for the benefit of everyone else I'm going to share with everyone our PM


Sorry I lost track.

Mind telling again:
1. Brand: ??
2. Budget : ??
3. New/Used/Unreg : ??
4. Specs : ??
5. Transmission : AT
6. NA or FI :  None.
7. Type : SUV/Sedan
8. Remarks : ??
I'm going to split this into two categories...cash buy and loan buy.

2010 Perodua Viva 1.0 Elite - first things first the viva doesn't have any crash test certification, not even from ANCAP which is common for Asian cars so you can expect it to be somewhere between zero to two stars -- it probably didn't do so well which is why it has been quickly discontinued and replaced with the Axia (4/5 stars). Safety issue out of the way the Viva is a decent car to runabout, small engine and small size means cheap maintenance and fuel bills.

2012 Proton Persona - however, since you're a family man I suggest you get something better. Proton cars are considered value for money nowadays in the used car market because you usually get a bigger and better car from Proton vs Perodua for the same amount of money. Being a money pit....I don't think the Persona is one unless you got yourself a lemon, else they're usually quite cheap and cheerful cars in terms of maintenance and fuel bills. Shop around and you might find a good bargain, the last batch of Gen2 around 2008/2009 got really high  equipment levels you can consider too.

The second part I am going to assume you've got 20k cash to burn, below are a few choice cars around 10k so the remaining money can be saved or put into the car in terms of full maintenance before use, polish/wax, replacement of needed parts and new rubbers. Unless it is a real lemon you won't be spending more than 4k.

Recommended things to do:
Full engine+gearbox+aircond maintenance and replace gas/oil.
Brake system maintenance, change pads, and brake fluid. check if rotors warped, if not you're in luck!
Change tires if they're less than 50%.
Change rubber seals anywhere that is perished, recommend to change for all door and window seals.
If got budget you can consider bringing it a shop to refurbish the interior abit link

1997 Toyota Corolla - old reliable is what they call this car, the one in this advert looks well kept except the boot looks abit fakkap mebbe parking accident, rest of it looks good. For cars this old just make sure no major accident, engine+gearbox+aircond no issue then you're golden!

1998 Honda Civic - rare to find one in such a good condition, this would be my top pick but of course do the prudent thing to go checkout and test drive the car for yourself if nothing serious then it is worth to buy.

2000 Nissan Sentra - newer, cheaper and uglier, it might be a good car but it sure doesn't look as handsome as the Civic. Although Genting no issues for "GENTING TAXI" 
Cerato/Rio/Elantra - great looking car, value for money specs, so-so RV, most replacement parts only sold by Kia/Hyundai thus price control.

Fiesta - great looking car, good performance, good fc, good RV for a Ford don't need to worry about it dropping like a rock like the Focus/Mondeo but still not on par with Japanese makes, most replacement parts only sold by Ford thus price control. Service center limited.

Mazda2 - great looking car, unknown real world performance/fuel efficiency but specs on paper would put it very near hybrid car levels, RV for Mazda's has been steadily getting better since their Zoomzoom campaign and rebranding a few years ago but don't expect it to be as good as Honda/Toyota....about the same as Nissan nowadays. Being new model the parts will all only be carried by Mazda but shouldn't be a problem since most Mazda's nowadays come with 3 years free maintenance and 5 years warranty -- so if you want to maintain that 5 years warranty you've gotta continue to let the service center maintain the car until 5 years even after the free maintenance years so that usually puts outside workshop cheaper parts price to moot as parts stockist won't carry so much (quantity/variety) of stock because they know kiasu people will mostly still bring it to the service center eventhough more expensive so can claim warranty if anything wrong. After 5 years since RV quite okay nowadays can afford to change car so recon/used/fake/oem parts from stockist/workshop outside not relevant yet.

Almera - good space but really lacking in engine performance, since you got budget so skip this one.

Vios - RV king but technology like dinosaur, I recommend skip.

City - IMHO has the best overall package. It has the longer wheelbase like the Almera thus more spacious for rear passengers even when people at the front push their chairs to the maximum. It isn't a revolutionary design more like an evolution from the generation before it, as the previous generation was a good car but lacking in certain areas -- this model resolves many of the issues especially one sticking point which is the engine performance and fuel consumption. Two generations back the Honda City was probably the first car to the general public to have a CVT gearbox, due to bungling service center workers/owners not knowing how to maintain it properly as CVT gearbox require a special CVTF (fluid) not normal gearbox oil among other things to be in good shape -- so started the "CVT is no good, always fail" rant/scare from people not knowing any better just spreading rumors as it is our nature to be afraid of new/unknown. Which is why the next City came with a lousy normal slush-box gearbox which cumulated in lousy FC. If it really was a design problem then there should have been more recalls/damage reports like the infamous VW DSG failure -- I think it was more of service center workers not knowing how to take care of new tech and owners especially those kiamsap/cheapskate buggers whom never change the CVTF, put in cheap low grade normal gear oil, or those replica fakes then blame the manufacturer. If CVT was really that bad then why would Proton make it one of their mainstay gearbox for Inspira/Saga FLX? Infact many other manufacturers have introduced CVT gearboxes over the last few years to make that argument moot. Thus, the new City with a powerful engine finally gets the gearbox it deserves like the City of 2 generations ago a combo of powerful engine and efficient CVT makes for a great drivetrain. Range topping model has hightech touch screen entertainment system and climate control.
Got people wondering am I from Nissan since I always recommend Sylphy......

2006 Mitsubishi Lancer 1.6 GLX - this might be a car that is near it's 10th birthday but the condition and rarity of this model on our roads means that if you buy this car today, you're not going to feel like you're driving around in an old model, no you get the feeling that you're driving around in something special and rare -- like the guys that still keep their Honda Legend and Honda Prelude in tip top condition, to the common folk they can't differentiate between old and new unless is very common and typical model like Vios/City/Altis/etc. Usually rarity means you're going to have issues with parts but because this Lancer is of the same generation as the Waja there are many common/crossover parts between the Lancer/Waja....maybe Persona/Gen2/Neo....the engine is of the same 4G-series as most Pre-Campro era Proton engines so spare parts for this car isn't a worry.....maintenance is straight forward and parts are inexpensive. Look around for one like this in good condition and you're set eventhough it is a 9 years old car, you can search around for 2007 models which is the last batch before the current Lancer which shares the body with the Inspira. Best part is they're all sub-35k 

2009 Mitsubishi Lancer 2.0 GT - if you want something newer and up-to-date then consider the latest Lancer, this was the first batch before Proton Inspira was introduced, the first batch have everything and is fully loaded compared to the Inspira which has a few different specs and equipment levels. The only thing it misses from other C-segment cars is a stability control program like VSA (Honda) or VSC (Toyota), other than that it is on par with the Civic and Altis in terms of size, comfort, performance, etc. Parts and maintenance isn't a worry because it shares commonality with Inspira so you can choose the "cheaper" Inspira parts over the Lancer parts. However, this would be at the top-end of your budget.

2011 Nissan Sylphy 2.0 Impul bodykit + Leather seats - can't runaway from this model as it is really a value for money used car buy of a C-segment car. This particular advertised car seems quite fully loaded and worth the money, however keep in mind the Sylphy is very affordable and have a large price range depending on spec and year made -- like this model is 2011 is going to cost RM60k at the maximum end of your budget but a 2009 model would be around RM37k onwards. I've covered this car many times so I guess people are used to me recommending this car and it's merits. You'll notice one thing is that the interior is kinda friendly being so white and beige while the Civic and Lancer look very sporty with gray/black interior.

2009 Honda Civic FD1 1.8 - this Civic is generation below the current one and many still prefer and like this model because it looks nicer and has a better package overall (but that is usually referring to the 2000cc variant with the dohc i-vtec engine as the current one people say is pariah because it is only sohc i-vtec) the sacrifices made for performance has been offset by better fuel economy if that interest you. Anyway, this advert is about the 1800cc variant, I think this is the lowest entry point price for this car as I see some other pricing about too unbelievably low could be a conjob. In terms of price it is a slight premium over the Sylphy but of course the Lancer is more expensive being that it is still a current model -- but Civic's usually offer superior performance and handling while being easy on your pocket -- plus street cred for driving in a Civic eventhough one generation back is alot more than from a Inspira clone (typical Malaysian mindset that will butthurt people).