Bro, please take that rubbish Camry off your list. Only those who know nothing about cars and are only bothered about resale value will buy a Camry. There are many better cars in the market now for that similar price range. The Passat is one of them.

But if u want honest replies, u should tell ppl your criteria & budget or else ure gonna get everybody coming in here with their own choice of cars. In the end ull get about 20 choices but ull be no closer to deciding.

General criteria in choosing a car:

1) Price
2) Safety
3) Specs & value for money
4) Design
5) Interior space
6) Build quality / durability
7) Ride, handling, power
8) After sales service
9) Maintenance costs
10) Warranty

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Added on October 9, 2012, 8:44 amSpec wise the Optima wins by a small margin. Also has the wow factor in terms of design but to each their own taste. The Optima also has more interior legroom. The Passat is better than the Optima in terms of engine (since its a Turbo), transmission and handling. But the DSG gearbox does have its fair share of issues just like Zweimmk has mentioned.

So if you want a more powerful engine and better ride & handling and if ure prepared to pay about 34K extra for it, then go for the Passat CKD.

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Oct 9 2012, 08:44 AM

Or maybe 9 times?

Dont forget that under the REP, when u do decide to sell your car, you can only sell it using the purchase price as a benchmark not the normal selling price.

But since ure enjoying the benefits of the REP, dont bother with any Jap or Korean. U can easily go for the BMW 320i CKD or the 320d CKD. It would be silly to consider the Camry especially when ull be getting about 30K discount.

U need to understand that Toyotas back then were a good choice. But lately Toyota has stagnated. The new Camry was a real disappointment. When u buy a car u should look at all the criterias i mentioned above. The Camry fails in most of the criteria above. Build quality now is not the same as before. Both Zweimmk and myself were ex Toyota users and both had good experiences. But we still left Toyota.

Now when u buy a car you should focus on value for money. Are you getting your money's worth? Resale value should not be a priority. Many other car manufacturers have improved alot over the last few years. 5 years ago how many Korean makes did you see on the road? The same with VW. They have made cars more affordable in Malaysia which has resulted in a significant jump in ownership. More and more ppl are realising that Toyota isnt worth it anymore. Imagine paying >150K to get a car with a 10 yr old engine and 4 speed GB with basic safety features only.

Please take the Camry off your list.

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Added on October 9, 2012, 1:13 pmActually i too was initially worried bout parking the Optima. But with the rear camera and smaller turning radius, its now become quite a breeze. Even my wife finds it quite easy to park the Optima. U dont really have the 'big car' effect when parking. But Kia should have done better and put front parking sensors. At 143K+ (OTR) and with all spec on offer, its quite a good buy i must say.

Are you seriously looking for a D segment as well?

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Oct 9 2012, 01:14 PM

I think under the REP program, there is some mention on your registration card. Plus its also mentioned on the JPJ system so anybody trying to register your car later will also come to know. Not easy to cover up.

But under the REP, ure only entitled to buy new cars right?

There is a requirement to use your current purchase price as a benchmark to sell the car in future. I know cuz i did detailed research on this. I also have the complete list of cars which qualify under this program but it may be a bit outdated now. So u will still need to deal with depreciation just like everybody else.

Its nothing about the attention. Its about value for money. Ure already limited by the CKD requirement so choose a car that satisfies most of the criteria. Dont base your judgement on 1 or 2 points only.

Well everybody is waiting for a revamped NAP but nobody is sure if its gonna have any good news about excise duties.

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Added on October 10, 2012, 7:49 amI didnt. I did it for a friend. He finally chose a Volve S40 last year which i didnt think was a good choice considering the options available.

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Oct 10 2012, 07:49 AM

With the huge discount you're getting under the REP, if u end up choosing the Camry, many of us would be

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Oct 12 2012, 08:28 AM

Can you tell us the OTR prices (minus the taxes) of the various CKD models you have researched?

Not sure how far uve gone with your REP research, but i must warn you to expect some hurdles. There are many car manufacturers which arent very keen on selling cars through the REP program. Some dealers even cheat on the prices. So once u have shortlisted a few cars, best you check with the respective HQ's on the final pricing. Dont depend on the dealers.

So whats your preference now? I suppose uve done a few test drives.

This thread might be of interest:
http://forum.lowyat.net/topic/2530579

Ure expecting a D segment Camry to be priced cheaper than the 2L Civic and Altis?

The big and spacious tag has been matched equally by other cars. Executive feel was the previous model not this one. I dont see how anybody could feel 'executive' surrounded by cheapo plastics and a worse design than the outgoing model. The only thing i see as a clear positive is the refinement of the engine and gearbox (2.5V model).

Well ure right. The Camry isnt worth its price tag. The plasticky interior is also found in current models. Check out the door panels of the Camry 2.0 and ull see. Even the mid section of the dashboard is cheapo materials. Same goes for the new Civic. That dash has gotta be among the worst ive seen to date.

How is it that the Passat price is 20K more than the Camry since the original price of the Passat is about 6K cheaper?

Are these OTR prices for CKD models?

This post has been edited by cybermaster98: Oct 18 2012, 08:33 AM

Im quite sure thr's something wrong. I think the error could be with the Passat price. But this is the problem which i was refering to the other day. These car dealers dont actually reveal the exact excise duty. Assuming the excise duty is 40K, they only reduce by 30K so the balance 10K goes into their pocket. Which is why you need to get official prices from the respective HQ's.