bag recall. The TLX’s had just come out in 15. The new ‘16’s cost too much for me. There were some used ‘15’s out there but they were still a little too much for me and people were complaining about hard shifts in the automatic transmission that Acura wasn’t addressing. So I ended up with the Q50.


The Q50 only has about 56k miles and still has some power train warranty left, so I’m not planning on trading it in anytime soon. But when I do I’ll definitely look at used Acura TLX’s when the time comes.

[sahlensguy]

He drives a 2009 Acura TSX. Five speed stick.

More important, he finds and buys buys three mis-appraised cars a year at wholesale and sells them on his own.

Very good car. The manual transmission makes it even better.

[cookie G]

I talked to my son about this today.
He was a buyer for a very major car franchise, purchased or established prices on over 50 cars a week.
With that knowledge, he changed jobs to become an insurance adjuster.

I asked him what he would look for in this situation, and he said that other than the validity of the mileage claim, which if you buying from a dealer is not really an issue, the timing belt and the catalytic converter would be important.

If the timing belt has not been replaced, that would be a significant expense, and would be due at that mileage level.
If it has been replaced, there is usually a notification somewhere on the vehicle.

The catalytic converter is a little harder to judge, but not an inexpensive fix.

The other stuff you read in these threads, like carfax etc., aren't viewed seriously by people who do this for a living.
A whole lot of things are never reported to carfax, but are easily discernible by a rained appraiser.

I agree that the timing belt would be a huge issue if it broke, but his year and model might use a chain, not a belt.

http://toyota.custhelp.com/app/answe...iming-chain%3F

https://www.toyotaarlington.com/blog...-timing-chain/

Had a belt break once and its no fun. 4 valves had to be replaced. I had a friend do it, I helped with the tearing apart and putting back together of the motor, he did the precision work like the valve grinding.

It was a learning experience.

A chain should last the life of the motor, provided they didn't use hard plastic teeth.

[ublinkwescore]

Also Blink, is there a record of a previous timing belt change? At 117,000, the previous owner could have decided just to sell the car instead of paying to change it. If the belt is to be changed at 100k miles and there is no record of it being done, you'll want to change it.

Well aware of that...

[ublinkwescore]

Love Acura. My last car was a 2009 TL Tech but it got totaled in 2016. I thought I’d pick up a 13 or 14 TL with the AWD certified used but they weren’t selling any because of the Takata air bag recall. The TLX’s had just come out in 15. The new ‘16’s cost too much for me. There were some used ‘15’s out there but they were still a little too much for me and people were complaining about hard shifts in the automatic transmission that Acura wasn’t addressing. So I ended up with the Q50.


The Q50 only has about 56k miles and still has some power train warranty left, so I’m not planning on trading it in anytime soon. But when I do I’ll definitely look at used Acura TLX’s when the time comes.

They had a 2005 RL on the lot that I was gonna look at. Also with AWD... but it had some interior blemishes and this Rav4 was in such great shape - I could go on and on, but I think you guys get the point... it had like 60k fewer miles on it too... plus Toyota's are rated a bit more reliable than Honda's. Not that Hondas are bad cars by ANY means. I've owned like 4 or 5 of them. Only one did I regret buying, but I was young and dumb at the time.

[CommissarSpartacus]

There's a guy on YouTube named Scotty Kilmer who does a ton of videos, mostly of used cars and their issues.

Been a mechanic for 50 years.

https://m.youtube.com/results?search...=scotty+kilmer

The guy swears by Toyotas as the best built cars in the world. Then Hondas.

[CommissarSpartacus]

2002 Rav4 videos....

https://m.youtube.com/results?search_query=2002+rav4

[OpIv37]

They had a 2005 RL on the lot that I was gonna look at. Also with AWD... but it had some interior blemishes and this Rav4 was in such great shape - I could go on and on, but I think you guys get the point... it had like 60k fewer miles on it too... plus Toyota's are rated a bit more reliable than Honda's. Not that Hondas are bad cars by ANY means. I've owned like 4 or 5 of them. Only one did I regret buying, but I was young and dumb at the time.

You probably made a better choice. A co worker of mine had an 05 or 06 and I rode in it to go to lunch. The back seat was really small. The RL is my least favorite Acura

[coastal]

Just bought our son a 2001 Honda Accord with 170k on it for $1700.

runs great.

Had it it checked out... replaced the catalytic converter and an ABS sensor, but that was it.

Should be be a good enough car for him to beat on for a handful of years.

[ublinkwescore]

Just bought our son a 2001 Honda Accord with 170k on it for $1700.

runs great.

Had it it checked out... replaced the catalytic converter and an ABS sensor, but that was it.

Should be be a good enough car for him to beat on for a handful of years.

I had a 99... I believe it's the same generation... those were notorious for transmissions failing... Honda's one major blemish is they make some quirky transmissions... my 99 accord transmission always slipped, but it kept on going for the 5 years I had it... and lasted through 2 more owners. I sold it just before I left California.

[ublinkwescore]

I bet it still runs even with the tranny slipping all this time... it just won't die.

[JackJoeJimJosh]

I own a Ford Taurus now.

**** yeah!

[sahlensguy]

**** yeah!

I got the AWD wagon.

https://giphy.com/gifs/driving-motor...-WLBnxXc6rnGM0

[ublinkwescore]

My Rav4 now has a buffalo Bills license plate holder on it so no one can call me a bandwagon jumper when we slay the unholy dynasty.

- - - Updated - - -

And I have a 20 dollar bet with a local pats fan that the bills will not be swept by New England this year.