My husband and I have been perusing Scotty Kilmer videos on YouTube late at night for used car buying advice and also just because we are big fans of common sense, practicality and saving money haha!
We've had the same older vehicles for 10 years, (Dodge Caliber & Honda Odyssey), we keep cars until they die and now they're dying and are not worth fixing anymore!
I came across a 2006 Toyota Avalon with 146,000 miles on it and the dealership wants $7,000 for it, I'm in Illinois. First, I know I'd be better off buying from a private seller but Toyotas are hard to find and even harder with under 200,000 miles so I'm stuck with a dealership.
Is this car worth the price and what are the big red flags I should look for when I do check out a used vehicle?? I'm open to any other used car recommendations as well. We just need a daily driver to get my husband back and forth to school. Thanks!
I came across a 2006 Toyota Avalon with 146,000 miles on it and the dealership wants $7,000 for it,
Avalons have been very reliable cars. According to KKB , a base model Avalon with 146k miles in good condition is worth at most $6000 retail. KKB receives their information from mostly dealer sales so its prices are often inflated. Always get a pre-purchase inspection done by a mechanic before buying any used vehicle. Have him thoroughly examine any car you're thinking of purchasing before you buy it. This will give you the best chance of avoiding any red flag issues.
The bottom of the main page has a Used Car Buying Guide which should be helpful.
Thank you for the info Hixster!
You're welcome
Check "Video reviews by Scotty" at bottom of the front page.
I suggest being willing to travel to get the right car. I have traveled a thousand miles to get what I wanted, for a good price.
Craigslist is a nice one to find a private party sale.
Toyota Avalon, Camry's, Corolla are all good cars. There very reliable if you take care of them. The first thing I advise you to do is check the VIN number on CARFAX and you can find the history of the car and find out if it has a salvage title, stolen, flooded etc.... Then I would find a Mechanic to thoroughly check the car and some Used Car Dealers won't let you take the car to a mechanic so I suggest you bring your mechanic to their place if that is possible. Toyota's are great cars but if the previous owner has neglected with maintenance then it will have problems along the way. I bought a 2005 Camry when it had 200k miles for $2k during the Covid Pandemic in 2020. Scotty Kilmer actually featured my car in his youtube video in July 2022 when it had 316k miles. The title of the video is called "WHY THE HELL HAVE YOU NOT BOUGHT THIS CAR" and you can find it Lol. It was a steal. The car did have some few problems when I bought it for example the brake pedal was going to the floor, the radiator was leaking coolant, the car overheated because of lack of coolant and some minor problems. Since I am a DIY I was able to fix them for relatively cheap and drove it till it reached 330k miles before the engine died and I sold it to a mechanic. He then rebuild the engine and sold it to someone and when I recently checked the VIN number someone bought that car and is still driving and it currently has 355k miles. So you can get some good deals if it has some problems and if you are able to fix it relatively cheap. Good luck.
