M-Class Sedans Circa 1998

[OTEP]

The earlier Galant (as well as the earlier Accord) would probably get some consideration since they are also 'big bodied' sedans. The smaller Altima and Corona probably won't. The Mazda was booted off the selection list early on. Due to style as far as I remember, more than anything else (I find nothing wrong with it, personal preference maybe?).

[orly_andico]

i've heard na sakitin daw yung suspension ng galant (daming ball joints). so given that, i'd go with the cefiro. of the choices ito na siguro yung pinaka-mura and the VQ20DE is an award-winning engine.

[basti08]

pero, in fairness... yung experience ko sa 626. hindi rin naman ganun kahirap maghanap ng parts. its just that the resale is so low, to the point na nakakahinayang mag-invest sa parts kapag nasira. case in point: who would want to buy a 25,000 pesos distributor or a 15,000 pesos oil cooler on a car that can be sold for just 100,000 pesos more or less?

but its performance and reliability is OK. A-plus for me. ;)

[orly_andico]

*basti,
sub-10k yung distributor if you buy it in the US (mga $180 new).

i was planning to buy one pero you got the point -- the resale value is so low na parang hindi na worth it.

[basti08]

prices quoted are from Fordland in Banawe if im not mistaken...nagtanong kame sa kanila dati eh. but, its not readily available kase kaya mas mahal order pa sila sa Japan tapos shipped pa dito. but i think, Mazda parts arent that much expensive kung sa presyo of the part "per se"...factors na nagpapamahal lang dito eh yung availability, di mashado nagstock mga auto supply kase konti lang ang may Mazda 626 dito and of course, yung reputation pa nga ng Mazda isnt that good prior to the zoomzoom models.

anyway, oil cooler lang naman nasira sa amen pero naging ok naman by bypassing it with a 60 or so petot worth of rubber hose.

[basti08]

btw, these are the interior of the prior 98 choices


Galant interior

Corona interior


altima interior



Accord interior


626 interior

[niky]

Agh... stop talking about 626 parts!!!

I agree, regarding cost versus cost of vehicle. If the 626 were my primary ride at the moment, I wouldn't hesitate to drop 25k on a brand new distributor (hey, I just dropped 46k on wheels and tires, plus another big sum of money on ball joints and bushings... damn f***** pothole!!!!... for the Lynx). But seeing as it's a back-up vehicle only, and not worth much if I actually sell it, I can't justify the cost to my wife. (Don't tell her about the wheels... )

The only car amongst the choices I haven't heard stories about or had firsthand experience of is the Camry... parang wala masyadong mayroong Camry na ganyan sa mga online groups.

[basti08]

no wonder... my lolo has a Camry. (but hey! he's into cars too);)

[OTEP]

We used to have the rayban Galant (7G?). The barest model, '94 SS M/T with cloth seats. A nice all around car. I liked the interior and the spacious rear seats (though it did not have a folding rear seat).

I've seen the Corona ST191 interior. I'm not sure if it was just due to age and neglect but I didn't really like it. The center stack screamed cheap-shiny-hard plastic! The climate control system wasn't very flexible either. No cabin heater and only two vent modes (face and defrost?).

[andrewsj]

Pre '98 I'll go with the VTi Accord. I'm a little biased as this was my first ride. The 2.2 vtec engine is fun to drive plus you get power driver's seat, leather seats, and generous legroom. For 98 and up, definitely a Cefiro. We have a pre-Elite model '98 and as long as you maintain it well, feed it 95 ron fuel, and keep a light foot on the accelerator, you'll love it. It's got lots of space, VQ engine is creamy smooth, and styling is classic. The 2.2 Camry would be a close 2nd and the 2.3 Vtec Accord 3rd. Sorry Mitsu, so many stories of broken trannies and terrible suspension on the Galants.