Help a guy choose his first car.

[kablitz]

Hi guys. I've been lurking around this forum for some time to learn a bit about cars. I've decided to buy a car around March next year as a birthday present for myself but I haven't decided yet what car to buy. Hopefully, you guys can help me with this.

Some info to consider:
- I can shell out about 250k as initial DP.
- I can pay 15k+ for the monthly ng hindi tinitipid ang sarili ko for other expenses.
- Right now, my office is near my place (20php jeepney fare) so I will probably only use the car pag may date or lakad ako. So, about twice a week lang.

First of all, for my first car, should I get a brand new one? or would a second hand, well-maintained car suffice? What would you do in my place?

My cousin, not really a car expert, recommends a brand new Honda City since it sounds just right on my budget and Honda's a reliable brand. If I had more money, I would get a Lancer EX for the badass look. The new Ford Fiesta's looks good too and the price seems to be right up my alley.

Guys, help this guy make the right choice. Thanks.

[ghosthunter]

You can opt to buy a two or three year old used car which would give you the best value because you by-passed the initial depreciation of the car. But that still means you still need to shell out a big chunk of change.

Buying a new car, you can have it financed although you'll end up paying more because of the interest.

Personally, I would suggest the Honda Jazz 1.5L AT which gives great value for money and flexible interior means you can do more with the car aside from just carrying people around. Alternative is the Mazda2 1.5L AT Hatchback which is cheaper by around P50K (based on SRP).

[GTS925]

Nag inquire ako last week. Accent M/T. 200K DP, 15K ang monthly for 3 years.

[Retz]

Go for Altis.

[renzo_d10]

Buying a 2nd hand vehicle is always risky, however if you have a friend or a colleague that can be trusted when it comes to purchasing cars then looking at the used market would not be a risky thing to do. Also, your choices are plentiful compared to brand new vehicles wherein your choices are limited to sub-compacts/compacts only.

Assessing your budget, you can possibly get hold of big SUVs such as the Fortuner ( case-to-case basis ) or to older FM Pajeros, LC80 or even the 1st generation Montero.

You can also somehow get hold of a 2004-2005 Toyota Camry or even a Honda Accord. Those said vehicles guzzle somehow a bit more than expected but then, those cars are really worth the buck. Image-wise and comfort-wise. And besides, you wouldn't use these vehicles often, so fuel issues wouldn't be really a big problem. Plus pogi points pa ito sa ka-date mo. ;)

[Retz]

Hi guys. I've been lurking around this forum for some time to learn a bit about cars. I've decided to buy a car around March next year as a birthday present for myself but I haven't decided yet what car to buy. Hopefully, you guys can help me with this.

Some info to consider:
- I can shell out about 250k as initial DP.
- I can pay 15k+ for the monthly ng hindi tinitipid ang sarili ko for other expenses.
- Right now, my office is near my place (20php jeepney fare) so I will probably only use the car pag may date or lakad ako. So, about twice a week lang.

First of all, for my first car, should I get a brand new one? or would a second hand, well-maintained car suffice? What would you do in my place?

My cousin, not really a car expert, recommends a brand new Honda City since it sounds just right on my budget and Honda's a reliable brand. If I had more money, I would get a Lancer EX for the badass look. The new Ford Fiesta's looks good too and the price seems to be right up my alley.

Guys, help this guy make the right choice. Thanks.

do you consider buying a second hand mpv or suv perhaps?

[dr. d]

i was "lucky". i didn't have enough cash, and so opted for a used car.
boy, was i lucky! i got an ex-taxi! thru sheer grit, i repaired it to the best of my wallet's ability, and learned quite a lot about cars in the process! i should have stuck to two-doors!
my advise to you, is to keep a lookout around for real friends or relatives who wish to upgrade and are selling their old but well-maintained cars. you will probably save yourself some headaches there.
but if you are decided on brand new, i think every other brand and model will have a spokesman around here. i won't add to your confusion. just remember that a one-year old car is just a smidgen less reliable than a brand new one, minus the horrendous first year's depreciation.
and probably my most valuable advice: DON'T RUSH! it's a buyers' market out there! there are more sellers out there than there are buyers.

[GTi]

For the best bang for the buck brand new car you can consider the Accent (588k 1.4M/T base, 688k 1.4A/T + airbag + ABS/EBD, 808k 1.6GLS top of the line). For a 2nd hand car, how much is the total amount that you can shell out?

Take note that you'd be paying a lot more in financing than you would when buying in cash. And I'm emphasizing on the A LOT here.

Since you'd be using the car only seldomly, and you're after porma, you may want to get a 2nd hand Cefiro. Most feature packed car you can get for your money. Napakaporma niyan lalo na after sinalpak mo ng malaking rims. You can get a 2nd gen Cefiro 2.0V6 (165hp) for just 300+k to 400+k, and 3.0V6 (220hp) for 400+k to 500+k. Now the engine in the 3.0V6 is a real gem... the VQ30DE has spent ten consecutive years in Ward's Ten Best Engines List!

[renzo_d10]

^ But it gulps gas too ..... a lot.

[Verbl Kint]

How much do you know about cars (upkeep and maintenance)?

[GTi]

^ But it gulps gas too ..... a lot.

Well, he said he will only use it around twice a week on average. Which means its a weekend car of sorts. So I'd make the most out of it and get the most my money can buy. Imagine for just 400+ to 500+k and you're driving a luxurious and fast car. One that can smoke those tweaked out FD's and Lancer EX's and give a Subaru Forester a run for its money.

Siguro kung weekend car lang, a full tank may last a month or more! Kahit sabihin natin that it gets 5-6km/L city for the 3.0V6 and around 6-6.5km/L for the 2.0V6. And then there's the option of the Accord 3.0V6. They say its actually pretty fuel efficient for a 3.0V6, totoo ba? For around 500+ to 700+k you get a 240hp dragster with most, if not all of the creature features found in the Cefiro 300EX and a sportier performance and image. Only thing negative against it for your purpose that I can think about is the costlier parts and maintenance and a higher purchase price. But since you're buying yourself a gift, might as well be nicer to yourself eh?

[vinj]

How much do you know about cars (upkeep and maintenance)?

Exactly! And how much time do you have for upkeep and maintenance?

I'd still go with buying a brand new vehicle or at the most, a used vehicle that's a year or two at the most. I've owned a good number of used cars on the side and as more time is channeled to work and family, the less time i have for service, repairs and maintenance, the better. That's why now i really go for brand new since for the first three years or so (with my use), it's really only regular service, keeping it detailed and changing/upgrading whatever i want.

* the Cefiro, I've owned one before(we bought it brand new and kept it for 6 years) and helped friends who bought second hand units. Its a very good car for its time but can be one big headache if you get one that hasn't been maintained properly or has overheated. Want to change the water pump? You have to drop the engine since its an internal water pump (the OEM part itself is cheap but the labor to replace it will jack up costs). Leaks? The Nissan CASA i frequented before always had two or three units at any given time, having its gaskets changed after around 70,000kms to 80,000kms (yes, with the engine dropped).

Personally, i'd go with what GH is suggesting. The Jazz is a practical car, fun to use, efficient and can be used for "porma" purposes just as well.

Don't forget to factor in insurance and service costs into the equation just as well.

[1997]

Ganoon din ako before 2nd hand or brand new na installment... Then I decided to buy used car na lang.. so far no regrets naman as long as you do your research... Instead of using the money for DP, Binili ko na lang ng used 1996 Vti... Ang mahirap lang sa pag bili ng used car is yung mag hanap ng maayos at well maintained... Pero if you don't know much about cars and you don't have time to do your research buy Brand New na.. yun lang hindi mo rin masusulit kasi 2 times a week mo lang magagamit...

Advantage sa 2nd hand vehicle, base on my experience, mababa ang depreiciation cost mo.. hehehe... ako halos wala kasi pag binenta ko yung Vti ko pati yung maintenance ko pwede ko idagdag sa selling price.. ang lost ko is yung cost of money.. pero may kotse naman ako nagagamit... hehehe

[blacksun25]

di sulit kung brand new bibilhin ni TS tapos twice a week lang gagamitin. if i were in his shoes, i'd rather keep the money na lang or invest it somewhere else like real estate..

now kung gusto mo talaga magka-kotse, go for a second hand car. i'm sure a lot of tsikoteers here would gladly give you advise when you're looking for a unit. you can start of sa mga online classified ads at least may picture na naka-post then you can ask feedback dito sa forums kung may natipuan ka. tiyagaan lang yan sa paghahanap pero i'm sure may makukuha kang second hand na maganda ang kundisyon. you can start by screening only cars that were first-owned (sa owner nakapangalan yung OR-CR). most likely di pa laspag yung kotse pag first-owned. good luck!

[kablitz]

Thanks for all the suggestions.

I have ZERO knowledge about car upkeep and maintenance. My dad owns a pre-owned Corolla so I think I can get advice from him when needed (but he's not really a car expert, just a casual car owner). I'd rather not have too much headaches so I'd rather have a brand new car or a really well maintained second hand one.

If I am to consider a second hand car, maybe I can shell out about 350k-400k if I could borrow some money from my family. But then, I would only buy from REALLY, REALLY trusted people. I am a techie and I always buy brand new parts/gadgets. I'm a bit paranoid of second hand items..xD

Also, the car is probably not going to be a weekend-only car for the rest of my life (I might change jobs you know) so, it would be better if the the car doesn't eat up too much gas.

I'll take a look at the models you suggested and I'll also ask around friends who might be selling their cars. If something catches my eye, I'll get back to you guys. Thanks!

[dr. d]

if i were to buy a car, brand new or second hand, i'd buy it cash. of course, i'd have to choose that car that will fit the budget.. that way, i wouldn't have to worry about utangs.
at 250K, you can probably get a used civic or city, corolla, sentra or lancer.. the cars are popular and there should be no problem looking for someone to fix it if it has problems. i'd keep the 100K for repairs. since it's a used car, expect repair bills. only brand new cars are expected to have no repair bills for the first few years.
everybody's dying for a jazz, but it's simply too expensive, if you ask me..

[cripple_rooster]

Either a Sentra 1.6 or a Corolla are good options.