New Car Warranties In The Philippines

[OnMyWay]

I'm hoping some of you have some experience with this topic.

 

I have been slowly shopping for another car for a long time and I am leaning towards buying new because I then have complete control over how the car is maintained, and don't have to worry about some of the pitfalls of buying a used car here.  If I buy new, I will try to keep the car at least 10 years if possible, so I want something solid.

 

After speaking with Chevy Pampanga, they confirmed that the warranty is void unless all maintenance work is done at the dealer.  Toyota down the street basically said the same thing.  These are the only 2 I have spoken to so far.

 

In some ways I understand it because many Filipinos apparently do not maintain their vehicles properly.  Is this the norm here?  Any other thoughts?

[MikeB]

In some ways I understand it because many Filipinos apparently do not maintain their vehicles properly. Is this the norm here?

If you believe everything you read on forums no local has ever done ANY maintenance. Some do, some don't. Like everywhere else. Putting a shiny brand new vehicle on the crap roads (and drivers) would not be my choice. If you are patient you can find one that has been maintained with some regularity. They're out there. Buying a new car has it's pitfalls too. If they're giving you this warranty void crap about the maintenance what kind of service do you think you're going to get from them?

[intrepid]

OnMyWay,

Below is an email from a friend in Bohol which I received a few months ago.  He finally settled on a new car, a Kia I think.

Any way there is a lot to consider.

 

 

 

Cars are interesting thing. They have reformed their banking laws so its not as bad as before. 3 years ago you would have been paying the interest up front before the payments touched the the balance. You were really in bad shape if needed to sell the car. That is why some Expats will advise getting a loan from the US. But now with EIR, and payments are spread out against the interest and balance, more similar to the US.

When buying a new car it is tricky. The dealer will offer to finance the loan, pay for the first year of car insurance, pay for the Chattel (loan application), and 3 years of registration. Sometimes they will offer a discount if you finance through them. The dealer rates are about 9 - 10 % compounded. Which is high. But they can get the loan usually within 3 days. There also less requirements such as only 20% down.

You can finance yourself through a bank which took us 3 weeks. But they usually say it will take a month. Also we had to come up with 30% down because I was a foreigner. The loan was processed in Cebu which also takes longer. If you are in Manila/Cebu it maybe faster. Our Interest was 6.15%. But we had to pay for Chattel and first year of the Insurance. The LTO  registration the dealer paid. Over the course of the loan we are saving around 120,000 php.

Also most of the loans have a substantial prepayment penalty. I think that is the reason it is hard to find used cars especially in the provinces. Manila has the best prices. The cost of all vehicles generally run about 40k to 50k higher in the provinces because of freight. The final thing to be aware of is that the PMS or preventive maintenance must be performed by the dealer or you void the entire warranty. I would check those prices too before buying.

[i am bob]

I keep hearing that the warranty is void if regular maintenance is not carried out by the dealer... But has anyone actually contacted the manufacturer to ensure this is true? And, of course, I would do this in print so I would have a hard copy if the reply!

[mogo51]

Cant speak for Phils, but recently purchased a 6 months old Nissan Almera, repossession.  It was in immaculate conditon and only had 9000km on clock, like new. 

Had 10k service at dealer and no compaints, 2000bht.

Thais do not understand maintenance and rarely do they care for their cars, except the luxury cars from the well to do.

I shopped around quite a bit, but was lucky to find the right car very quickly.  I save 175k bht versus buying the same car new.

[OnMyWay]

 

In some ways I understand it because many Filipinos apparently do not maintain their vehicles properly. Is this the norm here?

If you believe everything you read on forums no local has ever done ANY maintenance. Some do, some don't. Like everywhere else. Putting a shiny brand new vehicle on the crap roads (and drivers) would not be my choice. If you are patient you can find one that has been maintained with some regularity. They're out there. Buying a new car has it's pitfalls too. If they're giving you this warranty void crap about the maintenance what kind of service do you think you're going to get from them?

 

 

The problem with buying a good used car here in Subic locally is lack of inventory.  It is a small market and to expand the market you have to go to Angeles or Pampanga, but even then you don't get much more.  Add in the factors of the specific model and year you are looking for, and it can go down to almost zilch.  Manila has much more but even then, finding a 1 or 2 year vehicle that has been maintained properly would involve a lot of trips and time and money.

 

Even for the new cars, we only have Ford and Mitsubishi locally, and we have to go to Pampanga for all others.

Edited February 24, 2015 by OnMyWay

[OnMyWay]

OnMyWay,

Below is an email from a friend in Bohol which I received a few months ago.  He finally settled on a new car, a Kia I think.

Any way there is a lot to consider.

 

 

 

Cars are interesting thing. They have reformed their banking laws so its not as bad as before. 3 years ago you would have been paying the interest up front before the payments touched the the balance. You were really in bad shape if needed to sell the car. That is why some Expats will advise getting a loan from the US. But now with EIR, and payments are spread out against the interest and balance, more similar to the US.

When buying a new car it is tricky. The dealer will offer to finance the loan, pay for the first year of car insurance, pay for the Chattel (loan application), and 3 years of registration. Sometimes they will offer a discount if you finance through them. The dealer rates are about 9 - 10 % compounded. Which is high. But they can get the loan usually within 3 days. There also less requirements such as only 20% down.

You can finance yourself through a bank which took us 3 weeks. But they usually say it will take a month. Also we had to come up with 30% down because I was a foreigner. The loan was processed in Cebu which also takes longer. If you are in Manila/Cebu it maybe faster. Our Interest was 6.15%. But we had to pay for Chattel and first year of the Insurance. The LTO  registration the dealer paid. Over the course of the loan we are saving around 120,000 php.

Also most of the loans have a substantial prepayment penalty. I think that is the reason it is hard to find used cars especially in the provinces. Manila has the best prices. The cost of all vehicles generally run about 40k to 50k higher in the provinces because of freight. The final thing to be aware of is that the PMS or preventive maintenance must be performed by the dealer or you void the entire warranty. I would check those prices too before buying.

 

I always wondered what Chattel was!  I'm not going to get a loan but this is all good information.  KIA has a model I am considering, the Carens diesel.  One other problem here is finding any good real world data on cars sold here.

[OnMyWay]

Cant speak for Phils, but recently purchased a 6 months old Nissan Almera, repossession.  It was in immaculate conditon and only had 9000km on clock, like new. 

Had 10k service at dealer and no compaints, 2000bht.

Thais do not understand maintenance and rarely do they care for their cars, except the luxury cars from the well to do.

I shopped around quite a bit, but was lucky to find the right car very quickly.  I save 175k bht versus buying the same car new.

 

This would be my ideal scenario, buying a 1 year car in perfect condition, but it is very hard to find here.  I have only bought 1 new car in the last 20 years and the others I got great deals on a slightly used car, but that was in the U.S.

[OnMyWay]

I keep hearing that the warranty is void if regular maintenance is not carried out by the dealer... But has anyone actually contacted the manufacturer to ensure this is true? And, of course, I would do this in print so I would have a hard copy if the reply!

 

The problem here may be that on most makes, the manufacturer may not be involved.  They franchise out the cars and the local company sets the terms of the warranty.

[OnMyWay]

Putting a shiny brand new vehicle on the crap roads (and drivers) would not be my choice.

 

Here in Subic we have fairly good driving conditions, which is a key reason I live here.

 

High on my list is a truck based SUV.  The ride might not be as soft but the truck frame is heavy duty and will last a long time over lots of potholes.  The diesels will last forever if you take care of them.  Also leaning towards something larger and with more safety features due to the added protection it will give my family.