2004 Honda City idsi for only 349K..What's the catch?

[huggybear]

Hi guys! Saw an ad from autolink.ph a few days ago and stumbled upon a 2004 Honda City idsi selling for only 349K. Said to myself "Is this guy serious?". While the rest of the ads sell this type for 400K++.

Went to see the car yesterday and found out that BPI Leasing Corporation owns the car leased by some company in Pasig. And it is not even under the seller's name. The seller claims it is a company car and that the company already settled its obligations with BPI. He also said that the car was previously assigned to his cousin and since his cousin will be having a new company car that's why he is selling it.

I mean..what's the catch here?

Please advice..thanks!

[ans_lim168]

Be very careful with this kind of advertisement. I think this unit has been passed from one user to another so the condition is questionable, plus the papers you said is under BPI leasing, so verify the papers to see if it's in order, btw so how was your visit to see the car? Was it ok?

[1D4LV]

i would agree. baka kaya ganung kababa is para mabenta lang pero baka may problem sa papers. better check directly with BPI on the status of the car para mas sure.

[huggybear]

The car was super ok! Makinis, looks fresh and I would have bought it if I haven't brought my friend with me. He already had doubts when he saw the OR wasn't under the seller's name. My friend also told me that's it's weird that we were transacting in a parking lot and not at the seller's house. Hmmm...

Will call up BPI tomorrow to check...Many thanks guys!

[tidus1203]

He is probably a buy and sell guy. Most buy and sell don't transfer names because its hassle afterall they intend to sell it again. So they will just transfer the name if they sell it. The fact that its in a parking lot further confirms the guy is a buy and seller and not an end user... Nothing wrong with buying from a buy and seller...

[sanctified]

baka company car yan kaya naka lease....kumbaga pinapahiram lang dun sa tao....baka nde pa din tapos bayaran sa bpi ung auto kaya naka lease pa sa bpi.....sa amin kse ganyan lalo na sa mga marketing manager or managers.....car lease sila......after na lang bayaran tsaka ililipat sa name nung owner.....

[dieselNUBI]

may nakita narin ako 04 idsi CVT selling for 370K.

[ghosthunter]

The Honda CVT tranny found in the City iDSi (and Jazz) are known to be trouble spots for these cars. Although they give great fuel mileage, they also tend to have accelerated wear & tear issues especially if driven hard. Only when driven by a slow & smooth method would you avoid this problem.

[OldSchoolHack]

Besides the financing issues this car is sold at the right price if it is in good condition.

Issues are - any 2004 before the last quarter of 2004 has a high probability of having troublesome transmission lalo na kung automatic na CVT. Honda had a problem with the implementation of CVT with the City. Dami na recall sa Asia. If you can get the casa service record check if it only used CVT fluid from Honda. If not, avoid the car like a plague. CVT with ATF as fluid usually break down in less than 6 months. The only recourse was to replace the whole transmission.

CVT is not a new technology nor any troublesome than other automatic (geared unlike CVT which is gearless). Most problems centered around the clutch (sa iDSI) and type of fluid used (iDSI and some VTEC). Most VTEC versions were spared as most came out in the last quarter of 2004 and 1st quarter of 2005. Technically, CVT is better and the estimated life of CVT trannies that were properly maintained run from 10 to 20 years. Some Honda CVT cars already exceeded 10 years (well abroad not here).

As for price iDSI 1.5 CVT cost from 320 - 350. VTEC 1.5 CVT around 350 - 400. 2004 or older. So the price is basically sound (not cheap or expensive). If the tranny is in good condition when you bought it, then you can expect a 5 - 10 year good service as long as you follow the rules and maintain it properly (CVT fluid change in our bad roads should be around 15k to 20k KM or 1.5 - 2 years).

Good luck.