New Driver - Recommended Car?

[April_Ryan]

Update on my continuing search for a car:

Had my friend test drive the JIMNY (m/t). Fairly bouncy ride, especially considering that we just drove around the block of GM Autoworld in Quezon Avenue. Medyo cramped talaga sa likod. On the plus side, cute talaga siya, aircon and stereo seemed fine (might need to add 2 more speakers though, kasi 2 lang) and its affordable! Was thinking of getting the special, but if i had to choose, will probably get the barebones model as the main difference is only in the features.

We chanced upon the 2003 Opel Astra while looking around GM Autoworld. Any feedback on this? Read the review of the 2002 Opel Astra at another website and they didn't seem too impressed. It's now selling at P789,000, with discount. Seemed fully loaded.

[mbt]

April_Ryan,

looks like narrowed down ka na sa lynx ghia and jimny... both are fine vehicles naman, yun nga lang, you'll have to choose to different criteria kasi very different vehicles yung dalawa...

astra is more or less in the same class as the lynx, but imo, the lynx is better in almost every respect (except maybe exterior styling).

[buddyclub]

dapat ang kukunin mo na auto ung tlgang mapapakinabangan mo tlga..for exmaple
lagi ka bumabiyahe so kunin mo SUV para comfortable ka during sa biyahe.. kapag
pang work lang ok na mga sedan's pang porma nman ok na 2nd hand na maayos then
kaw na bahala kse mahirap mag bnew then pormahan kse ma vovoid ang warranty ng auto pero ikaw pa rin tlga bahala... gdlck!

[April_Ryan]

April_Ryan,

looks like narrowed down ka na sa lynx ghia and jimny...

mbt,

Also liked the looks of the Exalta actually. Friend of a friend is connected with Nissan, so I hope i can get a better price quote as Exalta was a tad on the expensive side compared with the Lynx. Not too sure about the quality vis-a-vis the Lynx though.

with present budget constraints, i'm adding either a 2nd hand Accord or Civic in the mix.

though i'd like a brand new one sana.

[mbt]

April_Ryan,

ok naman yung second hand as long as you're careful, great value for money... a '99 Accord can be had for 600K-650K for example

keep in mind though that an accord (and other 2.0 and up cars) gulps fuel in the city...

[vinj]

I came from GM AutoWorld earlier today and i can say i'm not that keen on their service (first impression)... the lady also who was claiming her car the same time as i was dropping off the car i was using seemed dismayed on the service as well. The Opels may have good/affordable sticker prices but you should also consider parts, service and the budget/cost on such.

My own .002 out from my own experience, i'd stick to the mainstream Toyotas, Hondas, Nissans or Mitsus... Parts and service is more or less available anywhere and resale wont be much of problem. If you're a first timer and you have somewhat of a budget to keep with your ride, try sticking to the 1600 class cars as well.

Try checking out the Manila Bulletin Classifieds during weekends and see what cars have good resale values and what cars seem to be being disposed of by the owners at such low price or in large volumes after just a few years.

[mk]

hhhm...opinyon ko wag ka bibili ng opel astra, first of all it's a german car, much expensive to maintain, balita ko nga kakaiba yung battery nya, galing dapat sa germany eh... so german din dapat na battery ang papalitan... ,opel might be cheap at first, but... might get too expensive to maintain...

i suggest go for..Honda - honda city type z(around 600,000) , Toyota - Toyota altis 1.6 J. (around 680,000)...:mrgreen:

[April_Ryan]

Another question. Should I buy a manual or automatic transmission? I'm practicing on a Honda ESI M/T. Haven't tried driving an A/T car. Advantages/disadvantages, especially for a newbie driver?

Another question. What sort of additional expenses will I be incurring, aside from the obvious gas and parking costs? Insurance, i guess? Any others?

I really appreciate your input guys, thank you very much.

[April_Ryan]

i suggest go for..Honda - honda city type z(around 600,000) , Toyota - Toyota altis 1.6 J. (around 680,000)...:mrgreen:

hi mk,

not too keen on the altis, it looks bulky to me. i actually like the looks of the old corolla better. but then again, that's just me, because most of my friends (and the rest of metro manila it seems) seem to like it. oh well, i'll re-evaluate.

i'm definitely going to check out the honda city. the honda dealer said they're coming out with a new model by june this year. but as i said in my previous posts, it's the lynx ghia and the jimny so far.

i figure i can go as high as around P750000 or so (budget) because the difference in monthly amortization between a car which is in the P600T price range and one in the P700T price range is roughly only P1,000 more or less (over a 48 month period). So i guess i'll buy the more expensive one. Kung bibili ako ng brand new, lulubus-lubusin ko na :lol:

[RS Sprint]

April_Ryan,

I like the looks of the new Suzuki Jimny as well. Hehehehehehehehe Its just quite small for me (ok, waay too small, I'm 5'10 and weigh over 100 kilos ;) ) and seems underpowered.

IMHO a late model Corolla is very good value. Its cheap now, parts are cheap as well and available almost everywhere, any decent shop can service a Corolla AND it is a model of reliability, efficiency and ergonomics.

A Honda also looks very apealing since from an engineering perspective, Hondas are overengineered for their intended purpose: mass-market commuting. Parts are more expensive though. But you rarely get a breakdown with a Honda.

Last, consider the maintenance cost. A BNEW car will be more reliable than a 2nd hand, but it will be more expensive to purchase. And you will have more restrictions on the mods you might want to do, if that's your thing.

On the other hand, a 2nd hand car will be much cheaper to acquire but might prove to be more troublesome. Now, depending on your perspective, you might see the 2nd hand car as a better way to start modifying cars in general (if that's your thing or are leaning towards that). Each part that might eventually need replacing will instead be modified or replaced with higher-spec equipment (thats how I am ) BUT it will of course require a lot more time / effort, which you might not have nor care to do.

Hope I didn't say too much.

PS
Another good place to look for CHEAP second-hand bargain cars would be from from banks and their repossesed cars. Any major bank/branch will have a list of repo cars that are often lower than the normal prevailing 2md-hand market prices for similar cars.

HTH!