Advice on first car

lahiru egodawatta · November 8, 2021

Hi,

Sorry about starting a new thread for this even though my budget is the same as the previous OPs post. I have a daughter coming in a few weeks and I'm looking to buy a car of my own that's reliable and safe.

My budget is about 2.5mil and so far I'm really liking the following vehicles

kia carens, Nissan leaf, cefiro.

I read a review about the kia carens on AL but its dated 2011, is it a bad choice in 2021?

Any advice or any other suggestions are welcome.

Supra_Natural · November 8, 2021

2 hours ago, lahiru egodawatta said:

Hi,

Sorry about starting a new thread for this even though my budget is the same as the previous OPs post. I have a daughter coming in a few weeks and I'm looking to buy a car of my own that's reliable and safe.

My budget is about 2.5mil and so far I'm really liking the following vehicles

kia carens, Nissan leaf, cefiro.

I read a review about the kia carens on AL but its dated 2011, is it a bad choice in 2021?

Any advice or any other suggestions are welcome.

Welcome to the AL forum and congratulations on your new arrival! With a newborn around, reliability and safety are excellent priorities to look for in a vehicle. Sadly, our market being what it is, the choice available at your budget is not optimal. There are still quite a few options, but most of these will be somewhat older.

I would advise sticking to models that are popular and well understood in the SL market. All old cars will have their issues, and when you have a kid around it's quite important that these can get fixed quickly and reasonably without a lot of hassle.

The above would rule out the Kia Carens. They were not numerous here to begin with, and are now almost non existent, so one could safely assume that parts could become a struggle.

The Nissan Leaf is definitely the most modern and safe vehicle you can get within your budget, but that comes at the expense of being electric and having issues related to the battery. Most leafs in that price range have batteries that have significantly depleted capacities, so be sure you'd be ok with a range of 50-60 Km or less. Replacing the battery is possible but there appears to be a supply issue at the moment and anyway it is not cheap. Aside from the battery though, the leaf is said to be quite cheap to run. The EV club Sri Lanka FB page will give you more information if you choose to go that route

The Cefiro is a pretty solid car overall and fairly well understood in SL. Parts should generally be no problem as well. The only concern may be fuel economy as these are big, comfy cars with 6 Cylinder engines, so they are naturally somewhat thirsty on petrol. If this is not too much of an issue, the Cefiro will be a good bet.

Other options you might consider are the Toyota Corolla AE110, Nissan Bluebird U14 (Both petrol and diesel models are available in that general range), Nissan Primera P11, Nissan AD wagon/Wingroad (if you want the most space) and the Mazda BJ Familia/323 and related Ford Laser.

Whatever you buy, do keep in mind that these days you should negotiate hard to get the best deal, and always keep a float of around Rs 250-300,000 as a backup for any necessary repairs before you start using the car.

Best of luck with the search, and do keep us updated.

mazdaspeed · November 8, 2021

The Nissan Wingroad is a decent car which is not too costly to maintain and parts are freely available and easy to find. Besides has decent looks and boot space which you would need during the first 3 years - There are tons of stuff to take if traveling out... ( When there is a junior in the family) 😄

lahiru egodawatta · November 8, 2021

4 hours ago, Supra_Natural said:

Welcome to the AL forum and congratulations on your new arrival! With a newborn around, reliability and safety are excellent priorities to look for in a vehicle. Sadly, our market being what it is, the choice available at your budget is not optimal. There are still quite a few options, but most of these will be somewhat older.

I would advise sticking to models that are popular and well understood in the SL market. All old cars will have their issues, and when you have a kid around it's quite important that these can get fixed quickly and reasonably without a lot of hassle.

The above would rule out the Kia Carens. They were not numerous here to begin with, and are now almost non existent, so one could safely assume that parts could become a struggle.

The Nissan Leaf is definitely the most modern and safe vehicle you can get within your budget, but that comes at the expense of being electric and having issues related to the battery. Most leafs in that price range have batteries that have significantly depleted capacities, so be sure you'd be ok with a range of 50-60 Km or less. Replacing the battery is possible but there appears to be a supply issue at the moment and anyway it is not cheap. Aside from the battery though, the leaf is said to be quite cheap to run. The EV club Sri Lanka FB page will give you more information if you choose to go that route

The Cefiro is a pretty solid car overall and fairly well understood in SL. Parts should generally be no problem as well. The only concern may be fuel economy as these are big, comfy cars with 6 Cylinder engines, so they are naturally somewhat thirsty on petrol. If this is not too much of an issue, the Cefiro will be a good bet.

Other options you might consider are the Toyota Corolla AE110, Nissan Bluebird U14 (Both petrol and diesel models are available in that general range), Nissan Primera P11, Nissan AD wagon/Wingroad (if you want the most space) and the Mazda BJ Familia/323 and related Ford Laser.

Whatever you buy, do keep in mind that these days you should negotiate hard to get the best deal, and always keep a float of around Rs 250-300,000 as a backup for any necessary repairs before you start using the car.

Best of luck with the search, and do keep us updated.

Thankyou so much for the very informative reply. The Kia i guess was just some mindset i got from watching all these movies with families having MPVs.I dug around a bit and almost everyone asked me to stay away from the Leaf. Apparently its really hard to sell and driving at night would net me alot less mileage. I really like Nissan vehicles and i LOVE the cefiro but im afraid of our country's situation with fuel shortages, the fact that its thirsty isnt TOO much of an issue as fuel is somewhat covered atleast for work. But like you said, im afraid ill have to replace something expensive soon after buying it. I did check the AE110 and Sunny b14 but their age is a bit frightening. Bluebirds are sort of out of my budget as far as online adverts are concerned.

2 hours ago, mazdaspeed said:

The Nissan Wingroad is a decent car which is not too costly to maintain and parts are freely available and easy to find. Besides has decent looks and boot space which you would need during the first 3 years - There are tons of stuff to take if traveling out... ( When there is a junior in the family) 😄

I didnt do much research on the Wingroad, we had an AD wagon growing up and i did love the extra bootspace to sleep during trips. But since both of you suggested I will definitely look into it. My gut for somereason really wants a leaf. But everybody i talk to seems to hate it.

Thankyou both again for your replies. I will keep you guys posted.

iRage · November 8, 2021

Sadly the AE110 Corolla is going ot be slighty out of your budget (especially if you keep 200-300k for post purchase repairs out of the 2.5mil). Ones that you will find at that price are niether the cleanest nor the most honest examples available. But then again finding Corollas in good condition are always hard no matter waht the budget is.
The AD/Wingroad is almost the same but you wil have slightly better luck in finding a car in better shape. you might also want to check a few AE100 wagons (wagons ! not vans ! G and L touring type ones).

lahiru egodawatta · November 9, 2021

14 hours ago, iRage said:

Sadly the AE110 Corolla is going ot be slighty out of your budget (especially if you keep 200-300k for post purchase repairs out of the 2.5mil). Ones that you will find at that price are niether the cleanest nor the most honest examples available. But then again finding Corollas in good condition are always hard no matter waht the budget is.
The AD/Wingroad is almost the same but you wil have slightly better luck in finding a car in better shape. you might also want to check a few AE100 wagons (wagons ! not vans ! G and L touring type ones).

You're correct, most of them are priced a bit high and I can't risk getting a lemon at the moment. I think I'm going to go ahead with a Nissan leaf, like supra_natural said its the safest and newest vehicle I can get for my budget. Also feels like it'll have fewer parts to break. Thankyou everyone for the suggestions and advice.

matroska · November 9, 2021

16 hours ago, lahiru egodawatta said:

But everybody i talk to seems to hate it

The leaf is not a bad car. It did for EV's what the Prius did for hybrids : a car for the masses - but in the local context it's a lot of pain. There's the battery issue. There might be the odd one that has the battery replaced locally but of course we are not sure if a proper job was done. Then we have the poor (read abysmal) charging infrastructure in SL.

19 hours ago, mazdaspeed said:

The Nissan Wingroad is a decent car which is not too costly to maintain and parts are freely available and easy to find. Besides has decent looks and boot space which you would need during the first 3 years - There are tons of stuff to take if traveling out... ( When there is a junior in the family) 😄

Wagon's are underrated locally - some Sri Lankans hate wagons with a passion. I haven't been in touch with the crazy car prices but I guess Y11 is in your budget. Simple, reliable and comparatively safe.

2 hours ago, lahiru egodawatta said:

think I'm going to go ahead with a Nissan leaf,

Ah just noticed you've made up your mind -it's good that you identified a car for your exact needs than go with the trends. Do keep us updated - there were a few Leaf threads a few years back as well. We'd love to hear more about how EV's are doing after the boom. Good luck.

lahiru egodawatta · November 9, 2021

5 hours ago, matroska said:

The leaf is not a bad car. It did for EV's what the Prius did for hybrids : a car for the masses - but in the local context it's a lot of pain. There's the battery issue. There might be the odd one that has the battery replaced locally but of course we are not sure if a proper job was done. Then we have the poor (read abysmal) charging infrastructure in SL.

Wagon's are underrated locally - some Sri Lankans hate wagons with a passion. I haven't been in touch with the crazy car prices but I guess Y11 is in your budget. Simple, reliable and comparatively safe.

Ah just noticed you've made up your mind -it's good that you identified a car for your exact needs than go with the trends. Do keep us updated - there were a few Leaf threads a few years back as well. We'd love to hear more about how EV's are doing after the boom. Good luck.

Actually no I'm still on the fence after speaking to some leaf users. I need to get atleast another 3 years out of a leaf without it dipping below 40km per charge and IDK if thats a realistic goal. I went on search today in kandy to check cars on sale, only thing i found in my budget that I kinda liked was a fb14. I have some test drives planned for sometime this week in colombo of some leafs? (leaves?). Someone suggested i wait out on deciding until the budget on the 12th. Some told me that vehicle imports wont go ahead until 2024 and prices will only rise. Hopefully that works out with the leaf aswell.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my justification for choosing a leaf is, i feel like theres one thing i need to really check and thats the battery, and to my understanding, there are non invasive ways to confirm its health with a good amount of confidence. But with conventional vehicles within my budget that are about 20-30 years old, i feel like any parts that should wear out would be pretty badly worn out by now and i might be buying myself into a timebomb waiting to go off and keep us stranded somewhere someday soon. And im sure this is because of my lack of knowledge but i dont know if the health of an ordinary combustion engine car can be checked and confirmed as much as a leaf battery can be.

Edited November 9, 2021 by lahiru egodawatta

iRage · November 10, 2021

1. The issue with the Leaf is, although it is newer and has modern safety features, the technology behind it can create a dent in your pocket because of the local context. Replacement batteries can cost a lot and finding a qualified technician is not that easy. This is also the reason why the Leaf costs so little (lets face it...compared to its age and features available, it is relatively very very cheap)

2. In regards to old cars...yes, components wear out with age. Furthermore, their reliability is hinged on how well the previous owners have taken care of it. However, there are old cars out there that have been cared for like a baby (at times even better than babies). Unfortunately most of these cars are not trading hands these days. Wre safety is concerned, it wil not be nearly as what something like the Leaf offers...so you need to be extra careful. However, the positive about older cars is that they are simple. If you do purchase a Y11 or something in GOOD condition (make sure you take it to a place like Car Checks and the agents and give it an extremely through checkup before buying); you can do a good mechanical and body restoration job (might cot 3-5 lakhs...remember what Supra)Natural said about some spare money ?) you can have a pretty reliable and trouble free car. Being simple and being based on popular models, it means that there will be a reasonable amount of parts in the market and there are more qualified mechanics to do the work.

3. FB14...stay away ! Those things are pretty #*($#(# ! The engine (block) itself is pretty good...and the transmission is also quite decent...but everything else surrounding the car is simply abysmal. Had a few of them at our family company (along side E100 Corollas). The Sunnys just simply kept giving trouble from electricals to cooling systems to power steering systems..however, the engine kept running and it was easy enough to fix and run again at minimal of costs. It was also more comfortable than the Corolla and for a lesser price even came better equipped. So it will be quite hard for you to find an actually good FB14 (not something that has been dressed up and made to look nice and shiny for a quick sale)

Sadly you are purchasing a car during a very messed up time. The only car I have seen come up at a reasonable price is a 35 year old, restored strlet at 900,000...so go figure. I would ask you if there is anyway to increase your budget a little bit so you get a few more options like a Viva (or a Daihatsu Mira,etc...) but considering the times, that too is an unfair ask.

Edited November 10, 2021 by iRage

Supra_Natural · November 10, 2021

15 hours ago, lahiru egodawatta said:

Actually no I'm still on the fence after speaking to some leaf users. I need to get atleast another 3 years out of a leaf without it dipping below 40km per charge and IDK if thats a realistic goal. I went on search today in kandy to check cars on sale, only thing i found in my budget that I kinda liked was a fb14. I have some test drives planned for sometime this week in colombo of some leafs? (leaves?). Someone suggested i wait out on deciding until the budget on the 12th. Some told me that vehicle imports wont go ahead until 2024 and prices will only rise. Hopefully that works out with the leaf aswell.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but my justification for choosing a leaf is, i feel like theres one thing i need to really check and thats the battery, and to my understanding, there are non invasive ways to confirm its health with a good amount of confidence. But with conventional vehicles within my budget that are about 20-30 years old, i feel like any parts that should wear out would be pretty badly worn out by now and i might be buying myself into a timebomb waiting to go off and keep us stranded somewhere someday soon. And im sure this is because of my lack of knowledge but i dont know if the health of an ordinary combustion engine car can be checked and confirmed as much as a leaf battery can be.

On the subject of the Leaf, yes it is definitely newer and safe but as others have pointed out the infrastructure issues and the battery problem will continue to dog it. For example, if you need to travel in a hurry from Colombo to Kandy, most of the cheaper examples won't be able to do it as efficiently as a similarly priced petrol car, thanks to range totals that are in the 50-60km band at best.

Any vehicle can be properly checked by a service like Car Checks and/or a competent garage. Ideally you'd want to do both as Car Checks does only a static inspection whereas a mechanic would take a test drive as well. Between those, you'd be able to ascertain the condition of a car pretty well.

If Fuel is not too much of a concern I would suggest seriously looking at P11 Primeras and A32/A33 Cefiros. The odds of finding a car that has been taken care of is a bit higher than for something like an FB14.

Bear in mind that anything mechanical can usually be sorted out on any old car with the right expertise and parts. The only time you'll have an issue is if there are any structural problems (bad accidents, severe rust through and such)

matroska · November 11, 2021

On 11/9/2021 at 6:36 PM, lahiru egodawatta said:

i feel like theres one thing i need to really check and thats the battery, and to my understanding, there are non invasive ways to confirm its health with a good amount of confidence. But with conventional vehicles within my budget that are about 20-30 years old, i feel like any parts that should wear out would be pretty badly worn out by now and i might be buying myself into a timebomb waiting to go off and keep us stranded somewhere someday soon

This is very sound and logical reasoning. The only thing that can go wrong in a leaf IS the battery. However when it comes to an older 1995-2005 ish car : yes parts will wear out but the cost of replacing them is a lot cheaper and easier than finding replacement batteries for a leaf. For the price of replacing the battery of a leaf you'd probably be able to replace the entire engine gear box combo, A/c compressors, radiators, brakes and suspension on an old car for example an FB14.

On 11/10/2021 at 5:41 AM, iRage said:

3. The Sunnys just simply kept giving trouble from electricals to cooling systems to power steering systems..however, the engine kept running and it was easy enough to fix and run again at minimal of costs. It was also more comfortable than the Corolla and for a lesser price even came better equipped.

Sadly you are purchasing a car during a very messed up time. The only car I have seen come up at a reasonable price is a 35 year old, restored strlet at 900,000...so go figure. I would ask you if there is anyway to increase your budget a little bit so you get a few more options like a Viva (or a Daihatsu Mira,etc...) but considering the times, that too is an unfair ask.

The sunny B14- first car I ever drove on a frequent basis was with my dad for over a decade :it never really gave any trouble other than the one time the distributor packed up. (so yeah electricals) but it was quite a bland car to drive.

That restored two door starlet is mildly tempting (other than the restored upholstery) isn't it? Would make an ideal companion to my EP71 - but alas the triangle of space-time-money stands in the way...mostly space 😞

iRage · November 11, 2021

4 hours ago, matroska said:

That restored two door starlet is mildly tempting (other than the restored upholstery) isn't it? Would make an ideal companion to my EP71 - but alas the triangle of space-time-money stands in the way...mostly space

Yeah....it was a good deal and was nicely done up. I too did not like the whole leathery diamond stitched interior, but atleast it is something that can be undone at some point. Anyway, the car got sold (to an car lover) in like a day.

lahiru egodawatta · November 12, 2021

Thankyou everyone for the help with and information with this matter. I've narrowed it down to anything but the leaf right now XD. Pointless asking for advice if I'm not willing to listen, and I can't be worried in the morning whether I forgot to plug my car in. As you guys suggested, I'm actively searching for P11 primeras (best bet so far, I can safely buy the car and have some cash in hand for repairs) and A33 cefiros. B14 idk, I don't think I'll get a chance of getting a good one for my budget considering it's its demand. Anyway with the budget 2022 I'll be able to make a firm decision on a car very soon. Thankyou all again. Will keep you all posted.

lahiru egodawatta · November 12, 2021

Btw, what about volvos? S40 and s60 haven't really changed in pricing, are they an electrical nightmare?

john cooper · November 13, 2021

14 hours ago, lahiru egodawatta said:

Btw, what about volvos? S40 and s60 haven't really changed in pricing, are they an electrical nightmare?

Best to stay away from Volvo's as your 1st car, with Volvo's you will get the safety but NOT the reliability.

I don't think this is to do with the manufacturer, this is more to do with the lack of maintenance.

regards,

JC

iRage · November 15, 2021

On 11/12/2021 at 11:14 PM, lahiru egodawatta said:

Btw, what about volvos? S40 and s60 haven't really changed in pricing, are they an electrical nightmare?

I would say stay away from Euros ingeneral. Like @john cooper mentioned, it is not that the brands are bad (for mainstream Euros like Mercs and BMWs and Audis at least); it is just poor maintenance by the previous owners (most of whom bought in to the brand for show but was too cheap to maintain it). Also, when it comes to older Euros, they require a lot more diligence and discipline when it comes to maintenance than a Japanese car of the same era (among many reasons, a huge reason is the fact that the Euros were far more sophisticated than the Japanese at that time).

matroska · November 15, 2021

On 11/12/2021 at 7:44 PM, lahiru egodawatta said:

Btw, what about volvos? S40 and s60 haven't really changed in pricing, are they an electrical nightmare?

Volvo's are not nightmares - there is a decent support system around now. There was a thread on AL I think by Sampath G. where a forgotten Volvo was restored a couple of years back. There is at least one joint in SL that specializes in Volvos. There is a family I know who use exclusively Volvo S40/s and S60's and they are located deep in the Northwest and not even Colombo (mentioned because people tend to think if you're living out of Colombo you should run for life when you see a Euro) so yeah maintaining a Volvo is not THAT hard. BUT since it's a first car we're talking about let's go with something a little more mainstream and simple - maybe move to a Volvo or a euro after that.

lahiru egodawatta · November 15, 2021

Thankyou again, I'll probably stay away from euros unless I get a really good deal then. Will update once I run into another car that sparks interest. Will keep you guys posted about them.

Basically - Something that's well maintained, isn't a leaf, relatively easy to repair or with parts readily available.

lahiru egodawatta · January 5, 2022

Hey everyone,

I'm back! Sadly my car hunt took a little too long and all A33 cefiros have gone beyond my budget. Had my eye on a p11 primera with an sr20de in trinco, went and checked it out, turned out to be a waste of time, car was ruined. I checked some u14 bluebirds (diesel) but they turned out to be pretty badly maintained (sensing a pattern here). Idk if my expectations are too high or I'm just unlucky. But I wanted to know if there's any issue with duplicate books. I read the previous forum articles (last one in 2020) where someone pointed out that valuation comes about 10% less. But what I've heard people say I shouldn't pay more than half of the 'real value' of the car if its a duplicate book, some say about 500k less than its market price. But I'm planning on using whatever I get for 3-4 years. Even then I'm not expecting to sell it off within a day. Is it foolish to go for a car with a duplicate book even if its a good deal? There's no loss if I buy it for cheap and sell it for cheap right? Aslong as its legal.

iRage · January 6, 2022

Sorry to hear about your car hunting woes. Sadly, this is the case with most cars in SL...they are POORLY MAINTAINED ! A majority of owners only care about keeping the car looking shiny externally and then just do the cheapest and most laziest of work on the mechanicals. Partly it is that they don't care, partly the fact that they are too cheap and go for cheapest parts and cheap labor and partly because they cannot afford to take care of it as they arespending more on what they can afford on car payments.

Sadly, these days most of the honest owners with properly maintained cars are simply not willing to sell their cars because of the market condition. It also seems like most of the peope selling their cars are selling because they can't afford it anymore or have a bright idea of making it shiny and making a quick buck (they bought it for 2mil now they can sell it for 3mil and not realise that 3mil now is worth less tan 2mil back then...that is our level of education sadly)

Duplicate books....I don't think a vehicle would lose 50% of its value just because it is a duplicate book. That is just ridiculous. People look down on cars with duplicate books because duplicate books can be forged and stolen cars, etc...can be sold under duplicate books. However, this is a thing of the past when books were actual hand written booklets. This was a time when cars sold with a duplicate book had the ran the risk of some guy with an original book coming up and claiming that the car is his/her and he never sold it. During these times the RMV had no way to actually track the registration booklet status as they were actual booklets linked to mountains of files which they had to go through if a book was "lost" and files needed to be updated for issuance of a replacement; and subsequently needed verification, etc....this almost never happened because of the level of effort required by them and well..we know how our civil servants work. However, with newer cars and the registration certificates being computerized, duplicate registration certificate issuances are recorded and tracked much better. So, if you do your due diligence and check up with the RMV for duplicate certificates and it is properly recorded in their system, then you should be okay (which is probably why the value is not low as 50% anymore ?).

So, if it was me...if the car is good (for its age) and the duplicate registration is legit; I might consider buying it. However, I am currently at a state where I would not buy a car from a Sri Lankan because for the last decade or so 99% of Sri Lankans become the world's most lowest of lowest individuals when it comes to selling cars...you simply cannot trust them when it comes to cars...you cannot trust them to even actually sell you the car after taking your deposit , etc..until you drive away with it and put it under your name. Heck..you cannot even trust the fact that the car you end up taking posession of is the actual car you looked at and paid a deposit on...okay..I will stop now 😕

lahiru egodawatta · January 6, 2022

I didn't even think about the process of getting the car under my name. Is it safer to apply for a minimal lease on the car, they probably do all the necessary checks because the car goes under their name right? Unfortunately for me I have no choice but to buy a car from a fellow Sri Lankan. But I'm hopeful I'll find someone in the 1%. But the guy I spoke to said he's had the car for 6 months but the last ownership change entry on the 'book' is from 2017.

BTW how are elantras and accents? I'm getting alot of push towards them but frankly Im not convinced about them.

As for the documents being clear, the rmv website apparently has an issue and they adviced me not to make any payment on it. But the free information service worked and the information checks out (the small plate on the car matched the info on the book and on the website). Still dunno about how I'd know if the duplicate book was legally obtained. I guess I'll look into that once I inspect the car. And would anyone recommend taking a carcheck service here? They seem promising.

iRage · January 7, 2022

1. There was a time when leasing companies did not offer leases to cars with duplicate books. I don't know if that is still the case. Better check all that out.

2. You will have to go to the RMV and find out for certain about the duplicate registration certificate. The free app does not show much except for the very very basic info.

3. Sadly, cars being sold on open papers is quite common in SL. So although the registration docs will say that it has had only a very few number of oners and the last time it changed hands was many moons ago, the car in reality would have passed through many owners. They just did not update the registration papers because the Sri Lankan car market is such that the more owners are listed in the book, the lesser the car is worth.

Supra_Natural · January 10, 2022

Duplicate books should not be an issue as long as the car is in the name of the person you're buying it from, and the document itself is legitimate of course. For best peace of mind, it's always better to check with the RMV, but that is such a pain in the Ass these days that I don't know whether you'd want to.

My personal view regarding number of owners is that I would much rather buy a car with 10-15 owners on the book that has been taken care of properly than one with 3 owners that has not.

Also, in terms of condition of car, if you really can't find one that is in very good shape then look to getting something that needs some mechanical work but has good body and interior condition (no major crash damage etc). Mechanical stuff can generally be sorted out without as much hassle, but of course this is assuming there aren't a lot of major hidden issues. This is why getting a proper independent inspection done is a very wise choice.

lahiru egodawatta · January 11, 2022

Thankyou guys for the input and info on this. I did a search in Colombo on Sunday and man... the cars in my budget are just ruined.. I'm starting to think my expectations are still stuck in 2020. But we're using our parents 2006 vitz these days and its flawless. Its sad to see these 2004-2006 elantras in such bad shape in comparison (but i heard the korean cars have cheaper plastic, idk). I think my only option right now is to lower my expectations or apply for a lease and increase my budget. I was thinking of buying a mini for a few months, so we can use it around town, and selling it off (I'm guessing it'll hold value fairly well). I've had very few issues with the cops back when I used my BIL's mini, just got stopped once because the colour of the number plate was wrong :S. But after reading Jigawatt's thread I'm having doubts about that too. But Thankyou all for your input, I feel like i would have made some seriously bad decisions if not for the advice on this thread.

iRage · January 12, 2022

On 1/11/2022 at 4:33 PM, lahiru egodawatta said:

but i heard the korean cars have cheaper plastic, idk

sadly yes...early Korean cars had bad plastics so you will rarely find an old one without any cracks and still with its original dashboard. But then again not all Japanese cars had perfect plasics either.

matroska · January 12, 2022

On 1/11/2022 at 1:03 PM, lahiru egodawatta said:

and man... the cars in my budget are just ruined..

This is an unfortunate situation right now - due to the current crisis people are simply holding on to their vehicles. Because for most there is no chance of upgrading. The only cars people get rid of are mostly really horrible cars that have been changing hands for a while. You will though find minters being sold due to migration etc. But mostly regular/day-to-day cars nowadays simply keep changing hands among buyyas (buy and sell folks) and the odd classic gets exchanged among enthusiasts. Not the best time to be buying a new car.