Bhathiya Fernando

greetings again, even though I marked this as solved, I am still looking for a car. I think it is okay to continue this thread without starting a new one. correct me if not.. So, guys, I looked for KIA ' s (2001/2002/2004) , hyundai accents, japan altos (1999), nissan march s(1997/1999), then turned to indian altos, now i'm among pandas but did not find one. I went in search of car's with my best friend who hasn't give up and he is able to do a basic checkup. there were no decent KIA s within my budget (this was nov 2021) and only hyundai which was in decent shape and within budget was a sonata but it was too much for me. these days I am looking for Pandas as I thought even a worse car (I searched the forum) which is relatively new (2015) is OK than hunting for old Japanese at the edge of my budget (I extended it for 2500k). But only one decent Panda was there which we thought decent and the owner's price is fixed on 25.5k which we thought overpriced. So, just left it. today I saw these euro cars opel astras, opel vectra for about 1800k for sale in the web. I searched the forum on these cars but found out little. will these be OK as first cars ? or any suggestions.. highly appreciate the help..

I searched the forum and found out reviews for Rio, spectra etc.. are kind of mixed in terms of maintainability, spares etc.. proton wira is under the budget, so will consider that. found one Gen 2 on those fast, shade sites but it's price is near the maximum. thank you @matroska for your response.. one of my friend also suggested, but I read and heard that maintainability is poor. I am looking into kelisa and think I can bare the less comfortableness. before the estilo I was looking into station wagons even though they felt like big as a first car, and I like them, but given their prices (except the ones in 80's) and expected cost for repairs I thought they are out of reach. I heard mazda spares are somewhat expensive. At the present, I am thinking of using my first car for a long while with less worries (now I doubt it with my budget), so manual transmission is what I thought of. Duplicate CR is ok as long as it is valid. but I prefer petrol over diesel. You know, I would like very much if I could buy a car for under 2.0 mil and ride it for at least two years with minor repairs. But that's not how the story goes given the budget, so I will wait for few days at least this travel restriction eases and go to colombo and try to find a car. So thank you Dear friends, for your valuable responses, advices, and time..

thank you @john cooper, I am looking into them, sorry for my poor vehicle habits. but are Kia reliable vehicles in the range I can afford ? I assume there are plenty of spares for them but will the maintenance be easy ? searching the forum for some reviews..

yes, I checked on that, it is said March is a good car but does low on fuel. it is safe and comfy, but if i'm to think about the worst case how much will it cost to repair the engine and the transmission?

yes, friend of my father has a perodua axia, but that kind of vehicle is out of reach..

Thank You very much @iRage for your response and advice. your deduction contradicts with what I heard from my friends a bit, but given the facts yes, I know you are right. I think the same goes for Alto k10 right? so thinking steering away from it. as per what you said, and with a good fuel consumption in mind, I am thinking of doctor sunny (1500 cc) , corolla 110, and found out ford laser and fiesta (90's) are under 1.8 mil. (think prices are artificially inflated ) will these be easily maintainable? peradua kelisa 2004 / 2006 are close to my budget, are these worth for a buy considering the future repairs.?

Greetings All, this is my first post. I'm looking to buy my first car (manual) which will be using for short distances and sometimes for long (100 - 300 km) distances with 4 passengers. my budget is maximum 2.0 mil. (having 100K more for minor repairs) and i already have an offer for suzuki zen estilo 2011 model for 2.15 mils. is it ok to bargain it for 2 mil. and buying it ? yet to see this car as the owner is bringing it in next weekend from colombo. this car is said to have a mileage of 64000 kms and was informed that minor repairs are being done in these days like repairing rack, replacing brake pads, fixing engine mounts and polishing by the owner. i left out toyotas and nissans as i worried about selecting a decent car among them due to my lack of knowledge on the subject and fear of having a major repair after a short time which will cost a fortune. so veterans, please advice me on the above offer and if you have any suggestions please enlight me. highly appreciate the help.. bathiya