Topic: What used car+truck to buy?

[jostein]

Hi all!

I'm new to this forum, and I have a question that I hope will spark some discussion: My wife and I will be moving from Europe to Edmonton, Alberta in May, and being a total car nut I'm already thinking about what we'll be driving when we get there. Keep in mind that a lot of the US makes are not sold in Europe, and there are many European cars you guys never get to see "over there". So much to choose from...

Here are the details:
Vehicle "A": My wife wants a nice, relatively new and above all reliable sedan. This car will preferably be two to three years old, under factory warranty and sold as a "certified used car". Make and model is not important, but it shouldn't be larger than a mid-size (smaller is ok). This car will probably be traded in for something newer in one to two years.

Vehicle "B": Pickup truck, regular or extended cab (not a four-door). I have a "thing" for Dodge Rams, but I'm not really too choosy. Nothing smaller than a Dakota, though. I won't be pulling heavy loads, so I don't need the biggest engine - but a V8 is nice... I'm thinking maybe a '95 to '97 model that still has some life left in it. It should be able to take me to and from work (a half hour's drive each way) and haul furniture, redecorating supplies etc. I'm prepared to be my own mechanic, but I don't want to have to do much more than regular maintenance and replacing worn out parts. The truck will probably be sold or traded in after two to three years.

The catch is of course that we'll be on a limited budget. Between renting a house, endless trips to IKEA and a multitude of other expences, we're hoping to get both vehicles for about $20,000. Is it possible? What makes/models should we be looking at? Should we consider buying from a used car dealer, or is it better to pay extra and buy from a dealership? Any opinions and advice will be highly appreciated!

Thanks!

--  
Jostein W. Thorbjornsen
Bergen, Norway -> Edmonton, Alberta in a few months

[safristi]

Welcome Josh...Geez cool ta hear ya got Ikea NOW in Scandalnavia...seems like ja know what ja want.Will let the Albertans answer.....Luv da namen..Throbjohnson..

[S60]

Hei og velkommen å det forum , der er en og annen på denne forum fra Edmonton , de ville være frem snart , sikkert.

No I'm not Norwegian, but have the pleasure of working with a young lady from Stavanger Norway.

I would suggest getting your a wife used Buick Regal or similar, not sure on truck pricing, others on the forum will advise.

[barrie1]

I would recommend the GMC's or the Chev Silverado's as a good truck to work with. They are both basically the same truck except for the chrome. They will have a small block Chevie in them and it is very dependable and parts are very reasonably priced. You can buy the parts almost anywhere you are and they are an easy truck to work on. For the amount of money you are looking to spend I think both the car and truck will serve you very well and be in your budget as also. Welcome to the Forum as well Jostein.  

[Snowman]

Welcome Jostein…I have nothing intelligent to say…….But, WTF!....three people moving to Canada in few weeks on this site….What is going on?

I take that back after reading Barrie 1’s post….I do have something intelligent to say. I have driven Ford F-150’s all my life with no problems.

[ovr50]

Barrie's suggestion is good. Here's another approach - look at a used Toyota Tacoma pick-up that you could pair with a used Camry or Corolla. Both would be certified used vehicles at a Toyota dealer and both should be re-sellable with ease in a few years. The Ford trucks are good but the cars are a bit limited and boring. Good luck and welcome to Canada. Being from Norway, you won't even notice the cold in Edmonton.

[Mdxtasy]

I'd try to get an idea on insurance before deciding on a vehicle.  Alberta does not have government insurance programs....it's a private system.  Being from overseas, they'll treat you like a new driver.  

A Tacoma is very nice...not a full size truck but you don't haul much so that won't be an issue.  They retain their value so to keep under $20K with a Tacoma will be tough.  

A Nissan Frontier is nice but might be pricey.

If you don't plan on keeping it, try something that is depreciated a bit and will hold the value for you.  A Civic, Corolla, or possibly a Sentra are nice choices.  But to keep 2 cars under 20K and they have to be fairly new would lead me to think you'll probably have to get one domestic vehicle.  I'd look at a Saturn sedan.

You can head on over to www.canadatrader.com to get an idea on prices.

[jostein]

Thanks for all the replies, and thanks for the warm welcome! Still a few months before I get to do the actual car shopping... If it was up to me, I'd have everything done "yesterday". Can't stand waiting around...

By the way: Any thoughts on where you get the best deal (sales, service, quality) on a used car; used car lot or big dealership? I understand the car market is more aggressive in North America, are the sales people as bad in Canada as we hear they are in the US?

--  
Jostein W. Thorbjornsen  
Bergen, Norway -> Edmonton, Alberta in a few months

[jostein]

Oh, and just to put used car prices into a bit of a perspective: My current car is a 1996 Saab 900SE 2.0i (135hp, no turbo) with about 135,000km on the clock. Guess what I paid for it half a year ago? $22,000! For a bit of fun, compare that with the current Canadian Black Book value. Now, don't even get me started on gas prices...

Norway, along with Denmark, has the highest car prices in the world because of taxes that literally double or even triple the price of the car. You don't know how good you have it "over there"!

--  
Jostein W. Thorbjornsen  
Bergen, Norway -> Edmonton, Alberta in a few months

[tpl]

Jostein, if you have  few months can you bring a new car with you?  "settlers effects"
Has to be a Cdn spec car. OR over 15 years old.

If it is possible its liley that it would have to be a Volvo,MB,BMW,Jaguar or possibly a Jetta ( not sure where Jettas are made)

The trick is to drive the car around Norway on tax free export plates for a few months. A tax free Volvo may be a good way to start life in Canada!


Try the  government web sites  
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/index.html

www.riv.ca

and look for ( this may take some searching) "settlers effects"

[jeeper]

I would highly recommend a Ford F-series pick-up.
For me theres nothing better than that in the North America market.

The car for your wife...dont know...maybe a Chrysler PT Cruiser?

[mrthompson]

Does the truck need to be four wheel drive?

Pick yourself up a 90's Camry and a late 1970's Ford F150 with the 302 V8.  IMHO the late 70's Ford pickups are the best overall pickups built.  (Barrie1's gonna slay me!)

[jostein]

Tpl: Bringing a tax-free new car with me would have been nice, but I'm afraid that particular loophole has been closed by the Norwegian government. It is actually illegal for a Norwegian citizen to drive a car with anything other than a full Norwegian registration, so no driving around on tax-free plates for me. Also, no refund of taxes if I take the car with me when I leave the country. And just to make things worse; European spec. is quite different from Canadian spec., so a car that is legal in Norway won't be usable in Canada without major modifications (lights, seat belts, air bags etc. come to mind).

--  
Jostein W. Thorbjornsen  
Bergen, Norway -> Edmonton, Alberta in a few months

[Drivesideways]

Welcome to the forum Jostein and an early welcome to Edmonton.  I don't have a lot of advice on the used car market in this area.  And as for makes, there have already been sound opinions given.  I will add that in this area there are a LOT of pick up trucks on the road which means there are lots of them on the market.  Some will have seen pretty heavy use and some will have done not much more than haul groceries, a friend's furniture on moving day, or bring home that new big screen TV.  Getting a pre-purchase inspection done is a must.  As for where to buy, there's been at least one recent case of pretty shady dealings at one of those corner used-car lots.  I'd stay away from them as a rule.  Unless you want to go with Mr Thompson's suggestion, where that's probably the only place you're going to find the oldies.

If it were me, I'd take MDXtasy's suggestion and do a search on the Canada Trader site to see what's out there.  If you want to do a specific searh of the Edmonton area, try a "distance" search using 50km and "T5J" in the postal code field.  Then I'd probably try to find something one of the better dealership's used car lots.  One of our other Edmonton-based regulars, Johngenx, has quite a bit more insight on the Edmonton auto retailing scene than I do.  Maybe he will come in with his opinion soon.

Good luck. Keep us posted.

[Smainville]

Do yourself a favor and consider Toyota or Nissan for trucks, Toyota Camry for a car.   You'll be hard pressed to get these for 20k, these vehicles retain their value because of their reliability.

(Message edited by smainville on December 10, 2004)

[barrie1]

An older 70's Ford p/u is a nice old truck but I think you need something newer and slightly more dependable. A Chevie/GMC fits the bill perfectly.

[jeeper]

the Ford pick-ups has been the best selling trucks in NA...
say anything but for me the best one the F-150!

[barrie1]

To me a typical waterpump on a Ford engine is almost 3 times the cost of the waterpump on a Chevie engine and most of the other parts are similarly priced also. This is why I prefer the Chevie's over the Fords as they are just too expensive to maintain.

[ovr50]

Maybe, but the Ford never breaks down so parts cost is immaterial............Haa.....

[barrie1]

I have always noticed that the Ford Pile is the biggest at the wreckers, I wonder Why.