Anyone know if the banks are planning to raise interest rates in the future? Both for new and used car loans?

The sales person has been pushing me to place my booking saying that the interest rates will go up this week but I try not to believe sales people all that much, I used to be one too.

Thanks for the info, I've checked around and it looks pretty confirmed. BLR has gone up so expect car interest rates to follow.

So the question is should I go buy that 320d today... hm...

1. Brand : Deciding between 2006 Volvo S80 2.0T vs. 2003 BMW 525 E39.
2. Budget : RM100k
3. New/Used/Unreg : Used

Anyone can offer me a used car loan here? What's the loan rate like? PM me please

LCI = 2008-2012

If it's a local SKD car from a local dealer, check with the dealers (AB, Quill, Ingress etc) for service records. Local dealers provide free service up to 3-5 years depending on the car so if the previous owner went elsewhere for service and skipped free services I'd stay away.

Look up the VIN and check online for actual date of manufacture. This is particularly true for recond/imported models.

Bring the key in and they can check mileage as well. This works for any BMW, local or otherwise. Make sure there's no discrepency between the mileage on the BMW key vs what you see on the dashboard.

AB, Quill, Ingress will do a check on local cars but I don't think they'd do recond. Not sure on cost. There are BMW specialists out there that have the facilities to do it for imported cars as well.

Google for the bmw club malaysia. Lots of info there.

Looking to buy a 7-8 seater MPV or SUV

1. Brand : suggestions?
2. Budget : up to RM180k
3. New/Used/Unreg : any
4. Specs : safety features (6+ airbags, stability control, 3x3-point seatbelts for middle row)
5. Transmission : Automatic
6. NA or FI :
7. Type : 7-8 seater MPV or SUV
8. Remarks : safety features is the main priority!

Looked at the Peugeot 5008 which fits all my requirements but having been a previous Peugeot owner, I'm a bit worried about reliability (my old 206 had its own share of problems, but the Prince engine Peugeots sounds worse!) and the opinion from many is that the service centers are getting worse over time.

The other, boring/uncle option is an unregistered 2009 Alphard which does fit all my safety requirements.

Sharan, S-Max, Estima, Wish, Santa Fe, Sorento, Mazda 5, Mazda 8, Grandis etc. don't fit my safety or budget requirements.

Anything I missed?

Thanks zenix.

Estima: looked at this, but the 8-seater version does not have a 3-point belt for the middle seat. The price is cheaper than the Alphard but it doesn't really fit my requirements.

S-Max seems nice, but from what I've read it's just as unreliable as the Peugeot. If I'm getting a potentially unreliable car I might as well get the Peugeot which is cheaper and theoretically has a larger support network The S-Max is also at the end of its lifecycle, it was introduced in 2006 so I'm guessing a new one will be out soon.

The Sharan is probably the ultimate goal eventually but I don't want to spend that kind of money now.

So I'm still back to either a new Peugeot 5008 or a 2009 Alphard 2.4 X. Still leaning towards the Peugeot, aside from space, I've not been particularly impressed with the Alphards I've looked at...

This post has been edited by tishaban: Mar 27 2013, 01:37 PM

1. The Touran is using the same engine as the Golf TSI, it should have slightly better torque than a typical 2.4 engine but whether or not it's enough for you is the question. I've never tried the Touran but the Golf TSI and Peugeot 5008 with similar torque for me is responsive enough.

2. The Mazda 5 is better than the current Honda Stream, there isn't anything in the same class from Nissan. However I'd say that the 2nd gen Toyota Wish is better from a safety point of view (options for 8 airbags, etc are available from recond dealers while Bermaz has nothing) and cleverer from a packaging/space point of view. I used to own a Wish and looked at the Mazda 5 seriously.

Good luck. For me I think I'm waiting a bit before going for the Sharan.

What is this, racun session?

I'm also waiting to see the new 7-seater Santa Fe. That looks very nice and if they have the diesel it'll be icing on the cake! Hmm....

Anyone here a bank hire purchase agent or can recommend me one? I'm looking to buy a used car and am tired of dealing with the lame Public Bank agent who doesn't seem to want my business.