buying a 2nd hand car Civic 03, Lancer 03, MR2

[hanns76]

Hi there experts, im new to cars came from a bigbike. i really dont know much of cars, im planning to buy a 2nd hand car from sulit.com, these are my options

- Honda civic 2003 VTIs A/T
- Honda civic 2003 VTI M/T
- Honda civic 2003 LXI M/T

- Lancer 2003 MX

- Toyota MR2 1995 up converted or Orig LHD

my budget is around 300-350k. im really a newbie on cars really want to know the basic information about this models.

im sure the MR2 is just for style not really sure about the maintenance.

and about the civic's and Lancer. which is best in terms of

Fuel,
monthly maintenance,
availablity of parts,
and what are the things to look or know before buying the unit (hope not a victim of ondoy).

also is it safe to buy cars at sulit.com?

thanks for your will be advices, will highly appreciate it. will be using the car mainly in metro and sometimes out of town like tagatay or subic.

[basti08]

Since you are still considering couple of compacts. I assume it'll be your only car. I suggest you scrap the MR2 out of your list.

Between the two, im partial with the Civic.

[hanns76]

Thanks sir for the quick reply, by the way, anyreason for the civic vote?

also ditch the MR2's, why po any issues with MR's? like ko kasi yun style niya.

thanks for your additional input sir

[basti08]

sa akin kasi, kapag 1st car, dapat all rounder but it's just me. it is still all up to your preferrence, after all it is your money.

a sedan is a good errands hopper, may also be modified to perform like a sporty car, may be used as a family car.

im partial to the Civic, primarily because it has a superiorly performing engine. it is fast and fuel efficient. feels more solid inside too than the Lancer.

[hanns76]

thanks sir,

by the way just read some topic about buying second hand cars, they say sentra has that myth of having a low resale value? kaya i didnt put it in my list.

kung harley lang yan for sure i can distinguish if its a good or a bad one hehehe. thanks again sir

[speed unlimited]

Cruiser pala hilig mong bike. Mas pabor nga sa mga gusto ng second hand car dahil mas mura nila itong mabibili at reliable pa at malakas aircon pwedeng panlaban sa matagalang traffic at init ng panahon. Goodluck na lang sa pipilin mong sasakyan.

[niky]

thanks sir,

by the way just read some topic about buying second hand cars, they say sentra has that myth of having a low resale value? kaya i didnt put it in my list.

kung harley lang yan for sure i can distinguish if its a good or a bad one hehehe. thanks again sir

The Sentra does have low resale... which means you can get a newer one within your budget. Same with the Lynx.... 350 is enough to get you a top-of-the-line RS with a 2 liter engine and a sunroof.

[dale323]

The Sentra does have low resale... which means you can get a newer one within your budget. Same with the Lynx.... 350 is enough to get you a top-of-the-line RS with a 2 liter engine and a sunroof.

+ 1 with the RS. Lancer sana kaya lang...






maganda rin ang RS.

[tidus1203]

Civic ako in this one for reasons of reliability over the Lancer and for reasons of practicality over the M2...

[renzo_d10]

Between your choices ....

Honda Civic VTI-s ako. Top of the line kasi eh. Why go to the level of the LXi when you can afford the VTIs ? :hihihi:

Lancer 03, forget it. Pangit.

MR2, not worth the time. Marami pa hassle.

Ford RS, if you're considering this ... dito ako. Hehe, maganda eh.

[hanns76]

Thanks for the input guys,

*type 100 - Sir thanks for the input MR2's, im really considering na if ever i cant find a good civic or lancer.

*niki, ben_david, dale - mga sirs mas linient po ako sa MT talga compare sa AT, dati kasi may old school na galant 76 erpat ko, sanay naman po ako sa MT, mas okay po ba imaintain ang MT compare sa AT? saka meron po bang MT na 2003 lancer ano po model yun? if ever kasi civic LXI lang po ang maraming MT sa 2nd hand market.

thanks po ulit mga gurus

[niky]

Whether an MT is cheaper to maintain will depend on the condition of the MT you're buying. If the previous driver was ham-fisted and abused the car, you could be looking at a worn clutch, broken synchros or stripped gears... not cheap to fix... but not as heartbreakingly difficult as rebuilding an AT.

[dale323]

* hanns76: If you're talking about Cedia, there are 2 (or 3) variants with MT. GLX, GL and GT. May lumabas na GL but i really don't know the difference with GLX. GLX is a 1.6 M/T while GT is 4G63NA (2.0) M/T.

[niky]

The GT is nice. Fully loaded, with spoiler, bodykit, 16" mags, sporty-looking interior with supportive and soft buckets (better than the Evo of the same time), handles nicely, rides softly and sounds great.

But the transmission sucks badly... the ultra-ultra-long gearing make it slow in 1st and 2nd gear. (This is one of the only AT cars I've driven that bogs on take off in first gear, because it's too long). The MX CVT performs better, but I'm wary about maintenance costs on CVTs.

[dale323]

*Sir Niky, I think meron din GT na M/T. Though limited lang ang lumabas.

[basti08]

Within the TS' budget. I think an 04-05 Lancer GLS MT might fit his needs. This one has ABS and driver's airbag and 4 wheel disc brakes. Im not aware that the GT had a manual. The MX is all CVT and i thought the GT and GSR were all 4AT.

The 03 VTI is fine but lacks airbags, ABS and 4 wheel discs that the VTI-S have.

I think for the budget, you might be able to find an 05-06 Sentra GS, the topline 1.6L of Sentras. It has driver's airbag, ABS, 4 disc, auto climate control and leather interior. Most are sold with bodykits, too(i-Style variant look), which includes wraparound skirts, smoked headlamps, ducktail spoiler, side mirror repeaters etc.

like this

[niky]

Do note: You can get a very new Lynx Ghia MT within the budget... and have lots left over. Sure, the 1.6 isn't the most economical there is, but with a 100k in change from 350k, that's still a saving over the others. It's fully loaded, with a 6-disc changer, leather, a sunroof, fog-lights and a rear windowshade. And the rear seat is better than the Sentra or Lancer (opinion only on the Lancer... for the Sentra, I'm pretty sure...)

Still... whatever you buy, it will come down to personal preference on looks, kit, and the overall condition of the actual unit you're going to buy... because even the best car in the Universe can be a lemon secondhand if the previous owner treated it badly.

*Sir Niky, I think meron din GT na M/T. Though limited lang ang lumabas.

Really? when it first came out, their price list and brochure only showed the AT. They should have advertised the MT if so. Sayang. I really liked the car, but the 4AT is just a major turn-off.