Help buying a car

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Lankyman

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Hi,

So i have a car which has done 280 odd on the clock and it is 16 years old.

I have never really had any major issues with it, besides the general maintenance and i have in the recent 2 years struggled with getting time off work and also cash flow /disposable income to have the items seen to.
I have had to prolong some of the items and then pay for all at once , its been tough.
The car is more or less okay now, but the brakes need MINOR attention, one rear cylinder replaced and bleeding.

Problem examples and general maintenance done in the last 2 years.
Cam belt, fan belt, tensioner, head gasket, clutch cable x2, general service kit.
It is not perfect because it has starting issues, and not sure if my battery is dying or if my alternator is dying.

Being stuck is not lekker and not safe especially at night times. there are opportunists lurking around, and they will take a chance if they see you stranded on the road at night all alone.
The world is not the same world we used to live in 20 years ago.

With no disposable income every month it is a big dream or a big ask.
I do however have savings but its not huge and if i use it i will never get it back.
I have got a home and have only been paying for it for 1 year so far.
I wanted to get suggestions on the best way forward here on getting a reliable car.
I do not plan to trade in my car as i will get nothing back for it and it is worth more rather keeping it as a backup.
I want to get a young car not old year model and low milleage plus minus 40 000km.
I have found a few vehicles which i think seem reliable.

Anyhow , my problem is repayments every month and what cash i should throw at it and how to see it, like if i am throwing it away or is at actually going to good use because its for an asset which depreciates...unfortunately this is a required item because of our amazing cheap public transport.

do i finance how much of the vehicle and also can i take advantage of extending my loan for my home so that i pay a lower prime rate and over a longer period .....BUT i get the idea that i need to try at least throw in 100 rand if possible or anything extra towards the repayment.

I dont know. i feel lost and i feel that maybe i should just bare with the car i have for now?

I looked at the really small cheap cars but i dont want to go there and get smaller or even unsafe or unknown or non reputable with no long track record.

I looked at Datsun Go and i mean that car has an airbag version and a non airbag version and it has 0 rating in safety
Its not for a family of 3.

so in saying that i also do not want a car with high mileage that is almost near the expiry of the service plan or warranty.


How do i go about this, how do i work out what cash i should use of my savings ...and finance...yeh , really need help

Thanks
 
Last edited:
Your whole post mentions no numbers, when your problem is the numbers. It sounds like your problem is your overall financial situation, not buying a car. Not being able to buy a car is just the symptom. Stop focussing on the details of the car and focus on your overall finances. So it sounds like you desperately need to draw up a monthly budget, to determine how you spend your money, and where you could save some more money (e.g. take lunch to work instead of buying). Before making financial decisions you need to know your financial situation. What are your savings, retirement annuities, monthly income, expenses, what money do you waste on stupid stuff?

It sounds like you bought a house recently? I don't understand how that's possible if you say you have no disposable income left over at the end of the month. Did you buy the most expensive house the bank told you you could afford? Are you single, or have a family? Can you rent out a room in your house for extra income? These are just some of the questions you have to ask yourself.
 
How much have you saved? better use your savings to buy your car instead of finance, you won't regret it. Look out for private sales, you can get very good deals.

I propose a second hand Toyota Etios, good 1.5 NA engine, very reliable, two airbags, ABS, cheaper and readily available parts(Etios is 7th best selling car in SA at the moment), If it's reliability and longevity you are after stay away from those 1 litre turbo engines no matter how convincing the salesman is.

As for the Datsun, stay away.
 
thechamp said:
How much have you saved? better use your savings to buy your car instead of finance, you won't regret it. Look out for private sales, you can get very good deals.

I propose a second hand Toyota Etios, good 1.5 NA engine, very reliable, two airbags, ABS, cheaper and readily available parts(Etios is 7th best selling car in SA at the moment), If it's reliability and longevity you are after stay away from those 1 litre turbo engines no matter how convincing the salesman is.

As for the Datsun, stay away.
Click to expand...

Most definitely. I have one touching 78k km's , drive like I stole it, but the car doesn't break.
 
What is your financial budget?
There are many budget cars out there depending on budget and year & mileage.
There's a Suzuki Splash, Nissan Micra, Mitsubishi Mirage, Honda Brio Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto, Suzuki Swift 1.2 and Toyota Etios, from 2014 - 2015 with a mileage of under 40 000 km at about estimate price bracket of R 85 000 - R 120 000.
Or you can find a Hyundai i20 2014 - 2015 with a mileage of under 40 000 km within about R100 000 or more.

Based on your tight budget and super reliable & with being new as possible with service plan & warranty. I would recommend Hyundai i20, second choice I would recommend is any of these Hyundai i10, Kia Picanto and Suzuki Swift 1.2.
 
As per my list

Worse Cars list:

- Datsun Go & Go Taxi
- Any Chery
- Tata Indica
- Any other budget Chinese cars
- Base Picanto & i10 (lack of ABS)
- Renault Kwid (lack of ABS)

That should do it.
 
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