Buy a second hand.

**rey752** · December 7th, 2015 12:57 AM

Gulaysk,with your budget if you can drive manual sana Honda City Idsi is a best buy.city can give you a better figure in the fuel consumption aspect.I know someone na naka civic na Dimension.ang dami ng pinalitan (power steering pump,ac compressor,shock absorbers) Pero di ganong gamit ung kanya kase yung first owner coding car lang Yon.

**jut703** · December 7th, 2015 01:33 AM

Originally Posted by 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.

5k is not enough to get a secondhand car in great running condition. I've spent over 30k to get my 2004 Mazda 3 to run as well as my 2015 Altis, and I'm not even done yet.

If you just want a so-so car that runs well enough to get you around the city, a budget of around 20k will do. If you want a car with absolutely no rattles, with performance that's as good as it was when it was new, you'll be spending 30-50k even on a relatively fresh unit.

It's hard to find secondhand sellers that are car enthusiasts or even just ordinary owners who don't scrimp on maintenance. Especially for decade-old cars, it's quite rare to find first owners. Even with decent used car dealers, they will only fix the car up to the point that it doesn't have any glaring issues upon testing, but I doubt they've run the car to its limits to really bring out any problems.

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**dr. d** · December 7th, 2015 01:37 AM

Originally Posted by jut703

5k is not enough to get a secondhand car in great running condition. I've spent over 30k to get my 2004 Mazda 3 to run as well as my 2015 Altis, and I'm not even done yet.

If you just want a so-so car that runs well enough to get you around the city, a budget of around 20k will do. If you want a car with absolutely no rattles, with performance that's as good as it was when it was new, you'll be spending 30-50k even on a relatively fresh unit.

It's hard to find secondhand sellers that are car enthusiasts or even just ordinary owners who don't scrimp on maintenance. Especially for decade-old cars, it's quite rare to find first owners. Even with decent used car dealers, they will only fix the car up to the point that it doesn't have any glaring issues upon testing, but I doubt they've run the car to its limits to really bring out any problems.

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yup!
sa front suspension pa lang, kung mamalasin, ubos na ang 5K.
baka nga sa one side pa lang yan..

**unmarked** · December 7th, 2015 02:12 AM

Jan na papasok emergency fund ni madam. But dont let the costs turn you off. Be ready lang sa mga costs na sinasabi nila mas experienced.

**gulaysk** · December 7th, 2015 04:32 AM

The seller is based in Las Pinas and the katiwala is the one who deals with the potential buyers. May several cars din kasi na binebenta dun sa pinuntahan naming bahay. Dun nakagarahe. Tinanong ko si katiwala kung kailan kaya namin pwedeng makausap nang personal si seller, sabi niya hindi niya lang daw alam kasi nga lagi raw nasa Las Pinas yun. Seems kinda shady, diba?

From the get-go, medyo na-turn off na ako sa seller ng pangalawang unit. Katext ko lang kasi nung friday at kagabi to tell him na darating kami this morning at kung anong oras. This morning nagtext ako na papunta na kami, hindi na nagreply. Pagdating namin doon, hindi alam ng katiwala na may darating pala to view the car. Hindi raw nagsabi sa kanya si dealer kaya medyo matagal pa bago kami pinapasok.

I guess ang issue ko lang naman with the seller, parang may pakiramdam lang ako na may pagkanegligent siya. At yun nga, may pagkashady.

During the test drive naman, I was at the front seat. Maganda nga ang takbo at wala ka namang maririnig/mararamdaman na kalampag.

About driving a manual, I really prefer sticking to AT nalang. Hirap kasi talaga ako magtimpla sa manual. Pakiramdam ko AT nalang ang pag-asa ko para makapagmaneho lol.

Thanks for reminding me to keep in mind that we need to set aside a certain budget for future repairs. Mukha ngang stretching the budget to P248K might be risking it.

We may still go back tomorrow with the driver just to hear his assessment/evaluation of the car. Para lang din sa peace of mind namin. Haha. Just to validate our decision to get the first unit instead. Well at least that's what we're leaning towards getting.

**SkyFlakes88** · December 7th, 2015 07:53 AM

Actually you don't need the extra power of the vti for your daily duties. Which car did you feel more comfortable to drive and more at ease? Observe how the engine purrs in idling and on the road when you give it a kick. Any noises in the engine/suspension or in the cabin could help you decide. Your Gut feel comes into play. Good luck![emoji106]

**maki mi** · December 7th, 2015 09:06 AM

Kapos talaga ang 5k, maski sa standard service ng bagong bili na 2nd hand. Para sakin kasi, automatic na pagbili mo ng 2nd hand, replace timing belt and water pump ka plus replace all fluids, check and replace belts pa.

**gulaysk** · December 7th, 2015 07:12 PM

Thanks for all the help, guys. We finally decided to get the lxi instead of the vti. We didn't push through na with the viewing this afternoon. Mabigat na rin kasi to shell out almost 20K more than our set budget and we still have to set aside some moolah for future repairs/replacements. We also thought about what Skyflakes said and agreed that lxi would be enough for our city driving needs.

Also, I felt more comfortable dealing with the seller of the lxi unit. I don't believe in signs but I do believe in paying heed to your gut feel. And mas at ease ako with the lxi seller.

Now we'll be meeting up with the seller sa mall tomorrow then we go to their office and pay in cash. Is this usual in transactions like these? We preferred sana bank transfer and this was what we initially agreed upon but we requested to have our reservation extended until today (hanggang kahapon lang dapat) and his assistant said cash nalang daw kapag ganoon.

**dcph172** · December 7th, 2015 07:22 PM

Dont meet in mall anymore. Just go straight to the office and pay there.

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**SkyFlakes88** · December 7th, 2015 07:37 PM

Originally Posted by gulaysk

Thanks for all the help, guys. We finally decided to get the lxi instead of the vti. We didn't push through na with the viewing this afternoon. Mabigat na rin kasi to shell out almost 20K more than our set budget and we still have to set aside some moolah for future repairs/replacements. We also thought about what Skyflakes said and agreed that lxi would be enough for our city driving needs.

Also, I felt more comfortable dealing with the seller of the lxi unit. I don't believe in signs but I do believe in paying heed to your gut feel. And mas at ease ako with the lxi seller.

Now we'll be meeting up with the seller sa mall tomorrow then we go to their office and pay in cash. Is this usual in transactions like these? We preferred sana bank transfer and this was what we initially agreed upon but we requested to have our reservation extended until today (hanggang kahapon lang dapat) and his assistant said cash nalang daw kapag ganoon.

Good choice sir! Enjoy your new ride and drive safely![emoji106][emoji4]