New car

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Messugga

Honorary Master
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Hi guys

So I'm a bit stumped as to what to do at the moment and could do with some advice. I'm moving to Pta/Jhb at the end of this month and it's time to replace my little runaround, a 2004 1.4 Citi with 61k on the clock currently (I was a student and that's all I could afford! Don't judge!) due to lack of power and their alleged popularity amongst thieves over in GP.
Anyway, I'd love to splash on an excessive toy, but I don't like going into debt for cars and thus my budget's not as big as I'd like it to be.
I'd prefer not spending more than R125k and fortunately, I feel that buying new is madness, so the second hand market is where I'm looking.
Now, I had my eye on one or two Honda Civic sedans as they offer pretty good value for money but then there was the Subaru thread the other week, and Imprezza's seem to be calling my name.
I've seen several 2.0R's with around 75k on the clock, within budget, but after having phoned the dealer it seems I'm in for a shocker service at 100k which would set me back R13k, so obviously I'd like to find something with a bit lower mileage if possible.
Any ideas where to look? I like Autotrader - haven't really looked elsewhere.

Also, I see I should be able to get R50k for my Golf with a bit of luck, so that's what I'm going for. Is this an unrealistic figure?

Also, what on earth do I do in between selling the Golf and getting the new car? Is there some solution to this little conundrum that I'm not aware of or do people just go without vehicles (Unless they have a second car) during this period?

Any and all advice would be very much welcomed on this. I haven't exactly done this before and don't want to get ripped off due to my ignorance.
 
If you trade your car in you won't be without a car. But you will obviously get less than if you sold the car privately.

My advise is always to buy the next car from a dealer, arrange finance yourself from your bank. No matter what the dealer tells you, normally you ALONE can get better finance alone!

A car under R125k would probably make sense in you looking at a Polo 1.6 / Ford Fiesta 1.6 / Mazda 2 1.5. At that price, those are the options I would seriously consider. Or if you lucky, you may just find a Hyundai i20..
 
If you can wait until you're in Pretoria, I would recommend a visit to the AutoFair at Menlyn Retail Park held every Sunday. There you can sell your car privately, and look at what's on offer by other sellers. Big advantage is that you can see the cars on offer - much better than an ad in the newspaper or online; and being private sales you can possibly get more for your vehicle than on a trade-in, and conversely buy for less than at a dealer. See their website at www.autofair.co.za for more info.
 
Messugga said:
I'd prefer not spending more than R125k and fortunately, I feel that buying new is madness, so the second hand market is where I'm looking.
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I have driven used vehicles all my life but I've found that spares for more modern vehicles (less than 15 years old) are so expensive that it starts to outweigh the cost of purchasing a new vehicle!
I vowed to never buy a new vehicle but then I saw the Kia Cerato 2.0 SX and that was the end of my resistance.
When you buy second hand you don't know what you're getting even with a thorough check. Parts may be on the verge of breaking and often problems are concealed via various means.

With the last vehicle I bought the battery died 1 month after I bought it, a hole developed in the exhaust, the suspension started to wear out after 6 months, the brakes needed replacing 1 year later, the clutch started giving me problems 1 year later and the engine started to develop big-end knock.
Total cost to repair myself would have been in the region of R25000 - R30000 and the vehicle was only valued at R35000.

I could have spent R1000+ every month on repairs for two years to fix the car but decided to rather buy a new car and trade my heap of worries in.
Now at least for the next 5 years I don't have to fork out a cent for repairs and maintenance other than fuel and tyres.
Yes it costs me about R1000 more per month in repayments but the joy of driving a new vehicle and not having to worry about what is going to break next month outweighs the cost in my opinion.
 
Fazda said:
You can always start by looking here :http://www.subaru.co.za/templates/perfectmatch/perfectmatch.asp :D

THEN look at what we have second hand, and you might be pleasantly surprised. Ask BCO what he got for 95000 - magic!
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I'm pretty sure I want the Impreza and I've been following your fanatic ramblings over the last few weeks and that got me all excited :p I just need to find the right one and then manage to get a decent price for my current car. I think I'll phone the dealership with the one I like on Autotrader, and hear what they have to offer for the Golf. Odds are not enough though.
 
Messugga said:
I'm pretty sure I want the Impreza and I've been following your fanatic ramblings over the last few weeks and that got me all excited :p I just need to find the right one and then manage to get a decent price for my current car. I think I'll phone the dealership with the one I like on Autotrader, and hear what they have to offer for the Golf. Odds are not enough though.
Click to expand...

We will deliver to Bloem, no problem, so if you like anything our side just give me a shout! :D
 
Fazda said:
We will deliver to Bloem, no problem, so if you like anything our side just give me a shout! :D
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I spoke to the Suzuki dealership that currently has the Impreza and they wanted to offer met 31k for my car on trade-in, which is absolute madness seeing as 31k buys you a 98 model with 190k on the clock, on Autotrader. Guess I'll have to go the private sale route and dip into the savings a bit and buy the new car before selling the old.

Btw, I'd kill for a STI. Do you guys take murder as payment?
 
Messugga said:
I spoke to the Suzuki dealership that currently has the Impreza and they wanted to offer met 31k for my car on trade-in, which is absolute madness seeing as 31k buys you a 98 model with 190k on the clock, on Autotrader. Guess I'll have to go the private sale route and dip into the savings a bit and buy the new car before selling the old.

Btw, I'd kill for a STI. Do you guys take murder as payment?
Click to expand...

If you are prepared to wait a few days and PM me, I will see what the stock situation is like in Durban. Getting the most for your car would be to do a private sale and Citis are not difficult to sell that way either.

In the meantime you can murder the Suzuki salesman!! ;) :D
 
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