dakota44

Not now, with all the lease returns landing at the auctions. When the dollar was down at the 65 or 70 cent mark, there was a shortage due to American dealers coming to Canada and paying huge prices for Canadian cars, and still buying them cheaper than in the U.S.

snowshoveller

I;m keeping my fingers crossed, but so far hasnt cost a penny (apart from a huge amount of gas!)

But that's kind of my point, back in the UK I might spend 500 quid on an old nail with a bit of character, and if it failed I'd just scrap it and get another. Here in canada I'm more likely to cough up to keep the old girl going.

dakota44

Which model is it? Cherokee? Grand Cherokee?

snowshoveller

its the cherokee xj, 3 door, 4 litre, of road package, almost no electrical goodies.

It's a charming old bugger really. I'm quite attached to it!

jericho

I've always found comments like this really odd. I can only comment on Edmonton, but the local papers are packed FULL of car ad's for new cars. If you fell over on the street, you've a pretty good chance of landing in a new car showroom. Within a 5 minute drive of my house, I have a Mazda, Nissan, Kia, Honda, Hyundai, Ford, Dodge, Toyota and Pontiac/Buick etc showroom..... and that's just off the top of my head.

Whilst I accept there are more "old" cars here than in the UK, there are still plenty of new ones too. It's all about huge SUV's, unnecessary pickups with 5.7l engines and loads of other motorized toys- ATV's, boats, snowmobiles etc.

Dont be fooled by other posters on here. Canadians like shiny new cars as much as the next man.

Steve_P

Nobody will argue the point that Canadians like to buy new, but an awful lot myself included keep them for 10 years or longer.

The last car I sold to a friend who told me for 5 years that they wanted the car whenever I decided to sell it, was 15 years old.

My two current vehicles are a 1999 Toyota Corolla with only 74,000kms on it and a 2007 Toyota Camry Hybrid with about 23,000kms on it. Both regularly maintained and well looked after.

bodgerx

Doesn't the amount of leasing going on increase second values? (I think it's well over 50% of the new sales market in Canada) Once the lease periods are up manufacturers need to recover costs and get as much as they can - this then filters down...?

dakota44

For the North American vehicles, the huge number of lease returns reduces the value. There is a glut of lease returns and thus an over supply. There is also a vast supply of fleet cars and daily rentals that run through the auctions. years in the business. I spent much time at auctions buying vehicles for the used car lot. Toyota and Honda, for example, do not have that problem. Their vehicles hold their value, even with lease returns.

dakota44

Keep a watchful eye on the front end. They are notorious for failing front end parts. Ball joints, tie rods, idler arms etc. The 4 litre 6 banger is a decent motor. Any used Cherokee I took in on trade cost a fortune to do a mechanical fitness before selling it. Often we just ran them to the auction when the bill was going to be too high.

snowshoveller

cheers pal, I'll keep an eye out, the dealer had replaced a few bits before i bought it and amazingly the warranty he chucked in sorted out a swaybar, and new rad!

macadian

I wonder if the fact that cars in Canada are not subject to the stringent annual MOT test (cars that have reached three years old from first date of registration) as they are in the UK might have something to do with it. Looking around I see loads of cars being driven here in Ontario that would have been scrapped in the UK LONG ago if the same legislation applied, forcing the purchase of more new vehicles? Just a thought.

JandS

So in summary.......if I were to buy a car for my year in Vancouver.......does it make economical/financial sense to get a new one or a used one? Bearing in mind that I will have to sell it off in one year's time........

snowshoveller

get the cheapest you can - leave it at the airport if you cant sell it.

MikeUK

Their appear to be more old cars here, but I think it’s that they look older

Corrosion due to the high levels of salt eat through the body work faster here than in the UK making a car look a lot older than it really is, you also lack the age clue’s in the reg plates too
The clue is how quick you will wear through a set of Exhausts and brake rotors here compared to the UK, the body work is following

jimf

Would you say the Japanese brands are still a good buy used at 3 to 5 years old?