Hey there! Im in a pickle. I need a work car that is easy on gas, reliable and cheap. I gound a 2006 Ford Focus 1 owner no accidents clean title with 78k miles and a 2004 toyota camry 2 owners no accidents clean title with 182k miles both for $5500. Idk which one i need to go for please help!
Both cars are at a dealership
As far as Fords go the Focus isn't a bad car.
The Camry is a better car but it has over twice as many miles.
I think the Focus is good for 200,000 miles if it was taken care of and you continue to take care of it (at least oil changes).
The Camry might be able to squeeze out another 70,000 to 100,000 miles if it was taken care of but all things considered I think I'd go with the low mileage Focus in this case.
But be careful. The mileage on that Focus reflects around 4,000 miles per year.
That's the kind of mileage an old, retired guy like me puts on his car.
See if there's a service history to confirm that low mileage. It's possible some old guy traded it in but you're talking about buying these cars from a dealer, not an owner, so do some research.
You can start by entering the vehicle VIN into some of the free online resources
Be sure to have whichever one you decide on checked out by a good mechanic before purchase. Dealers that sell 18-20 year-old cars tend to be bottom of the barrel charlatans selling whatever junk they can pick up cheaply at auctions to unsuspecting customers.
