I was looking to buy my first car and I was looking for a hatchback body type, I do not care for the looks i mainly just want a reliable car that won't break on me every couple thousand miles.
I would not believe anything a dealer tells you about a car, particularly the kind of dealer that is going to have cars old enough to vote sitting on their lot. Carfax may help you verify the mileage (see if it shows higher miles in the past) but cannot be trusted for service and accident information. As has been noted it can be checked for signs of oil burning. If you proceed have it checked out by a good mechanic of your choosing. If the dealer won't let you do that don't just walk away, run away.
A Toyota matrix would be a good choice for you. Scions are ok, but they are listed on the top 10 cars that are most involved in deadly accidents. Some Scions can be oil burning engines so watch out for that and some Scions have a Subaru Boxer Type engine which is not really any good in the long run.
That is true how would I be able to know if the car burns oil. Also should I buy the Scion at 7k with 65,000 miles, or a Toyota Matrix for around the same but with 180,000?
I disagree with the boxer engine being bad in the long haul, tell that to all the outback owners out there.
Boxer engines are outdated and practically obsolete. Subaru makes and Porsche makes and keeps them only because the customers want them like that. Ask Scotty what he thinks about Subaru and Boxer engines...Working on a Boxer Engine is so complicated that in most cases the whole engine has to come apart. Ask Scotty...watch his videos.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKPnpWd2P-I
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVzIbhsYQVk&t=1s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0XSm9hfcIkk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IzLQlkmk5ps&t=179s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qe5EXTq_zD0
One thing for sure...A boxer engine with a turbo will definitely wear out. You'll be luck to hit 200,00 miles.. And with GDI? Kiss that car good bye to carbon build up.
Obviously, you have never worked on a Porsche 911 engine.
I've heard Scotty say that boxer engines are an old, outdated design but it's one of the few things I would disagree with him on. Inline engines are an even older design, dating to first multi-cylinder engines ever developed. Boxer engines have their good and bad points but are no more outdated than inline engines.
Outdated meaning more like obsolete that hardly any manufacturers use. For someone who doesn't know me to say that I have never worked on a Porsche? I drove a tow truck for a repair, detail, and body shop for 20 years that was owned by my uncle and I have a safety emissions inspectors license from the State of New York. I'm not a full mechanic in any way, but the many Porsches that came in for inspection, tune-ups, and break jobs that I've done in Manhattan says that I've worked and have been in them. Manhattan Motors Cars that sells Porsche and other exotics used to call me to tow their cars to get them detailed. Sometimes I was allowed to drive them less than a half a mile to my uncle's shop. I even owned a Porsche 911 Carera when I was stationed in Germany and got it at half price with the serviceman's discount and shipped it back home for free through CONUS CARGO. What a piece of crap money pit breakdown car that I finally gave to my brother as a gift and he kept it for a while and got rid of it because of breakdowns and high maintenance costs. Obviously, you don't know me at all!!! Porsche is Garbage and so is Subaru. Obviously, you guys don't know anything about cars.
If you're such an experienced mechanic, why can't you seem to use the FAQ section to answer your questions all of which have been answered numerous times?
There are many ways check if a car is burning oil. One way is to remove a spark plug and check for heavy dark carbon or sludge. A good mechanic can do that for you and see other things. Research on line oil burning Toyotas.
The choice is yours on what car you want to buy. But keep in my that Toyota engines are just breaking in at around 100,000 if they were maintained and taken care of. They can go 300,000 to 500,000 miles if they are good.
Here's a simple thing that you can do with out a mechanic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0NwnbVN1cw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V612Ow3hJAs&t=1192s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h6XnNAfQ904
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g-31TleRcEY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIvZzbYLq5Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hmqTCF3sWs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G924YI4Ek44