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hi, I am on the hunt for a Mazda 6 wagon. First time I am buying of my own car and just have a couple of questions re: age vs mileage.
I have found a couple of wagons in my price range ($8-10k). The first is NZ new ex lease with 193000km and a 2005 for $8500. The next is an import with 155000km, 2003 for $10K. Am I better getting a younger nz new car with more kms, for a older car, import with less kms.
Which is more important, less kms or age?

Thanks and look forward to you reply

vicky

If it comes down to a choice between these two vehicles then there is no clear answer as to which one is best.

The higher mileage later model is cheaper by $1500 which would pay for a couple of unpleasant surprises in the short term and there are no guarantees the import won’t be trouble free. At 155K’s you are heading into potentially a high costs area.

Resale value will definitely suffer once you click over 200K’s so you would need to factor that into your buy price if you choose the higher mileage option.

Past service history may help swing your decision one way or the other.

Ex lease cars in general have had a reasonable service history if that helps.

I could even come down to which one you can negotiate the best buy price from. If you can reduce the price on the later model option a little more I tend to lean that way.

Make sure you get some form of pre purchase inspection before committing to buy either one. And a new warrant of fitness (not more than 1 month old).