almera or vios or myvi

vios and myvi using 4 speed auto. if you are sticking it with 120km/h then you are good to go. currenty vios having stock clearance, 70K can aim more E spec already

or try to find a second hand city year 2012 or 2013, it has 5 speed auto. front and back disc brake and has traction control too

Here is the skinny on the cars you earmarked:

Suzuki Grand Vitara - looks great, maintenance fees decent, not very frugal
Harrier - looks great, high street rep, can be a money pit - the gearbox is quite notorious to fail
Murano - if you're looking for large luxo SUV's you can consider this, but I have butt-tested the Murano interior is about the same as the current Honda CRV, they're less problematic than the Harriers, funky looks give it high street rep as well, some used/recon shops do sell this cheaply.
X-trail - looks ugly/boxy, maintenance easy on the pocket, all AWD modes can be controled via dashboard switch most of the other SUV's are either fully 2WD or 4WD.
Dualis/Rogue - the sexy twin of the X-trail, completely identical under the skin, worth a look.
Honda CRV(new) - would be a good compromise of everything, nothing really outstanding but nothing really wrong with it either, relatively cheap to maintain because of its common engine base with Stream/Accord/Civic.
Here is some information you need to know about fuel consumption:




Unless you absolutely have no choice never go for 0% downpayment.
When you go 0% downpayment you're doomed to finish the loan before you can buy anything else unless your salary skyrockets. Most people I know that have done 0% downpayment loans for their cars are suffering now in their 7th year of car ownership because the car is starting to give alot of problems but they can't trade-in and get something new because for example their loan owing amount is RM20k but their car market value only RM18k. So you don't gain anything from the trade-in unless you have save up money for deposit.
There is an article about it too.
http://star-motoring.com/News/2013/Tan-Cho...hicle-unit.aspx

We always knew Nissan's give overtrade (buy back cars of their own brand at higher than market price for returning customers wishing to upgrade to the newest Nissan cars) this is just going one step further, I can understand from a company point of view if they always overtrade they need to write-off the difference when they pass it on to used car dealers now they can write-off internally by having their own used car company in the guise of MUV. Similar like Toyota's TopMark used car dealer.

Buying from used car dealers is always a risk because there are dealers which use dirty tricks and tactics to get the sale or earn more, which is why some people don't mind paying a little bit extra when they buy from TopMark because its backed by a reputable manufacturer and cars on sale by TopMark are scrutinized thoroughly before they are bought by the company from private owners trading in their cars. So with some guarantee of a good condition car and good reputation as backup, people have confidence to buy from them.

I think it would be the same in MUV, which would be like buying directly from Tan Chong itself. Either pre-owned or used as long as the company behind is a reputable one you shouldn't have any worries.
There is nothing wrong with purchasing a used car using credit card if that said credit card has enough credit, for RM3000 wage earner he should at least be getting 5-10k credit limit. I don't know for other banks but my Citibank doesn't allow me to buy first then break it up into installments anymore so that means by the end of the month if I buy something worth RM6000 i'd have to fork out RM6000 at the end of the month unless I just do minimum payment and slowly settle.

An alternative for new car would be the newly launched Proton Saga SV, it harks back to the days when Proton's ideals were to produce cheap cars for everything so motorbikers with family can afford to travel with their loved ones in safety and comfort.

Hi all!

First time car buyer here. Need you feedback on this issue.

Honda City 1.5 I-VTEC S 2010
RM62k
Used
Auto
Mileage 59k

OR

Toyota Vios 1.5 G 2011
RM62k
Used - Seller says Recon
Auto
Mileage 20k

I feel like going for City since it has better spec (Paddle shift, immobiliser, ESP), but the low mileage on Vios is tempting.

What I would like to know is the overall factor. Which one is better that suites my budget nicely, a car that can last at least 5-10 years, fuel consumption, maintenance cost, etc.

I appreciate fellow forumers' advice and sharing on this. Thank you for your time.