Need help with our first car

[orly_andico]

I can relate to the "first car experience." Although in my case my wife and my first car was a decade-old beater.

In retrospect: buy the car with the lowest Total Cost of Ownership. Forget the specs and stuff! if it's your first car, you will quickly discover that owning one is like having another kid. The costs are endless!

And a simpler car is better because less will break. It's better to buy a cheaper car (and forget about future "expandability") so that in 2-3 years time you will have more money for a better car. If you break the bank to get that "ultimate" car now... you will be money-constrained for a longer period of time. It's no fun.

Also going for an automatic may not be the best thing, given the "first car" and all that. For one thing, the automatic will consume more fuel (unless a CVT). And the car itself will cost more.

Here are my choices, in no particular order:

Getz 1.1L MT - 468k
Kia Rio 1.4L MT 4-door - 570k
City 1.3A MT - 570k (no ULT seats though)
City 1.3S CVT - 650k
Jazz 1.3S CVT - 690k

Note I choose the City/Jazz CVT. This is because a CVT tranny only costs 25k more than a manual tranny. But for the Getz, you'd have to go to the 1.4L model to get the auto tranny (568k).

Really, if you can overcome the "brand stigma" and low resale value, the Getz is the most practical choice. Anyway in a few years when you buy another car, you won't sell the Getz (2nd car is very convenient) so the low resale value is not a downside.

I did not choose the 575k Vios J because it has no power features.

The Avanza is also a good choice: Toyota so good fuel efficiency, reliability, and resale price, high ground clearance (more than a CR-V or RAV-4) which is good, given the floods and rough roads we have, and it's a 7-seater. I wouldn't let the manual tranny dissuade me.

But then again I am a manual tranny devotee. I drive a Mazda3 every day, but on coding day I use our (now 14-year old) old car, and I still enjoy rowing through the gears. I don't consider it excessively laborious. And that's with a notchy old gearshift!

EDIT: oldblue has the right idea. Your eventual goal is 2 cars, so just buy the cheap one for now to preserve your cash-flow. I'd go Getz 1.1L MT, or City 1.3A MT, or Avanza 1.3J MT.

2nd EDIT: if however your wife cannot be swayed and must absolutely have the auto tranny (and I know how hard it is to sway one's wife... :D) then I would go for the Jazz 1.3S CVT, no question about it.

3rd EDIT: unfortunately, Honda doesn't give any freebies or discounts (damn them!) while Mazda does. The 799k Mazda3 1.6S will go as low as 730k with the discount, putting it really really close to the Jazz. And it looks damn better too (and has a longer wheelbase). But it suffers dismal fuel mileage. I am only getting 7 km/L. The Jazz will give you 12 km/L. If you drive 40km every day you will spend (40 / 7) * 42 = 240 pesos per day or about 5000/month on the Mazda. With the Jazz you will only spend (40 / 12) * 42 = 140 pesos per day or about 3000/month.

So the question is.. can you afford another 2000/month? pang-parking din yun.

[hominid]

seriously recommend that you get driving lessons from a reputable school with thier own car. this way you can avoid damaging your own vehicle and preserve its resale value. driving lessons are also so much cheaper compared to having you car fixed if it figures in an accident.

Talaga ha! Pag alis mo sa driving school d ka na mababangga? Ilang sessions lang yun?

Eh me kakilala ako sa A1 pa nag-enroll, maya't-maya ang banga!

It could take even a year or more para madevelop un talagang sobrang ingat/mawala tense/focus.

[orly_andico]

To add to my previous post, if you really want the AT, you will face an escalating set of choices (e.g. Jazz CVT, naging Mazda3, and so on). The AT might seem so convenient now, but if you end up buying an overly-expensive car because you can't resist and you want the AT, you will pay for it (literally) for the next N years.

Kaya kung sa akin, dun na ako sa Getz 1.1L MT, or if you want slightly bigger, the Kia Rio 1.4L MT (or better yet, Avanza J, yun nga lang ikaw mag-iikot ng window cranks mo). The first car should be a cheap car, kasi nga this is your "tuition." Mababangga ka, di mo pa alam yung scale ng costs involved..

The car prices might seem "magkalapit" but as a rule of thumb every 50K of price translates to 1K/month of amortization (on the 5-year term). In my opinion, it's better to "settle" for a lesser car and have more money for other things, than to get yung pinaka-swanky na car tapos di ka na makalabas. :P After all you will only spend 3 hours per day in your car, tapos kung wala kang pang-gastos the other 21 hours.. that's kind of sucky.

[reuben]

galing talaga dito sa tsikot.com! ang daming matulungin! thanks to everyone for trying to help. pasensya na, ang hirap mag decide ng first car talaga!

[lui]

kahit nagbebenta ako ng getz parang avanza j ang para sa inyo sir. pero kung may balak kau mag upgrade in the next few years ung getz pde na din sa inyo... tapos upgrade nalang pag lumaki na mga chikiting

[niky]

Orly's got a lot of good points... if you're starting out and cash is a problem, buy exactly what you need at first.

Maintain the vehicle properly and you won't have to dispose of it down the road. The longer you can keep an economical car running in top shape, the more money you save from not having to purchase a new car. Personally, I hate the three-five year ownership cycle. I intend to make our current car last as long as humanly possible.

RE: First car blues: Yeah... secondhand would be optimal, but having a newer vehicle will just encourage you to drive a little more carefully. And not putting money into the endless little niggles and repairs that come with even a decent secondhand is a bonus for first-time buyers who aren't car-crazy like us.