Help a guy choose his first car.

[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.