Bmw, Toyota Allion, Or Geely Emgrand 7

Thihara · April 12, 2015

Hi Guys,

I'm facing kind of a quandy here. So I'm coming to the experts.

I'm going to buy a new car and have the following options.

Brand New Geely Emgrand EC7, imported by Micro. 3.2 Mil LKR. Made for the european market, has a 4 star safety rating, so not really "chinese crap". 3 years warranty in Sri Lanka, 5 years in other countries, so probably reliable. Looks good. Micro however doesn't really has a good customer service record.

A 2004 BMW E60 520i Milage around 50,000 KM, About 4 Mil LKR. Well it's a BMW. Always wanted to own one. It's a 2004 model though. 5 series has more electronics. Good rep. But I don't want to end up having to do a very expensive repair every two months or something.

Toyota Allion or a Premio probably around 2010 or a nearby year. About 4 Mil LKR. Good market, after sale value. Cheap repairs.

I'm not really concerned about fuel economy. I'm just looking for a car I won't have to repair every few months.

What do you guys think I should buy?

Thanks.

MasterDon · April 12, 2015

First time I'm seeing a BMW and Geely on the same 'what to buy?' list.

Go with the Premio.

sathyajithj99 · April 12, 2015

Its hard to say anything about Geely EC7 because

nobody is using it and even havent seen them being driven on roads except @ Micro showrooms. Its a 'Geely', so doesnt have a good reputation in SL because it is already ruined by Panda & MX7.

Anyway its better to go for an allion or a premio if you consider less repairs factor, even there is a repair it wont be very expensive.Beemers are really trustworthy cars but in this case the model you are refering to is 11 years old and you may have to face some repairs which wont be a pleasant experience.

Schiffer · April 12, 2015

WTF kind of comparison is that

a Chinese car, a german car and japanese car.

just go buy a allion or a premio since you want some car

Thihara · April 12, 2015

MasterDon, Happy to be one of your firsts. :-P I added the Emgrand 7 because it seem to have favorable reviews and has quite a bit of german parts. Engine, Brakes etc. It does seem to be a class apart form the Panda's and MX7s. So for me it seemed like that a brand new emgrand might be a good alternative for a 10 year old beamer.

sathyajithj99, I don't mind a few occasional repairs regardless of how expensive it is. I meant I don't want to get that BMW if normally it might need repairs every few months since it's old. Does that change your recommendation?

Thanks for the reply guys.

Schiffer, I asked for your expert advice, not your attitude so please f**k off if you have nothing but your attitude to offer.

Schiffer · April 12, 2015

yes yes putha you are right. why waste my time on on a person who compared a geely and a bmw. #F***ingOff

sathyajithj99 · April 12, 2015

If you dont mind occasional expensive repairs or fuel economy, go for the beemer . It is the best ride out of your list. And you will always have that feeling when you drive a beemer which you cannot have from a Jap car.

Jor-el · April 12, 2015

Go for the premio

matroska · April 12, 2015

I'm no automotive "expert" but usually when someone is not sure if they wan't to buy a euro or a jap that probably means that person isn't quite ready for a euro yet.

The late Richie Benaud used to say "When in doubt go for spin"

similarly "When in doubt go for the Japanese"

In this case the premio it is.

iRage · April 12, 2015

On 4/12/2015 at 2:37 AM, Thihara said:
Toyota Allion or a Premio probably around 2010 or a nearby year. About 4 Mil LKR. Good market, after sale value. Cheap repairs.

Well...Japanese cars are actually not cheap to repair if you use original or decent/proper/reputable OEM parts and proper mechanics. It is just that you get a lot of ~~crappy~~ substitute parts from every where from China to Timbuktoo and plenty of basses who are more than over confident to "fix" anything and everything with a Japanese car badge on it; which the Euros don't have...

What you should buy is what you like.You have to live with it. All we can do is give pros and cons of each car.Still....I too vote for an Allion or Premio,mainly because you might get turned off and be less tolerant of the BMW getting any hiccups. However, the BMW is the nicer car to drive

Crosswind · April 12, 2015

We can only advise ppl who are willing to take our advice. If you think the Geely is a great car, go ahead and buy it.

AbeysinghE · April 12, 2015

Seriously something wrong with the comparison. Like matroska mentioned, you're not really ready to go for a Euro I think. Best option for you is Allion or Premio since you are bit concerned about repairs. Buying a 11 year old Euro won't be handy in that case.

asrock · April 12, 2015

I also recommend the Allion or Premio only because the bmw is over 10 years old. For around 4m I think you can go for a 2011 face lifted allion.

Thihara · April 12, 2015

Alright guys, thanks for the advice. I'll go get myself a Toyota then.

bycap · April 13, 2015

whoa wait a min... chinese over german ? one heck of a comparison...

anyway it may have a point since you compare B/N chinese and 10 year old german. but that comparison will last for a small time period.

Hoonigan · April 13, 2015

On 4/13/2015 at 3:10 AM, bycap said:
whoa wait a min... chinese over german ? one heck of a comparison...
anyway it may have a point since you compare B/N chinese and 10 year old german. but that comparison will last for a small time period.

The Chinese stuff age in dog years

Supra_Natural · April 13, 2015

I can't speak for anyone else but I have actually driven the Emgrand 7 and evaluated it so I can give you an opinion. What they have basically tried to do is offer an Allion/Premio sized and equipped car for yaris money. Like all such ideas there are both pros and cons with the final product because of the compromises necessary.

Good stuff

Large-ish car, plenty of space for passengers and Cargo, fairly brisk thanks to the 1.8 Litre VVT engine, smooth shifting CVT transmission, decent kit list, seems fairly well put together with no squeaks or rattles, handling is decent

Bad Stuff

Material quality in the interior is well below what you would find in an Allion/Premio or hell, even a Yaris; its a sea of hard, low rent plastic (even the steering wheel rim is made of flimsy feeling plastic), The engine is LOUD at all speeds especially when compared to a Premio (looks like not enough sound deadening), Engine does not like to be revved much (sounds very strained above 5000 RPM, though the redline is at 6.5k), everything has a slightly unfinished feel to it.

Balancing this out is the 3 year Warranty, but Micro's after sales record has been erm, patchy at best.

ShintaroX · April 13, 2015

Why are your options just these three specific (and slightly odd) choices? I'd say there were better ways to spend 4 million.

Thihara · April 13, 2015

Supra_Natural, thanks. That helps a lot.

ShintaroX, Like what? I'd appreciate the advice..

Crosswind · April 14, 2015

If you are not concerned about fuel economy,

Nissan Teana ~2008+, Toyota Camry ~2007+, Honda Civic FD-Series ~2008+, Honda Accord ~2008+, Ford Focus 2011, Kia Sportage 2011, Nissan XTrail ~2007, Hyundai Santa Fe 2008, Mitsubishi Lancer EX 2010+,

None of these will send you to the garage every two months.

esdeez · April 14, 2015

Go for the Premio. Sit inside and drive either car (I have) and you'll notice the vast difference. And Not only will the Premio retain its value, you'll always have a flock of buyers waiting for one. The same cannot be said of either the Micro or the BMW.

Although easily the best car dynamically, the E60 BMW's are notoriously costly to maintain, especially one that hasn't been cared for. If you can afford it then by all means go for it, but just to give you an idea, a headlight assembly (one side) apparently costs Rs. 175,000 locally.

Crosswind · April 16, 2015

BTW does anyone know from where they copied the engine in the emgrand?

Earlier Geelys (CK, MK) had Toyota 5A-FE engines. I believe the later Geelys such as Panda 1.0 were knock-offs of Fiat engines.

Some Chinese cars such as the Lifan have installed Tritec (old version of the New Mini) engines in them, which will be a problem because these engines are no longer manufactured.

Thihara · April 16, 2015

I think the Emgrand has a G-Power engine. Seem to be german.

The Don · April 16, 2015

I've seen the engine code JLγ-4G18 DVVT. 4G18 is a Mitsubishi engine code. Make of it what you may.

Thihara · April 19, 2015

So I've taken your advice and changed my to buy list. Thanks Guys.

I like the Nissan Teana, Toyota Camry and Toyota Accord, I also saw the Hyundai Elentra going around 3.4 mil for a 2012 model, not sure if there's something wrong with it though.

But there seem to be a lack of second hand cars for Teana 2008+, and Accord 2008+. There are some 2007 Camry's listed.

Does anyone know if 3.6 mil is a good price for a 2007 Camry?

Crosswind · April 19, 2015

DVVT is Daihatsu's trade name for VVT technology. Some of the Corolla Altis assembled in Indonesia comes with engines with DVVT in them. This is actually a copy of Toyota's own 2ZZ-FE (?) engine. Most likely Emgrand uses this engine (copy of a Toyota engine). Geelys of the past have used chinese copies of Toyota engines anyway.

Under no circumstances would I believe that the Emgrand has German components in it. It may definitely have China-manufactured parts from German brand-names in it. It may come with a Bosch ECU and ABS but those will be made in China, not Germany.

Edited April 19, 2015 by Crosswind