buying a second hand car

[marc gerritsen]

Wondering if there is access to a second hand car market by private owners
I know there are many dealers, but of course want to buy cheaper directly from private owners.
Have seen the second hand magazines, which are full of car dealers.
so what is the best way to find the private owners? or does it not exist in Taiwan?
much appreciated
Marc

[sulavaca]

Try: http://ocar.com.tw/

or: Used cars on Taiwan Yahoo

[marc gerritsen]

thanks for the tips!
the ocar site is just what I was looking for although not that many privately owned cars
also good to be prepared with the auto checkers......
I will give the yahoo site a miss .... just too irritating
cheers
marc

[sulavaca]

If you need any advice on purchasing or prices, drop a line or put your questions up here, I'm sure others like to chip in to.

[kjmillig]

Opinions on value and price:
I'm looking at a 1994 Subaru Tutto for $38,000. The guy has it listed online for $30,000 though, so I'm sure he'd honor that price.
Extremely clean exterior, good interior, engine runs smooth. 3 cylinder, standard shift.

[sulavaca]

I worked on those for over 7 years. They have a variety of common faults which don't often get seen to by owners. Check out:

1) The rubber mounting brackets on the top of the rear shock absorbers. They normally separate after about three years and cause a knocking as the strut moves up and down over bumps.

2) [On the carburetor models] Check the throttle body. The spindle which the throttle swivels on wears the alloy carburetor and allows air to leak into the carb causing uneven running and excessive fuel consumption. If so then the carb needs replacement. Check by spraying WD40 around the throttle body with engine running. You should hear a drop in engine performance and engine speed if damage has occured. (Don't do this on the move )

3) [On injection models] With the engine running wriggle the wiring loom that runs on the top of the engine rocker cover. Wires would split in this loom and would cause injector failure. Simple fix, but the wires need to be lengthened and soldered with new ones.

4) Brake pipes near the fuel tank would corrode in salty British road conditions. Not to say they would fail as quickly in Taiwan, but check them anyway.

5) Front anti roll bar mountings. Prone to early wear and corrosion. May often corrode then break off.

6) Rocker cover gasket. Will perish and leak over time due to normal hot~cold conditions. Replace.

7) Early engines required manual adjustment of the valves, so check for engine top rattles which should indicate poor servicing.

8) Manual clutch plates usually lasted around 70,000miles.

The car overall was a brilliant and rare car, being just about the smallest 4WD available, which was its main advantage. Aside from its common and very expensive carburetor fault, it was very cheap to run and extremely reliable. Even with torn, snapped suspension components it would just go and go and it wasn't even apparent that it was a three cylinder. I never did have an opportunity to work on the engines as they were so reliable.
The ECVT (Electronically Controlled Variable Transmission) model was also reliable, but I did once get to replace a drive belt on one.

My advice is don't pay over 20~30 for this car in Taiwan as no dealer would. When looking for information online, search for "Subaru Justy"

Taiwan's conditions don't really demand the 4WD Tutto and so they generally tend to be just 2wheel drive. As they don't produce this car any more then I would recommend a Nissan March/Micra instead as the parts are cheaper and easier to come by. The Nissan is just as practical too in term of interior size and function and is more familiar to most mechanics.

[redwagon]

Opinions on value and price:
I'm looking at a 1994 Subaru Tutto for $38,000. The guy has it listed online for $30,000 though, so I'm sure he'd honor that price.
Extremely clean exterior, good interior, engine runs smooth. 3 cylinder, standard shift.

One thing I do notice in Taiwan is that very few cars actually get sold for 30k. When the value is that low the owners give them away and extract favors down the line.
If you are able to find cars for sale that cheap (and with the economy in the toilet there might be more than ever on the market) then look instead at either a Nissan March or Ford Festiva. There are a lot more around than the Tutto or Justy, spares are more easily available and probably cheaper. The March in particular is a great little car.

[urodacus]

The March is a good little city car, and can easily be played with to make it a good little race car too. Probably not good for tall people...

See Nissan Micra in other countries.

K11 and K12 series are much safer than the k10 series, though I'm not sure the Micra was sold here in the K10 series (K11 post 1992).

and avoid the variant styling ones: most of them are best described as fugly...

[kjmillig]

Thanks so much for the info and advice . I'll take a closer look and see what the guy might be willing to come down to. I also have an acquaintance that has a car they're wanting to sell, so I could likely get a great deal if it's worth buying. I haven't seen it yet, so I can't tel you about it, but will as soon as find out more.
Yeah, I like the March as well and I've seen a couple around town for sale. Thanks for the heads up on parts and service availability.
OK, what about mini/micro vans, like those offered by Mitsubishi, Ford, etc? I like the room and I just like vans. Again, serviceability, value, cost opinions or experiences? Actually I've only seen one or two for sale.

[sulavaca]

Micro vans are best kept for shifting things around and not people. They are loud, light, unstable, uncomfortable and concertina in a crash. They offer the aerodynamics of an upturned loaf tin which doesn't help your fuel consumption. The engines can be tricky to get at and repair and its not always easy to find one in reasonable condition for reasonable money.
Stay away is my advice. You were on much better lines with the interest in a car, unless you have some requirements that you didn't mention earlier.