Getting first car in Vancouver
I will be getting my first car soon, I am in Vancouver (Canada) and I have $6000cad budget. I already have some driving experience.
I like subaru, I like all wheel drive, I will do very high milage (reliability + low maintanance) , and I like gravel as much as tarmac.
I have two ideas in my mind.
1) old legacy turbo 4wd 5mt
2) a American truck and dakar prep it (sort of) j/k
please give me more inputs
I am not Canadian but if you are going to the wilds of Canada -> get a 4x4, if you are driving around town most of the time get the scooby, and if you are lugging around stuff (like being a tree surgeon or something) get a Flat Bed Truck. If you are a Candian equivalent of a good ol' boy get the truck and add gun rack.
Cobol74, Vancouver is a major city on the west cost of Canada so I doubt he will be in the wilds much. When I was up north the thing i noticed the most was 1) Most people had really crappy cars and 2) gas prices rapped. Dont know what 6kCAD can get you, but, it would be safe to say get something that sips on fuel.
I would look for an old Audi/VW 4 Motion (we where just talking about that on the IRC) and it seems you can get them at a pretty decent price. More class and more comfort for the high mileage.
this is what I have in mind :
+ YouTube Video
Old Legacy would be good. Plus, until 2007, all a Legacy was, was a stretched Impreza, so a lot of parts are interchangeable.
Vancouver is unfortunately in British Columbia and that province has one of the higher gas prices in the country despite being closer to oil rich Alberta than Toronto, so say no to any thirsty truck. You might want to consider fuel economy especially since your going to do a lot of driving and your car budget is not particularly high.
^ Prices are at $1.25/litre in Vancouver and supposed to go up even more in the summer. Also, consider that ICBC is an evil corporation so you'll also need to factor in rather high insurance costs given your age.
Have you looked at buying something in the US and bringing it up north? Or even having a service do it for you? You can probably buy something substantially nicer for your budget in the US.
Go for a car in the states and bring it up here for a conversion. ICBC is a total bitch these days, so unless if your parents are paying for your insurance, I think you should set your sights lower.
Is the insurance in BC that bad? I only know that Ontario's insurance companies are extremely mean and unforgiving to all young driver's who own cars. I was quoted $4000 a year for any car at age 18, as a result I don't "own" a car.Originally Posted by Shawn
I havent get any quotes from ICBC yet, but I heard that I will be paying more than $3000 a year.
Sounds about right for a young person, don't forget young persons additional excess they charge if you're in an accident as well (additional $500 here)
Insurance in BC isn't so bad because we only have a single insurance company which is regulated, but that has it's own problems.
I just renewed my insurance for $2060 which frankly is a pretty good price, but mind you I'm not a teenager anymore and I've built up a 30 percent discount. Hope I don't have to have a claim anytime soon...
Wow...and here I grumble about paying $900 a year.
What.
Did you say there is ONE insurance company!?!?!
That doesn't seem right. Who owns the monopoly on insurance?? And I thought my ~AUD1k was bad...
your AU$1k is cheap
I ran through the calculator a few weeks ago, for my dad to insure a AU$115,000 x5 it costs about 1/3 of the cost for me to insure my integra comprehensively (guess what's not comprehensively insured)
Yup, you read it correct. Canada had a lot of socialist tendencies in the 70s-early 90s, and British Columbia even more so since our provincial government was a socialist party of sorts during those years. So a lot of services are monopolized in Canada still, even though many have been privatized since the millennium.
The insurance company is called ICBC and it's a crown corporation meaning it's owned by the BC government. I've heard people say insurance is worse in Ontario where they have deregulated car insurance, but monopolies rarely lead to better service or lowered costs so we don't have it easy here either.
Blah, everything is so much more expensive here than the US. You guys might be used to this but it's a relatively new idea for us Canadians to be paying so much more for everything than Americans. I bought a damn electric kettle the other day for over $100 whereas Amazon.com sells it for $55.
I've got a 1977 Lincoln Continental for sale if you like?! Only $750. You could be a real hit with the ladies. (I'm not joking, girls flock to this car) I'm in Deep Cove... check out my add on craigslist...
Anyway, in all seriousness, go check out craigslist.org. It's a great site and it's where I found my car.
Insurance isn't that bad.... I'm paying just over $2000 a year ($172 a month) for my 1980 El Camino. and I only have a 5% discount. I have full coverage with a $500 deductable. $2 000 000 in liability. I pay more in gas than I do for insurance.
Typical liability coverage here is $20 million dollarsI've got a 1977 Lincoln Continental for sale if you like?! Only $750. You could be a real hit with the ladies. (I'm not joking, girls flock to this car) I'm in Deep Cove... check out my add on craigslist...
Anyway, in all seriousness, go check out craigslist.org. It's a great site and it's where I found my car.
Insurance isn't that bad.... I'm paying just over $2000 a year ($172 a month) for my 1980 El Camino. and I only have a 5% discount. I have full coverage with a $500 deductable. $2 000 000 in liability. I pay more in gas than I do for insurance.
^ For real? That's crazy...
As JJJ said it's about $2,000,000. He's getting a good deal but keep in mind his car is quite old (in a good way though). I'm guessing if he were to insure a new car under his name he's be paying double, if not more.
thanks but no thanks, gas will be hitting $1.50 in the summerI've got a 1977 Lincoln Continental for sale if you like?! Only $750. You could be a real hit with the ladies. (I'm not joking, girls flock to this car) I'm in Deep Cove... check out my add on craigslist...
Anyway, in all seriousness, go check out craigslist.org. It's a great site and it's where I found my car.
Insurance isn't that bad.... I'm paying just over $2000 a year ($172 a month) for my 1980 El Camino. and I only have a 5% discount. I have full coverage with a $500 deductable. $2 000 000 in liability. I pay more in gas than I do for insurance.
so its probably not a good time to get a 6.6 / 7.5 V8 which weights over 2 tonne.
btw, I will be doing daily trip from lower mainland to SFU burnaby.
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