Thinking of Buying My First Car - Need HELP

[pearljam]

Hi! I'm thinking of buying my first car. I'm a first time driver (have yet to go to driving school) and will be getting it through the car facility program of my company. The limit is P660k and if I'm getting a unit na beyond that ang price, max. contribution ko is an additional P120k, but let's please limit the budget to P700k.

Considerations are the ff:
Budget - P700k max (sana)
Driver - first time, lady driver
Tranny - super preferably A/T
Passengers - most of the time i'll be alone but would bring my mom & 2 siblings with me from time to time
Usual route - around Metro Manila (lagi kasi ginagabi from the office), and going home to the province (via nlex/sctex) monthly


My Options:
1. brand new Nissan Sentra 1.3 GX A/T
PRO: well within budget, A/T pa and it has a bigger body (good for my not so petite family :D); i think i prefer the more classic look
CON: my only worry is baka bitin sa power, but it's not like kaya ko magpatakbo ng mabilis so baka ok na din? and the negative perception of the public for Nissan

2. Honday City, ung base model na 1.3 M/T
PRO: well, honda cia... and porma? haha! plus the other features na wala dun sa sentra
CON: not sure din, kasi mukha ciang transformer (nyarks). i think after a year magsasawa ako sa look nia. i'm compromising my high preference for a/t

3. Second hand Civic a/t (around 2006 or 2007)
PRO: well, it's a Honda... and Civic na cia...
CON: 2nd hand, mejo kinakabahan ako kasi first time lady driver at mejo paranoid ako na itirik ako ng isang 2nd hand unit


Di ko po talaga maciadong trip ang Vios kasi ang dami na nia sa daan (and the City malapit na din maging ganun).


So.. SHOULD I GO FOR BRAND NEW OR 2ND HAND? WHAT UNIT WILL BE GOOD FOR ME?

THANKS IN ADVANCE! APPRECIATE YOUR FEEDBACK.

Check out the lancer gls (ganda ng CVT) and sentra (nkapromo sila ngaun) and since ur a 1st time driver brand new ka na lang para hassle-free.

[ghosthunter]

Check out the lancer gls (ganda ng CVT) and sentra (nkapromo sila ngaun) and since ur a 1st time driver brand new ka na lang para hassle-free.

The TS has already mentioned of a budget limit of around P700K.

The Lancer GLS is clearly out of the budget.

[olm093]

How about a Hyundai Accent na diesel?

sir, puro m/t po kasi ung accent eh... nag consider lang po ako nung city kasi ang gwapo at ung m/t lang ang nasa price range ko kaya medyo pinag isipan ko un. thanks for the suggestion din po. i heard super tipid din sa gas ang accent. sana lang talaga may a/t na.

[olm093]

The Nissan Sentra is a great car even if the styling hasn't changed for over five years. The 1.3L engine is more than enough to accelerate the Sentra to expressway speeds, it might be a bit slow if it's fully loaded but still fast enough if you push the engine a bit.

The A/T is smooth in shifting.

Exterior styling is kinda bland for me but it works for others. Interior is spacious, great for five people of the normal adult size (not malnurished adults standards that some car companies used to rate some of their vehicles). A/C is cold and capable of cooling the interior even on the hottest of summer days.

As for the negative perception of Nissan, which one are you referring to?

thanks, sir, for the inputs on the sentra. Top choice ko talaga cia ngayon, kasi although hindi cia kasing head-turner ng City, eh tama lang cia for my needs, so why spend more di ba? The sentra's humble features and reasonable price appeals to my more practical side. Youth rage lang talaga siguro kaya gusto ko ung City.

Regarding po dun sa negative perception eh ito po ang concerns (and my stand on them):
1. LOW RESALE VALUE - major kontra ito ni mother. pero if to begin with, mura ko naman nabili so i think quits lang naman
2. UNRELIABLE "daw" - versus say, a toyota or honda. totoo po ba? pero wala naman po ako plano i-karera cia sa nlex. But I do need an engine that will give me decent performance and lifetime.
3. just being a "NISSAN" gives some people the creeps. I remember a friend, who's a mechanical engr., react this way when i said i'm considering a sentra >> << ayun, parang natakot ako sa reaction nia. He told me to go for Toyota or Honda na lang. but i think such a reaction doesn't give justice to the sentra. Please correct me, if i'm wrong.
4. UNDERPOWERED "daw" - maybe partly true, but does it matter that much considering my usual route / trips? kaya naman daw 'to umakyat ng baguio, pero ganun ba talaga cia ka-"underpowered"?

TIA!

[olm093]

Mga Sir! Salamat sa lahat ng inputs & comments. Eto po pala ang updates on my quest for the first car.

On the Sentra, balita eh may lalabas daw na bago pero mukhang walang 1.3 variant dun sa bago, so either retain ung existing natin or phase out (sana retain). Nagrequest po ako for a quote for the 1.3 a/t and requested for these to be initially included in the quote:

3M tint (instead of the standard free tint)
fog lamps
power mirrors


I think the fog lamps and power mirrors should make it more user-friendly...

SIR RENZO, ung suggested nio po na model ng vios, bakit di ko makita sa site ng toyota? ang meron lang po for E model ay m/t * 670k. How much po ung suggested nio and anong specs? thanks so much!

[zaldytor]

with that budget, always look on the long term. for me I prefer the toyota avanza 1.5G automatic. pang baha, pang biyahe at excursion, pang maramihan (can take up to 9 passengers), pang sport pa dahil looks nya mini SUV.

[lancy09]

You might consider Lancer GLS. Big body and 1.6 AT
I got it at 693k plus 30k for insurance, lto etc.
4 disck brake na sya, dual airbag, leather-wrapped steering wheel.
Most comment dito e old model na. Pero maganda pa rin naman.

[renzo_d10]

SIR RENZO, ung suggested nio po na model ng vios, bakit di ko makita sa site ng toyota? ang meron lang po for E model ay m/t * 670k. How much po ung suggested nio and anong specs? thanks so much!

Oops. My bad po. I stand corrected.

I was thinking of the G then. Yup, wala po palang A/T ang vios E. But, it is surely full of amenities. ;)

One downside on it tho'. Hindi lang power yung mirrors niya.

And, I didn't know that 670k na pala ang Vios E. Tingin ko last year 664k lang.

[tidus1203]

Yaris na lang! ALL POWER and just slightly more expensive than a Vios E and with a better engine and optitron gauges...

[james00112233]

baka malito na si TS sa pagpili ng bibilin nyang car sa dami ng mga sina-suggest na mga car..
atleast malalaman nya yung mga advantages at disadvantages ng bawat isa. hope na makapili na sya.