Hi Andrew,
In my younger days, I took your approach, bought some dealer demonstrators,
other used cars, and had reasonalbly good luck. With a growing family, it
made sense to pinch pennies. Now, I see things a little differently.
The Toyota Echo seems to be a well-made little car. My son married a lady
who owned one, and they use it for trips, and for her personal use. Soon
after they were married, he looked it over carefully and saw to the details
that a woman never thinks about. He even installed a cruise control unit,
to make for a more relaxed drive on trips.
Jim Nichols
Tullahoma, TN USA
----- Original Message -----
From: "Andrew Fildes" <afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Olympus Camera Discussion" <olympus@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Monday, April 29, 2013 6:51 AM
Subject: Re: [OM] Extended warranty
> Listen ohsocarefully.
> One car I looked at was a Toyota Corolla - 2004. Low mileage (50K miles),
> very clean, unmarked, new tyres, new clutch.
> About one third of the new price for the latest equivalent.
> I liked it a lot but I went for a small SUV because of the area I live
> in - semi-rural.
> Corolla 2001-2009 has the lowest breakdown rate of any vehicle by a large
> margin (UK figures).
> And remember that they're usually driven by people who can't fix even
> simple roadside problems.
> The sort of people that consider a flat tyre or battery to be a major
> unreliability problem.
> Toyota dealers are everywhere - they'll happily service it properly and
> inexpensively.
>
> You are in your eighties but I'll bet (a significant amount) that you're
> more automotively capable than my wife.
> She has an Echo (Yaris) which she's had for years, bought near new.
> Serviced by the local Toyota dealer every six months.
> They even bring her home and come get her at the end of the day (courtesy
> bus).
> Nothing has ever gone wrong - that's good because she couldn't change a
> registration sticker, never mind a wheel.
> If she does have a problem, she (and I) has roadside assistance (RAC -
> coupla hundred a year, premium level).
>
> Consider, if I'd bought that Corolla, I'd have had a reasonable
> expectation of another 50-100K miles over 5-6 years or more without a
> problem.
> I'd have saved a huge amount of money.
> My father made it through his entire eighties with a similar car (used
> Astra) on the same basis.
> I bought an old low mileage '96 Astra in London in 2009 because it was
> cheaper to do that than rent.
> Great little car - needed a new muffler and head gasket but after that, my
> son had had no problems.
> Good for the city - looks a bit rough, nippy, comfy, cheap to fix.
> He was grumbling the other day that it needed a new clutch (at 80K miles
> and 17 years old? Fair enough).
>
> I am eternally grateful to the people who buy new cars - they sort out
> which ones are the lemons, which ones are reliable, absorb the financial
> hit and save me lots of money.
> But mad at any age.
>
> Andrew Fildes
> afildes@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> www.soultheft.com
> Author/Publisher: The SLR Compendium - http://www.blurb.com/books/3732813
>
>
>
> On 29/04/2013, at 3:17 PM, Jim Nichols wrote:
>
>> Bill, I think you are being a little harsh. Sometimes there are reasons
>> to
>> do so. When one gets in one's eighties, and cannot deal with a breakdown
>> on
>> the road, and can no longer see to maintenance details oneself, then a
>> new
>> car may be justified. It provides warranty service during the period
>> when
>> most problems show up. If one knows how to deal with the sales personnel
>> and paperwork pushers, the result can be a happy situation. I did just
>> that
>> five years ago, went to the dealer during the warranty period, and now
>> get
>> my maintenance done by a local independent shop which has good access to
>> parts and information. I'm sure this Volvo will outlive me.
>
> --
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