Whether you’ve just arrived to Israel, been here for 30 years, or are a first time buyer.
Buying a used car is pretty much akin to a poker game. Keep your head, keep your focus and you’ll win. You might have noticed dealers in Israel are not as polite and helpful as abroad, you have also probably felt overwhelmed searching on Yad 2 (Popular website for buying cars). Here’s a few fail-safe pointers when deciding on a car that we at Zvi Cars feel will aid you. 1. Leave your ego at home. In other words ,stop dreaming about aspirational vehicles or those that would hoist you up the social rung. Keep in mind you most like want a reliable people mover that won’t chuck you into overdraft and plaque you with maintenance issues. Be practical and sensible; do not buy a model because the dealership is offering a holiday for two or a low interest scheme. Identify a vehicle that suits your needs before subjecting yourself to an onslaught of marketing. 2. Bring you wife with you. Make sure the better half has a say in choosing the car. Men are genetically blind to minutiae faults like carpet spots and uncomfortable back seats. They also instinctively know if a baby seat will fit into the car. Things like engines and drive trains are basically minor inconveniences to them. This can be a good thing. Torque, performance figures and silly things like variable timing make them yawn. 3. Find the used car’s true market value at ‘Levi Yitzchak’ also known as Mechiron or blue book. Levi Yitzchak releases a copy of used car price guides every month. You may also check Yad 2, although it is not industry standard. Yad 2 has it’s own price list for advertising on their website. Private sellers often quote the Yad 2 because it is higher. All Dealers and insurer companies use Levi Yitzchak. The proper price for a certain used vehicle is not necessarily the one indicated in the Mechiron - they give you just an average price. It’s ‘guide book’, not a ‘rule book’. The actual value of the vehicle depends on a cars condition. The price is based, among other things, on the mileage, age of the car, how many previous owners, accidents, etc. All these factors are converted into the price the car is worth.
4. Beware of scams and dealers selling substandard cars. The most asked question among Israeli’s is, has it been in an accident? If a car has been damaged in a collision, even if it has been repaired by the manufacturer it could compromise the safety of the vehicle. Expect the price to be discounted by 10 - 50% depending on damaged caused.
Other than that, here are some general information and tips to keep you on the straight and narrow. Don’t look for the cheapest car. When it comes to ‘used cars’, ‘best deal’ doesn’t mean the cheapest one. Your goal is to look for a car in good condition for a reasonable price. If a deal seems to good to be true, it probably is. In ‘Chutz l’Aretz’ it was common to find a cheap used car. Here in Israel this is rare if at all possible. The government charges 80% tax, so only people who absolutely have to have transportation can afford a car. The demand for a “reliable car” is so high, it keeps the prices up. Often the question arises, why are European cars so much cheaper than Japanese ones? Simply put, Japanese cars are built to last. You will read a lot about reliability here. Unless your father is a mechanic, you don’t want visit the garage. The question I am often asked is :what is a better buy, an older Japanese-made car or a newer Europian car? Let’s have a clear example: A Mazda 3, 2008 with 135,000km, NIS 47,000 compared to a Renault Affluence 2009 with 99,000km, selling for NIS 47,000. Both these cars are Yad 2, well maintained and were leased vehicles. We would go out on a limb, to say you are less at risk with a Mazda 3, and therefore will be more happy with you purchase over the next five years, than with the newer Renault. Also, the more in-demand the car, the closer to book price the car will reach. Two cars may look the same. One may have been maintained so poorly and the engine won’t last long after you buy it. The previous owner of another vehicle may have been religious about maintenance and used only original parts for repair. Without a doubt, I’d rather pay NIS 10,000 more for this second car, it will see the mechanics a lot less. So, how to determine how much you will have to pay for a certain model? Just to show you as an example, I searched the used car dealerships for a three years old Honda Civic. I found 10 vehicles with the price ranging from NIS 60,000 to NIS 95,000. To be realistic, I know that for NIS 60,000 it was probably in an accident or not maintained well. NIS 90,000 seems to me too high. But there are quite a few cars for NIS 70,000 - 80,000 price range - this looks more realistic to me. So, in our case with three years old Honda Civic, I’d probably get one in a good condition for NIS 70-80,000 with one year warranty from a dealer. Zvi Cars passes great deals from the dealerships they work with, as they have built up trust over many years, and this gives the customer unbeatable prices, service and often a warranty thrown in. What mileage is OK for a used car? As Israel is a small country, it’s more common to commute from city to city. Be prepared for 25,000 km per year, less is a bonus. In general, I would not recommend purchasing a car with a very high mileage, for example, 250,000 km (155,000 miles) and higher would be considered very high. Unless it’s a diesel. The hills of Israel do take effect on smaller cars. Bigger engines are expected to have longer life spans. When considering the ‘mileage’ the average kilometer of a car from a private person is between 15 - 20,000 km per year, from rental/leasing expect 20 – 30,000 per year. When choosing a car whether it has 60,000 or 80,000, it is not as important as the fact that it was well maintained and accident-free. Be aware of cars that may have undergone restoration after a serious accident or cars that haven’t been property maintained, or cars that may have had their odometer rolled back - nowadays they can easily ‘fix’ even electronic odometers. But, since 2008 it has been a requirement by law to put the kilometers on the rish’ayon (car registration).
So, checking a car history records will certainly help to avoid those lemons with “fixed” odometer. A faulty fuel gage is often a sign the odometer has been tampered with. You should check a car’s history records. Vehicles that have been flooded or restored after serious accidents, heavily abused vehicles, those with outstanding liens, etc., can be eliminated after simply checking the history record of the vehicle. Don’t buy based on what you’ve been told because it may not always be the truth. Check out the car yourself very carefully. Take along a friend who knows about cars to help you. Making sure the car is in good mechanical condition is easier than you might imagine. Israel requires a yearly test done by a test center, the same test centers also does a check when you want to buy a car. This cost about NIS 500 for a small car, and more for larger cars. After they have done a comprehensive check, the examiner will explain his findings. Be extremely careful when doing the paperwork. For example, if you buy from a private owner, make sure there are no registered liens against the vehicle and that the person who signs the Bill of Sale is the actual owner of the car. Never sign any forms you don’t understand. Try and get a friend to translate the warranty or finance documents go through all the paper-work page by page to understand all that the dealer needs to tell you. Be clear what is under warranty and what is not. Do not rely on a salesperson’s verbal promises. Whatever is promised, get the details in writing. Running costs are double of the USA and Europe. Repairs often shock people into next week. A reconditioned gear box can run up to NIS 7,000 for a 5 seater and NIS 10,000 for a seven seater, depending on make and year.
Before you finalize anything, take into consideration the costs to fix & insure. As mentioned above you might get a discount buying Citroen and Renault but the repair costs are higher. Ford and Hyundai have improved their build quality. They make just as good cars, but are more affordable. Set yourself a firm limit of how much money you can afford to pay for a car. The process of buying a used car can be time-consuming and stressful and it might be difficult to resist the urge to buy a more expensive vehicle. Often dealers try to push you into buying a more expensive vehicle to increase their commission. In fact, this is very common situation when people rush into buying a car or a truck only to realize later that they cannot afford paying for it. Thousands of people are searching the Internet for an answer to “How to get out of a car deal?” You want to buy something that you can afford, something that will not put excessive financial strain on your family budget, so you need to set yourself a realistic limit. We at ZVICARS don’t use hard sale tactics or earn money by the commission. We make one flat fee per car, no matter the cost. This is to give the client reassurance that our advise is genuine. Haggling is an art-form to Israeli’s. Even if you are fluent in Hebrew, if they detect you are not a native Israeli the dealer will take advantage of your lack of car knowledge. The market is competitive be sure to check dealers, internet and ask friends what they paid, as well as organizations who help, like Nefesh B’ Nefesh and AACI.Zvi Cars offers free advise. Take advantage of it. Do your homework when buying a car on Yad 2. Many vehicles that have been damaged by accidents and abused in some way or another are going on the market. These won’t last long, leaving you with a unsafe car. When it comes to paying for the car, from the private seller or dealer with a Bank-cheque, it’s the safest option and only the cost is minimal, and can be done from any branch.
Beware of trade tricks. Many dealers strategies on the behaviour of consumers when buying used cars. Dealers know that buyers will not purchase a used car unless they feel that they are offered a price lower than the original price. Dealers tend to make the price higher than the actual amount and make the buyer believe that they are offering a discount. What the buyer does not know is that the discounted price is actually the original price of the car.
By Ezra Benjamin from Zvi Cars
The above was posted by a community member. This information was current at the time of posting.
