Hi. Some of you, who have already read my posts, noticed I do like my cars. But even then my FIRE attitude shows. That’s why I think this post can have some handy pieces for someone looking for a used car.

So though traditionally FIRE movements says get a bike, have only one family car and it should be at least 15 years old or so, I have some different ideas which so far worked well for us. Also we live in an area where there is no public transport plus biking is not safe due to not many biking lanes. We need 2 cars and as I like cars a lot, I am bit picky what we drive. What is going well with FIRE is that I like not luxurious or sport cars which can be pricey hobby but practical cars, which are not cheap either but they generally depreciate slower.

So first we have replaced last year my Mazda CX9 2011. It was absolutely gorgeous car. Drives perfectly (especially for 2.2t weight), very safe, V6 engine is powerful and smooth, seven seater, huge space in the back once you fold the seats. But fuel consumption was crazy. This girl had drinking problem. On the open country road I could not get under 13 liters / 100km and in the city I was always over 17 litres / 100km. Also 20” wheels were not best on country roads where many of them were unsealed. On the top of it depreciation was pretty bad with couple of reasons I guessed. Probably moving from city to country did not help. It was desired as city large SUV but quite ignored in the place of HILUXes. Also it looks like news about her drinking issues spread around. We lost in depreciation almost $9k after 3 years. I thought I would do better but it is what it is. We often overestimate our skills to pick the right product, don’t we?

So what did I get? Subaru Outback 2017. There were some more candidates, but I have decided that here in the country Subaru Outback will in my mind beat Toyota RAV4, Mitsubishi Outlander, Kia Sorrento and Hyundai Santa Fe.  Actually I believe all of them would do just OK as all of them are fine vehicles, but I always wanted Outback and I thought if I don’t buy it I will keep wanting it.

How are we doing now after 10 months of ownership? I just love it. It drives very well, feels secure, there is incredibly long list of active and passive devices keeping you safe, boot is large, seats have leather (in this model it also has satnav and sunroof which I do not care for too much), 2.5 litre engine with enough power, very smooth and quiet, it is all wheel drive which was handy couple of times in the mud and wet grass. Consumption is around 7 liters / 100km on the country roads. It is just great, comfy, practical, good looking (I think) car. My wife likes driving it too.

I would like to mention here that of course I did not buy new. I am yet to buy brand new car. I have realised there can be situations where it might make sense but so far I have not been in such situation. I bought this one from private seller who seemed like a decent man who would look after his car well and would not mistreat it. Also after 3 years and 60k km I managed to get this vehicle with almost 40% discount to the new car. So far we are very happy with our purchase.

And to show that I can waste money faster than anyone expected, I have made another car purchase. We owned for 8 years Mazda 3, which was only 1.5 years old when we bought it. I have decided that I want need off road 4WD with large boot which can tow a lot. Well we don’t do any off roading (hopefully we will), don’t have any caravan (hopefully we will have one) and consumption is about 40% bigger than Mazda 3, but I have done another tick on my car list.

So first what it is good at. Great for moving stuff with huge boot, plenty of power (if you ignore the diesel turbo lag), high driving position, muscle looks (just in case you need to cross some mud plains). It has low kms (if 135k looks like not too big number for 4wd). Now what I like less. It is actually car version of Triton ute. Which means road manners are not like in the car and more like ute. It is also 2011 model which you will notice. It leans in the corners like a boat. Also I am not sure, what is exact neutral spot of the steering wheel, as it needs constant adjustment. You will need extra stopping distance. You will definitely know when the diesel clucking engine is on (and if you put the pedal to the metal you will not notice anything else). Seats have not much support (and no leather). Consumption is high (10+ liters /100 km) which was actually expected for 2+ tonnes vehicle. Its road manners are decades behind the Outback. But I still like it. It is practical vagon, which happily obliges to do any work you ask. I was considering actual ute, and this is much more practical for the family.

I felt like I am wasting lots of money for the Challenger as it will be second car and it might not get enough outings. But we still need second car, I don’t mind something rougher.  Four wheel drive depreciate bit slower in the countryside and I got small sweetener which SHOULD improve resale and reliability. When we were doing pre-purchase inspection, we have discovered that at about 110k kms the car got fitted by Mitsubishi new engine. I did buy this one from the dealer, but only because prices were same with the private sellers, you get some extra checks and warranties which you don’t get with private purchase and the dealer was located close by. And actually in both cases I have invested about $220 for the mobile mechanic, who has done quite thorough pre-purchase inspection. You would not want to spend $27,000 on a lemon.

In the middle of COVID crisis in Australia prices of used cars (and caravans) went up probably due to extra local travel and lower new car sales. Just I was really surprised by how much used car prices have risen. I got for my Mazda 3 in private sale $11k. I know couple of years ago same car with same years and kilometers would be about $7k. I know that because I have sold one few years ago. Also Challenger with similar millage and vintage would be probably $14k three years ago and not $19k which I paid for it. So luckily I have been disadvantaged and benefited of the used car prices at the same time so the impact on my valet was not too bad.