Which is smarter choice: new small car or old/very old used car?

[Vyap]

aiyah...........it was meant to be just joking, sori mate!

[Bennett_isaac]

[reply]Hi, all,

 

I might need to get a car urgently for work. It's 5-day week job.

 

Am hoping not to get caught in a situation where if I have to sell/scrap the car after a short period, in which case the sale price will be much lower, making my depreciation very steep.

 

I've been thinking of getting an old car with abt a year to go before their COE expires, or just get one of those small china (cheap) new car. technology-wise, i think even the korean or chinese small new cars are much better than those very old cars with a year or two of COE left (some 8-9 yr, some 18-19 yr).

 

I like auto gear too... and am not looking at taking loan (that's why want cheap car...)

 

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Honestly I don't think getting a car second hand is a good idea at all! Especially cos after sales service these days is more favourasble to new cars and that a lot of private mechanic shops find it difficult to cope with main distributors service offers and new technology that only allows main distributors to repair certain stuff.

 

Best to get a good new car. A good looking, fuel efficient cost effective car is a Toyota VIOS 1.5 J (A). Saw this add on ebay that is offering it at this ridiculous price. The price includes COE and does not quote after cash rebate on a loan or even quoting before GST is added blah blah blah. Check it out. Heard it was some new company using a patented process:

 

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/Toyota-Vios-1-5-J-A...1QQcmdZViewItem

 

[Sincereman74]

Thanks very much for pointing to the ad. Wah, it sure was selling at a ridiculous price. $10k off the BM listed price for a new vios! Wonder what was the catch. Like that many people also rush to buy liao

[Bennett_isaac]

Quote:

"Thanks very much for pointing to the ad. Wah, it sure was selling at a ridiculous price. $10k off the BM listed price for a new vios! Wonder what was the catch. Like that many people also rush to buy liao. "

 

Ur welcome!!

 

 

Dono if people are going for it but worth a try. It is a very nice car though. Looks far better then it's elder family member. heard the fuel consumption also better. If the price is so low and it looks this good, I guess people will go for it

[Sincereman74]

THanks. Only thing is that the offer sounds too good to be true. As it cannot be from BM, I can only assume that the warranty won't be covered by BM. Let's see if any of the SB forumers would take up the offer and let us have more details of the company or the dealer. THe price is sure

[Carmaniac]

try mocca

[Julian]

I agree that new car has lesser problem, lower maintenance cost. But i am putting myself in the requester's shoes. I have been through that stage so i know how he felt. If buying a new car, u will worry cannot maintain the car as in might have to sell it in near future if jobless or need to work overseas. As u know, 1st owner will have to bear the most depreciation. But if you get a used 5yr old car, usually the parf and the selling price is not too much different. you are almost buying the paper value of the car.

[Dr_yap]

new car.

[Julian]

Not me... me just give suggestion n zuo kay poh only.

[EventH]

what is your budget like?

 

for 30k-40k, you can probably get a 2-2.5year old 1.6L jap or korean car; less than 60k km, at least got warranty if anything goes wrong.

 

for less than 30k, still can go for rio or picanto. watch out for those $101 COE from mid 2001.

Edited September 22, 2007 by EventH

[Atrecord]

Thanks all for the many advices.

paiseh i haven't been back since sending the post.

 

actually this will be a second car. we already have a mid size car (bought new abt 2 yr ago), but due to work reason, am considering getting another car. since this one is purely for work (mon-fri), it will be either a small, old, or both small and old car - so that it's gonna be cheap.

 

reason why i'm not going to consider getting a new mid size car is:

- as explained, this one purely for work (means mostly 1 person)

- not sure if work will change, if it changes in the future such that I don't need to keep the car, then I will lose a lot of money when I let it go (and I'm not willing to do that)

 

in terms of budget, I'll put it at less than 40K. But I'll say more importantly is how much depreciation I'm willing to bear, and I'll put it at not more than $3k a year. This means if there's a 1-2 yr old car at 40K, but if it can fetch back 37k after a year, then i'll consider it too...

 

any good suggestions? tks...

[Davidklt]

He is looking for cars with 1 year COE left..what maintaence/repair is there to do?

 

minor fault..just tahan..after that scrap.

 

dun get a very old used car.. the maintenance and repair may scare you

 

Picanto, Getz, Vios, Jazz, city, Lancer or sunny.. so many choice for cheap car..

What is your budget??