First time car buyer: advice needed

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Shauno87

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Hi all. I am a first-time car buyer and I have seen a few options but I can't really decide. Ideally I would like a low mileage used vehicle and my budget is +/- R250k. I will be using it for short trips in town and one long-distance trip every 3 months. I'm not fussy about performance but I would like something with a decent engine, exterior and interior.

Options that I have seen thus far include:
- 2017 Polo 1.0 tsi, 40 000km, R199 999.
- 2017 Polo 1.0 tsi, 8 000km, R239 000.
- 2018 Yaris 1.5 XS, 8 000km, R239 000
- 2017 i20 1.2, 20 000km, R209 000.
- 2017 Mazda 3 1.6 dynamic, 37 000km, R247 000.
- 2017 Golf 7 1.0 tsi, 26 000km, R255 000 (used rental)

As can be seen, I am quite keen on a B-segment hatch. 2018 Fiesta is an option too, I just haven't seen or driven one. I am skeptical about VW because of their high-risk status, but the VW salesman assured me that they are only high risk for hi-jacking and not theft. I don't know if that was supposed to make me feel better.

Please share your advice and also let me know of other suggestions which could fit my needs. I'm not looking for all the bells and whistles but they would be nice if in budget.
 
2018 Yaris 1.5 XS, 8 000km, R239 000

Can't go wrong with Toyota, comes with android auto and apple car play also.
 
UrBaN963 said:
Are you in JHB?
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I am in Grahamstown, so my search is mainly in this part of the world.

DrJohnZoidberg said:
Hehe, I would much rather NOT be in the car when they steal it :laugh:
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DrJohnZoidberg said:
I'm partial to Mazda so I would take the Mazda 3.
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I love the lines of the Mazda 3. Very elegant.

Gtx Gaming said:
2018 Yaris 1.5 XS, 8 000km, R239 000

Can't go wrong with Toyota, comes with android auto and apple car play also.
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Yep. It looks good even with its cockroach shape. And with Toyota comes reliability and all that.
 
I will help you eliminate, the Hyundai 1.2 is the worst of the bunch, 2 airbags, the least amount of power, 61kW and 115Nm and it is an empty shell in terms of features compared to the others, overpriced mediocrity, remove from the list.

The Yaris 1.5XS, the Yaris has been downgraded from what it was into something I can hardly recognise, just like the Hyundai it only has two airbags, it has decent amounts of power and it is reliable however in terms of build quality and looks it comes nowhere close to the Mazda as well as the Polo, I would substitute it with a better car like the Fiesta 1.0T Trend, Renault Clio 88kw or the Opel Corsa 1.0T Enjoy.
 
thechamp said:
I will help you eliminate, the Hyundai 1.2 is the worst of the bunch, 2 airbags, the least amount of power, 61kW and 115Nm and it is an empty shell in terms of features compared to the others, overpriced mediocrity, remove from the list.

The Yaris 1.5XS, the Yaris has been downgraded from what it was into something I can hardly recognise, just like the Hyundai it only has two airbags, it has decent amounts of power and it is reliable however in terms of build quality and looks it comes nowhere close to the Mazda as well as the Polo, I would substitute it with a better car like the Fiesta 1.0T Trend, Renault Clio 88kw or the Opel Corsa 1.0T Enjoy.
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This does help, thanks.
 
First time car buying my first question is can you REALLY afford that?

Shouldn't you be looking at something for 100-150k which you can easily afford the overheads on and won't ever leave you in a pinch during a hard month.

If you are using a balloon payment system to buy this car then you can't afford it.

If your installment will work out to exactly 30% of your gross income one the longer loan period available then you also can't afford it.

So think sensibly.

If you can however happily afford it, then go nuts.

****

I would also argue you can get a Kia Picanto 1.2 Smart demo for less than all those cars in the list and probably have more features for it, but I'm biased in that regard as I just bought one earlier this year...for much less than everything listed so maybe the prices have jumped since.
 
SauRoNZA said:
First time car buying my first question is can you REALLY afford that?

Shouldn't you be looking at something for 100-150k which you can easily afford the overheads on and won't ever leave you in a pinch during a hard month.

If you are using a balloon payment system to buy this car then you can't afford it.

If your installment will work out to exactly 30% of your gross income one the longer loan period available then you also can't afford it.

So think sensibly.

If you can however happily afford it, then go nuts.

****

I would also argue you can get a Kia Picanto 1.2 Smart demo for less than all those cars in the list and probably have more features for it, but I'm biased in that regard as I just bought one earlier this year...for much less than everything listed so maybe the prices have jumped since.
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It is my first car, not my first job. I've just never needed a car and I think now would be a great time to get one, of course, after thorough planning. So yes, I can afford it. I didn't indicate whether I am buying the car cash or through finance from a bank but thanks for mentioning balloon payment. :thumbsup:
 
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Would recommend driving the Clio before considering. The small engine has literally no power when not in the turbo range. Pulls nicely when the turbo kicks in, but you have to drive it that way at which point your fuel economy is ****. I drove one for the day when I wanted to buy one, highly doubt I’ll ever buy a small-capacity turbo engine.
 
DrJohnZoidberg said:
I would not like to travel long distance with a small car every 3 months.
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Long distance can also be relative but fair point.

But why not? It's the car that has the most creature comfort so would make long distance travel probably better than the rest outside of storage space requirements.

If it's for business and man alone I don't see it being much of a problem.
 
UrBaN963 said:
Would recommend driving the Clio before considering. The small engine has literally no power when not in the turbo range. Pulls nicely when the turbo kicks in, but you have to drive it that way at which point your fuel economy is ****. I drove one for the day when I wanted to buy one, highly doubt I’ll ever buy a small-capacity turbo engine.
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What makes you think the fuel economy would be worsened by using the turbo? The entire reason it is there is to save fuel.
 
SauRoNZA said:
Long distance can also be relative but fair point.

But why not? It's the car that has the most creature comfort so would make long distance travel probably better than the rest outside of storage space requirements.

If it's for business and man alone I don't see it being much of a problem.
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It's for personal use. I am 32 and 1.85m tall so I really don't see myself driving a Picanto.
 
SauRoNZA said:
What makes you think the fuel economy would be worsened by using the turbo? The entire reason it is there is to save fuel.
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Because I drove one for the day and used half a tank of fuel going JHB, PTA North, JHB.

What that turbo is designed to do and theoretically can do in a closed testing environment, does not translate into real-world driving. It's quite a small range of power (nothing below 3200 RPM if memory serves), so you're always at higher revs if you're trying to go anywhere. Once cruising it's decent, but for city driving - not efficient at all (in my experience anyway.)
 
SauRoNZA said:
What makes you think the fuel economy would be worsened by using the turbo? The entire reason it is there is to save fuel.
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A turbo doesn't save fuel? What is supposed to save fuel is the smaller engine, that the turbo is supposed to enhance, but if you've got to hammer it anyway it won't be very fuel efficient.
 
Shauno87 said:
It's for personal use. I am 32 and 1.85m tall so I really don't see myself driving a Picanto.
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He he.

Fair enough I'm 36 and 1.8 and find it surprisingly comfortable apart from the steering wheel not having telescopic adjustment like my GTI had.

But then the Kia Rio might be worth a look as it sits inside your range and odds are it will also be higher specced for same money as other options.

I just put it out there because it was a surprisingly easy transition for me.

If I wrote it off today though I would probably jump into a Hyundai Veloster.
 
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