Sonata Vs. Vectra [and then some]

[Reich]

thanks a lot guys! i surfed the forum about vectras, grabe nalulula ako sa cost ng maintenance! and to think na european sya at mukang durable at maganda ang features...

anyways, im seriously considering getting the sonata na lang... i really need a larger space... sabi ng kaswap ko the parts are not hard to find and cheap... and for a 2.0, parang asa 1.8 lang daw ang consumption (i have doubts on this one though)...

the downside is, i have to find replacements for interior (mejo naluma na kasi), and mejo mataas na din mileage...

so, what should i expect? any sonata owners here who could give based on experience testimony? any tsikoteer who can give an objective review?

very much appreciated lahat ng comments nyo. maraming salamat

[pixelparadigm]

If there's such thing as an Irmscher Vectra being sold here... then that's the answer.

[orly_andico]

"Brand New Kia Picanto M/T vs. 1998 Opel Vectra Irmscher Edition A/T"
http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showt...rmscher+vectra

am not so sure about the sonata but it can't be worse than the vectra maintenance-wise (in terms of cost). mas sikat talaga yung vectra, but you might end up not being able to afford maintaining it.

[mazdamazda]

magkano ba ang budget mo?

kung around 250K, mag galant 7G ka na lang.

[funky_monkey]

the question is: are you ready for maintenance costs of a 2 liter car? bottom line is you're buying a car thats more than 5 years old and its sure to have maintenance costs. If you get the "higher class" vehicle, you'll definitely have higher cost for parts, etc. compared to a "lower class" car.

[Reich]

sir mazdamazda, cguro in that range oo... but im looking kasi to swap na lang wid my car instead of buying para ndi nako gumastos

sir orly, nakakatakot kasi, from all the horror stories na nabasa ko about the vectra

[funky_monkey]

maybe compute a "total cost" because i think what you're looking at now is you can swap out your car for a bigger one and that's that.

[niky]

About Lynx ATs: There is that problem, and I sympathize with edl100... I know we've talked about the fragility of old Mazda/Ford ATs... one of the reasons why both my 626 and Ford Lynx are MT.

But any AT at that age is suspect. I once drove a 96 Accord that couldn't go past 80 km/h and guzzled gas like no tomorrow... whoops, there goes that legendary reliability.

Older MTs are a better choice... slipping clutch, so what? That'll cost you around 9k... much less than the cost of buying a new/surplus AT.

But any midsizer will cost you much more in terms of maintenance than the City. You'll need to set aside 25 - 50k pesos for problems you don't initially see.

With my 626, I've had to replace hoses, a water pump, a head gasket and a steering assembly (catastrophic gasket failure... di makuha sa repair kit). I'm one of the lucky ones... everything I've fixed only had to be fixed once.

I've seen an Altima sit at the casa for 3 months because the owner didn't have the moolah to buy the electronics part needed to fix it. A friend with an old Galant laments the number of times he's had to fix the front ball joints... another sold his after fixing everything (kawawa naman, he spent all that money and never thought to enjoy the car while it was running good)... That Accord? Around 50k in repairs spent, then sold...

...for a 99 City. How things come around. :lol:

I digress... not all old midsize cars are a maintenance headache, but on your apparent budget, you may not have the financial flexibility to repair things if they go wrong. These cars are great deals for the price they sell at, but you need to realize that they were upscale cars when new, and they require upscale maintenance.

[orly_andico]

my biggest expenditures were shocks, clutch, busted ECU, brakes.. but then my 626 has 125000km on it already. even the damnable power window cost 3000+ to fix (driver side, got stuck halfway down, no choice but fix).

bottom line mahal talaga maintenance ng midsize car. and that's the end of the story.

[nestordreamin']

I digress... not all old midsize cars are a maintenance headache, but on your apparent budget, you may not have the financial flexibility to repair things if they go wrong. These cars are great deals for the price they sell at, but you need to realize that they were upscale cars when new, and they require upscale maintenance.


True.

[woulfe27]

Accord na lang kesa Vectra.

OT, but does anybody remember the Sonata perfume?

A buddy of mine once told a girl "bango mo a. amoy Sonata."

The girl said "talaga?"

And he said "Oo. Amoy Sonata ka. Sonog Na ***."

Syempre busted sya

[OTEP]

Medyo mahal talaga OEM parts ng Opel and replacement parts are not that easy to find unless you go as-per-sample sa Banawe or you shop online from other countries.

In my senior year in college, I used an Opel Tigra brochure as a cover for my Histology Lab manual. Histo lab is a 6 hour subject if I'm not mistaken. So my seatmate has nothing else interesting to do except look at the Tigra brochure. Before the schoolyear ended, he was driving one.

Ngayon kapag nagkikita kami, gusto na ko isumpa. Kasalanan ko daw at napabili siya ng Tigra. hehehe. Nasira alternator and some other things. Worst part is he lost control and slammed SIDEWAYS into a wall. Guess what, the airbags deployed! The vehicle was not really that damaged but refitting the airbags (both deployed even though he was alone at the time) will be very expensive. So he just had the dash and steering wheel repaired.

Sorry sa OT.

P.S. ayaw mo ba talaga yung Esteem? hehehe. Spacious yun. Meron sa Tsikot car finder ads pero medyo mataas pa. Yung nasa Congressional hindi ko pa nakikilatis masyado.

[Jun aka Pekto]

OT.......
I use to hate em. But, we're delighted with our 2006 Sonata V6. It's almost a year old and so far, not a thing has gone wrong with it except the lower gas mileage from speeding all the time...... It's literally worlds apart from the older Sonatas.


But between an older Sonata and a Vectra........ I'd probably look around for some more alternatives.

[Reich]

Medyo mahal talaga OEM parts ng Opel and replacement parts are not that easy to find unless you go as-per-sample sa Banawe or you shop online from other countries.

In my senior year in college, I used an Opel Tigra brochure as a cover for my Histology Lab manual. Histo lab is a 6 hour subject if I'm not mistaken. So my seatmate has nothing else interesting to do except look at the Tigra brochure. Before the schoolyear ended, he was driving one.

Ngayon kapag nagkikita kami, gusto na ko isumpa. Kasalanan ko daw at napabili siya ng Tigra. hehehe. Nasira alternator and some other things. Worst part is he lost control and slammed SIDEWAYS into a wall. Guess what, the airbags deployed! The vehicle was not really that damaged but refitting the airbags (both deployed even though he was alone at the time) will be very expensive. So he just had the dash and steering wheel repaired.

Sorry sa OT.

P.S. ayaw mo ba talaga yung Esteem? hehehe. Spacious yun. Meron sa Tsikot car finder ads pero medyo mataas pa. Yung nasa Congressional hindi ko pa nakikilatis masyado.

hehe... sir ndi ba mababa rin resale ng esteem? saka ndi ako familiar sa performance, parts, etc. nya

[Reich]

OT.......
I use to hate em. But, we're delighted with our 2006 Sonata V6. It's almost a year old and so far, not a thing has gone wrong with it except the lower gas mileage from speeding all the time...... It's literally worlds apart from the older Sonatas.


But between an older Sonata and a Vectra........ I'd probably look around for some more alternatives.

what do you suggest sir? kasi sa accord, what i'll get is an older model... sa camry, expensive. sa cefiro, no comment

[orly_andico]

walang panalo at the 250k price range. in other words, there's nothing better than your city. :P

maybe a corona exsior, 1996-ish. at least mas reliable than an esteem. but the esteem is really cheap. may sukli pa. just don't count on ANY resale value (i-kilo nalang after you're through with it). medyo may kamahalan din parts ng esteem and hirap hanapin.

[Reich]

ok... could you help me list my advantages and disadvantages in swapping my '99 city with the '00 sonata, save for better space and more fuel expenses?

[orly_andico]

err... malaki na yung mileage nung sonata eh. right off the bat makakagastos ka ng 30k at least (baka more..) para sa preventive maintenance (suspension is probably laspag na; you need to replace the timing belt and water pump; clutch is probably slipping na rin).

unless napalitan na yang mga yan. or pagawa mo kay cruven/zee yung shocks na siguradong laspag na; at least 3000-5000 lang magagastos rather than 15000.

i don't believe na matipid yan. the sonata '00 has an old sirius engine (based on a mitsu engine i believe but less efficient). so mga 6-7 km/L lang yan. about HALF of what your city is getting. so figure out na siguro dodoble ang fuel costs per month mo. or at least a 50% increase. factor in mo na rin yun.

parang di ko nasagot yung question ah.. :P

you get more space. that's all. at the expense of less reliability, more gas consumption, and a lot of parts to fix. makaka-jackpot yung ka-swap mo :D

[OTEP]

Try to research about the Esteem. Same engine as the Vitara (95bhp 1.6 EFI), shares other bits and pieces too. It is a station wagon that looks like a 3/4 scale Volvo V40. Being a wagon, it has cargo room to match most compact SUV's and also give the cabin an air feel while still being small enough to be economical and practical in the urban settings. Think of it as a Honda City wearing a backpack.

GlennSter's store (in Q.C.) stocks replacement Zuk parts (kaya malakas loob ko kumuha ng Zuk). Genuine parts are priced like genuine parts (though some components are cheaper than their Honda/'Yota counterparts). I just opt for replacements most of the time. It was also sold by GM as the Cheyv Cassia so you have another alternative parts source. Olympia in Araneta Ave. sells both OEM and replacement parts. Links in Banawe is another Zuk specialist store.

I don't think you'd have problems with resale value since you are not buying it brand new. If you don't like it, you can sell it again for around the same price you bought it for basta within reasonable time. The most expensive specimen I have seen costs Php258k from an agent in Ortigas. Units being sold by owners command around Php170-210k. Prices are at an all time low already.

There are 4 Esteems on display at www.Autolink.ph

I think there is a thread for the Esteem. Just use the search function. Btw, all Esteems are manufactured in Japan then shipped to the Philippines

This is what the top of the line Esteem looks like. Though most locally sold units were a trim level below, having only monotone paint and wheel covers.

[mazdamazda]

speaking of Glennster... alam ko hindi pa nabebenta yung 7G Galant nya... PM mo lang siya baka available pa yun.