Please help with advice on a car

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123Eish

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Hello, help would be greatly appreciated

I need to get a car for my mother as her old car was stolen.

She needs something to go to work, do grocery shopping and visit family.

Two options, either buy something at 50k in cash from insurance payout or finance at 150k (limit, can be stretched but car needs to then last a long time) we will then use the 50k as deposit. I don't mind either option obviously it will be hard to get something amazing at 50k so we don't mind financing if the cars worth it and lasts longer.

Open to all suggestions, just I would prefer something that would involve the least amount of maintenance by me and my brothers. Also I wanted to get something better than her previous car, which was an old Nissan Sentra. Auto would be preferable but manual is not a deal breaker


Thank you
 
thechamp said:
Get her a Jazz.
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VikashLurker said:
For 50k you can get a Honda ballade, Nissan Almera. Slightly cheaper if you go manual.
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You are going to have to look hard, for R50k and below they are typically dogs, if you can push it to R60k you can find a decent Jazz or Corsa C.

When I looked recently for a few months R50-60k was break even for a small car(typically hatchback) in nice condition, something well looked after and in good cosmetic condition.

The big lesson I've learnt is do not by a fix em upper to try save money, costs add up very fast, then there's the hassle of the repairs and niggles that come with work done and the cosmetic issues that can never be undone.

Rather even push it to R65k and get something that's absolutely mint than say try "save" R10-15k and get a slightly worn out vehicle that will still cost virtually the same once its all sorted and then you are left with worn out cosmetics and interior.

Look for that little old lady vehicle that's a clear winner, sometimes you score and get them for cheap but typically even if its a bit pricier it's worth the money.
 
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Honda Jazz, Honda Ballade, Mazda2, Suzuki Swift 1.4, Suzuki Ciaz or Ford Fiesta.
 
airborne said:
You are going to have to look hard, for R50k and below they are typically dogs, if you can push it to R60k you can find a decent Jazz or Corsa C.

When I looked recently for a few months R50-60k was break even for a small car(typically hatchback) in nice condition, something well looked after and in good cosmetic condition.

The big lesson I've learnt is do not by a fix em upper to try save money, costs add up very fast, then there's the hassle of the repairs and niggles that come with work done and the cosmetic issues that can never be undone.

Rather even push it to R65k and get something that's absolutely mint than say try "save" R10-15k and get a slightly worn out vehicle that will still cost virtually the same once its all sorted and then you are left with worn out cosmetics and interior.

Look for that little old lady vehicle that's a clear winner, sometimes you score and get them for cheap but typically even if its a bit pricier it's worth the money.
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I agree, 50k is a stretch for something decent but its not impossible. You just need to keep a keen eye out on whats out there and grab a bargain when it comes your way. I just sold my mint condition 02 Civic for 50k. It was a high miler @ 270k kms, but it was in pristine condition. And that Honda would last another 200k easy.

Things to consider when getting a cheapy would be the service costs and parts cost & availability. Don't forget about the insurance as well. For eg. You could get a run around Polo/ Golf for a decent price but due to it being high risk, insurance might be steep. Stick with the traditional brands if you don't plan on keeping the car for too long. i.e Toyota, Honda, Nissan. You will be able to get bargain deals on frenchies as well as Volvo's but you will be married to the car.

There is absolute crap out there, but don't be discouraged. Keep looking and you will find something decent.
 
Agreed you can get deals but you have to keep a beady eye open and jump the minute you see the deal on gumtree, the good ones typically are gone within hours or the same day they were listed.

The challenge with that is you need to be able to accurately appraise the vehicles condition and make an on the spot decision, that's not an easy task for your average Joe without much mechanical experience if any.

Buying a "bargain" 2hnd hand vehicle is a bit of a nightmare, what you really want is when family or friends or people in the circles you know sell a vehicle, then there's not the same pressure and you can at least have a fair amount of trust in the word of the seller.
 
buy new, for R150k you can also get a maintenance plan, so the next few years you don't have issues with warranty/ maintenance
 
I was thinking of either Honda or Hyundai. Ballade, Jazz, Gets, i10, i20.

Thanks for all of the replies, I will check gumtree and go see some cars on the weekend.

Appreciate it.
 
Tremayne said:
I was thinking of either Honda or Hyundai. Ballade, Jazz, Gets, i10, i20.

Thanks for all of the replies, I will check gumtree and go see some cars on the weekend.

Appreciate it.
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Both generally make solid vehicles, just do some research on the model you eventually decide on regarding any issues they have, even budget vehicles can sometimes have some insanely expensive spares or uniquely difficult jobs.
 
airborne said:
Agreed you can get deals but you have to keep a beady eye open and jump the minute you see the deal on gumtree, the good ones typically are gone within hours or the same day they were listed.

The challenge with that is you need to be able to accurately appraise the vehicles condition and make an on the spot decision, that's not an easy task for your average Joe without much mechanical experience if any.

Buying a "bargain" 2hnd hand vehicle is a bit of a nightmare, what you really want is when family or friends or people in the circles you know sell a vehicle, then there's not the same pressure and you can at least have a fair amount of trust in the word of the seller.
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^ This is the scariest part. Its very differcult to identify a ticking time bomb. And it can be luck of the draw, you just never know. However, I wrote this list of tips to go through when checking out a second hand car. OP might find this useful:

Tips-for-getting-best-deal-on-2nd-hand-car
 
inanabhay said:
buy new, for R150k you can also get a maintenance plan, so the next few years you don't have issues with warranty/ maintenance
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150k new and a maintenance plan.. um that's like only a Renault kwid
 
Zenthrax said:
150k new and a maintenance plan.. um that's like only a Renault kwid
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Yeah, overpriced mediocrity, just add something on top of the R50k and get a good used car, OP is prepared to get his hands dirty with regular maintenance, i fon't see the need to get into new car debt.
 
Lupus said:
Could look at Demo model cars
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Hah, you know the rules of MyBB forums, comment on exactly what is typed or a riot breaks out somewhere in ZA

Poster said new, demo is not the same as "new"
 
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Pitbull said:
NO!!!!

Finance the R 115 000 and then put down the R 50k as a first payment. Your interest rate will be higher on R 65k finance than on R 115k ;)
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That's a clever tip but just to expand on that, potentially it may also be relative to your risk profile and the vehicle whether the interest rate on the higher loan amount is actually less?
 
Believe it or not, there are actually new cars available under R150k (not only Kwid).

Also, nothing stops you from negotiating either.
 
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