94-96 Midsize Cars, Why Low Resale Values?

[IMm29]

plummetting resale value could be attributed to demand, gas consumption, parts/maintenance costs.

whoa! but i'm pleasantly surprised to read that quite a few tsikoteers have, one time or another, owned/driven a 626. it was my ride from '95-'02. it was underrated and underpowered, but boy was it torquey. had parts been cheaper and more accessible, it would still probably be in our garage. it's not as spacious as your accord or corona, but at a low stock height and mean stance, ganda! i miss it. huhu!

[niky]

The problem is the traffic here... and the heat, which saps power, increases consumption, and makes the airconditioner work harder, which, in turn, increases consumption more...

My 626 is rated at 26/33 mpg in the US.

I'm lucky to get 23 mpg in my daily travel, and I usually get 17-19 mpg if I have to drive around in the city.

[orly_andico]

Grimaces? The AC is too puny for the size of the car, though the rotating vents are damn cool. The gearshift bushings are delicate, and on a ten year old car, the gearshift will flop like a dead fish (but the synchros are oddly better than in my Lynx). And parts are so expensive that your budget for buying this car should be 300,000. 150,000 for the car, 150,000 to replace everything but the shocks and front springs... even at ten years of age, the 626 is still stiff and settled as a new car.

Handling, though giving way to understeer at the limits (and snap-oversteer if you're too exuberant) is quite secure, though the steering is slow. It was a blast to thread through the mountains of Nueva Ecija, following a brand new Honda Accord with a maniacal driver, then later, a 70's Land Rover barreling downhill at 140 km/h... I was actually following him because I was afraid he was going to crash... and, usyusero that I am, I wanted to be there when it happened...

Hay... memories. Hey, orly, if you ever find an answer to the distributor problem, PM me...

Niky,

I don't know about the suspension, mine is in pretty bad shape (I'm thinking of buying Eibach springs and struts after I settle some pesky bills.. naka 2 sets na ako ng Tokico gas shocks and it's still rattly). Or maybe it's my "walang sinasantong lubak" driving. 150k for repairs is too much. Yes I've spent more than that, but amortized over several years. It's still quite a shocker!

What's your distributor problem? hot igniter failure? or the cam sensor code 03?

I don't have time to take my distributor apart (not to mention I don't want to disable the damn car). But I found this web site (volvo-specific) where they take apart the dizzy and replace the Hall sensor. it shouldn't be too hard.. i actually bought some Hall sensors already. i'm planning to buy a new dizzy from this fellow on e-bay, then i can toy with the misbehaving dizzy.

[niky]

My suspension is ten years old and all I've had to change are the sagging rear springs. Of course, the car was metro-driven the whole time, and I think the shocks are probably completely gone (which means the front springs must be uber-stiff to actually make it feel settled... )

RE: Distributor? I'm pretty sure it's the cam sensor... but then, I'm not sure. It goes loco-loco if I rev the car over 4000 rpm.

Point is moot now. The engine got stuck-up from sitting for months. Nobody loves the car enough to fix it, and I'm not rich enough to maintain both the 626 and the Lynx and my baby girl at the same time...

[basti08]

im quite lucky that i never had any problems with my suspension. heck my boots axle was even torn the day i acquired my 626, fortunately, it never developed to become my problem til the time i have to let go of it. same as with the distributor....no probs whatsoever. i did suffer from oil cooler problems though. one time my car overheated coz of my fault and the oil cooler was damage. that's the time i learned that, mid sizer unlike compacts, are equipped with oil coolers in which oil passes thru it, so that it enters the engine not that HOT. we canvassed at fordland before and they are charging us 15K for a surplus which is not yet readily available. oorder pa daw sila sa japan.

lucky for us that my dad is quite knowledgeable when it comes to cars, we just by passed the oil cooler and connected two hoses skipping the 'pass thru' the oil cooler. and voila! lucky it still function like before after we did that. the hoses requires some replacing ever after 6 or so months though.
but still a 30pesos hose every 6 months is better than shelling out 15K lump sum.

[OTEP]

Buyer's market talaga ang mid-size category. Vinj just got a Corona (ST171?).

I'm also helping a friend acquire one. Iba pa din ang executive M-sedan. Maintenance won't kill you if you know your way around cars.

I drive a 29 year old car. A 10 year old car is brand new to me already!

[rusem]

ok, so na validate rin yung sinabi sakin ng friend ko about 626. akala ko he was just being biased towards the car kasi nagkaroon siya dati nun. yung ride height nga unang napansin so sa 626, ang baba. yung sa friend ko, he was able to acquire one for only 130k... dati pa yun, around yr '02 pa. gulat nga ko eh. palit lang siya windshield because of a crack, then repainted it. color nya parang dark brown na parang rootbeer. astig! yun nga lang sumuko rin sya sa konsumo. he exchanged cars w/ his dad, and settled for a smaller car. bilib lang ko sa m-size sedans, dahil even w/o mods cool na sya in/out unlike ung compacts which of course can't be compared to midsize ones. like what otep said, "iba pa rin talaga". oh well, guess i'll have to stick to compact cars to be safe from financial woes.

[lolo pepe]

medyo OT: tataas kaya ang resale value kung kakabitan ng LPG system katulad ng kay sir*ghosthunter?

[oldblue]

LPG baka lalo pa bumaba yan kasi kinahoy na

[basti08]

sa lakas ng konsumo ng mid sizers, mas mahirap LPG kase di pa naman available elsewhere...selected fuel stations lang meron.