Buy a second hand.

[dr. d]

just keep in mind, po... it is a used car.
even if the previous owner religiously maintained it, it's still a used car.. subject to wear and tear..
as an experienced hand says, "be prepared, mind-wise and wallet-wise, to spend for repairs in the near foreseeable future".

now about that car..
good car, daw.. my kakilala says.. he had one.. 6-7 km/li in the city. otherwise, nothing dramatic. he sold it and got a pick-up for his farm.

happy driving.

[maki mi]

If it is from a 1st owner, then chances are it is in a relatively better condition than multiple owned cars. Most 1st hand owners sell cars to 2nd hand dealerships because they don't have the time to sell them on their own for a higher price, so price don't really matter to them. All they want is a fair price near FMV cause they simply don't need it anymore, rather than it needing costly repairs to maintain.

I myself had two experiences selling my 1st owned car to 2nd hand dealerships. First was a 97 Corolla XL sold to them at 180k when the going price was 210k, I had no time to tend to this. Second was a 02 Civic VTI-AT they wanted to buy at 180k but which I sold at 210k on my own, I had a lot of time now. So, is your car fairly priced? yes it is, coming from a 2nd hand dealer. Could you get one cheaper? yes if you have the time to find one from a 1st owner. How do you know if the car is fairly maintained after more than 10 years? you check the owner more than the car.

A common major issue of my Civic model is power steering replacement almost always appear at this age. The others are your usual engine gasket leaks and suspension consumables. The VTEC engine also has better fuel efficiency than the LXi.

[dr. d]

i am told.. second hand car dealers source some of their cars from...
CASAS!
yes! the cars traded in by new car buyers...!

[maki mi]

That's what they call a "fastbreak". Before I offered to sell my car to a second hand dealer, I had it appraised for trade in by the casa and they quoted 160k. This appraiser then "fastbreaks" my car to the 2nd hand dealer for 10-20k. Easy money eh?

[dct]

^ganun na nga. Almost all casa have trade in program. Pero di naman sila nagbebenta ng 2nd hand. May pinagbabagsakan sila

[gulaysk]

Thanks for taking the time to clear things up about why first owners choose to sell their units to secondhand car dealers rather than selling them on their own.

For quite some time I avoided going to car dealers and preferred to look at units from private sellers. Inisip ko kasi baka pera pera lang masyado kung sa dealer, kumbaga para lang mabilis makabenta. But now that we've seen a unit that we like from a dealer and after hearing your inputs, looks like we're leaning towards getting the unit.

One request: In layman's terms, aside from the better fuel efficiency with VTEC, can someone please enlighten me about the main difference between a VTEC and LXi engine?

[unmarked]

Thanks for taking the time to clear things up about why first owners choose to sell their units to secondhand car dealers rather than selling them on their own.

For quite some time I avoided going to car dealers and preferred to look at units from private sellers. Inisip ko kasi baka pera pera lang masyado kung sa dealer, kumbaga para lang mabilis makabenta. But now that we've seen a unit that we like from a dealer and after hearing your inputs, looks like we're leaning towards getting the unit.

One request: In layman's terms, aside from the better fuel efficiency with VTEC, can someone please enlighten me about the main difference between a VTEC and LXi engine?

Mas malakas na hatak sir. And yun nga, fuel efficiency.

[SkyFlakes88]

Afaik vti-1600 lxi-1500 engine

[maki mi]

One request: In layman's terms, aside from the better fuel efficiency with VTEC, can someone please enlighten me about the main difference between a VTEC and LXi engine?

http://tsikot.com/forums/honda-cars-...mension-68190/

[gulaysk]

Salamat sa link. I kinda get it now (though medyo too technical pa rin for me ang discussion, hehe).

Sharing here the olx link of the car that we're thinking of getting:

Honda civic 2003 matic For Sale Philippines - Find 2nd Hand (Used) Honda civic 2003 matic On OLX

If we have the time on Sunday, baka tingnan pa naman itong unit na ito before we finalize our decision:

2004 Honda Civic 1.6 VTI Prestine Condition - AT For Sale Philippines - Find 2nd Hand (Used) 2004 Honda Civic 1.6 VTI Prestine Condition - AT On OLX

[gulaysk]

Salamat sa link. I kinda get it now (though medyo too technical pa rin for me ang discussion, hehe).

Sharing here the olx link of the car that we're thinking of getting:

Honda civic 2003 matic For Sale Philippines - Find 2nd Hand (Used) Honda civic 2003 matic On OLX

If we have the time on Sunday, baka tingnan pa naman itong unit na ito before we finalize our decision:

2004 Honda Civic 1.6 VTI Prestine Condition - AT For Sale Philippines - Find 2nd Hand (Used) 2004 Honda Civic 1.6 VTI Prestine Condition - AT On OLX

[SkyFlakes88]

Seems that both cars are in good condition. If you could stretch you budget a little bit more i'd choose the 2004 vti but either will do.[emoji4]

[maki mi]

When I was selling mine, the 2nd hand dealer said he also bought a 05 civic for 160k from someone in plush village near ours. The same could be true here, so kung magustuhan mo yung vti, tawaran mo ng pareho sa lxi, malay mo ibigay.

Sa totoo lang, hindi madali magbenta ng second hand sa olx, madalas na tawag sayo from wanabee car traders, puro barat ang aabutin mo. So yung tawad mo na par sa lxi, disenteng tawad yun. Madalas na tawad sa ganyan 160k-180k, so baka matyempuhan mo na nainip na yan at ibigay sayo.

[gulaysk]

Salamat sa tips, mga sir! Yung LXi binibigay sa amin ng 220K cash payment. Subukan pa ulit namin tawaran. Tawaran din namin yung sa 2004 VTI.

Saw another ad from the same seller. Ok din ba ito? Between a 2006 Honda City and a 2004 Civic VTI, which is better?

2006 Honda City 1.3 IDSI 7-Speed Tiptronic 72tkms - AT For Sale Philippines - Find 2nd Hand (Used) 2006 Honda City 1.3 IDSI 7-Speed Tiptronic 72tkms - AT On OLX

[SkyFlakes88]

Sir better stick with the civic than a city a/t. May issue po kasi yun tranny nang model nang city na yan. I'd go for civics na lang in my opinion. If you could get the vti at around 230k that would be great already

[gulaysk]

Inputs noted. Will keep you guys posted once we've made up our mind and have made the purchase.

Hoping for a good deal from both sellers. Sana magbigay pa ng tawad. 😁

[gulaysk]

Hi guys. Just to give you an update, we were able to view the 2004 civic vti this morning. Unfortunately, hindi namin kasama kanina yung driver namin. But hubby was able to test drive the unit. Sabi niya makinis at smooth daw ang takbo at transmission. Wala yung dealer/seller kaya yung katiwala niya lang yung nakausap namin. But i was able to talk to the dealer on the phone. Sabi niya from P259K, hanggang P248K niya lang daw kayang ibigay sa amin.

We'll be coming back again tomorrow to view the unit, this time with our driver para maassess niya for us ang kotse.

Our budget is really at P230K only. The 2003 civic lxi is being offered to us at P220K. Sa tingin niyo ba sulit yung P248K for the 2004 civic vti? Medyo stretch na sa budget. But relatively makinis pa naman ang unit, mileage is at 115K.

To add, mas kampante rin kasi ako sa dealer ng civic lxi. Yung sa civic vti kasi, yung katiwala ng dealer lang ang nakusap/nakita namin ng personal. At hindi niya masagot yung mga tanong namin about the unit, history etc. I don't know if I'm just nitpicking o baka naman may bearing din yun sa pagpili which unit to get.

Kayo ba, what do you guys think?

[unmarked]

Pwedeng may legit reason ung seller, baka naman available sya next time. Pero if in doubt, trust your instincts na lang.

Risky din ung sagaran ng budget. Basta may emergency fund kayo if something goes wrong. Mag laan nalang kayo ng 5k para sa routine maintenance/detailing pag nakuha nyo na.

[dr. d]

seriously...
who would expect a katiwala to explain their wares well enough?
just to satisfy your curiosity, why not go visit a second time?
for all you know, his absence may have a perfectly good reason..

but if you are a big believer in "signs"...

[unmarked]

^^tama si sir. Madalas naman yan ngyayari baka may lakad si seller.

Ganito na lang. Go for a 2nd visit if pwede at di masyadong magastos. Tandaan mo ang binitawan nyang salita nung nag usap kayo kung consistent.

At kung ikaw ang gagamit. At least try the drivers seat. Okay ba ang vision/feel? Okay ba ang pwestuhan ng instruments sayo? Kung di ka confident i test drive at least yan makita mo.

Yung iba nag i-insist na puntahan sa bahay. Kasi gustong makita mag cold start ang makina. Kung pwede lang naman.