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Upgrade from BJ5P to Belta or Invest in a Land?


madushan.a

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Hi All,

Currently I'm using a Mazda Familia BJ5P (JDM, YOM 2000, facelifted) car as my daily office drive for nearly three years. I initially wanted to buy a FB15, but had to settled with BJ5P due to the limited budget. From the first day I fell in love with this car and in two words I can sum-up the value so far I got as "exceeding expectations". 

When consider the price I paid (1.7 mil in very early 2014) I'm more than satisfied with the comfort, handling/ driving pleasure, fuel economy, reliability etc. It never let me down so far - may be due to I'm doing the regular services properly and using carefully. I don't want to sell this car since at the moment I'm satisfied with it. Planned to sell it after 2 more years and odo is now reaching 120,000 km and timing belt to be replaced soon.

Meanwhile now one of my office friends is suddenly selling his Belta (2008 model, 1300cc) looking for an upgrade before the coming budget. His Belta is in mint condition and he is the second owner. It is properly maintained, no accidents and carefully used, 73,000 km on odometer. He claims he can easily sell his Belta for 3.6 mil within couple of days. 

He would like to reduce the price around Rs. 50,000 - 60,000 for me and wait for few days if I'm willing to sell my BJ5P and buy his Belta. Also gave me a friendly advice; better to sell my current car now since it is already old, there will be a difficult time after this budget and after that finding a reliable, well maintained car is really hard and selling an old car is difficult.

In my gut feeling (I'm not an expert in autos) I think this upgrade is worth for just above 3.5 mil since I know the car. My inner mind says use this opportunity, otherwise I will have a tough time later with selling my current car and hunting for a good car.

I already had a test drive. What I really felt during driving is there is not much of different. Probably my current BJ5P is comfier and has better handling (may be I'm biased towards my current ride). What I understood was there is no big difference in driving pleasure/ comfort. Only thing I get is a newer car, better fuel economy and "Toyota badge" for resale in few years.

Now he wants to know my decision. According to current market I think I would be able to sell my BJ5P around 1.9 mil - 2 mil. I don't want to go for a lease. I can manage this with a small personal loan and I already have a 1 mil FD in bank (this budget is not an issue, car is passed the test).

I'm in a dilemma whether should I upgrade or not? When asking from other friends some says it is a waste of money if I'm upgrading without a need and some says that upgrade is worth and go for it, since it is a "Toyota" it will be like a FD (I'm not a fan of Toyota or any specific brand). 

And one of my relations said my current car is still in great condition and do the T belt repair and keep it for another couple of years, and instead of upgrading, he suggested to buy a block of land of few purches nearby his surrounding (in Homagama area). He said land value will be almost doubled in 2-3 years (I have no idea whether it is true or false).

Please let me know your opinion with below options (I'm not an expert in automobiles, investments or financial planning. But I consider loans/ leases as headaches and disturb my peace of mind. I'm an average professional with an average income and it is sufficient to keep my simple, peaceful lifestyle).

Option 1: Sell my current BJ5P car and upgrade to the Belta. (need to get a small personal loan here) 

Option 2: Keep my current car. Also keep extending the 1 mil FD in the bank and keep the peace in mind.

Option 3: Keep my current car and purchase that land (need to get a small personal loan here) 

Thank you in advance.

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To be honest...the Belta is just going to be a newer car but not necessarily an upgrade. Personally I would think the BJ5P would be a nicer ride depending on its condition though.

So if the BJ5P is in decent shape..I would say keep the BJ5P...do up the pre-emptive repairs like timing belt, seals, bushes, etc...and if needed get a good paint job and keep it.

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Even though your current car BJ5P hasnt got the look to be called a new car, you really dont have to worry unless you have not been attending rapairs or not try your best to keep the car in its best condition. Believing that you've been attending every possible thing still you know how good it is

So, just dont get deceived by the term new and the looks as you know every car is old even by a day so I would suggest you to keep on maximising the fixed deposit whilst attending the running repairs of the current car.

And please note that current car market is not stable at all therefore dont think of the car market as a relatively safe investment ✌✌

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Hi, one of my best friends owns a BJ5P which we used to travel a lot. So I'm pretty familiar with it. And currently I'm owning a 1.3cc Toyota Belta (2007). 

Pros of Belta over BJ5P

- 1) Newer car

- 2) Better fuel efficiency (Does about 11 in the city and 17+ on the highway)

- 3) Excellent resale value

-4) Less repairs and parts are ample

-5) Smooth gear shifts (due to the CVT transmission)

Pros of BJ5P over Belta

-1) Excellent ride comfort. (Belta can be a little bit bumpy at times)

-2) Excellent pick-up

-3) Good looking (Both the interior and the exterior)

If I were in your shoes, I'd definitely keep the Mazda and go for the land. This is assuming that your car's body is in top nick. Belta is a pretty decent car. But the BJ5P is a little bit better despite the age. Changing a timing belt is a simple task. Do the routine maintenance on schedule. Drive trains of Mazda are pretty solid. So just take care of the body and you will be good. All the best!!!

 

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Been there.. done that.. ;)
Have been running a BJ5P for 7+ years now. Had to take this decision few years ago when the car market was down.
Instead of upgrading the vehicle; bought a land for 31 lacks. now the land value is nearly 50 lakhs.
Car has also appreciated by 2+ lakhs as well. 
So, go and buy yourself a good piece of land :D
on the contrary; if you prefer to upgrade your ride; better to look at other options rather than going for a 
bland car like a belta which actually won't give you any satisfaction other than owning a car with a Toyota badge.

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Option 3

Yes belta is a class below the Mazda BJ5P and Belta interior feels very cheap. Only thing that belta gives you better fuel economy and interior space. All these Beltas and Axios are known for CVT failure which may cost you more than 100k repair. However Belta comes under Toyota brand name therefore it may have a good resale value.By the way if you really need an upgrade please consider following options.

1. Mitsubishi Lancer Ex (2008 above)

2. Nissan Tiida new face 15M (2008 above)

3. Toyota Corolla 141  

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10 hours ago, dhachamila said:

Option 3

Yes belta is a class below the Mazda BJ5P and Belta interior feels very cheap. Only thing that belta gives you better fuel economy and interior space. All these Beltas and Axios are known for CVT failure which may cost you more than 100k repair. However Belta comes under Toyota brand name therefore it may have a good resale value.By the way if you really need an upgrade please consider following options.

1. Mitsubishi Lancer Ex (2008 above)

2. Nissan Tiida new face 15M (2008 above)

3. Toyota Corolla 141  

Despite being a bit of a Nissan fanboy, I have to be honest (yeah, I'm nice like that sometimes): The Nissan Tiida is really, really dull to drive and the orange display coupled with the spartan interior is underwhelming. I've had one in the past as a rental a couple of times and I couldn't wait to get rid of it each time. If I were offered these three cars at a rental counter I'd go with either the Corolla 141 or the Lancer Ex in a heartbeat. 

(No offence meant to anyone who may own or drive a Tiida on a daily basis. This is just my own, somewhat questionable opinion.)

Edited by Kavvz
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6 hours ago, Kavvz said:

Despite being a bit of a Nissan fanboy, I have to be honest (yeah, I'm nice like that sometimes): The Nissan Tiida is really, really dull to drive and the orange display coupled with the spartan interior is underwhelming. I've had one in the past as a rental a couple of times and I couldn't wait to get rid of it each time. If I were offered these three cars at a rental counter I'd go with either the Corolla 141 or the Lancer Ex in a heartbeat. 

(No offence meant to anyone who may own or drive a Tiida on a daily basis. This is just my own, somewhat questionable opinion.)

Thatz your personal preference but tiida is better than Belta. I don't know why you are complaining, it is dull to drive  however if you drive Tiida you can feel it performance, it can reach 100kmh with in 9 secs and even in high speeds steering feedback is better than beltas and axios ( if you hardly throttle  Belta or axio only thing you feel rpm is fluctuating rapidly and car moves very slowly thanks to toyota CVT box). Further many are complaining on Toyota Corolla 141's low pulling power and low fuel consumption due to its small engine (1600cc) and heavy weight  body structure. However fuel consumption figures of tiida and lancer are much better (at least does 10kmpl+ in city). 

I'm talking about Nissan tiida new face so its comes with white meter dials with blue colour illumination and i have attached some pics to have a proper idea about its interior.

Finally i'm not boasting about Nissan Tiida, just want to say it is a good car for a person who is planing to buy a car for 3 million -3.5million budget and it is hard to find good Lancer ex for 35lks (atleast below 50000km ) unless need to increase budget another 3laks.    

 

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Edited by dhachamila
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On 11/23/2016 at 3:42 PM, madushan.a said:

Hi All,

Currently I'm using a Mazda Familia BJ5P (JDM, YOM 2000, facelifted) car as my daily office drive for nearly three years. I initially wanted to buy a FB15, but had to settled with BJ5P due to the limited budget. From the first day I fell in love with this car and in two words I can sum-up the value so far I got as "exceeding expectations". 

When consider the price I paid (1.7 mil in very early 2014) I'm more than satisfied with the comfort, handling/ driving pleasure, fuel economy, reliability etc. It never let me down so far - may be due to I'm doing the regular services properly and using carefully. I don't want to sell this car since at the moment I'm satisfied with it. Planned to sell it after 2 more years and odo is now reaching 120,000 km and timing belt to be replaced soon.

Meanwhile now one of my office friends is suddenly selling his Belta (2008 model, 1300cc) looking for an upgrade before the coming budget. His Belta is in mint condition and he is the second owner. It is properly maintained, no accidents and carefully used, 73,000 km on odometer. He claims he can easily sell his Belta for 3.6 mil within couple of days. 

He would like to reduce the price around Rs. 50,000 - 60,000 for me and wait for few days if I'm willing to sell my BJ5P and buy his Belta. Also gave me a friendly advice; better to sell my current car now since it is already old, there will be a difficult time after this budget and after that finding a reliable, well maintained car is really hard and selling an old car is difficult.

In my gut feeling (I'm not an expert in autos) I think this upgrade is worth for just above 3.5 mil since I know the car. My inner mind says use this opportunity, otherwise I will have a tough time later with selling my current car and hunting for a good car.

I already had a test drive. What I really felt during driving is there is not much of different. Probably my current BJ5P is comfier and has better handling (may be I'm biased towards my current ride). What I understood was there is no big difference in driving pleasure/ comfort. Only thing I get is a newer car, better fuel economy and "Toyota badge" for resale in few years.

Now he wants to know my decision. According to current market I think I would be able to sell my BJ5P around 1.9 mil - 2 mil. I don't want to go for a lease. I can manage this with a small personal loan and I already have a 1 mil FD in bank (this budget is not an issue, car is passed the test).

I'm in a dilemma whether should I upgrade or not? When asking from other friends some says it is a waste of money if I'm upgrading without a need and some says that upgrade is worth and go for it, since it is a "Toyota" it will be like a FD (I'm not a fan of Toyota or any specific brand). 

And one of my relations said my current car is still in great condition and do the T belt repair and keep it for another couple of years, and instead of upgrading, he suggested to buy a block of land of few purches nearby his surrounding (in Homagama area). He said land value will be almost doubled in 2-3 years (I have no idea whether it is true or false).

Please let me know your opinion with below options (I'm not an expert in automobiles, investments or financial planning. But I consider loans/ leases as headaches and disturb my peace of mind. I'm an average professional with an average income and it is sufficient to keep my simple, peaceful lifestyle).

Option 1: Sell my current BJ5P car and upgrade to the Belta. (need to get a small personal loan here) 

Option 2: Keep my current car. Also keep extending the 1 mil FD in the bank and keep the peace in mind.

Option 3: Keep my current car and purchase that land (need to get a small personal loan here) 

Thank you in advance.

Here's my prioirty if i was in your shoes : 

3

1

for some reason i feel paranoid about keeping my dosh in the bank since of late... I can't imagine why.

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