First car advise

A

Alestorm

Expert Member
Joined
Jan 6, 2010
Messages
1,143
Reaction score
0
Location
Cape Town
So I'm buying my first car soon and there are a few options. The most important thing is obviously how the money works out. I'll have R20k deposit by the end of next month to use and I really need the repayments to be down low. Can't pay more than R2k a month with insurance.

So I've been thinking that seeing as in 2-3 years time I'll be in a position to buy a good new car I just need something to tide me over until then really. I could get a R50-60k car and pay it off over 3 years with this in mind. Trading it in after 2 years would very much be possible.

So, it's basically either a Tazz/Corsa/Indigo etc which will be newer, or an older Merc/BMW 318/Jetta 4 with much more mileage but far better features, performance, looks, security and comfort, all of which I value. In the middle is say Polo Playa/Golf or Opel Astra.

Is it a good idea to buy eg. a 2000-2002 model of a better car that only has to keep for 2-3 years in any case?

Obviously any other options appreciated.

TIA!
 
Honestly, look for a 1.6 anything. I LOVED my Toyota Conquest. It was my first car and it was legendary to me.

I believe that the older a car is, the harder it will be to get finance for it. If this is your first finance application then your interest rates may be a little high. To put things into perspective. My fiance bought a 2006 Peugeot 206 for R70k. Her installments + insurance come to about R2k. So there are really nice cars in your budget ... but she did take her finance over 5 years.
 
Stay away from old luxury cars because if any of those luxury features break you're stuffed. Stick to a small, cheap entry level car and stick with it for as long as possible. Corsas have good performance and you'll have fun with one for years.
 
I agree, stay away from old and luxury as those two combinations can be costly. Also, as someone else said, the older the car the more difficult it is to finance. Also steer clear of India and China....
 
Why dont you buy a brand new Toyota Aygo/Polo Vivo on residual if you're planning to trade in after 2 years or so?

A BMW E46 318i (M43) pre-facelift is actually one of the more reliable cars you can get!

R50k/R60k car - Toyota Corolla RXi FTW, best thing you'll ever spend on:)
 
I would say go for sumin smaller now. If anything breaks on an older luxury model you are going to have to fork out a lot of money!!! So go get a good second hand small car. Can get quite a newish one with km on the clock and won't cost you an arm and a leg when u need to service or if sumin goes wrong. You said it yourself. In a couple of years you can buy a better car..
 
Alestorm said:
So I'm buying my first car soon and there are a few options. The most important thing is obviously how the money works out. I'll have R20k deposit by the end of next month to use and I really need the repayments to be down low. Can't pay more than R2k a month with insurance.

So I've been thinking that seeing as in 2-3 years time I'll be in a position to buy a good new car I just need something to tide me over until then really. I could get a R50-60k car and pay it off over 3 years with this in mind. Trading it in after 2 years would very much be possible.

So, it's basically either a Tazz/Corsa/Indigo etc which will be newer, or an older Merc/BMW 318/Jetta 4 with much more mileage but far better features, performance, looks, security and comfort, all of which I value. In the middle is say Polo Playa/Golf or Opel Astra.

Is it a good idea to buy eg. a 2000-2002 model of a better car that only has to keep for 2-3 years in any case?

Obviously any other options appreciated.

TIA!
Click to expand...

My advice to all car buyers always is try to look for the least interest payable option. I agree with most users opinions, try to stick with Toyota. I've got a 1996 conquest, bought it with 140k on the clock and its now almost on 230k but I get it serviced properly and it runs light on fuel. Takes me wherever I wanna go without fear of breaking down, only negative is no ABS or airbags. I want another safer car but won't let the Conquest go, the wife also won't want it gone.
 
Get a smaller newer car, stay away from big old cars as they are expensive to maintain and petrol is going to cost you a lot more.
 
TriggerTRD said:
Why dont you buy a brand new Toyota Aygo/Polo Vivo on residual if you're planning to trade in after 2 years or so?

A BMW E46 318i (M43) pre-facelift is actually one of the more reliable cars you can get!

R50k/R60k car - Toyota Corolla RXi FTW, best thing you'll ever spend on:)
Click to expand...

OK, the Toyota fanboi has had his say, now we wait for Mr Roux....:D
 
I say buy a car cash, stretch your R20k you want to put as a deposit, to say 30k, and you can get alot of nice 1995-2000 model small hatch backs... golf 3, opel kadette, vw polo, toyota tazz/corolla... you wont go wrong there mate!
the things I could have achieved i took this same piece of advice! same as the mistake of cellphone contracts! and clothing accounts. and credit cards.
Its all bad man!
 
TriggerTRD said:
Why dont you buy a brand new Toyota Aygo/Polo Vivo on residual if you're planning to trade in after 2 years or so?

A BMW E46 318i (M43) pre-facelift is actually one of the more reliable cars you can get!

R50k/R60k car - Toyota Corolla RXi FTW, best thing you'll ever spend on:)
Click to expand...

BMW and reliable don't go together. A BMW will cost him an arm and a leg in servicing costs anyway.
 
Old Mercs are actually extremely reliable and fairly cheap to maintain. However, the problem with them when compared to other used cars, is that because of their age its more difficult to find a car that is 100% perfect. You can find a lot of 70% and even some 80% cars, but then you need to fork out to get it back to a better state. I still think its worth it, because they have unmatched safety and luxury for the price, and fuel is not expensive relative to the cost of the car itself, unless you do a LOT of driving.

As others have pointed out though, your problem will be getting finance with them, which I think will be impossible. If you default on the loan, and the bank needs to sell your car, the bank knows it will get next to nothing back for it. Whereas, a newer car, they will get more cash so the risk is lower to them.
 
Fazda said:
AND worth every cent!! :D:D
Click to expand...

Now the Toyota fanboi AND Subaru fanboi have spoken, I'm sure Rouxenator will be in soon to suggest an Opel :D

To be honest I would NOT recommend a 20V RXI/ RSI as a first car!

If mileage is over 150 000km, vvt gear, O2 sensor will probably need to be replaced. The guy will probably be put off by oil consumption on 20V's and to get a well maintained, fully serviced 20V will set him back over R80 000 (2001/2002 model). Also, it's rated as a performance model so insurance is higher than normal.

In my opinion, rather go for something like a 2001/ 2002 Corolla 160i (bulletproof 4AFE motor), Polo 1.6 or even a 2nd hand Ford Fiesta 1.6; will get you where you wanna go, no major problems and not bad on fuel.

Not sure how interest rates are now compared to 3 years ago but the advise I was given is that you should budget R2500 per month as car repayment for every R100 000 you 'borrow' from the bank. I'm currently paying R2400 per month (R1700 repayment + R700 insurance) and I 'borrowed' R55000 at a fixed interest rate of 17%. The high interest rate was due to me being a first time buyer, buying a 2nd hand car and my low salary at the time (R4500 gross).
 
definitely dont go for a bigger older car - not worth it, youll spend more on repairing the stuff that breaks rather than your monthly repayments. Ive just bought a new polo vivo, signed 2 days ago, get delivery next week :) yay. With a deposit of 25k, im paying 2.7k inc insurance pm.. No residual.

Best thing to do in your position, is to get a cheaper second hand option, if you can find a polo playa in good condition do it, but be careful, im trading my one in because i cant sell it privately atm. 2002 1.6. Got a bunch of issues that cant get fixed, idleing etc. VW offered me 25k for it, its worth 40k but I took it. Had enuf of that piece of crap. I bought it for 62k, have paid it off, + a further 25k on repairs, so i could have just bought a 80-90k vehicle, pay a bit more per month, but not have mechanical issues every month.

Buy something small, something you can pay off quickly and then sell to use as a deposit on the next car. But you will need to aim between 50-60k to get the monthly repayments to about 2k.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X