I guess diff ppl have diff opinions / diff taste buds. My $.02 :
= New Proton - sure got minor problems but got warranty. Easy to maintain. Parts are cheap. "Serviceable" anywhere, anytime.
- Saga is ok but like the others say, kinda outdated but saves you more than 10+k!
- Wira is a better choice, better comfort, handling and looks ok. Not much saving.
- 2nd hand Japanese cars are good but for a 48k budget, you're better off going for local. Not gonna be sure what you're getting unless you know the ownber personally.
- Continental cars are far better than the JAPs but maintanance is higher.
I was in the same shoes as you were bout 2 yrs ago, was shopping for a good car @ 50k budget. Finally I got a 2yr old WIRA 1.8EXI DOHC from Proton Glenmarie, Shah Alam. It had 25+k on clock and was still under warranty. I got it @ RM44k
1st owner was EON and these cars were used for sponsorship purpose. I took it back to Proton after 2 months (2 more days for warranty to expire) and got lots of parts, ie, absorbers, link rods, lower arms, bushes, meter, steering rod and some other stuff, all changed for FREE as it was still under warranty! Some parts had NO problems whatsoever but was changed too since it was all still under warranty. Till todate, the car is as good if NOT better than most JAP/Continental cars the same age. Performance is far better & Maintanance is super cheap compared to my other cars.
