Chery QQ3: Should I or should I not?

**ronallandottk** · November 26th, 2008 10:34 AM

I'll be straight to the point. I'm seriously considering purchasing a Chery QQ3 (the 1.1l all power variant) for use as a daily driver.

Yes, there are a lot of better cars out there, but to be honest, there are hardly any other brand new cars at the Chery's price range, and I can't afford to spend any higher (I'm a government employee, and no, I'm not a politician nor an agriculture undersecretary or a 4 star general for comptrollership, and no, I do not work at the Bureau of Customs).

My other options are to either find a youngish second-hand car (with all the troubles associated with second-hand cars, but I'll surely be getting a good marque), or stay with my old B13 Nissan Sentra which is more or less rock-solid, but it's definitely starting to show it's age.

My concerns are:

How reliable is it? I will be using it as a daily driver, so it has to be dependable. I know Chery has a standard 5 year/150,000 km warranty, but if its all the same, I'd rather avoid the dealership except for routine maintenance.

How cheap is it to run? Really? I know gas prices are on the decline, but I admit it, I'm a cheapskate. The more km/l, the more money I save. How cheap are the spare parts for it?

Will I survive a crash in it? Yes, it's a morbid question, but a perfectly valid one. If my life is on the line, I'd probably get a bigger second-hand car than a pint-sized one if my life (and those of my passengers) depended on it. Follow up question: are the brakes are really as bad as some reviews make it out to be? Or can I expect the car to stop when I want it to stop? I may be nitpicking, but I'd really prefer NOT to crash.

Is the power adequate? I'm not looking for drag-racer performance, just the ability to climb steep mall parking lots with a full load of passengers and perhaps some shopping bags or such without running the engine to redline or having to stall the engine and roll backwards to the disdain of the cars behind me.

Lastly, should I be embarrassed to be seen in one? Or should I get 3M SuperBlack tint just to keep my pride?

I know there are a lot of QQ3 fans here as well, but I would appreciate a really no-holds barred assessment of this car's suitability. Thanks to all.

**tidus1203** · November 26th, 2008 10:44 AM

I would get a 2nd hand Civic instead of a QQ personally. Let the other people gamble on Chinese cars for now, in 10 years time we might consider them more seriously...

**Hanren** · November 26th, 2008 11:11 AM

The crash test video in one of the threads here is not convincing enough safety wise.

With a 1.1 engine and with three other people in tow, expect the engine to labor before you reach the upper levels of parking..

In the end, if that's the only budget range you can afford, you will really have very limited options for a brand new subcompact car. But you can buy a descent 2nd hand civic vti 1999-2002 models or a toyota vios 2003-2004 1.3L.

You can view the ff thread: http://tsikot.yehey.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38535

Btw, you need not be ashamed to be seen driving one. Pinaghirapan mo yan. Dapat ang mahiya eh yung mga kurakot sa gobyerno na nakasakay sa mga mamahaling sasakyan.

**stormgray** · November 26th, 2008 11:24 AM

Try to check out the latest issue of C! Magazine (November 2008). They have a comparo on the mini sub-compacts (Chery, Chana, Suzuki, Kia and Hyundai). The winner of their comparo was the Hyundai i10, although the QQ did have some good marks. And, I also recall another C! issue where they had a more detailed review of the QQ. The title of the article was "Not as cheap as you think," or something along those lines. Was thinking of getting a QQ too for a second car (for color-coding), but everybody has discouraged me from getting one. I've changed my mind not because of what others have told me, but because I really want to get rid of my old car and I think I can't afford maintaining two vehicles.

I'm slightly surprised that the QQ comes equipped with 2--yes 2--airbags! We all tend to question the quality of Chinese cars, but my question is, don't most of what we purchase come from China anyway?

Best of luck on your choice!

PS-Ingat lang, baka may melamin yung QQ.

Sorry, couldn't help it.

**tidus1203** · November 26th, 2008 11:33 AM

Airbags are all good but they are worthless if in a crash the body does not hold up and that is the big question mark. Are these Chinese cars body structure good enough? Base on the crash tests I saw in YouTube its borderline disturbing. In fact I rather ride in a Corolla without airbags and just a seatbelt than a QQ with airbags

**1D4LV** · November 26th, 2008 11:54 AM

To answer your queries, please see replies below (in bold fonts):

Originally Posted by ronallandottk

I'll be straight to the point. I'm seriously considering purchasing a Chery QQ3 (the 1.1l all power variant) for use as a daily driver.

Yes, there are a lot of better cars out there, but to be honest, there are hardly any other brand new cars at the Chery's price range, and I can't afford to spend any higher (I'm a government employee, and no, I'm not a politician nor an agriculture undersecretary or a 4 star general for comptrollership, and no, I do not work at the Bureau of Customs).

My other options are to either find a youngish second-hand car (with all the troubles associated with second-hand cars, but I'll surely be getting a good marque), or stay with my old B13 Nissan Sentra which is more or less rock-solid, but it's definitely starting to show it's age.

My concerns are:

How reliable is it? I will be using it as a daily driver, so it has to be dependable. I know Chery has a standard 5 year/150,000 km warranty, but if its all the same, I'd rather avoid the dealership except for routine maintenance. - if there is a warranty period this long, look at two points: (a) it has to be reliable enough so that the manfacturer is putting his money to a long term warranty (b) its not reliable, and its only used for marketing purposes.

How cheap is it to run? Really? I know gas prices are on the decline, but I admit it, I'm a cheapskate. The more km/l, the more money I save. How cheap are the spare parts for it? - its cheap. imho, tests showed that it averages around 15 kpl/city and more than 20 kpl in highway.

Will I survive a crash in it? Yes, it's a morbid question, but a perfectly valid one. If my life is on the line, I'd probably get a bigger second-hand car than a pint-sized one if my life (and those of my passengers) depended on it. Follow up question: are the brakes are really as bad as some reviews make it out to be? Or can I expect the car to stop when I want it to stop? I may be nitpicking, but I'd really prefer NOT to crash. - chances are you won't in a highway scenario, but may in a city bumper to bumper accidents.

Is the power adequate? I'm not looking for drag-racer performance, just the ability to climb steep mall parking lots with a full load of passengers and perhaps some shopping bags or such without running the engine to redline or having to stall the engine and roll backwards to the disdain of the cars behind me. - it is, for daily driving.

Lastly, should I be embarrassed to be seen in one? Or should I get 3M SuperBlack tint just to keep my pride? - if your thinking of embarassment and worry what other people think if they see you driving this car, do not buy this car.

I know there are a lot of QQ3 fans here as well, but I would appreciate a really no-holds barred assessment of this car's suitability. Thanks to all.

**mazdamazda** · November 26th, 2008 12:10 PM

If I were you, I'd just continue using my old but trusty Sentra.

Honestly, I feel more comfortable in a decade year old sedan than in a QQ.

__________________

bigbigcar.com Review: Chery QQ3 1.1 MT
Small car, big ambitions: The Chery QQ is the vanguard of the Chinese invasion.

**ronallandottk** · November 26th, 2008 12:15 PM

Originally Posted by stormgray

I'm slightly surprised that the QQ comes equipped with 2--yes 2--airbags! We all tend to question the quality of Chinese cars, but my question is, don't most of what we purchase come from China anyway?

Best of luck on your choice!

PS-Ingat lang, baka may melamin yung QQ.

Sorry, couldn't help it.

The QQ3 displayed at their Libis dealership didn't have any airbags. The agent also said that the QQ3 doesn't come with any.

A colleague mentioned that the Chinese put lead into their paints. I replied that I didn't intend to lick my QQ3 or eat any paint chips which come off if I ever bought one. :-D

Originally Posted by Hanren

The crash test video in one of the threads here is not convincing enough safety wise.

With a 1.1 engine and with three other people in tow, expect the engine to labor before you reach the upper levels of parking..

In the end, if that's the only budget range you can afford, you will really have very limited options for a brand new subcompact car. But you can buy a descent 2nd hand civic vti 1999-2002 models or a toyota vios 2003-2004 1.3L.

Btw, you need not be ashamed to be seen driving one. Pinaghirapan mo yan. Dapat ang mahiya eh yung mga kurakot sa gobyerno na nakasakay sa mga mamahaling sasakyan.

Admittedly, safety isn't one of the QQ3's strong points, especially if you compare it with other vehicles, or even just the ones in it's class. However, if you compare the safety of the QQ3 with a motorcycle, or riding a bus, or 20 year old or older clunker, or simply walking alone on the street in the wee hours of the morning, I'd think you'd agree that the QQ3 is much safer. :-D

If engine power is lacking, I may need to ditch some of my obese friends...:-(

As for the corrupt officials in government riding in expensive cars...amen to that.

**webmiester** · November 26th, 2008 12:33 PM

Originally Posted by ronallandottk

The QQ3 displayed at their Libis dealership didn't have any airbags. The agent also said that the QQ3 doesn't come with any.

A colleague mentioned that the Chinese put lead into their paints. I replied that I didn't intend to lick my QQ3 or eat any paint chips which come off if I ever bought one. :-D

Admittedly, safety isn't one of the QQ3's strong points, especially if you compare it with other vehicles, or even just the ones in it's class. However, if you compare the safety of the QQ3 with a motorcycle, or riding a bus, or 20 year old or older clunker, or simply walking alone on the street in the wee hours of the morning, I'd think you'd agree that the QQ3 is much safer. :-D

If engine power is lacking, I may need to ditch some of my obese friends...:-(

As for the corrupt officials in government riding in expensive cars...amen to that.

The brakes thing you mentioned can be disturbing. Where did you get that data?

These things which disturb you wont go away even if we tell you its ok.

How about spare parts? A brand new car doesnt necessarily mean less headaches.

**ronallandottk** · November 26th, 2008 03:14 PM

Originally Posted by webmiester

The brakes thing you mentioned can be disturbing. Where did you get that data?

These things which disturb you wont go away even if we tell you its ok.

How about spare parts? A brand new car doesnt necessarily mean less headaches.

I'm new in this forum so I'm not yet allowed to post URLS, for that matter smileys. :-(

But here are the comments regarding the QQ3's brakes:

As a basic, daily driver, there's nothing really wrong with the QQ. Unless of course you place stopping in very high regard. The QQ's brakes are abysmal, requiring a hefty shove before they even think about biting.

- QQ3 review on one dot motoring dot sg

The light and lifeless steering is better than the Alto’s electric box, but only just, and the brakes are soft and mushy, too.

- QQ3 review on bigbigcar dot com

I read about other negative comments regarding the brakes, I can't remember which sites I saw them, I'll post it when I see it again.