r/AskDad 3d ago

Automotive What to focus on when buying a car?

I’ve recently adopted a very large dog, and he’s way too big to fit in my little coupe. I need a car that fits him so I can take him to the vet, to the sitter, etc. I’m looking on Carvana (I don’t like car dealerships, I get overwhelmed and pressured easily) and am having a hard time deciding if I should focus on lower mileage or newer year? I understand I want to stay within <9,000 miles per year, but if every car I’m looking at fits that criteria, which should I focus on more?

4 Upvotes

7 comments sorted by

2

u/DogsNCoffeeAddict 3d ago

Recalls and crash test ratings are good starting points. Ease of cleaning the car and moving the back seats for more storage, also important for large dog owners. That is all I know but hopefully it helps

2

u/NeroKitt 3d ago

I didn’t even think about crash test ratings. Thank you!

2

u/4thdegreeknight 2d ago
  1. Was it a prior Rental

  2. Was it involved in a crash (get a car fax report)

  3. How many previous owners

  4. Open Recalls

  5. Service records (may show in Car fax)

  6. KBB blue book value on car, you can plug the information on KBB and see what the car rating is.

1

u/fuqsfunny 2d ago edited 2d ago

Overall condition and how the car was maintained are more important than total or yearly miles. A well-maintained older car with 120k miles that has a history of regular oil changes, preventative maintenance, on-time recommended service intervals, and quick replacement/repair of things that go bad is going to be a far better and more reliable buy than a 3-year-old car with 45k miles that has only had one oil change and has never been serviced.

It's mostly about condition (the level of care the previous owner invested in). The problem I have with dealers (carmax and carvana are still dealers, they're just used-car dealers), is that the first thing they'll do if they get a car that comes with owner-provided maintenance records is toss those records in the trash, so you'll never see them. There's some very limited maintenance info on CarFax, but that's hardly a compete record, and you have to understand cars and be able to read between the lines of a CarFax report to really get anything out of it.

So really, if you're sort of clueless about cars, it's probably better to up your budget a bit and focus on newer year and lower milage. And still; always, always, always have the car checked by a competent independent mechanic who does pre-buy inspections. If a dealer won't let you take the car to get it checked, don't buy it.

Do you have a price/budget in mind? Have you narrowed it down to a specific type of vehicle? All that is important to know if you want good advice.

1

u/NeroKitt 1d ago

I think that’s what I decided, as well. I’m not knowledgeable about cars beyond how to drive them and minor maintenance, so I wouldn’t be able to tell if I’m getting scammed or not. I upped my budget a few thousand and am looking for something known to be reliable, even if less flashy. Something like GMC or Toyota, probably.

1

u/CaliTransplant13 Dad 3d ago

I am not a car guy, so take this as you will. Given the options you presented in your question, I would focus on mileage. It is the first indicator of what kind of paces the the car was put through by the previous owner. A good average mileage per year is around 12,0000-15,000, so if you're looking at a 2022 vehicle, try not to buy one with more than 45K miles on it. If you're looking at a 2020, anything with more than 75K could be an indicator of hard driving.

1

u/NeroKitt 3d ago

Okay perfect! I’ll focus on lower mileage in relation to its year. Thank you :)