Hello, I’ve been eyeing a long time to get myself a car. I’m on a 3k salary, but would only can allocate about RM650 for car loan can max to 9 years.
I am looking for a car that can give me long journey peace of mind. I have no qualms on short disctance/ town driving, since I ride a bike. The car is for long distance journey mainly for weekend use or work related travel usually involving penang-kelantan, penang-kl. So I need a car powerful and safe enough for this purpose.
My GF Myvi is a great car. I’m not a racer but sometimes found it response slowly and the engine seems to be goin’ on OT when I try to push it over 140km/h. So I wanna get something different from it. My company has a proton perdana (before V6 version), I’m totally in love with the car for long distance! Low FC (applicable for long distance only), great handling and engine performance. It’d be a perfect car! But having monitoring, I found it has some minor problems also.
So here’s my option, option 1 to 4 is most prefer to least prefer:
Option:1
1. Brand. = Proton Perdana V6
2. Budget. = 40k (full loan) (additional 2-3k for minor fix)
Option:2
1. Brand. = Civic 1.7 (2001-2005)
2. Budget. = 60k (fullloan) (additional 2-3k for minor fix)
Option:3
1. Brand. = Proton Waja
2. Budget. = 35k (fullloan) (additional 2-3k for minor fix)
Option:4
1. Brand. = Proton Persona Elegence /Waja CPS
2. Budget. = 65k (fullloan)
So now some questions for those fimilar with the cars and car trade business.
1. Is a second hand local car i.e. Perdana/ Waja reliable? How is the maintenance like in long term? I know this is subjective to individual cars, but any general ideas?
2. What is the loan interest like for new and old cars? I’m confused with so many diff rates, e.g. I heard people said new car can get low as 2.x% while I refer cimb rate, old cars can get up to 4.2%. Is there anyway second hand agent can get better rates than that?
3. I haven’t driven a civic 1.7 before, but seems a good car, any comments on performance and maintenance?
I hope to get more information before I head to the dealers so I can have better understanding first. Please help