A few tips when buying a pre-owned vehicle under $10,000

Buying a pre-owned vehicle can be stressful with so many options at our disposal, so many dealerships to choose from, and a ton of information available on which vehicles we should or shouldn’t buy. When looking for a vehicle priced at under $10,000, it seems like things get even more complicated.

Vehicles have more mileage, they are older, and their condition varies greatly from one to the next. So where do you start when you want your first car, a car for your child, a second car for the household or you just don’t want to spend too much on a car? In other words, where do you start when you want a vehicle costing less than $10,000 and how can you be sure you are getting a reliable and safe vehicle?

Here are a few tips that can help you in the process. They may not apply to every situation, but they should help guide you to your perfect vehicle.

Affordable when new means affordable when used

You don’t have to get a vehicle with over 200,000 kilometres to pay less than $10,000. Vehicles that are affordable when new will be younger and have less mileage even when priced under $10,000. Take the 2015 Nissan Micra we have in stock right now that has just 70,602 kilometres, or the 2009 Hyundai Elantra with just 102,783 kilometres. These vehicles are priced at $9.995 and $7,995 respectively, and don’t have many miles as far as used cars go.

Now, if you are reading this in a few months and those cars are gone, we can guarantee we will have some cars priced at under $10,000 with relatively few miles and that are younger than 15 years old. Look at small cars or compact cars which because they are priced under $20,000 when new tend to get below the $10,000 threshold fairly quickly without hundreds of thousands of miles on them.

Certain brands are just more reliable than others

Reliability varies from one brand to the next, but ultimately it varies from one vehicle to the next. Even the brands with the best reliability rating like Honda or Toyota can have problems now and then, but as a general rule of thumb their vehicles will be reliable no matter their age or mileage. The same can be said for other Japanese brands as well as Korean and American automakers.

That said, older luxury vehicles like Audis, BMWs or Mercedes-Benz vehicles, or certain Volkswagen vehicles, can be more problematic. And, they cost more to maintain, insure, and run. In other words, if you are in the market for a sub-$10k pre-owned vehicle, you probably want to stick with proven brands and stay away from luxury brands. Of course, there can be exceptions.

Make sure the vehicle is inspected and has been well maintained

Before buying any vehicle, make sure it has been inspected. The dealership can do the inspection, or you can do it yourself, but ultimately the vehicle needs to be checked before you finalize the sale.

We would also recommend buying from a dealership like Auto-One as opposed to dealers that only have two or three cars for sale, or private sellers. Ultimately, we have a reputation to maintain, we are always open, our clients know where to find us, and we have too much to lose by selling a poor-quality vehicle. This translates into better value and more peace of mind for our clients.

Check out our inventory of high-quality vehicles today and let’s find the perfect new pre-owned vehicle for you, regardless of your budget!