Car for 1.3-1.4mn as a first car

[Heyan]

Hi everyone,

I'm going to buy my first car and my budget is around 1.3-1.4mn. This would be used to travel long distances. Needs to be reliable and cheap to maintain. 

The easiest option would be maruti 800 but safety is a concern. Prefer auto but manual would also be fine. 

i found mitsubishi mirage 2 door for 1.35mn. thinking about buying that one. No idea about spare parts. 

Appreciate any suggestions. 

 

Thank you!

[MaleCortana]

  On 12/24/2020 at 6:23 PM, Heyan said:

Hi everyone,

I'm going to buy my first car and my budget is around 1.3-1.4mn. This would be used to travel long distances. Needs to be reliable and cheap to maintain. 

The easiest option would be maruti 800 but safety is a concern. Prefer auto but manual would also be fine. 

i found mitsubishi mirage 2 door for 1.35mn. thinking about buying that one. No idea about spare parts. 

Appreciate any suggestions. 

 

Thank you!

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Toyota Starlet EP82, some might be the 4EF engine (Carb) and the others might be 4EFE (EFI Engine) either way wouldn't harm you, they came in autos as well but I think an auto is like 1.6mn ish not sure. 

Parts are cheap af and there's plenty of specialist vendors. Definitely safer than an Indian car I presume (at least at this price point I think NCAP gave it 3*s. Since its a simple af car any mechanic should be able to work with it. I think some cars came with dual airbags and ABS so if you're big on safety look out for those. 

tldr: Better than a Maruti

[Heyan]

  On 12/25/2020 at 11:18 AM, MaleCortana said:

Toyota Starlet EP82, some might be the 4EF engine (Carb) and the others might be 4EFE (EFI Engine) either way wouldn't harm you, they came in autos as well but I think an auto is like 1.6mn ish not sure. 

Parts are cheap af and there's plenty of specialist vendors. Definitely safer than an Indian car I presume (at least at this price point I think NCAP gave it 3*s. Since its a simple af car any mechanic should be able to work with it. I think some cars came with dual airbags and ABS so if you're big on safety look out for those. 

tldr: Better than a Maruti

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Thank you! 

[matroska]

  On 12/24/2020 at 6:23 PM, Heyan said:

Hi everyone,

I'm going to buy my first car and my budget is around 1.3-1.4mn. This would be used to travel long distances. Needs to be reliable and cheap to maintain. 

The easiest option would be maruti 800 but safety is a concern. Prefer auto but manual would also be fine. 

i found mitsubishi mirage 2 door for 1.35mn. thinking about buying that one. No idea about spare parts. 

Appreciate any suggestions. 

 

Thank you!

Expand  

You are going to enjoy a slightly large car if you are doing long distance. EP82 s are now crazy expensive. You might be able to source a 19- manual. 

Mid 90's Sedans are an option like Mazda Familia/323 (so-called Butterfly model)  Bluebird petrols (Diesels might be expe nsive) 

If you have some time for some TLC, a Peugeot 406 might serve you well. Forum member @AVANTE got himself a 406 recently and is enjoying every bit of it.

[AVANTE]

  On 12/27/2020 at 5:55 AM, matroska said:

You are going to enjoy a slightly large car if you are doing long distance. EP82 s are now crazy expensive. You might be able to source a 19- manual. 

Mid 90's Sedans are an option like Mazda Familia/323 (so-called Butterfly model)  Bluebird petrols (Diesels might be expe nsive) 

If you have some time for some TLC, a Peugeot 406 might serve you well. Forum member @AVANTE got himself a 406 recently and is enjoying every bit of it.

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Sadly bro, the 406s have gone up. 1.4m is most probably a car with issues or sketchy history now. Need atleast 1.5 mil for a good car with decent options.

If you check the quick site, there's an LX (base trim) for 1.55 mil, with mismatched paint on the panels, manual rear windows, and weird interior. Buyyas overpricing them. 

[Supra_Natural]

  On 12/28/2020 at 5:26 AM, AVANTE said:

Sadly bro, the 406s have gone up. 1.4m is most probably a car with issues or sketchy history now. Need atleast 1.5 mil for a good car with decent options.

If you check the quick site, there's an LX (base trim) for 1.55 mil, with mismatched paint on the panels, manual rear windows, and weird interior. Buyyas overpricing them. 

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You can probably get a D8 406 though for that budget right?

[AVANTE]

  On 1/1/2021 at 5:40 AM, Supra_Natural said:

You can probably get a D8 406 though for that budget right?

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Yes it's possible, but D8s aren't really recommended anymore. Body parts are becoming uncommon, and they came with the earlier L6A engines which is also running low on parts and is a bit thirsty on fuel (and underpowered, 90hp for a 1.8L petrol). But quite durable, can run 500,000km in Lankan conditions without a doubt (there are few examples).

Also the D8 scored 2 stars for safety, compared to the 3 stars for the D9. And reviews say the D8 has a tendency to waft while the D9 feels a bit more planted. 

I recommend to just save up and buy a D9 on the first shot and keep it for a long time. Especially a 2L one (RFN engine). 

Edited January 1, 2021 by AVANTE

[Twin Turbo]

Congratz  on your first car,..

At that range, leave a tidy amount for initial repairs/replacements such as tyres, brakes and insurance.

Good luck !

 

TT. 

[Heyan]

  On 1/2/2021 at 2:54 AM, Twin Turbo said:

Congratz  on your first car,..

At that range, leave a tidy amount for initial repairs/replacements such as tyres, brakes and insurance.

Good luck !

 

TT. 

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Thanks. Budget is around 1.5mn. keeping about 1lak for repairs and stuff. hope that would be enough.  

[Heyan]

  On 12/27/2020 at 5:55 AM, matroska said:

You are going to enjoy a slightly large car if you are doing long distance. EP82 s are now crazy expensive. You might be able to source a 19- manual. 

Mid 90's Sedans are an option like Mazda Familia/323 (so-called Butterfly model)  Bluebird petrols (Diesels might be expe nsive) 

If you have some time for some TLC, a Peugeot 406 might serve you well. Forum member @AVANTE got himself a 406 recently and is enjoying every bit of it.

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apart from the spare parts issue, heard 406s are bad on fuel. Prefer something more common easy to maintain. don't need lot of power or doesn't have to look cool. Reliability and safety is the priority.

[Heyan]

If I can find Daihatsu mira 1999/2000 would that be a good option? haven't seen much for sale but there were few and seems like a pretty good car. wonder 650cc is enough though

[HaeylM]

  On 1/2/2021 at 6:27 AM, Heyan said:

If I can find Daihatsu mira 1999/2000 would that be a good option? haven't seen much for sale but there were few and seems like a pretty good car. wonder 650cc is enough though

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If you dont mind a older but pretty decent sedan, May i suggest B13 (Doctor) Sunny?. We owned one long time back for a while and it was an amazing car and is pretty popular in the local secondhand market. You should be able to find an automatic one for under 1.5 Mil and the GA15 engine combined with the good fabric seats and ample interior space, you should be good on long distance drives compared to a crammed up hatchback. The maroon interior ones are more popular and if you can find a super saloon version you will get power mirrors, shutters, RPM meter and auto AC. But there are EX saloons with decent options too maybe except the base model diesel ones. Car does around 8-9 KMPL in city and 11 outstation on regular fuel but better to keep more than 100K on your pocket for general repairs cuz its an old car. (Body parts are pretty cheap tho with body pannels costing less than 8K, bumper at less than 12K and each hedlight at just 4K in delkanda😂😂). Car does come with EPS but sadly no airbags in the base model.

[matroska]

  On 1/2/2021 at 6:24 AM, Heyan said:

apart from the spare parts issue, heard 406s are bad on fuel. Prefer something more common easy to maintain. don't need lot of power or doesn't have to look cool. Reliability and safety is the priority.

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Well easy maintenance is something that you should think of - over fuel. Fuel efficiency at this age is very subjective depends on individual cars and how they have run. The suggestion by HaeyIM is good :B13 Sunny. Most of them are Diesel (64-) but there are a petrols around too. Prices vary from 900,000 - 1.5 M ...automatic gearboxes are a little rare (compared to B14 where most cars had automatic boxes) but not impossible to find.