Help in buying a 2nd hand car, 300-400k

**skittles17** · November 8th, 2010 07:49 PM

Hi guys,

I'm quite new here and would like to ask for some advice in buying a 2nd hand car. It will be used daily to and from school (around 15km roundtrip) and would most of the time seat one or two persons only. My main concern is that the car should be able to last for 5-8 years with relatively no headaches on my part. Of course, FC is also a concern as well having enough legroom on the driver's seat since I'm quite tall. I'm not overly concerned with the transmission as I can drive both M/T and A/T.

I'm considering a 2003 Vios 1.5g A/T which is being sold for 300k to me by my friend. I'm quite sure that the car is in good condition and already know of the things that need some fixing, overall, the car is immediately usable. I'm just concerned that this, being a 7 year old car would start having problems in the near future.

My question is if I should buy this car without worries since I can be sure of the car's true condition (and if anyone can vouch for Toyota's reliability) or if I should try to consider some other models?

Thank you in advance for all the help.

**ghosthunter** · November 8th, 2010 10:06 PM

You can try looking at the 2008 Nissan Sentra 1.3L GX.

Its priced at around P350K to P400K. Relatively bigger car with spacious interior. The small engine is not the most powerful but it will give you good fuel economy if you drive it conservatively.

This car is still being sold as "new" so parts will not be a problem for a long time.

And given its still being sold "new", buying a used 2008 Sentra will look like you bought a "new" car.

My brother has a Sentra GX and has no problems with it so far except for the worn out tires. Just regular tune ups. It's even converted to Auto-LPG for even better fuel savings.

**GTi** · November 9th, 2010 12:32 AM

The Vios is a good car. Its reliable, moderately quick and fuel efficient, but that's just about it. Might you also consider a 2003 Honda City Type-Z VTEC. That engine will give you more smiles in your face than the Vios and I also like its design more, specifically the front and rear portions. If you see its rear far off at night, you'd think it is some luxury car you don't know of. Its cheaper as well as it can be had for less than 300k. But since your budget ceiling is 400k, the Civic 1.6VTi-S is also within your budget. This one's got a 130hp VTEC3 engine that even new 1.6 engines cannot match. As for the Sentra, the 1.6 liter variant is well within your budget as well, but what is a Sentra compared to a Civic?