Looking for a used car

Samantha567 · October 22, 2023

Hey everyone! 👋 I'm excited about buying my first car and could really use your expertise. I have a budget of around 2.5 million (1.5 million cash and 1 million finance), and I'm considering a few options like the Toyota Corolla 110, Sprinter, Nissan FB 15, N16 and Mazda Familia or perhaps suggest another model within this budget?

I'm not a car expert by any means, so I'd greatly appreciate your insights. What I'm looking for is a car that's reliable, has good fuel efficiency, low maintenance costs, and is super comfortable. Any advice or experiences you can share would be incredibly helpful.

Please share your thoughts and recommendations. Your input means the world to me! 🙏

matroska · October 22, 2023

Welcome to the forum. Pro's and con's of these models have been extensively discussed. Do searches for them. Few things to consider.

- Most of the common/everybody cars have a likelihood of being severely abused and dressed up.

- 110's can be overpriced. I'd personally rate the B15 over the N16 : The N16, despite newer is somewhat lumpy/lethargic. Personal opinion.

-Mazda's are underrated cars. The BJ5 Mazda is what I assume you are considering. is an underrated car - it's a very durable car with decent driving dynamics. Just do a background check on the availability of spares etc since these cars are now 20 years old. Rather than overpaying for a 110 or a FB15 I'd pick a BJ5 Series Mazda.

- Of the models you provided, the 110 comes in with a diesel variant as well. Diesels are generally cheaper than the petrols so you might as well get a better deal. But then again, you have to consider if your usage warrants a diesel.

- All the model's you provided come in both Automatic and Manual transmission. Whenever that is the case, the manual goes for significantly less and slower to 'move' in the market. If you're comfortable with stick - this spells good news since you can bargain and buy one for a good price.

On 10/22/2023 at 4:49 AM, Samantha567 said:

What I'm looking for is a car that's reliable, has good fuel efficiency, low maintenance costs, and is super comfortable

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Sadly, all these criteria cannot be met. Fuel Efficiency would be ~10 KMPL for these models. Comfort - varies. I'd say Nissan's tend to be more comfier. Maintenance cost is a lottery since cars are old you might get a big repair, you might not maybe ...but generally these are simple cars, so you will not need to buy a super-expensive fancy engine oil that is made with unicorn tears , which I assume is what you are worried about, and Kumara who runs a garage on the next lane can fix it.

On 10/22/2023 at 4:49 AM, Samantha567 said:

perhaps suggest another model within this budget

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depends on your need... maybe you can do a search for various models in your price range and your criteria and we can give you some input on it.

Cheers!

iRage · October 22, 2023

On 10/22/2023 at 11:26 AM, matroska said:

- Of the models you provided, the 110 comes in with a diesel variant as well. Diesels are generally cheaper than the petrols so you might as well get a better deal. But then again, you have to consider if your usage warrants a diesel.

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B15 Sunny also comes with a diesel. Quite rare in SL. Mostly due to the taxation policies at the time.

Diesel sedans (Japanese ones) lose value because:

- With time the diesel engines do require some costly maintenance work to keep them running (however ones done properly they will run a good deal of distance).

- If not properly taken care of (which is the case with most), fixing the issues of a diesel can be quite costly, thus people are very weary and demanding when buying used diesels.

- For some reason the Japanese never got the vibration dampening, noise dampening, etc..right on these cars. As a result 99% of Japanese diesel cars after sometime look like they are going to fall apart.

About the 110 Corolla/Sprinter....most of these cars have been hacked to death and then cleaned up (poorly) to make quick sales. So be careful when you buy one...good ones are hard to come by and hardly get advertised as they get sold quite fast. Same with the B15 Sunny. So you are likely to find Lancers and Axela/3s in better condition than the Corolla/Sprinter and Sunny. Don't get your mind wrapped on this whole "no market" bs brokers and your neighbor's girlfriend's uncle spew out. You will buy a car like a Lancer/Axela at a reasonable (probably the more realistic value for a car of the age)..use it and sell it for a reasonable price.

Samantha567 · October 23, 2023

On 10/22/2023 at 11:26 AM, matroska said:

Welcome to the forum. Pro's and con's of these models have been extensively discussed. Do searches for them. Few things to consider.

- Most of the common/everybody cars have a likelihood of being severely abused and dressed up.

- 110's can be overpriced. I'd personally rate the B15 over the N16 : The N16, despite newer is somewhat lumpy/lethargic. Personal opinion.

-Mazda's are underrated cars. The BJ5 Mazda is what I assume you are considering. is an underrated car - it's a very durable car with decent driving dynamics. Just do a background check on the availability of spares etc since these cars are now 20 years old. Rather than overpaying for a 110 or a FB15 I'd pick a BJ5 Series Mazda.

- Of the models you provided, the 110 comes in with a diesel variant as well. Diesels are generally cheaper than the petrols so you might as well get a better deal. But then again, you have to consider if your usage warrants a diesel.

- All the model's you provided come in both Automatic and Manual transmission. Whenever that is the case, the manual goes for significantly less and slower to 'move' in the market. If you're comfortable with stick - this spells good news since you can bargain and buy one for a good price.

Sadly, all these criteria cannot be met. Fuel Efficiency would be ~10 KMPL for these models. Comfort - varies. I'd say Nissan's tend to be more comfier. Maintenance cost is a lottery since cars are old you might get a big repair, you might not maybe ...but generally these are simple cars, so you will not need to buy a super-expensive fancy engine oil that is made with unicorn tears , which I assume is what you are worried about, and Kumara who runs a garage on the next lane can fix it.

depends on your need... maybe you can do a search for various models in your price range and your criteria and we can give you some input on it.

Cheers!

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Thanks for the awesome advice! I'm totally fine with a manual car, and I'm grateful for your insights on the models I mentioned.

By the way, what's your take on the Civic and Lancer models? I've heard they're quite popular and have good reputations. Any thoughts or personal experiences with those would be much appreciated!

matroska · October 23, 2023

On 10/22/2023 at 11:58 PM, iRage said:

B15 Sunny also comes with a diesel. Quite rare in SL. Mostly due to the taxation policies at the time.

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Extremely rare. Correct me if I'm wrong but it came with the YD22 which was a 2.2 L engine. My guess is it would have been subject to luxury tax of some sort. Because around the same time a fairly large number of Diesel Bluebirds were imported and those had the CD20 2L engine.

On 10/23/2023 at 2:48 AM, Samantha567 said:

By the way, what's your take on the Civic and Lancer models? I've heard they're quite popular and have good reputations. Any thoughts or personal experiences with those would be much appreciated!

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I have no personal experience with the 2 models but few things to consider.

Civic : The problem with the older civics are that most of them have been subject to ugly modifications by wanna be racers. The ES5 civics are the oldest generation to escape this fate. But it's a bit above your budget. The Civic EK3 is the model that fits your budget. IF you can find a decent car then it's a good buy. But 80% have been hacked, raced, and destroyed so it's very difficult to find a good car.

Lancer : Your budget would fetch you the CK series. Again somewhat similar fate as the civic but to a lesser extent. You can still find a few fairly OK CK's for your budget. I'd say you stand a slightly better chance of finding an unhacked Lancer in your budget.

If you're open for Wagons and Hatchbacks there are a few more options as well.(Corolla wagons, Starlets and Marches) I did not initially mention them since you had mentioned the comfort factor.Mind you I'm sticking to mainstream models here since in my experience it's actually becoming difficult to source parts for the slightly less common/ non mainstream models - even sourcing parts for older common cars are a bit tough nowadays than it was before

iRage · October 23, 2023

On 10/23/2023 at 10:52 AM, matroska said:

YD22 which was a 2.2 L

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Yes. Officially the YD22DD Neo Di engine which was 2.2L (well a bit above 2.1) Yes..the Bluebird came with the CD20E 2.0L engine. Because of the engine size the Sunny attracted more tax (which is quite high for diesels). So the Bluebird was a better choice for the total cost as you get a car above a segment than the Sunny.

The diesel was only available with the pre-facelift. Nissan cancelled the diesel variant for the facelift in 2001 because of Japanese emissions regulation changes that were coming up in 2002 (which tightened emissions regulations for passenger cars. This also saw the retirement of the diesel Bluebird and diesels of many more passenger cars across all manufacturers).