Those considering China Cars

[Nf0rc3r]

Originally Posted by rico30

As an owner of a China-made car, i have some info to share.

 

-bought Chery A5 1.6 manual in year 2009 sep. damage : $40k inclusive of $18k COE

-Did intensive study on the cars during that time within my budget ( 40k to 50k)

can only consider new china or korean cars or second hand jap.

- a lot of misconception on china made cars. mainly because importer only bring in the real cheap and rather obsolete models.

for eg, geely cars uses obsolete toyota soluna 1.5l engines and chery 168 and 160 uses platform base on 1980s FIAT Toledo.

- then i chance upon Chery A5, and i did try my best to contact existing owners for the pros and cons and they gave me their frankest view.

- i went for a test drive. It wasn't the best experience as i know the test car have suspension problem at the start. the main reason is back then Chery do rent out their test car, hence the not so good suspension. the rest is ok.

 

so fast forward to right now, 2 years plus on. i have done almost 50k km on this car.

During first year , the radiator fans spoil which was promptly replaced at no cost.

til now i changed nothing except adding my own alarm system and changed all 4 tyres recently ( original tyres have hairlines cracks due to my long time driving in crappy malaysia pot holes road) surprisingly suspension is still ok.

 

the verdict:

pros : real cheap, back then. point a point b car. Spacious back seats and boot.

 

cons : trimmings and little nick nacks cannot match the japanese but to me who have been driving second ten years jap cars prior to this chery, its acceptable and nothing has dropped off so far.

of coz chinese branding may put the word shame on some people's face, i look at it as : hey i got car, is better than BMW (bus MRT walk).

 

many china cars brands like Geely and Wulin etc did not put so much efforts in R and D then chery. for your information again. Chery sells their engines to FIAT.

 

so for those who don't own a china car before, restrain your compliments. you are not in a position to know the actual scenario.

 

Lastly i want to add also is , DON"T buy china cars now. not because its not good. it just makes no sense when COE is so bloody high.

if chery j3 is 89k now

and toyota corolla is 105k

i gladly take corolla.

 

hope this help.

 

Just sharing a post from vrz which I found to be very true as my dad also has this same model.

For those who looking to buy china cars (Hopefully used as now its not worth it to buy new).

and for those who still have impression of Chinese cars from 2000. Its already 2012

[Nf0rc3r]

Sry wanted to post this in China talk but posted here instead.

Mod please help shift if possible

[Nonewposts]

just take mrt. it's much more cheaper

[Chanchihming]

My first post in this forum. Hello!

 

I have some experience with Chinese cars and would like to share. In 2007, i bought a Hafei Minz 1.1L, prior to that, i was driving Hyundai Verna and Getz.

The Hafei was a nightmare; radiator problem; air-con problem; and finally brake failure! I finally scrapped the car early this year.

 

By then, COE is already very high and my CFO at home does not approve much budget for the change. I do not have much choice but "gamble" once more and bought a 2009 Chery T11. I have been driving this car for more than 8 months now, and i am very happy to have made this decision!

 

I am not a auto-expert nor a car enthusiast, so far this car is giving me little problem. Once, i ran over some big nails without realizing it and had been travelling on BKE at 80-90kmh for more than 20min. I just heard some noise but don't feel any problem controlling the car. Didn't even cross my mind that there was a tyre problem until i reached my destination and parked the car. Then i realized one of the rear tyre is almost flat!

 

I think the quality of Chinese cars varies quite a bit. In my personal view, my Chery T11 is a good and reliable car. We are all very happy with it. I believe it can last me till the end of the COE validity. By then, if a Chery is ~20k cheaper than a Japanese car, i will most likely continue with a Chery.

 

The only question is: by then, will the agent still be around?

[Kyokonitori88]

If I have a money I will definitely not to choose China branded vehicle.

[TVT]

I am not a auto-expert nor a car enthusiast, so far this car is giving me little problem. Once, i ran over some big nails without realizing it and had been travelling on BKE at 80-90kmh for more than 20min. I just heard some noise but don't feel any problem controlling the car. Didn't even cross my mind that there was a tyre problem until i reached my destination and parked the car. Then i realized one of the rear tyre is almost flat!

 

I think the quality of Chinese cars varies quite a bit. In my personal view, my Chery T11 is a good and reliable car. We are all very happy with it. I believe it can last me till the end of the COE validity. By then, if a Chery is ~20k cheaper than a Japanese car, i will most likely continue with a Chery.

 

The only question is: by then, will the agent still be around?

Not bad, the tyre hit some nails and you still can carry on driving.

 

I did read somewhere in MCF that the T11 is quite a good car. One bro had drove it to Kuantan and back without any problems.

 

If the Chery agent not around by the time you change car, then buy another make and model lor...

 

 

[LoverofCar]

My first post in this forum. Hello!

 

I have some experience with Chinese cars and would like to share. In 2007, i bought a Hafei Minz 1.1L, prior to that, i was driving Hyundai Verna and Getz.

The Hafei was a nightmare; radiator problem; air-con problem; and finally brake failure! I finally scrapped the car early this year.

 

By then, COE is already very high and my CFO at home does not approve much budget for the change. I do not have much choice but "gamble" once more and bought a 2009 Chery T11. I have been driving this car for more than 8 months now, and i am very happy to have made this decision!

 

I am not a auto-expert nor a car enthusiast, so far this car is giving me little problem. Once, i ran over some big nails without realizing it and had been travelling on BKE at 80-90kmh for more than 20min. I just heard some noise but don't feel any problem controlling the car. Didn't even cross my mind that there was a tyre problem until i reached my destination and parked the car. Then i realized one of the rear tyre is almost flat!

 

I think the quality of Chinese cars varies quite a bit. In my personal view, my Chery T11 is a good and reliable car. We are all very happy with it. I believe it can last me till the end of the COE validity. By then, if a Chery is ~20k cheaper than a Japanese car, i will most likely continue with a Chery.

 

The only question is: by then, will the agent still be around?

 

 

glad you enjoy your car so much...but do drive carefully...the crash rating not so good..

 

 

 

[Sgbenni]

I have driven my Chinese car ( Chana Benni) for about 4 year which i encountered varies problem such as Air-con, Door handle broken, alternator and etc. The spare parts is very expensive as it is not available in the open market. Finally I trade in the car to a Mitsubishi, because the CV joint broke off and damaged the drive shaft in a car park( Lucky is not on the highway). The repair cost $$$.

[GoodCar]

Chery is one of the better one in China. They have their own reseach facility.

 

Just look at Hyundai before and after 2004. With and without own research.

[RoadTricks]

If I have a money I will definitely not to choose China branded vehicle.

walamak bro...y r u stating the obvious....of course la if got 'a' money (lol!) , anyone will take a ferrari or something similar....

if i got 'a' money (lol!!!!!) i would take a Bentley..

[laugh]

[CheryT11]

Just bought a second hand T11 as my current ride too small to accomodate a growing family size. Still waiting to pick it up. Heard alot of -ve reviews on China cars. IMO, I guess those who opt for China or Malaysia cars are rather down to earth folks or rather tight financially. But a car has become part of the 'needs' rather than 'wants'. Some reasons I could think of is to ferry kids to school/childcare centre...instead of squeezing with loads of FT during the morning MRT rush and your kids is still half awake in tow. But, I also have my reservations about trading in my 6 year old car for the T11. So, I hope to meet fellow T11 owners who can share tips or lobangs as to where to service our rides. I'm prepared to loose some hard earn $$ in this car but hope to keep it minimum and affordable.

[Colin03]

congrats , what is the yearly dep based on your T11 . What is your current ride that make you change as I am driving a 6 years plus car too.

[QQDreamer]

budget, and most important serve its purpose for transportation?

[DanielWei]

I bought a opc Geely ck Auto last Dec. I drive to Genting once every two months. When I took over the car both the headlamps were badly scratched and blur ( fixed for $50 ), petrol guage meter out( fixed for $15), idle air control dirty ( fixed for $20 ), The whole car interior sticky and melting ( fixed for $80 ), aircon fan belt ( fixed for $25 ). FC was 9 to 10 km/L ( fixed a mushroom filter with turbo fan for $80), now I am getting 11 km/L. For FC to Genting, used to be 11 Km/L and now I am getting 13 km/L.

just did a 5000 km servicing, ATF and hand brake servicing in Malaysia ( $75 ).

 

It is actually very cheap and worth to maintain this car as compare to my conti car. So far so good, no problem after one year. I enjoyed driving to genting and leaving it to the WS to fix this car, cheap and good. It's actually not too bad, if you get the right people to fix it.

 

[Chapter1_andy]

I just asked an expert who's been a mechanic for 10+ years, what his opinion was.

 

He squinched his face at me, at the mention of the name QQ.

Even my bro who has been changing cars like no tomorrow, mentioned that there's a reason why there are pricey cars and there's also a reason why there are budget cars.

 

QQ is a car that...can own, but you may regret (highly likely)

[Colin03]

can advise which wc you send to ? have you replaced any parts before as understand is difficult and expensive to get it - thank you .

[TVT]

Just bought a second hand T11 as my current ride too small to accomodate a growing family size.

Is this T11 using a RAV4 Toyota engine?

[Warthog]

After driving China-made cars, you will feel that Malaysian cars are truly truly Asia best, after Korea and Japan.

 

That being said, used China-made cars are truly truly very cheap mode of wheels. Luckily, lemon laws also apply to them.