what car would u buy in this list for around $2000-$2500 cad

[apollo18]

hello all i am located in yeg and am helping a friend find a car to buy, budget is between $2000-2500 cad after haggling. We are just doing some light searching rn and then we will spend 2 days of test drives and buy a car in that 2 day span. The following cars are still posted and with my searches over the past week it seems like these same models are always getting posted for similar pricing and similar km. I want to find him a car with low km's under 180,000 km for peace of mind. Also we want to find a vehicle that is mechanically functioning, we dont want to buy a car that has problems or even slight problems. So with the past few weeks it seems like when we decide to buy there should be any of these cars available. Also I know about condition and all of these cars that i have looked at in our price range have been minimal rust, like we obvs dont want to buy a rusted out vehicle etc etc. car also needs to be automatic.

*he just wants the car to be reliable for 2-3 years max and then he will sell / is okay if it blows up in the last year ahah**

ill try to include the engine info if i know. all of these cars are between 150k km and 180k km ish
let me know the top 3 you would recommend out of the following based on reliability. thanks!!

2004 ish chevy impala 3.4 v6
2004 ish chevy optra 5
2006 ish pontiac g6
2006 ish pontiac g5
2006 ish chevy impala
2006 ish chevy cobalt
2006 ish dodge caliber
2006 ish ford fusion
2002 ish chevy malibu
2001 ish toyota matrix
2001 ish ford focus
2004 ish ford focus
2008 ish kia rio 5
2007-2008 ford focus - more rare might be able to swing one of these as ive seen some posted but seem to sell quick
2005 ish mazda 3 - more rare might be able to swing one of these as ive seen some posted but seem to sell quick
2006 ish nissan altima - more rare might be able to swing one of these as ive seen some posted but seem to sell quick

all the vehicles i am looking to buy will be with minimal rust so i am obvs comparing apples to apples. i just want the recommendation on reliability and which one is LEAST likely going to need any repairs in the next 30,000 km/major maintenance

thanks!

 

[HarryLui]

Find a Toyota or Honda, ask for service history, pay an mechanic for PRE-purchase inspection.

 

[apollo18]

Find a Toyota or Honda, ask for service history, paid an mechanic for PRE-purchase inspection.

sadly all the ones in his budget are 250,000 km for a toyota or honda and in my opinon which could be completrly wrong but i feel like a higher km vehicle is more likely to have some suspension part thats worn out or somehting else that he will have to replace sooner compared to a lower km vehicle.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

sadly all the ones in his budget are 250,000 km for a toyota or honda and in my opinon which could be completrly wrong but i feel like a higher km vehicle is more likely to have some suspension part thats worn out or somehting else that he will have to replace sooner compared to a lower km vehicle.

You may be correct about that.

The prevailing wisdom these days touts Toyota with the myth "You only have the change the oil!" But underlying the myth is Toyota reliability.

I understand that you have a budget that may only accommodate a high mileage/km vehicle. That approach is only likely to reward you if you can find a "mechanic's special" or "mechanic owned-and-driven" vehicle like the 95 Nissan hardbody truck we bought ten years ago for $4,000. It had about 160,000 miles on it.

New cars come with a drive-train warranty on them that sometimes extends 100,000 miles (sorry -- my mental metric conversion brain-cells are a bit slow). When I look for a used car, I feel more comfortable looking for one that falls within that limit.

A car is a collection of subsystems, each with an important component. The components have an expected life-span. I bought a previous SUV (Isuzu) back in 2000 for $1,000, and it had something like 140,000 miles on the engine. It portended to have many more years left in that engine, but a college-girl talking to the vet about her cat on her cell-phone totaled it the following year.

You can't buy an Isuzu anymore, but you CAN buy a used Toyota. You can also buy a used Nissan. We've been stunned at my brother's truck, now with about 175,000 miles on the odometer. The engines just seem to keep on going and going. I saw a Nissan SUV a few months ago owned by a 19-year-old college kid; it had 190,000 miles on it, and both he and his parents (as he explained) were also flabbergasted at the car's longevity and prospects. My Trooper has 190,000 miles on the odometer, and best guesses, looking at oil-consumption (none), smog-test results (stellar), compression and other indicators suggest it will be good to 300,000.

If you merely have a few years' time-horizon to worry about for your <= $3,000 investment, you can certainly do that. But my strategy from the beginning, to include those rare "stand-up rides" as determined either in manufacture or owner's TLC or both, involves a pre-planned budget for repairs in the first year or two of ownership.

The rest of it falls on the buyer for being careful, observant and wary. At least if you can identify those things that need repair at the time of purchase, you'll have fewer sad surprises, in addition to a bargaining advantage. And if you have the extra cash set aside for such repairs, it won't be as sad.

You're better off finding a car with a great engine even for the mileage, and then accepting the fact that ball-joints, CV-joints and boots, and other components will be worn in a linear relationship to mileage. A little experience or legwork gives you a ballpark idea of how much those repairs may cost.

 

[Torn Mind]

I'd check out the Matrix first. It's a Corolla with a different rear.

180,000 km is about 110,000 miles.

For any vehicle nearing 100k miles, coolant will need to be renewed.
Struts probably will need replacement. This is a "feel" thing when you brake. If there is pronounced "tossing" like your head has been thrown, that's a sign of bad struts. However, if it isn't leaking and it passes the "jounce" test, the struts will pass safety inspection.

Motor mounts might fail on certain cars. Make sure the buyer is cooperative in doing the test for checking them.

I will say that it is highly unlikely a vehicle in that price range will be totally-issue free unless there is proof fluids were changed, only one owner had it, etc.

Would be a plus if brake fluid service was in the history of any car in Canada. Salt attacks from the outside while water in the lines attack from the inside of the brake lines.

 

[thedarkwolf]

The problem with going toyota/honda when you are at beater prices is to get one of those for that cheap it is usually beat to ever living shit and has double the miles of a equiviliant GM/Ford . My last straight up beater was a 2003 Pontiac vibe(same exact car as a toyota matrix) with 200k miles on it and the passenger side doors dented in, also a bonus if you need cheap car. It was solid running and driving but still had lots of little crap wrong with it I had to fix mainly interior crap, window switches, blower motor, radio......

I'm not up to date enough on 2000s GM products. Are any of those powered by the bullet proof GM 3800?