Advice on buying a used car

[u/CommentDifferent4148]

Hey everyone, need a bit of advice as I am looking at some used cars. We have a bit of a tight budget and know very little about cars in general.

Some context: - The car is primarily going to be used by 1-2 people; we are going to have cages for 2 dogs in the back. We also think we’ll probably add a single bed and some storage for dog equipment (we do search and rescue volunteer work with dogs).

• We drive about 10K km per year.

• we live in Norway, so cold winter and lots of snow.

The cars: We are looking at these two used cars in our price range

1) Ford Transit connect L2 2021, 1,5L diesel, 100 horsepower, 130k km mileage, a bit smaller. Pros I see: - Is newer - Has a new car warranty for one more year Cons: - has a pretty bad bump that has been patched and painted over - the timing belt hasn’t been changed - I have heard that Ford cars break down a lot but idk 🤷

2) Mercedes Vito 2017, 1,6L diesel, 114 horsepower, 146k km, a bit bigger (including higher clearance), seems to be in overall better shape cosmetically. Pros: - has a timing chain instead of a timing belt - has a remote activated heating thingy (which is good when winter temps are in then -20 range and below) Cons: - is older - a bit suspicious why it’s so cheap but don’t have more than a hunch

Any advice would be appreciated

[u/Cautious-Concept457]

The Connect has timing chain issues, you should only buy it if that has been converted to the newer type (yes they have both, not just a belt - if you’d consider a slightly older one, the earlier examples had no chain)