May 15, 2009 our 19 year chariot, a 1983 VW Vanagon, decided enough was enough and gave up the ghost. The 66 HP air-cooled engine lost various amounts of compression in 3 of 4 cylinders, 1 cylinder was zero, 1 cylinder normal.
I was able to nurse the underpowered "Brown Box" to Capitol Hill (mother's doctor appointment) and back home, then to the shop, where they told us the bottom line. Since VW air-cooled engines have not been produced for decades, a rebuild would easily cost $4,000 - we bought the "Brown Box" in 1990 for $3,800.
Looking for the Next Box
(be sure to read Notes at the very end of this article)
Since my mom needs to get to dialysis 3 days a week, we rented a car from Enterprise (rental shop was right across the street from the VW repair shop, Han's VW)
For some years I had been a subscriber of Consumer Reports online, so I began our search there. I wanted something that could carry some cargo, but far more reliable than our "Brown Box" - we weren't wedded to the VW brand. So I decided the minivan would be our priority search. On Consumer Reports, the most reliable used minivans are Honda Odyssey and Toyota Sienna. The latest redesigns of these models were 2005 and 2004, respectively.
At the rental shop they told me about Enterprise Car Sales, so I began my search there, then branched out to these other web resources, NWAutos.com , Edmunds.com. I also checked Craig's List for the Seattle region.
The Enterprise Car Sales has an interesting feature where you can search their nationwide fleet, then request a transfer to your local lot, for a fee. At the time I began searching, the local (Renton) lot had no Honda or Toyota minivans, and with any transfer fee the price came up to prices for vehicles already at local dealers.
After a false start finding a NWAutos listing for a Honda, from a private seller - the ad was left over from Feb 2009, so I assumed the owner had sold when I got no response - I found some Siennas listed, through NWAutos.com, at Dollar Car Sales (SeaTac, just south of the airport). Since SeaTac is relatively close to us, we decided to start there. I phoned ahead to arrange the visit / test drive.
Our sales associate was Mychal Warren who showed us the 3 Toyota Sienna LE's available. We test drove the silver 2007 car with 30,000 miles on the odometer. My mom had no problem getting in and out of the passenger seat. Driving visiblity was good with great mirrors.
Since we were burning through rental fees, and I was unlikely to find a significantly deeper discount price for the model year (2007), we decided to buy the silver unit we test drove, with the condition that we could return our purchase if there were any problems after a shop inspection - the manager, Jim Pritchard, agreed, writing in the return clause on our purchase contract. We paid the listed price without any haggle. There was some transferable manufature Warranty left through 2010/2012.
At the end of the week I took the 2007 Toyota Sienna LE into Greg's Japanese Auto for the inspection - they had a $15 off coupon at their web site. I asked that they check the air conditioning filter, which was not part of their standard inspection. Only 2 points of the inspection had concern - the AC filter needed replacement (might never have been changed during the service time of the car?) and the tire tread was worn out. Greg's recommended the dealer should have put new tires on before sale, and that I should have the dealer put on a new set. I had Greg's replace the AC filter, which was $25. All the other points of the buyer inspection were in good condition.
After a brief phone discussion, faxing Greg's inspection report, the folk at Dollar Car Sales agreed to pay for the new tires - they also provided a courtesy car to drive for the afternoon and overnight while the tires were mounted. They even ran our Sienna through their car wash.
Our experience with Jim and Mychal of Dollar Car Sales was positive and they did right accomodating our request for new tires. Mychal was an attentive and pleasant sales rep with no sales pressure attitude, answering all my questions. They provided the Carfax report for the car we bought. I can easily recommend you visit them when you shop for your next car - they have a large variety of brands and models on their lot. Many of the vehicles have no more than 30,000 miles on the odometer. Try using the vehicle search/browse feature at their web site.
We now enjoy our "new" Silver 2007 Toyota Sienna (minivan).
Notes:
- I strongly recommend using Consumer Reports Online to begin your search for a used vehicle
- At the time we began our search there were not many private sellers listed for the models we wanted, most being too far away to make the visit worthwhile. Whether you consider a private sale or dealership, I strongly recommend having a buyer's inspection at a reputable repair shop. We had a buyer's inspection on our 1983 VW Vanagon that we bought in 1990.
- As we discovered, buying from a used rental fleet meant the tires might be an issue - they were well worn, and needed replacement. Also, if your buyer inspection doesn't include it, have them check the air conditioning filter, if you are getting AC in the car.
- Always insist to see the Carfax report for the vehicle - it should be a standard part of the paperwork. If you are looking at a private sale, it's worth paying the 30 day search fee to Carfax online to do it your self - get the VIN from the seller.
- Buying a recent model year as a used purchase saves you thousands of dollars - we easily saved $9000 off a brand new purchase, and got a well kept vehicle.
- Rental fleets are definately worth looking at, they appear to be kept in good condition.
