Which car should I buy for my budget of 2 - 2.5 mil ?

Maths Class · January 11, 2023

Hi, I'd just like to know what cars you would recommend for my budget of 2 to 2.5 million. From my research, I've come across the Nissan March, Hyundai Sonata, Hyundai Coupe, Hyundai Elantra, Hyundai Accent and the Kia Spectra all in the years from 2000 to 2004. I'm buying the car as a daily driver, so having a/c and good mileage would be preferable. I mainly want to know what's the most reliable and least likely to breakdown. Please feel free to suggest any other type of car as well. Thanks in advance for your time.

iRage · January 11, 2023

Well...the Sonata is not known for its fuel efficiency. The Coupe, Elantra, Accent and Spectra....well...they are uncomplicated cars that get the job done and reliability is not abysmal. However, when things do go wrong finding parts is not the easiest. Also, these old Korean cars, unlike the modern ones, simply did not age well (i.e. cracked dashboards, rattling interiors, faded out lights, etc...). So out of your list, the all-round car would be the (K11?) Nissan March and that too isn't known for its stellar build quality and reliability.

Having said that, the March is not a bad car as long as it has been taken care of. So I would vote for the K11 and make sure you get one that has a good service history (as you should with any other car).

matroska · January 13, 2023

9 hours ago, Maths Class said:

I mainly want to know what's the most reliable and least likely to breakdown

out of your options - K11 March. You won't get magical fuel figures. But it's a simple car that anyone can fix. Throw in a few subtle mods like a nice set of alloys - specially on a 2door and presto you have a (slow) retro cool (subjective) hatchback that you can drive to work daily.

Nothing against the Hyundai's but spare part availability for these relatively old Koreans are bit problematic and they have not aged as well as the Japanese counterparts.

Shazly Suhair · January 13, 2023

Hi,

There are korean parts available in Sri Lanka at the moment then it was 5 years ago (as I also have Hyundai Trajet) but as a daily user I'm not sure how it will fare, the k11 is a good car, but automatic Nissan are famous for its gear box issues (trust me I had 2 nissan, presea and N16 both eventually had to replace gear box), if you ask me I would suggest Toyota starlet, sturdy built and a good work horse, through in some cool mods and you've got a gem.

Cheers mate

Maths Class · January 12, 2023

10 hours ago, iRage said:

Well...the Sonata is not known for its fuel efficiency. The Coupe, Elantra, Accent and Spectra....well...they are uncomplicated cars that get the job done and reliability is not abysmal. However, when things do go wrong finding parts is not the easiest. Also, these old Korean cars, unlike the modern ones, simply did not age well (i.e. cracked dashboards, rattling interiors, faded out lights, etc...). So out of your list, the all-round car would be the (K11?) Nissan March and that too isn't known for its stellar build quality and reliability.

Having said that, the March is not a bad car as long as it has been taken care of. So I would vote for the K11 and make sure you get one that has a good service history (as you should with any other car).

Thanks a lot for the advice; I'll keep all that in mind. Would you recommend anything else aside from the list? If you don't mind, please tell me whether there are any certain parts in the Korean vehicles I should check if I were to buy any. In fact, I'm drawn to the coupe, but I've never bought a car this old before, and constant breakdowns will be a nightmare. However, if the K11 is much more reliable than these Korean ones, I'd have to go with that. Thanks a lot for your time, though. Really appreciate it.

Maths Class · January 14, 2023

On 1/13/2023 at 2:58 PM, matroska said:

out of your options - K11 March. You won't get magical fuel figures. But it's a simple car that anyone can fix. Throw in a few subtle mods like a nice set of alloys - specially on a 2door and presto you have a (slow) retro cool (subjective) hatchback that you can drive to work daily.

Nothing against the Hyundai's but spare part availability for these relatively old Koreans are bit problematic and they have not aged as well as the Japanese counterparts.

Thanks for the advice. I didn't like the K11 at first but now the looks are growing on me eventhough its not the prettiest. I just want to have a fun ride. I've been driving the Suzuki hustler for a few months, and it's seriously underpowered to the point where I'm sometimes frustrated, so yeah, as long as it's reliable and has decent acceleration, I'll be happy to drive it.Thanks again for your time

Maths Class · January 14, 2023

On 1/13/2023 at 6:10 PM, Shazly Suhair said:

Hi,

There are korean parts available in Sri Lanka at the moment then it was 5 years ago (as I also have Hyundai Trajet) but as a daily user I'm not sure how it will fare, the k11 is a good car, but automatic Nissan are famous for its gear box issues (trust me I had 2 nissan, presea and N16 both eventually had to replace gear box), if you ask me I would suggest Toyota starlet, sturdy built and a good work horse, through in some cool mods and you've got a gem.

Cheers mate

Thanks for the advice. It was good to know about this gearbox issue. My budget increased from 2.5 to 5 million as well, so I'd be able to look for something newer, but I heard the car market is also declining these days. I prefered the Hyundai coupe out of the list I gave because of the 2 liter and the sporty look it had. Since I've been driving a 600-cc car, I'm in dire need of tasting some power. I'll look into the Toyota Starlet as well. Somehow I forgot to include that in my list. Thanks again for your time.