Next Car to Buy

Mitevo7

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Dear All,

I am writing this thread to get some recommendations of what cars to consider, my budget is MYR120,000. Currently i already owned 2 cars, have been reliable, just occasionally needed minor repairs. Needed a 3rd car because we need 1 more car for spare, just in case both my dailies went into garage because my GF also drives mine.

Last week, i went and test drove 3 cars fall under my budget and below is the test reports for your reference:

1.) BMW 325i E90 - Year made 2011 (as per registered on grant), 6 cylinders, 2.5L, 6 speed automatic with 212 bhp.

Pro
- Good handling especially cornering
- Quiet Cabin and no visible rattling noise from interior
- Under carriage is still very solid and quiet

Con
- Gutless engine, even for a 2.5L, have to rev about 4k to really extract its power
- Gearbox shifting is quite slow, slower than my e46, suspect gearbox faulty or just required oil change
- Electrical assisted power steering, feels like a toy car, too light for my preference.

Status: Shortlisted

2.) BMW 323i E92 (coupe) - Year made 2007, 6 cylinders, 2.5L, 6 speed automatic with 177bhp

Pro
- Nothing impresses me since i test drove the 325i E90 before this

Con
- Gutless engine, worse than my Lancer when rev about 4k
- Gearbox having problems, improper shifting

Status: Disqualified

3.) Audi A4 2.0 Quattro - Year made 2009, 4 cylinders turbo, 2.0T, 7 speed DSG with 200 bhp

Pro
- Very good power, achieved century sprint under 8 secs (provided the road is elevated a bit)
- Sporty ride in corners (BMW seems to be better, more agile)

Cons
- Vibrating engine, probably due to mounts
- Vibrating rear differential, lack of lubrication

Status: Disqualified

4.) Mazda 3 NEW CAR, 4 cylcinder, 2.0L, 6 speed automatic with 162 bhp

Pro
- Very agile and lively engine, loves to rev
- Crispy and smooth shifting gears, aided acceleration
- Comfy ride despite competing with Europeans, absorb bumps like a champ

Cons
- Pricey for 2.0L N/A Japanese, Highline is at MYR129k (VW Jetta offers RM129k with DSG and Turbo)
- Steering is too light, i am literally steering the car effortlessly one handed during test drive
- Braking hard makes the car swayed left and right abit, properly due to softer absorber.

So now my requirement is like any other car guys who like drive fast (sensibly), the car has to be in decent power (about 180 will do), automatic but preferably not CVT (gf will drive this too), handles great (no need bone breaking) and fits my budget of RM120k. Used car or not, depends on the year, i can accept 5-7 years.

I got Volkswagen Jetta (New) and Ford Focus 1.5T (New) has yet to test drive. Please kindly let me know what choices can i have?

Thanks,
Ken
 

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lsm1991

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completely a personal opinion...... if i were to have a 3rd car as a spare, i would want it to basically be as cheap and reliable as possible. all those you have viewed (other than the mazda perhaps) i would have even poked at.

I understand that these might not be to your liking, but what i would consider:
i)coming myvi... should be decent.
ii)jazz/city
*note that those are popular cheap to jaga cars.... resale also wont take such a bad hit.

well odd options
i)crz - selo as heck but looks good if you ask me.
ii)mark x
 

Mitevo7

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completely a personal opinion...... if i were to have a 3rd car as a spare, i would want it to basically be as cheap and reliable as possible. all those you have viewed (other than the mazda perhaps) i would have even poked at.

I understand that these might not be to your liking, but what i would consider:
i)coming myvi... should be decent.
ii)jazz/city
*note that those are popular cheap to jaga cars.... resale also wont take such a bad hit.

well odd options
i)crz - selo as heck but looks good if you ask me.
ii)mark x
3rd car has to be lesser problem as much as it can while on par or better than my current two :driver:. Nevertheless, your opinions are highly appreciated.

Mark X? Never check that one before, which model will it be ?

Thanks,
Ken
 
Last edited:

lsm1991

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Sep 30, 2011
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3rd car has to be lesser problem as much as it can while on par or better than my current two :driver:. Nevertheless, your opinions are highly appreciated.

Mark X? Never check that one before, which model will it be ?

Thanks,
Ken
haha diferent ideas as to what the spare should be like haha.... i think you meant weekend car? not really a spare?

anyway the X130 should just about fit into your budget.... maybe even one of them with the g's face
 

^pomen_GTR^

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May 13, 2010
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Dear All,

I am writing this thread to get some recommendations of what cars to consider, my budget is MYR120,000. Currently i already owned 2 cars, have been reliable, just occasionally needed minor repairs. Needed a 3rd car because we need 1 more car for spare, just in case both my dailies went into garage because my GF also drives mine.

Last week, i went and test drove 3 cars fall under my budget and below is the test reports for your reference:

1.) BMW 325i E90 - Year made 2011 (as per registered on grant), 6 cylinders, 2.5L, 6 speed automatic with 212 bhp.

Pro
- Good handling especially cornering
- Quiet Cabin and no visible rattling noise from interior
- Under carriage is still very solid and quiet

Con
- Gutless engine, even for a 2.5L, have to rev about 4k to really extract its power
- Gearbox shifting is quite slow, slower than my e46, suspect gearbox faulty or just required oil change
- Electrical assisted power steering, feels like a toy car, too light for my preference.

Status: Shortlisted

2.) BMW 323i E92 (coupe) - Year made 2007, 6 cylinders, 2.5L, 6 speed automatic with 177bhp

Pro
- Nothing impresses me since i test drove the 325i E90 before this

Con
- Gutless engine, worse than my Lancer when rev about 4k
- Gearbox having problems, improper shifting

Status: Disqualified

3.) Audi A4 2.0 Quattro - Year made 2009, 4 cylinders turbo, 2.0T, 7 speed DSG with 200 bhp

Pro
- Very good power, achieved century sprint under 8 secs (provided the road is elevated a bit)
- Sporty ride in corners (BMW seems to be better, more agile)

Cons
- Vibrating engine, probably due to mounts
- Vibrating rear differential, lack of lubrication

Status: Disqualified

4.) Mazda 3 NEW CAR, 4 cylcinder, 2.0L, 6 speed automatic with 162 bhp

Pro
- Very agile and lively engine, loves to rev
- Crispy and smooth shifting gears, aided acceleration
- Comfy ride despite competing with Europeans, absorb bumps like a champ

Cons
- Pricey for 2.0L N/A Japanese, Highline is at MYR129k (VW Jetta offers RM129k with DSG and Turbo)
- Steering is too light, i am literally steering the car effortlessly one handed during test drive
- Braking hard makes the car swayed left and right abit, properly due to softer absorber.

So now my requirement is like any other car guys who like drive fast (sensibly), the car has to be in decent power (about 180 will do), automatic but preferably not CVT (gf will drive this too), handles great (no need bone breaking) and fits my budget of RM120k. Used car or not, depends on the year, i can accept 5-7 years.

I got Volkswagen Jetta (New) and Ford Focus 1.5T (New) has yet to test drive. Please kindly let me know what choices can i have?

Thanks,
Ken


go find subaru impreza version 10 2.5 turbo sedan model... the 2.5 version usually available in automatic... not sure ancient but reliable 4eat or newer 5eat....

or u should go test drive the subaru wrx version 11 (the one with evo front face)...eventhough it came strictly and officially wit CVT scooterbox... but the scooby CVT actually pretty decent and pretty good compared to econobox CVT
 

^pomen_GTR^

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vr2turbo

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I got Volkswagen Jetta (New) and Ford Focus 1.5T (New) has yet to test drive. Please kindly let me know what choices can i have?
If buying a spare car, why buy new? It depreciates whether you use it or not, unless use new car, downgrade one of the old car as spare car......lol :biggrin:
 

s.marz

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Have you looked at E60? Plenty of space, impressive handling & road feedback for a rather big car... Check out the LCI and make sure it's CKD because the CKD models have a hot weather package.

If you don't like the 325i cuz of it's power, go check out the 530i cuz it has bout 270hp BUT they are pretty rare.
 
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ixeo

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Third car? A spare car? Perodua Axia USED
Cheap to buy, cheap to run, easy to maintain. And all the ones you buy used still under warranty.

For a spare car that will see only occasional use. I don’t see why you need it to be so nice to drive, so powerful. It just needs to be no problem.

EDIT: Or alternatively, Lotus Elise. Toyota engine, easy to maintain, not much problem. And you probably don’t want to drive it everyday. Handles better than 99% of the cars out there.
 

Izso

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3rd car? Reliable? Any of those cars shouldn’t be shortlisted man. Those are all headaches waiting to happen.

What is the 3rd car for? If point A to point B why not a new Altis?

If you want fun KCNGs jetta is an awesome buy. His VW has never had DSG or any issues. Fantastic FC too.

Or a Mazda CX3?
 

Mitevo7

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Buy the car that is reflected by your nick! :biggrin: :burnout:
LOL, not too practical bro, unless its a GTA. But can't really get loan for this kind of cars, at most 3 or 2 years MAX. Of course i would love to drive one.

Thanks,
Ken
 

Mitevo7

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3rd car? Reliable? Any of those cars shouldn’t be shortlisted man. Those are all headaches waiting to happen.

What is the 3rd car for? If point A to point B why not a new Altis?

If you want fun KCNGs jetta is an awesome buy. His VW has never had DSG or any issues. Fantastic FC too.

Or a Mazda CX3?
Hahaha mine current two are no different from those, as long as not known to be worst then it's fine with me.

3rd car is mostly driven to work and long distance. It's meant to be replacing my E46 coupe as workhorse for my GF, meanwhile my Lancer still up for the job for myself.

VW Jetta is awesome buy, DSG mechatronic problems seem to be solved for now. And the new model (so called) looks very impressive inside and out. Going to test drive it tomorrow and i will share my report here.

Thanks,
Ken
 

Mitevo7

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go find subaru impreza version 10 2.5 turbo sedan model... the 2.5 version usually available in automatic... not sure ancient but reliable 4eat or newer 5eat....

or u should go test drive the subaru wrx version 11 (the one with evo front face)...eventhough it came strictly and officially wit CVT scooterbox... but the scooby CVT actually pretty decent and pretty good compared to econobox CVT
Scooby brother sure recommend scooby.......lol:biggrin:
Hahaha ! I took a look at a Legacy B5, too bad its over 100k kms and looks like not properly cared. If you have any more kang tao let me know.

Thanks,
Ken
 

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