Sonata Vs. Vectra [and then some]

**Reich** · May 24th, 2006 03:40 PM

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** · May 24th, 2006 04:29 PM

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

**orly_andico** · May 24th, 2006 04:49 PM

"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** · May 24th, 2006 05:10 PM

magkano ba ang budget mo?

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

**funky_monkey** · May 24th, 2006 05:14 PM

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** · May 24th, 2006 05:16 PM

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** · May 24th, 2006 05:17 PM

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** · May 24th, 2006 05:46 PM

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** · May 24th, 2006 06:30 PM

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'** · May 24th, 2006 09:13 PM

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.