Recommend a car

[johnbarley]

On 10/26/2016 at 4:19 PM, DavidK said:

Also depends how many people you need to carry about. I bought a second-hand Mitsubishi Lancer, 6 years old with only 28k kilometers on the clock, cost 380,000 peso. So far so good (touch wood). Had to put in a new battery (for some reason they don't last long here) and just put new boots on it. Benefits from anonymity but has decent performance or at least as much as you need driving in Cebu. The wife however has a Ford Everest which is like driving a truck. I think that's a stature thing though, if you're a midget Filipina you drive the biggest car you can find.........

Can you give any advice on buying a USED car in the Philippines?

Suppose there's no Carfax here.

Edited October 31, 2016 by johnbarley

[johnbarley]

10 minutes ago, Reboot said:

Looks like I am not the only one who feels rolling off the lot in a brand new car is usually a sucker's bet.

I would never buy a brand new car in the US but am worried about buying a used one in the Philippines. 

[Reboot]

1 minute ago, johnbarley said:

I would never buy a brand new car in the US but am worried about buying a used one in the Philippines. 

I can understand how things might be different here. I don't know enough to have a decent opinion on it though. Back home, I aim for something 1-2 years old. 

[johnbarley]

29 minutes ago, Reboot said:

I can understand how things might be different here. I don't know enough to have a decent opinion on it though. Back home, I aim for something 1-2 years old. 

Look at the Mazda CX-5 for example:

PRO version

1.5M 2016, new:

http://www.mazda.ph/vehicle-pricing/

1.2M 2015, used:

http://www.carmudi.com.ph/2015-mazda-cx-5-401493-35.html

970K 2014, used:

http://www.carmudi.com.ph/2014-mazda-cx-5-399724-35.html

BASIC version:

1.350M 2016, new:

http://www.mazda.ph/vehicle-pricing/

870k 2015, used:

http://www.carmudi.com.ph/2015-mazda-cx-5-392797-35.html

This guy put a lot of miles on his. Maybe that explains the big drop.

Anyway, you're looking at about 20% decrease in value per year.

 

 

Edited October 31, 2016 by johnbarley

[johnbarley]

This DMAX looks like a good deal. 

2015, 870k.

http://www.carmudi.com.ph/2015-isuzu-d-max-256869-34.html

Suppose it's cheaper cause it's a manual? How much cheaper are manuals than automatics? 

What are the implications of rear wheel drives?

[Dave Hounddriver]

1 hour ago, johnbarley said:

 

This DMAX looks like a good deal. 

 

I also think the base model DMAX looks to be good value.  They change so much depending on the add-ons and model numbers.  Here is a link to Isuzu Phils to show how they range up to virtually double the price when you start adding a few things.

http://www.isuzuphil.com/?page=prodDetail&cat=18&eid=6

 

Note that Mitsubishi also has a basic pick up for about 800,000 new if you search hard for it.  The trouble is that these basic models are very hard to find and as I am sure they would be manual transmissions it may be a hard resell.

[robert k]

2 hours ago, johnbarley said:

I would never buy a brand new car in the US but am worried about buying a used one in the Philippines. 

I think there will be many opinions on this but if the vehicles wasn't abused/flooded and not a lemon from date of manufacture, If all they did was put gas in it and drive it for 20k km, it's probably a sound vehicle. 20k km or 13k miles is within the range that synthetic oil probably would protect an engine and if there is no damage when you get it and you take care of it, it will not explosively disassemble one day for no reason at all.

I would worry more about it being flooded or driven through deep water on purpose. I parked my truck too close to a sea wall and didn't think anything of it and when I came back it was covered with sticky salt from spray. I washed it immediately but some people might not. Watch for hidden rust.

Front drive can have advantages but most vehicles that I have seen get stuck had no business being where they were anyway and certainly not with the driver they had. Many rear wheel drives come with a locker in the rear end. I don't go offroading in nice vehicles, the roads can be rough enough, that is why I had a M-35 Willys jeep and a toyota truck. Remember, not many tow trucks in the Philippines.

[DavidK]

17 hours ago, johnbarley said:

Can you give any advice on buying a USED car in the Philippines?

Suppose there's no Carfax here.

I don't do advice, too risky , however as I said mine is a used vehicle. I just went on to the internet to see what was available (Carmundi?) and selected a few in the right price range that met my criteria, i.e. not too old, automatic, not too big, not too much mileage etc. Then I started looking at them. Bought from a dealer and so far runs like you would expect. Had it 18 months plus with no issues so maybe I just got very lucky. 

[johnbarley]

35 minutes ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

I also think the base model DMAX looks to be good value.  They change so much depending on the add-ons and model numbers.  Here is a link to Isuzu Phils to show how they range up to virtually double the price when you start adding a few things.

http://www.isuzuphil.com/?page=prodDetail&cat=18&eid=6

 

Note that Mitsubishi also has a basic pick up for about 800,000 new if you search hard for it.  The trouble is that these basic models are very hard to find and as I am sure they would be manual transmissions it may be a hard resell.

Wow, there really is a huge range.

LS, LT, etc...

Seems the difference between an automatic and manual is about 70k.

And the difference between 4WD and 2WD is 300k! That can't be worth it unless you're driving off-road, right?

I noticed the dealers sometimes sell 2015 cars. Are those brand new? Did they get stuck with some at the end of the year and are still selling? Maybe that's a good place to get a deal. Also, I imagine shopping in January might be the best time since a 2015 now looks TWO  years old rather than ONE. LOL.

Edited October 31, 2016 by johnbarley

[earthdome]

On 10/30/2016 at 10:40 PM, Reboot said:

Looks like I am not the only one who feels rolling off the lot in a brand new car is usually a sucker's bet.

That isn't as much of an issue in the Philippines. Cars seem to hold their resale value much better than in the west. With the reports of poor maintenance, flooded vehicles, etc. buying used is riskier in the Philippines unless of course you are a good mechanic or know one you can trust to inspect the car. Because of this I likely will buy new when we return to the Philippines.