Some excellent answers and perspectives here. I thought I'd just add mine:

1. Buy and service what you can comfortably afford, as long as safety and (if applicable, eg. if car is used to transport parents or older folks) comfort are not compromised.

2. Expensive cars don't necessarily breakdown any more than cheaper cars, and cheaper cars don't necessarily mean fewer issues than expensive ones. However, it's a fact that in the event when an expensive car does breakdown, the cost of repairs/replacements will be more expensive than the equivalent cheaper car's. You'll have to factor that into consideration before your purchase.

3. A badge is just a badge. No need to show off a badge when there's money in your bank account. I drive cars I can afford to pay off in cash, not because I need to feel rich or because I want to appear rich. Many moons ago, I wrote something in /k that pissed quite a few people off - when I said that I would not buy a car that's worth more than 10% of my annual income. And, if I wanted an expensive Porsche, for example, I would allocate 10% of say 2 years of my annual income, before I pulled the trigger.

That's why when I first asked /k what Porsche I should buy, it was nearly 2 years ago. In those 2 years, I accumulated enough to buy both the Cayenne and the 911 in cash (and I could upgrade my original choice of the base 911 or 911S to the GTS version). Stick to a financial plan and execute it. That way, I keep buyers' remorse to a minimum, and I sleep better at night. That's my way of keeping to my self-set limit. I still stand by my personal philosophy - and it has worked very well for me up to this point. No point getting into debt over a depreciating asset.

4. "Downgrading" a car brand doesn't mean you sacrifice enjoyment. For example, a Toyota 86 will give you 80 - 90% of the same driving thrill at normal driving conditions as say a Porsche 718, and a Fortuner will still take you to places even a Cayenne might have trouble traversing. You just have to choose the model variant that suits your needs and your budget.

Just my humble 2 cents. Good luck on your decision, my friend!

When young maybe image and perception is a priority. When old, you dont give a f about what people think. Personal preference.

I am almost in the similar situation, whether to keep existing car and spending $$$ yearly for maintenance and replacement of wear and tear items. My car is exactly 10 years old on this month September, but low mileage still below 80,000 km. Sell or keep, as usual it depends on individual preference, no right or wrong. In my view, if the car does not give you any major headaches in terms of frequent breakdown or costly repairs, and you can still manage it, you can still keep it. Otherwise, sell and get new reliable car. As I have said earlier in other threads, even though the car is a joy to drive and comes with great acceleration power or whatever, if it frequently breaks down with high maintenance bills of say RM10k a year, then it's no use. It's a hassle or burden if you are suddenly left without a car (if you don't have a backup car) and your existing car is stuck at the workshop for several days or weeks for repair. Things like this.

Ideal case is to change to a new car of similar quality or performance if not better but I can understand that is not always achievable. Having said that, there are many here who have downgraded to Perodua and Proton and are perfectly happy so in the end it's all up to the individual's priorities or expectations. You don't expect too high and you'll be fine and be able to live with the reduced refinement, handling, acceleration power or whatever. As some have mentioned, in the end it's just a car which will get you from point A to B. Every car from cheap to expensive is able to do that. You only pay more for comfort, performance or status if you have more money that's all.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Sep 14 2023, 12:02 PM

Me.. used to drive a Chevrolet and Honda.. now driving Perodua instead

Have 2 cars instead of 1 now

Quantity > Quality 😂😂😂

My cousin who is a doctor used to own BMW 320 but it is severely under-utilised since he only travels to and fro from his clinic to his house just 5 minutes away. In the end he sold it and stuck with his old and trusty Toyota Prius C. In this case, he may appear to have "downgraded" to a lesser car but it's for good use so it can seen as an upgrade in his case.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Sep 14 2023, 12:09 PM

more convenient without depending on 1 car , that's good

thanks. my current car mileage is a bit more than u, 115k ish.

thinking of selling before the 150k mark or 10 years.

back then when i was young, still fresh grad, no financial sense whatsoever, just YOLO get a H car lol. back then salary was 3-4k, but still can afford since no commitments. (but 9 years loan for 75k car) - now i know its a dumb move, but hey good thing to learn b4 its too late ( min car affordability shud be 12x salary)

this month kena really sked me. service 600rm, tyres 4x 1200rm, then sudden jerking caused emergency repairs 1700rm. My savings for not having a car loan gone just like that in 1 month.

now, a bit of financial sense , so sked of commiting to high price purchase. the only thing i could afford with a 7 year loan and higher a bit d/p is a P2 car. sudah old, sked play 9 year loan, interest so much. I could easily overshoot to vios/cross / city but thinking back i want to reduce my commitment so can save a bit more.

even my moto oso now pay cash, just bought kriss modenas only, getting to point A to B is enuf.

but yeah, I will forever treasure my current car, (its the graduation googles talking), -when you want to say goodbye to stuff, that is when you feel the most connection to it , all the memories will come out.

Before my family used Kia Forta 2.0 since 2012 but late last year decided to get rid of it for a Bezza 1.3. For now they are loving it since its so economical and the roadtax is cheap.

last statement of yours, it's just sad feeling awhile, quickly will forget and until u seen the similar one otr again will make u thk about it again

Someday we will all go too, so whether good or bad memories it doesn't really matter too much to me. Similarly I'll give it about 1 or 2 years more before I sell my car, and it will surely before it hits 150,000km from the rate I'm going. Most people hang on to old cars as they don't have enough money or do not wish to commit to new cars for certain reasons. Since you still have a motorcycle as backup, I guess it's still not too bad.

Within this 1 year, I have spent RM8k+ on my Ford Focus just to replace faulty parts, not including the usual maintenance.

In the end it's all your own decision but better just stick with Perodua as I believe the current new generation Peroduas are rather high quality now. This is just my opinion, and I get criticized a lot for saying this on public. Based on my experience with the previous Honda City, I think you are better off going with Perodua rather than City or Vios, especially the City. I find the quality of the City or Honda cars in general to be poor in terms of showing a higher than normal rattling sound in the cabin. The handling of the Proton Preve Turbo is better than the City, apart from showing less rattling sound. In my mind good quality starts from C-segment onward especially with Toyota where the vehicles (Altis etc.) are still CBU from Thailand. To cut a story short, I find B-segments from honda and toyota to be poor value but that's just my opinion. I would rather go Perodua or upcoming new Proton S60 and skip City/Vios, or go Altis/Civic.

This post has been edited by SportyHandling: Sep 14 2023, 01:04 PM

Me childless , don't need any fancy vehicle just for 2 person, she own one i own one get the job done , fil own one, mil own one, one extra old vehicle park under tree because lazy relocate parked in vehicle, at the end sedan is easier to fetch fil/mil to hospital/medical checkup and etc compared to high height vehicle

I'm diy kaki like to new learn thing, earn experience as long i still alive so i can know the guy who help me fixed it is SKL or sklg, I'm only bought those vehicle with service manual available over internet that i can understand how to fix with specific requirements, i don't mod vehicle i always leave it stock, exception if the vehicle for working purpose i will prefer replace heavy duty serviceable shock absorber .

If you have budget can afford, but non diy kaki, you can buy whatever vehicle you want because at the end everything wear and tear is the specialist help you to fix it you only need to paid for it , like people said tak tahu tak apa janji mampu bayar jer .

Me diy kaki always picky when choosing new vehicle sometimes i prefer old vehicle rather than new vehicle, new vehicle example Forester or most modern vehicle the infotainment screen just fucking big and annoying, when not using off screen the fingerprint dang annoying just seeing 😂

my cousin also driving bezza , he just bought it last month , from honda jazz to bezza , he loving it especially city driving , even long distance from kl to malacca seems good

F30 320d LCI 240whp + 410nm ----> X90

Is it really a downgrade, when you are just driving a 4 cylinder engine in the first place?

look at the engine capacity , previous 2000cc , current 1300cc ( i don't think it's an upgrade )

New P1 and P2 are quite good. Spare parts easy, can fix anywhere. I'm like you, though I am not sure if I want to sell or maintain it forever.

My kia sorento diesel is 6 years. Plan to keep minimum 9 years. Because of RM devalue, what was previously 180k new, now is 250k. I need 7 seats suv with and for mud, but not ladder frame. Also my car has 40:20:40 folding seat. Easy to transport ong items like logs, carpets from time.to time. No car in current price bracket has this seat configuration. I carry 4 people and long stuff as well. Don't need a pickup. Closest I see within <200k is X90, but I loose a lot. From poor fc diesel to seats to rear occupant sunshade tonneau cover. Extendable.sun visor. Aside from the seating configuration, the rest minor issue


So still don't know what to get. Next month i visit new workshop for service. 3rd.party. if good, will just keep the car. Wisdowm says that 9 years best to sell. No need to deal with wear and tear. Will see in 2026. Flagship X90 will solve the middle folding seat, but I don't want a sunroof.

I have been inside the X90, if I didn't know the sorento existed, this is a great car. Coming from savvy, suprima, sorento. Those who cannot afford the X90.or want something under 100k, buying used is good.

This post has been edited by mystvearn: Sep 17 2023, 08:46 AM

yeah same here too, from bentley bentayga to aruz, the brand prestige is just not appealing much to me anymore

love aruz so much but never had a chance to test drive it , bet it's a fun car to drive

An driving a conti while fully employed.

When very close to retirement, I will downgrade to a P2. Wanna save money for travel and experiences.

Proton quite good too. just u need to bear with higher rpm and noisy engine. if u compare with jap or conti, the refinement is not there, but the drive feels good.

I use sage for short distance drive.