u/broken_neck_broken

I'm looking for something in this range but second hand options are not fantastic right now(budget approx 30k but could stretch it a little for the right car). I know I want leather (or pleather) seats because my kids are destroying the fabric seats in my current car. I also want something reliable, which is why I listed the above models but open to anything reasonably close, maybe a Forester or something similar. Not interesting subcompacts like C-HR or HR-V/Vezel. Lastly, I do a lot of short local driving and weekly longer trips, up to 80km, don't have parking directly outside my house so phev and diesel wouldn't work, so focusing on ehev vehicles and I don't want it to struggle for power so looking at roughly 1.8 up to 2.5.

I just want to hear from people more familiar with them on a few points...

1. 4WD Vs 2WD. I'm not planning to go offroading unless you count the occasional event with parking provided in a nearby field but wondering about how significant the difference is in slippy/icy conditions.

2. Head unit replacement. Most of the CR-Vs up for sale are Japan imports. No issue with that, I'm driving a jap import Fit right now and love the reliability. The replacement head unit someone installed on arrival is absolutely useless though, it's like a very old obsolete android tablet and can no longer run even basic apps. It's only use is to connect my phone via Bluetooth for Spotify. Do I need to replace the head unit and how much am I looking at for a fully functional one (android auto, reverse camera, maps etc). If I don't replace it, can I use everything except the maps easily enough?

3. Mileage. I'm looking at anything under 100k Kms as similar and a priority group, unless it is weirdly low (like a 2019 with under 20k). Second choices could be up to 150k. Is that a sound strategy or would it be more nuanced?

4. Battery condition. Without driving it for a week, how do I know what condition the hybrid battery is in? The battery in my current car does F all and that's fine because I still get cheaper road tax and fuel economy is no worse than the petrol only Jazz I had before this, but if I'm outlaying a fair amount on something as I plan, I don't want to end up with similarly poor fuel economy for the engine type and size.

So I was watching the first movie for the bazillionth time and I got thinking. I may be over-analysing visual plot points here, but assuming everything is as seen on the screen for this one. We see MI troopers fighting bugs, in many cases there are 3-4 troopers unloading at point blank range into a single arachnid to take it down. Later when Carmen and Zander land inside the outpost to evacuate the Roughnecks, Zander (with only basic combat training) jumps out and starts shooting a different kind of rifle and is strafing multiple arachnids off the top of the wall with comparative ease. There are three possible reasons for this and here they are in reverse order of how much I believe them:

1. He happened to shoot at arachnids that were already injured from sustained MI fire and was just finishing them off.

2. Showing multiple troopers vs 1 at the start was just to emphasise their strength and they became easier to kill as the movie went on because the story became less about the threat of the individual arachnids and more about their overall plan.

3. MI were issued rifles that looked bigger and better but were actually less powerful and easier/cheaper to mass produce because a grunt is worth less to the Federation than an officer. Fleet personnel and officers were issued more effective rifles in case they ended up needing to defend themselves because it cost more in money and time to train pilots, engineers and officers. Maybe it was an ammo thing and officers were just given hollow points or something that it would be too costly and time consuming to produce for the whole MI.

I'm aware that every documented source says that the MI have the best rifles. Maybe they do, maybe it's a lie they get fed and we absorb it as observers.

I'm weighing up my options right now. Basically, my Dad passed away a few months ago and as executor one of my responsibilities is to sell his car. It's a 2022 Corolla hybrid with less than 20k Kms. I went to the dealer he bought it new from and they said they could pay 18k for it. That feels like a lowball offer, they based it on valuing the car at 22k, even though the closest ones I can find advertised online are 25k+. I want to maximise what it brings because the money is needed to pay off funeral costs, buy a headstone etc. Is there any safe way to make a private sale of this value? Matters are slightly complicated by the fact the money has to be paid into an account of the estate, so it would take some time to check that it has arrived before sending off the logbook, which might make a buyer nervous.