Buying A Car

[minsmarine]

Next time downgrade to this car to fetch our wives .... save the rest for the reef ....

Where my 2 kids going to sit than..

And I don't think my wife and ( fellow reefer's wife ) will approve this type.

"IT'S TOO SMALL FOR ME TO GO SHOPPING, DO U THINK U COULD KEEP YT in 1 Feet tank "

Haa haaa......

We are already

[surfedelic]

When you retired lah .....so your wife cannot buy extras becasue no space

[minsmarine]

When you retired lah .....so your wife cannot buy extras becasue no space

Hey hey , shhhhh can't like that than she will say, if I could buy extra than no more sps , lps ...... than how ?

Need to make happy for both parties lar otherwise, I will be alone changing water, rescaping .........

[surfedelic]

I see your point -- i think your side more complicated As for me I change water myself .. so I tell her if you dont let me buy .... then I dont Fetch you to shopping ...

[Chris]

BTW, Is this car available in Singapore. I've seen one moving around Alexandra road but never heard of it being sold in Singapore. Thought of getting one for the wifey.

[shiraz]

isn't that the one that when parked back to back, can fit 2 into a normal parking lot?

[nqh71]

Hi guys,

Thanks so much for all your info... I think you all just added more cars to the shortlisted cars I have mentioned ... But that is good... Now have more cars to test drive already... Really appreciate the help you all have given...

[Blenny]

Geez dam* my car than

Full tank VPower costed me around 110 for full tank and get only 550Km in town.

8Km/L ( No Highway lar, with highway may be around 10km/L ).

Just want to share. ...... My car is only 1800cc manual and is averaging 650 - 700km per 60 litres of petrol. and it is a 8.5 year old car.

[corrado]

hi,

Stay away from the 3 red diamonds car.

they are facing real QC problems and been undergoing

none-stop restructuring.

Worth considering (new)

Mazda 2/3- cooler than Altis

ford lazer- I love the 4 disc barkes

Suzuki Ignis Sport-funnn!

Used

VW mk4 golf (value rock bottom with mk5 arriving soon)

ALfaRomeo

have you checked out the new 8C? jesus!

[moron_clown]

cars...hehe...get the vios if u are on budget.superb fuel economy,i once did a run to the airport and back from yio chu kang.went as fast as i could go and all the way in vvti range.the fuel economy is fantastic ,only one notch down from full(digital fuel guage with 8 notches) so i guess its around $6 for a trip from yck to changi airport and back.plus it'll do sub 8 sec 0-100 with a few minor mods.servicing is cheap and hassle free and u can expect excellent aftersales support.The guys from toyotaclubsg are also extremely friendly which is another plus point.

my current car is a WR-Act...hehe,a 1.6ts with full rex bodykit,tanzy is right,the acceleration sucks(I will be getting an aftermarket ecu to improve 0-100 timings to sub 9 secs) but the handling rules!!corners are real fun with them Ts..

european cars...hmmzzz..i've driven a saab93 and erm..it sucks ur wallet dry...servicing is boody expensive,fuel economy is around 9km/l (goes down to 7 when u accel hard) according to trip computer.However,it is a car with an attitude.the 2 litre Light Pressure Turbo sneezes and wheezes under hard accel,making all sorts of wonderful noises and the simple installation of an aftermarket blow off valve gives u the option to scare pedestrians and boyraces alike.It handles like crap although on pricey and sticky perellis.oversteer is obvious under most hard connering situations.But u know if u crash,u'll be in the safe hands of the airbags..hehe

The toyota vios is a great all rounder,cheap and good.only complains are crappy factory tyres and undersized seats.

hopes this helps..

[Meanpokman]

There's 1001 stuff to consider when buying a car... honestly in SG where a car can cost the pricing of a 3-room flat, it's wise to cover most aspects.

Pros and Cons of owning a 1st hand car

- Straight out from factory:

Means you do the running in (certain makes however they run-in your enine for you e.g Porsche, Ferraris and Lambos ), so there's a peace of mind that no previous owner actually 'whacked' the engine. However, I have heard some disconcerting stuff from freighter forwarders about some manhandling of cars.

- Lesser financing rate:

First-hand cars from authorised dealers usually have lower financing rates for the loan granted. Think now it's 2.2% for brand new, 2.6% for second-hand cars <10yrs, and upwards of 4% for >10yrs car. So do the sums properly as the interest is a major component to consider.

- Agent Warranty

Well, this may be a double-edged sword. Sometimes, certain components are not covered after XX amount of mileage, and not to mention going back to the authorised dealer is always more expensive than outside workshops.

- COE & PARF/OMV

On this, there's two schools of thought. One school prefers a high COE, high OMV/PARF because for people whom change cars often, it's the most accurate gauge for the value of a car. High COE & PARF means higher resaleability (most times), even if not, LTA will guarantee that amount if the car is de-registered. But however, I would rather it be lower. Why? Cos usually a high COE & PARF will bump up the loan amount which means more is payable to interest.

Consider this:

7 yr car loan of $50,000 @2.2% translates into $7,700 of interest.

7 yr car loan of $30,000 @ 2.2% translates into $4,620 of interest.

- 10 yr loans

THIS IS A TRAP. DO NOT OPT FOR A 10YR LOAN! Though it may seem to reduce your monthly instalments but the actual overall interest is increased! Because of the rule of mortgage repayment schedule practised by all finance companies in SG, most of your initial few years are actually used to offset the interest payments. If the scenario whereby you buy a car with zero downpayment, take a 10yr loan, and were to sell your car even after 5 yrs, you'll be hit with having to topup the value because after factoring depreciation of your precious car, it will be lower still than the outstanding loan amount.

Using the another example:

7 yr car loan of $80,000 @2.2% = $12,300 of interest

10 yr car loan of $80,000 @2.2% = $17,600 of interest.

As for which car to recommend, one man's meat may be another's poison.

Usually these are the traits of the following makes:

Honda Civic - Nice punchy engine (however it's SOHC I believe), interior fit an finish is one of the best but however, there has been some bad reviews about it's rear suspension. Do consider the fact that you will have to pay higher insurance for a Civic also.

Toyota VIOS - Nice frill free family car. 1.5VVTi engine is quite sweet, but interior's alil too crampy for my liking. Low fuel consumption.

Toyota Altis - Good on all aspects. Low fuel consumption (have a friend who can squeeze out 700km per tank on a manual), good class leading fit and finish even though it's made in Thailand. Pretty decent resaleability too.

Mit Lancer - Frankly, being a ex-Lancer owner I do think the new version of the Lancer's a bummer. Decent fuel consumption and finish. However, bear in mind GDI engines and CVT gearboxes are lemons. Value for money maybe only.

Mazda3 - Great looks, DOHC engine, wonderful fittings and finish. Is it really the best?? Well, a friend of mine commented that the 1.5ltr engine seems way too underpowered for this car. Engine note seems harsh when revved hard. Questionable fuel consumption. And not to mention, it's one of the most expensive of the lot.

Nissan Sunny - Well, Nissan Sunny's famous for it's fuel guzzling. Pretty decent fit and finish from a Jap car, but somehow driving a Sunny makes one alil ah pek??

Subaru Impreza - Hmm... 4WD drivetrain is one of the traits of this car. Good looker if you're a fan of WRC. However, even on manual, my friend is getting lousy figures on fuel consumption due to the 4WD drivetrain. Fit and finish is above par. But I do think the car is looks faster in standstill (having sat in the manual 1.6, it doesn't give any adrenalin rush even when driven hard) rather when moving unlike it's stablemate the Rex.

Well, these are just my opinions anyway. If I were a family-man, a VIOS or a Altis would do fine. Gets you from point A to point B with minimal fuss and razzmatazz. But like mentioned, keep your options open for the Ford Laser or others. Do try and keep away from the Matrix and Getz though unless you're sponsored by any oil company. Those two cars are absolutely horrid on fuel consumption!

My two cents... and happy hunting!

[shiraz]

actually i don't understand why is it not good to have a car that is very common on the road...

more common means most probably that the car is reliable and good hance the number of owners... spare parts would be redily availabe at a good price... any mechanic would know what the problem in your car is because most likely, they've rectified the problem yesterday on another car..

just take a few bikes for comparison... RXZ.. Phantom.. damn common on the road.. if u don't see 10 in a day the world is gonna end but the maintenance is dirt cheap and they are reliable bikes...

maybe ppl don't want a common car because they wanna be different on the road.. but it's definately NOT a con to have a common car on the road.. the con is the person's ego...

moi 2 cents only...

[Chris]

When a common car becomes very popular, it brings $ to the company. They will grow and other car companies, not able to make sales will go bust. The day everywhere is flooded with just a few models and the others die out, the price of these cars will go up...cos monopoly. In this market, it is about segmentisation. Different cars serve different needs of different people. This will always be the way. Most importantly, a buyer must recognise his/her own needs. Like MPV for large family, SUV for offroad people, sedan for small family, performance car for the driving enthusiast, luxury for the rich...etc. That makes the world interesting.

Same foe reefing. Would it be nice for everyone's tank to be similar, with damsels and YT? Why would people pay good money for a blackTang or Chervon?

[roidan]

articles from borneo motor magazine sent to me...

can see sales figures in the first quarter...

no wonder almost every traffic light stop can see a new toyota

[roidan]

[roidan]

[roidan]

[roidan]

last page...

i am not a toyota SE hor

[Tanzy]

I smell a commercial post.

Roidan's account will be suspended pending further investigation.

[roidan]

I smell a commercial post.

Roidan's account will be suspended pending further investigation.

wah liew

i already disclaimer above that i not toyota SE lah..

just a satisfied customer

but seriously, i realised that sometimes when i stop at red lights, i suddenly panic coz i thought the engine died....then i look at the dashboard din see all the warning lights, then i know it's still running....in other words very quiet lor..

i really wonder how quiet it can be driving a lexus

any bros driving a lexus please let me sit in your car one day

[weileong]

last page...

i am not a toyota SE hor

Really sounds like one lei

Are you sure you're not part time SE ?

[roidan]

sure sure....

i sompa!

you wun find toyota SEs hanging in the net so often like me...

too busy making sales liao...

if i am a toyota SE, i would be a fool spending so much time in here

[weileong]

potential customer in SRC

[Chris]

Toyota SE all laughing to the bank. No wonder they are quite cocky. Service quite bad at showroom cos too many customer. It's almost like Robinson sale.

I once enquired about Rav4 and the SE said: "No stock till 4 months later, come back another time." Did not even offer to recommend other models or explain specs or offer brochure.

[Tanzy]

My friend working at HSBC, which handles all the loans coming from Borneo Motors, said that BM inform them middle of the month that they will be selling less cars because they have already met the quota. Based on commisions, those SE easily get >$10,000/month.

I think BM is trying to not sell too many cars or else Toyota Japan will want more sales next year.