New Driver - Recommended Car?

[April_Ryan]

hey guys,

need your help asap. someone is offering a barely used (4Tkm) 2000 Opel Tigra (the hatchback, though, of course, you probably all know that) for P475,000. Good deal?

When they say that maintenance of german cars is high compared to japanese cars, what does that mean? How expensive is expensive?

I saw one of these while I was looking around GM Autoworld at sobrang cute din siya (ka-level ng Jimny). hahaha! Pros/Cons?

[mbt]

mas maliit pa yung tigra than a jimny (but that should be obvious hehe), and availability of parts and service centers would very likely be much harder than a japanese sedan...

but you get a ride that turns heads everywhere... :wink:

[MAXBUWAYA]

i heard na isang major part ng aircon ng tigra would cost 30k
heard this when i was working in alabang a client of the company owns one

[April_Ryan]

mas maliit pa yung tigra than a jimny (but that should be obvious hehe), and availability of parts and service centers would very likely be much harder than a japanese sedan...

but you get a ride that turns heads everywhere... :wink:

ang liit nga niya. but space was never an issue with me, even with the jimny. just had a problem with the ride, kasi matagtag. i always loved the honda hatchback, it was the only car i recognized even back in the days when i didn't pay much attention to cars.

hopefully, i'll have time check this out later today.

couldn't find anything on the web about the tigra, except for user reviews in the UK na di masyadong maganda ang feedback. yung mga tipong one liner na "at 30,000 miles, they had to change the engine" or "there is water in the headlights" or whatever. natakot tuloy ako. hahahah! cute daw, pero matakaw sa repairs.

[MAXBUWAYA]

so kosa ano na ang line up mo?
exciting talaga maghanap ng bagong auto
nakakastress din heheheheh

[April_Ryan]

so kosa ano na ang line up mo?

right now, it's a toss-up. the tigra, jimny and the lynx ghia.

kung tigra, no debt, but space constraints and expensive to maintain (don't quite know what this means vis-a-vis a japanese car)

kung jimny, 4 years debt, space constraints, medyo matagtag, concern about safety?

kung lynx, utang lang ang problema ko. hahaha.

exciting talaga maghanap ng bagong auto
nakakastress din heheheheh

stress na stress na talaga ako. hahaha!

i saw the tigra today. ganda talaga. but really small. i just need to research some more on the cost of maintenance/service. if i wasn't concerned about that, medyo sold na siguro ako. hirap talaga.

i keep thinking maybe i should wait, there's a slew of cars coming out. pero kung brand new (unless jimny or other 1.3), di ko talaga kaya without incurring debt sa bank. the tigra (or any other second hand car) will save me from that.

ang officially hilo na,

April_Ryan

[vinj]

Masaya talaga maghanap ng kotse, tapos yung pag-aayos din (if you have the time to do so )

The price seems ok... and the Astra looks really cool especially with nice big rims... kaya pa yan tawaran ng konti but you have to also think why its being sold for that price (??) I was getting a Paintless Dent Repair (PDR) in Buendia Autocenter a few weeks ago and i saw a '98 Opel Vectra A/T going for 450K...

It can be quite easy to find a reasonably priced high end car/German cruiser but the big "IF" is the service and maintainance cost. To give an idea, a regular service in a BMW dealer would cost around 10-12K (this is a dealer though, it can be cheaper in outside shops).

Given some budget considerations (car cost and service)/repairs, it may be more viable to stick to a mainstream vehicle. At 475K, just add another 100K roughly (or even less depending on the outcome of the new taxes) and you can find yourself the keys to a brand new entry-level or midrange sedan or mini-SUV like the Jimny... Also, there are additional fees to the 475K cost of the car (and any car that one purchases) like transfer of ownership, registration, insurance, etc so you have to be prepared for that as well.

[April_Ryan]

mas maliit pa yung tigra than a jimny (but that should be obvious hehe)

didn't realize how small it was until i rode in it kanina. my friend (who's about 5'4") sat in the back seat and hirap siya. pang kids or petite people lang sa back. actually, 2 seater lang yata yun, pretending to be a 4 seater.

but you get a ride that turns heads everywhere... :wink:

wow talaga. for looks alone, i'd buy it, especially if i had another, more sedate car. hahaha. kaso, kung only car, medyo pag-iisipan ko muna, because of the size and the cost of maintenance.

question though. is it correct to say na in the first four or five years of a car's life, wala ka namang masyadong cost kasi di pa siya masisira? following that logic, a car which only has 5T km in its odo, will still have a while to go before the parts start acting up? kasi kung later pa naman ma-incur ang expensive maintenance costs (like in 3 years pa), by that time, i can afford to buy a japanese car na brand new.

[mbt]

April_Ryan,

doesn't necessarily follow... any part can go at 500 km or 500,000 km or anywhere in between...

[kimpOy]

wow ang haba na ng thread na ito,
april ryan,
i piece of advice lang kasi ako ayoko yung utang, lalo na sa cars, kung hulugan man gusto ko zero interest, never akong pumatol sa low interest rate...chuchublahblah

nung binenta ko yung hatchback ni misis, sakto lang ang pera namin for a 2nd hand VTi, never in our mind na bili kami ng brand new then hulugan na lang namin, ayoko kasi yung may utang sa bangko, mga hudyo ang mga bangko

kaya to lessen your dillema, see your budget, then decide from their

masarap mag drive lalo na kung fully paid ang kotse mo.

now if i were you eto selection ko

toyota corona
honda accord

kahit 2.0 liters ang sarap i hataw, ganda pa ng suspension, 140kph, wala pang rattle