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2-5 year old Indian/Chinese or 20-25 old Japanese


Indrajith Gamage

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Hi, so I'm new here and loved reading some great explanations from many. I'm here to ask for similar help on a specific issue that I couldn't find a good answer to.

I would like to buy a car and the budget is 1.8-2 million. I was scouring for options and first thing I came up was the Geely Mx7 Mark II. It's within budget and seems like I can get a 4-5 year old one with reasonable options. I also hear that while the interior is not very sturdy, the important parts like the drive train etc are based on a toyota corolla, and even fits corolla parts. (I know the corolla as a really reliable car since our family had AE100 and 121) 

I also thought about some 2-3 year old Altos which I got to know as reliable and good for hard use as well, and quite fuel efficient, but they are not in anyway safe or comfortable, and really cramped. So would like to avoid it unless there's really no better option. 

Other option is older Japanese cars. The one I set my sights is a Mazda Familia BJ5P, which actually looks really good, comfortable and spacious, while everyone says Mazdas are very reliable. I found several within budget eith YOM 2000-2002.

I loved Hondas as well, especially Civics, but ones within budget are 1996 or so, so guess I'll avoid those. (Same with Toyotas) People say the Honda Citys are good as well, I'd like to know whether they are so actually, since they are assembled elsewhere than Japan. I found several with Vtec engines with YOM 1999-2001. 

Is it true that 20 year old Japanese cars are better than 2-5 year old Indian or Chinese cars? ? 

So could you help me out here. What I need is a spacious, reliable and a reasonably safe car. Fuel economy 10+ in city and 13+ outstations is fine. What I really would like to decide between is, 

Geely MX7 MARK II (2013-2014)

MADZA FAMILIA BJ5P (2000-2002)

HONDA CITY VTEC (1999-2001)

Any good alternative suggestions are welcome as well. Thanks 

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Chinese cars are continuously improving, last week was a news that Geely will invest in Toyota to develop hybrid and EVs. But produced 5 years agi, I would avoid the Geely at any cost . The 20 year old japs will still give you problems,especially corrosion should be checked. What about Korean or even European models? Korean quality is in par with 20years ago Japanese and you could get a newer one. European ones have hardly any issues with corrosion or paint, even if you go for a 90s vehicle with good maintenance history.

 

 

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4 minutes ago, ajm said:

Chinese cars are continuously improving, last week was a news that Geely will invest in Toyota to develop hybrid and EVs. But produced 5 years agi, I would avoid the Geely at any cost . The 20 year old japs will still give you problems,especially corrosion should be checked. What about Korean or even European models? Korean quality is in par with 20years ago Japanese and you could get a newer one. European ones have hardly any issues with corrosion or paint, even if you go for a 90s vehicle with good maintenance history.

 

 

Thanks. But aren't the European models really costly to maintain? (atleast ones within my budget) Spares are said to be really expensive and hard to find even, for some models. Haven't given a thought about Korean ones. Could you please inform me of some models that are comparable to Mazda Familia BJ5P or Honda city? (in comfort, reliability, space, fuel economy etc) 

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IF you maintain with original quality parts,a Japanese car will cost same as a Euro. original parts last longer, so less visits to the garage to replace the same waterpump done 6 months ago but again paying labor cost(also getting higher). just my 2 cents.

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Well...at the end of the day it all depends on the specifics cars you are looking at. There are 20+ year old cars that have been extremely well taken care of with proper scheduled maintenance done on time etc...and there are an equal number of cars that are just a few years old that have been completely abused.

Chinese cars do keep improving continuously, however, they still lack the overall build quality of the European, Japanese and Korean cars. Now don't get me wrong...there are good Chinese cars which are built under license from major European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers. however, these cars are as expensive as their non-Chinese counterparts and/or only for the Chinese market. The Chinese cars you find in SL are mostly assembled in SL for SL and are not good as the same model that is sold in other markets. As a result the Euro, Japanese, Korean cars have done comparatively better than these chinese cars.

Now 20+ year old cars...nothing wrong if taken care of properly. the issue is finiding a decent one. Sri Lankans are scared of any car that has more than 100,000km because of the scheduled maintenance work that needs to be done (which in this day and age is actually not that "scary if the car has been taken care of properly). As a result it will be hard to find an honest car that is 20+ years of age as people mess around with meters and because they believe their cars are worth in gold, tend to do quick and dirty fix-ups to make it look shiny for a quick sale.

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1 hour ago, Indrajith Gamage said:

Thanks. But aren't the European models really costly to maintain? (atleast ones within my budget) Spares are said to be really expensive and hard to find even, for some models. Haven't given a thought about Korean ones. Could you please inform me of some models that are comparable to Mazda Familia BJ5P or Honda city? (in comfort, reliability, space, fuel economy etc) 

Not any much more if you use genuine products of Japanese manufacturers. Only thing is there are plenty of knock offs, cheap Chinese and Taiwanese parts available for Japanese cars all over the place. Also, for some Japanese cars you do get cheaper genuine products from places like Thailand intended for cars they manufacture for developing markets (but these would have somewhat lower service/life cycles)

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2 minutes ago, iRage said:

Well...at the end of the day it all depends on the specifics cars you are looking at. There are 20+ year old cars that have been extremely well taken care of with proper scheduled maintenance done on time etc...and there are an equal number of cars that are just a few years old that have been completely abused.

Chinese cars do keep improving continuously, however, they still lack the overall build quality of the European, Japanese and Korean cars. Now don't get me wrong...there are good Chinese cars which are built under license from major European, Japanese and Korean manufacturers. however, these cars are as expensive as their non-Chinese counterparts and/or only for the Chinese market. The Chinese cars you find in SL are mostly assembled in SL for SL and are not good as the same model that is sold in other markets. As a result the Euro, Japanese, Korean cars have done comparatively better than these chinese cars.

Now 20+ year old cars...nothing wrong if taken care of properly. the issue is finiding a decent one. Sri Lankans are scared of any car that has more than 100,000km because of the scheduled maintenance work that needs to be done (which in this day and age is actually not that "scary if the car has been taken care of properly). As a result it will be hard to find an honest car that is 20+ years of age as people mess around with meters and because they believe their cars are worth in gold, tend to do quick and dirty fix-ups to make it look shiny for a quick sale.

Thanks. So do you have any recommendations on a car? I like the idea of a korean one, any suggestions of a good model? ? 

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1 minute ago, iRage said:

Not any much more if you use genuine products of Japanese manufacturers. Only thing is there are plenty of knock offs, cheap Chinese and Taiwanese parts available for Japanese cars all over the place. Also, for some Japanese cars you do get cheaper genuine products from places like Thailand intended for cars they manufacture for developing markets (but these would have somewhat lower service/life cycles)

Hi, so any suggestions of a European model within budget and similar maintenance cost? ? 

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2 minutes ago, Indrajith Gamage said:

Thanks. So do you have any recommendations on a car? I like the idea of a korean one, any suggestions of a good model? ? 

Well..the usual I suppose...

The Lancer and 3/Axela that had been proposed already. You also can get late FB15 and early N16 Sunny I believe. But be extra cautious when you look in to cars like the Sunny, Corolla, Carina, etc...they do get tampered a bit more than the others.

But I think you need to be realistic about fuel consumption. 10+ kmpl in the city is kind of wishful thinking...especially for an old car which has seen a fair bit of wear and tear. Best case scenario would be that you will be getting about 10 or around...

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