Best car to buy in a 1.5 mil budget? (Buying first car)

Innov Votex · January 29, 2023

Hi guys! I'm looking to buy my first car and I have a budget of around 1.5mil, I can stretch up to about 1.7 mil and that would be the maximum. I have a few cars in mind and I would love it if you can shed some light because I've never bought a car before and I don't want to risk buying a car that might bump into a lot of issues in the future.

Most of the cars in my budget are from the early to late 90s with a mileage at about 150K to 200K. Is the long mileage something I should be very concerned about based on my budget?

I am looking for a car that would take it easy on my pocket, a car that looks averagely good, is comfortable to drive, and can average about 30km to 40km a day without major issues.

These are some of the cars that I have my eye on, please let me know what you think will be the best option and it would be great if you could also suggest some other options. 😁

Peugeot 406 (offers more features than most cars in my budget)
Mazda Astina (I heard that parts are hard to find, is it true?)
Honda EG8 (most of the ones in my budget seem to be very banged up and in need of repairs)
Lancer CB1 (most of the ones in my budget seem to be very banged up and in need of repairs)

Edited January 29, 2023 by Innov Votex

iRage · January 30, 2023

There are other Peugeot experts in the forums so I will leave it up to them to comment on the 406. All I can say is that it is a very comfy car (might not be the most fuel efficient through).

Mazda Astina : Yes...body parts are not easy to come by. Mechanical parts are shared with other Mazda (and ford) cars and should not be a problem. Also, pop-up lights are messy.

Honda EG/ Lancer CB : Well..you have answered your own question as to whether you should buy one. Most of them were once owned by a ricer who riced it up and completely messed up the car. There are a few that are still in good shape but those are going to be above your budget or not for sale.

A car with a carburetor engine is not the most ideal but the following cars do have the benefit of being very easy to fix and get up and running:

- Toyota Corolla "wagon" KE72/KE73/KE74/EE96: Not the most comfortable as the rear seat is a bench seat and the rear suspension is leaf springs. But for your budget you can get one of the very few really good examples.

- Nissan Trad Sunny: Again, there are a few that are restored and in good shape.

- Starlet P70 series

- Corolla E90 series: Last facelift models have an EFI engine.

- a normal Mazda Familia from the early 90s.

The problem with the above cars is that there are plenty of really bad ones so you will have to look around before you come across a good example.

If the maximum amount of money you have is 1.7mil, do NOT spend all 1.7mil in buying the car. Keep some money to do some basic fixes. You are looking at 25+ year old cars and there are bound to be issues. There is a thread on buying used cars in SL. Please go through it.

Innov Votex · February 1, 2023

@iRage Thank you so much for your insight on this and your suggestions, it's really helpful. I will do more digging on the cars and check what fits my budget. I really want to go with the Astina, but I'm afraid of the car parts.

I will def make sure to keep some cash for repairs and also check on the thread on buying used cars, thanks for the heads up!

Supra_Natural · February 3, 2023

Keep in mind that parts for even normal cars are now very expensive. So ensure that your repair budget is solid (Even 300-400k is not too much). I would vote for a EE (Petrol) or CE (Diesel) 9X series corolla wagon/van. Once the basics are sorted out, they are solid runners. They aren't super comfortable or particularly good looking though, and are super basic. Alternatively you could get a sedan version with some options.

The BG series Mazda familia/323 is also a good option. They are very nice to drive and less likely to have been riced than Civics or Lancers.

Edited February 3, 2023 by Supra_Natural

matroska · February 4, 2023

On 1/30/2023 at 3:04 PM, iRage said:

Nissan Trad Sunny: Again, there are a few that are restored and in good shape.

For some reason most of the Trad sunny's have aged gracefully - true there are hideous specimens but compared to cars of that vintage there's a surprisingly large number of them in good shape. Trad's make nice project cars as well if you ever want to swap in a newer EFI engine it's relatively easier.

On 1/30/2023 at 3:04 PM, iRage said:

Toyota Corolla "wagon" KE72/KE73/KE74/EE96: Not the most comfortable as the rear seat is a bench seat and the rear suspension is leaf springs. But for your budget you can get one of the very few really good examples.

These are quite affordable and OP's budget will fetch him a minter. The KE's are simply bullet proof but the EE96 is a bit more 'modern' and a little less 'basic' than the KE