Factors to consider when buying a 2nd hand car

[the lark]

Hey guys,

I need your help. I am a newbie when it comes to cars. I never had a car before and right now I am planning to buy a 2nd hand car. What should I keep in mind when buying 2nd hand cars? My budget is between P100,000 to P150,000 only. I hope you can help me. Thanks a lot.;)

[ssaloon]

ae92 or if you're lucky, ae101 corollas ang mabibili mo... pwede rin mga lancer itlog

[pajerokid]

Factors.... Interior, Exterior and Engine. You should really scrutinize the car youre buying... once youve chosen a model of course.

[Ungas]

For starters, you could edit the size to smaller fonts. We are not that old enough yet to notice it.

Entry level models will be your choices, Lancer, Corolla or Sentra. Most of them should be in their 7-9 year of service. Don't bother to look at the odometer reading, most 2nd hand vehicles sold are probably tricked. Check for emmissions, this is probably the good source to see if engine is still fine. Interior wise, sterring wheel and shift knob check, shiny leather or plastics indicate excessive use. Driver seat inspection also is a give-away, you can easily compare if the seats have sagged comparing it with the passenger seat.

[orly_andico]

some hints pa (from a first-time, 2nd-hand car owner)

1) reserve 20k or 30k (better!) for repairs and maintenance; yes i know masakit ito pero walang magawa; if you max out your budget to buy a car tapos it's broken somewhere.. iyak ka when you can't use it

2) better to stick to cars with cheap parts, like toyotas and mitsu's

3) siguro mas OK ang carb-type na engine. EFI cars tend to have expensive diseases, pag nasira computer or some sensors, it will put you in the poorhouse (example: a new distributor/ignitor module for my car costs 25k)

i guess that means.. with 150k budget and put aside 20k for your repairs, you can get a nissan sentra series II, corolla 1989-1992 (AE92), maybe a mitsu lancer itlog (if you're really lucky..) or a boxtype mazda 323.

it really depends on what you need the car for -- transportation, or a "luho." para sakin luho yun eh, it costs more to maintain a car than take the taxi. pero kung transportation, and important to you, you have to choose reliability and cheap maintenance over everything else. translation: AE92 toyota corolla. :P

[mikline]

u may opt for an ae92 for that budget, but go for the GL 1.6 with all power

preferably from first owner, better yet from someone you know...

if u come into choosing bet 2 cars with all others things almost equal, consider din knowing kung san ang daily routine nung tsikot (home to office), as example kung along edsa na rough road, mas laspag yan compared sa dina drive along south super hi-way na smooth road...

goodluck sir

[the lark]

thanks a lot for the reply guys. i will take note of that. it will be basically for transportation with my family.

[orly_andico]

you could try checking buy and sell online:

http://www.buyandsellph.com/buysell/...search=corolla

it'll give you an idea of what the going price is. last i checked, in the 130k range all you really have are AE92 Corolla's, Mazda 323's (box-types), and Sentra Series II's. All are good choices in my opinion.

[the lark]

thank you again for your suggestions. it's giving me a clear picture of what to buy given my budget and purpose.

i have another question. my wife prefers that we buy an automatic car so that she can bring it herself when i am not around. she prefers automatic because it will not put much pressure on her left foot. she had polio by the way. is it advisable to have an automatic transmission car or the manual for a starter like me? what are the pros and cons? thanks again and more power.

[pajerokid]

It doesnt really matter. ATs consume a bit more fuel and puts more wear on the brakepads. But the convenience is worth it. YUn lang nga nakakabobo ang AT. Its always nice to know how to drive a stick-shift, but in your case an AT would be perfect.

[ssaloon]

if you're scouting for a 2nd hand matic car, that's another thing to watch out for... given your budget of 150k, and the options available to you (ae92 corolla being the most suggested) baka worn out na yung transmission or laspag na... another factor to watch out for in terms of maintenance/future repairs.

just my 2 cents. good luck bro!

[Chip]

like what all the peeps here have said,
medyo mahal kasi masiraan ng auto tranny and if youre looking into a 7-10 year old car na auto tranny malamang laspag na to. better have it checked before you decide.

IMO mas prefer ko auto tranny kasi nakakatamad talaga mag drive sa traffic hehehe

[orly_andico]

automatic tranny = scary
mahal masira

reminds me, there's this "old saying" regarding cars --
fast, cheap, reliable

pick any two. i think your situation is similar; it would be pretty hard to find an automatic car, in good condition, for 130k or less. :P

[baiskee]

don't pick AT for a 10yr old car. just take not what these pipol suggested..

pag drive mo muna si kumander..:D

happy hunting..

[jeff]

sir ano itsura nung ae92 na corolla?

[orly_andico]

this is an AE92 corolla:



while this is an AE101 corolla (a very good buy if you can find one in your price range..)



whilst this is an AE111 corolla, which is smaller than the AE101 and in my opinion is not a good buy..



and this is an AE121 corolla, locally known as the "altis." this is the current corolla model..

[orly_andico]

note though that the AE121 is moving upscale, with a 1.8L engine in the G model (and electric seats!) so it's really meant to replace the now-defunct Corona/Carina.

the food chain used to be Tercel --> Corolla --> Corona --> Camry but now the Tercel is gone, replaced by the Vios, the Corolla has moved upscale, displacing the Corona, and the upper-end model is now the Camry. in 1992 when the AE92 was king, the Camry wasn't even available here.

i guess the Philippines (kahit papaano) ay umuunlad na rin. maybe. i dunno...

[mgbrillo]

im a newby too.. got suggestions from people here at the forum.. considering your budget at kung newbie ka.. when possible, get a car from someone na kilala mo or, kung titingin ka ng car, better have someone na marunong kumilatis ng auto specially yung makina and be sure to test drive it para ma-feel mo kung may tama na ang auto. Happy hunting pare. Get a mistu :D or toyota, cheap at madali maghanap ng parts.

[FrankDrebin]

orly_andico,

Bakit po hindi maganda ang AE111?

[ssaloon]

ang liit ng AE111... kasi coming from the big body AE101, talagang complete redesign. yan ang aking opinyon lang po.