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Hi there! I'm looking at a Volkswagen Touran Fsi 2005, with a 1.6L engine - tiptronic. It's got 100,000km on it, and it's going for $8.5K. Does this seem like a good deal? I'm interested in safety (must have curtain airbags), reliability and economy. Do you think I would get stung when it came to repairs?

The other car I'm eyeing up is a Toyota Corolla 2010 (GX CVT AUTO S/WAGON), for $13K. It's got 115,000km on it, which seems like a lot for that price, but would that be balanced out by the reliability of the mighty 'rolla?

Also, as a general question: what kind of maximum kms should I be staying under when buying a second hand car?

Thanks so much - what a great service!

Hi there,
If you were comparing the two. The trusty Corolla would be the best bet. The prices for both cars are good, as the retail value is a few K higher.
Ideally 80km is a good mileage to buy a secondhand vehicle. But generally under 100km is a good target.
At 100k on some vehicles you will need to be thinking about cambelt/waterpump replacement. If the engines are cambelt driven.

Great - thanks! It turns out the Toyota has a chainbelt, so no cambelt to worry about. It was also a fleet car, so we're feeling reasonably confident that it was regularly serviced and cared for. I think the Toyota is the winner!

Cheers again.