Toyota versus Nissan (which is which?)

[strydent]

Guys help me i need to decide tomorrow... I want to know which is the better car for a newbie (i just had my student license) like me ...I have a tight budget po and the reason why i can stretch it a little bit kasi i was approved for a car loan on a second hand car and my 100 thou can be stretch and can have it doubled.

I earn just enough and i need to drive once a week to laguna (about 100KM from our place pag expressway and maybe 80KM pag sa antipolo ang daan)...i live in pasig area which is, i can say, a traffic prone area.

Im planning to buy my first car and my choices are the following:
1. 1994 1.3L Toyota Corolla XL (powerless, fully loaded, makinis, semi sound set- up) ....it costs 132K after all the tawad that i have made with the owner.

2. 1996 1.6L Nissan Sentra SS Series 3 (matic, all power) lady driven

3. (not yet final) 2000 1.4 Nissan Sentra FE (mags,power steering) price-250K
--havent seen the interiors yet kasi gabi ako dumating sa place nung may ari eh(kapitbahay namin), pero sabi nung may ari sa cellphone all the power amenities of the car is found in that car (ill check on that pa po), by the way nabasa ko na ang FE eh base model car..meron kayang limited edition un?

Now, i wanna know guys, if what car will i choose in terms of value for money, fuel consumption, looks (aesthetics), parts availability and other u may want to tell me.

Im just concerned with the 1.6L na kotse kasi nga malakas ang consumption ng matic na 1.6 di ba? imagine 7-8KM/L, that means pag nasa edsa ako 150 plus na mauubos ko s buong stretch nya..or i was just to afraid lang? will my earnings be enough ( i earn around 25 thousand a month) to maintain and drive a 1.6L?? Thanks guys, i appreciate ur quick response to my querries..

[strydent]

price pala ng nissan series 3 is 155 thousand

[theveed]

Parts, nothing beats a AE101 Corolla, nothing...

But based on the list you gave, I'll get the ECCS... But if fuel economy is your concern, the FE is a compromise between the two... The XL Corolla is just too damn slow and no power steering is a b1tch... (BTW, it's not "fully loaded" if there's no power accesories at all).

To point though, since you'll be using the car on highway, AT and MT cars don't make that much of a difference.

But if budget is tight, stick to MT, mahal magpagawa ng AT kung nasira...

Oh, why would you drive 150+ on EDSA?

1.6 cars are pretty much the norm in this country... Best compromise between daily traffic and highway cruising in our country...

The FE seems to be the best choice on paper... Late model, easy to maintain, economical and power basics.

Of course, as I always say, with 2nd hands, you can't choose by models, you have to choose by condition.

[theveed]

Oh, medyo pwede pang tawaran ang 250K, mataas yan medyo for an FE...

If kaya mo 250K, why not get a 96 AE101 GLi MT? It's matipid, all power, parts are everywhere. Mga 220K lang usually ang GLi

[strydent]

I mean ill spend around 150 pesos sa stretch ng EDSA kung gagamit ako ng 1.6L..it isnt pratical to spend that much di ba? How much do u spend ba, 1.6L ba tsikot mo? Mas malakas naman mag consume ang mga REVO at Crosswind at HI-LUX compared sa 1.6L di ba?

[theveed]

You're not going to spend that much hehe... I drive a 2 liter AT and 150 will last me more than round trip Pasig to Makati.

Revo is a gaz guzzler (gas variant).

Fuel savings is based on how you drive, you can use as much fuel on a 1.3 liter car compared to a 2.0 depending on how the car's condition is and how you drive your car.

Don't base km/li on engine alone... Most modern 3.0 cars are more efficient than older 1.6 cars...

[strydent]

so u think i can manage a 1.6L car with my meager salary considering i need to drive once a week to Laguna?? Pag nainis ako bibili ako ng 3.0 mas matipid pala ehehe

[strydent]

sakit na ng ulo ko kakaisip kung ano ang gusto ko eh..help me guys pls..

[theveed]

I guess you have to figure these things out first...

1) How much is your monthly budget for the car? (Fuel, toll, misc expenses, parking etc)

2) Ano ba byahe mo araw araw (if you're using the car dialy), how far, what's your route and what time do you travel?

No one can tell you kung kaya mo to maintain a car (regardless of engine size) or not hehe.

[strydent]

ok i have at least 10 thousand left everymonth after all the taxes and food and allowances, im single pa eh..eheheh..pag mabibili ko ung car would it be enough?

[theveed]

10K for a car? Laki na nun pare...

I'd assume you'll use up a full tank of gas a week average... (again, di ko alam kung san lakad mo and how often you'll use the car) that'll be roughly 1500/week for fuel...

Again, di ko alam kung nagbabayad ka bang parking or whatever...

But set aside 250 bucks a month for future registration mga 2K+ kasi aabutin rehistro, emission, TPL...)

Set aside 500/mo for maintenance (change oil every 4 months, plugs, filters 2x a year).

Kung gusto mo tabi ka rin 500/mo for repairs... Di mo din masasabi kasi kung biglang may nasira, palit gulong, aircon repair etc etc...

On average ibase mo nalang sa gastos mo kung nagcommute ka by taxi... Halos ganun din labas...

[falken]

Of course, as I always say, with 2nd hands, you can't choose by models, you have to choose by condition.

The quote above is the most important thing to remember when you make your final decision.

[strydent]

Kaya na ba ang one thou a week? Lets say once a week eh 100KM kasi work ko laguna?

[theveed]

Di mo padin ako sinasagot bro... Ilang beses mo nga gagamitin yung oto in a week? and san ka mangagaling?

Kung nasa Alabang ka na tapos Laguna, ah eh, malapit lang yun, kung taga bulacan ka ibang usapan na...

[davy88]

malaki ang 10k for car expenses but I advice that if you don't really need a car then save the money nalang. Especially since single ka pa makaksave ka, ang laki ng gastos pag may pamilya ka na.

based on theveeds budget malapit mag 8k gagastusin mo plus depreciation monthly, that's almost 120k a year or roughly 1M in about 8 years, wala ka nang matabing pera for emergencies...

suggestion lang......

[strydent]

ah ok, i live in pasig then i travel 100 km to south. maybe once a week gimik sa makati, city driving pag off..un lang.

[strydent]

eh di ba everybody needs a car nowadays? But base on the car i posted above earlier which is which for me? Well im not ready to spend that much per month po.

[theveed]

I see..

OK, eto lang sakin bro...

Car is a necessity sa atin if you're looking at emergencies and possibly convenience. Ang issue dito is kung san ka nakatira at san ang opisina mo.

May times na you'll wish you have a car (such as Xmas, holiday long trips, pag ginabi ka todo, may emergency, may bibilin kang madami/mabibigat)...

In my case, sobrang convenient sakin mag commute, the travel time is almost the same, give or take 10mins... The cost is a big issue.

Kung nagdala akong kotse (this is per day)

Parking - 50-65
Fuel - mga 9km ako balikan, so mga 1.5 liters of fuel (not-conservative estimate) so that's roughly 50-60 bucks of fuel per day.
Dagdag mo nadin na ako ang magdridrive. Di din kasama budget for maintenance btw.

Total = 100-120 bucks a day x 5 working days x 4 weeks = 2000-2400/month

If I commute:
Jeep from front of the house to FX/Bus ride - P7.50 (mga 10 min ride) x 2 (balikan) = 15/day
FX/Bus to office (same spot where I park if I did bring my car) - 15 (FX) / 10 (Bus) = 20-30/day

Total = 35-45 bucks/day x 5 days x 4 weeks = 700 - 900/month

Laking difference diba? That's 1300-1500 difference per month...

I usually bring my car 2x a week to work, pag Friday (dahil mahirap sumakay) and usually Tuesday (wala lang, para magamit lang yun oto)...

But you can see the cost difference and the fact that it's not that much of a necessity.

Of course, as you can see, may anak ako, so it becomes a necessity kung nagkasakit, or lalabas kami etc...

Pag single ka kasi, usually boys want the porma factor of having a car... But masakit talaga sa bulsa may kotse... Lalo na kung nasira... impossible po ang kotseng di masisira lalo na kung more than 3 years old (kaya nga usually 3 years lang warranty nila kung bnew hehe)...

Kung ako sayo, figure out how much you spend sa transpo usually... How long it takes you and how accessible your public commute is from your house and office. Kung convenient mag commute, medyo bad decision magkakotse other than a "want" issue.

Again, wala na samin yang decision na yan whether or not you should get a car...

[theveed]

Habol lang (uwi na ako hehe)...

Kung talagang gusto mo sumubok sa oto... Get a Corolla para mabenta mo din na halos ganun din presyo if di mo kaya mamaintain yung cost of owning a car, if you do decide to sell it a couple of months later :D

[strydent]

nice idea bro..dapat nga siguro mag corolla muna ako para masubukan ko ang feel ng gastos..ehehehe..Thanks.