A newbe asking for some basic information

[simon1]

Hi Guys

We are planning to move to the Los Banos just north of San pablo city, once this virus calms down, 

I am seeking advise on purchsing a small car,

An up to date cost of important things like the cost of beer fuel and basic expenses.

We currantley live in Northern Cyprus, so when we arrive it will be with suitcases only, so starting a fresh

Thank you

 

Simon

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

6 minutes ago, simon1 said:

I am seeking advise on purchsing a small car

First advice is to stay away from cheap cars for sale in Manila.  After a flood there are always lots of them for sale.  They have been in a flood and will never be the same.

[simon1]

I was thinking of a small 2/3 year old car , Honda fit 1000cc to say a 1.5 ltr that sort of thing, would you go to a main dealer ??

 

 

[Dave Hounddriver]

8 minutes ago, simon1 said:

would you go to a main dealer

The Honda Fit is often a "surplus car" which means it is remanufactured out of surplus parts (most often illegally imported) and the year or remanufacture is used rather than the actual year of manufacture.  They are cheap, often illegal, and wise to steer clear of.

Would I go to a main dealer?  Yes I would.  I would buy new to be sure there were no previous issues.  At least I would if I could afford it, otherwise I would buy a cheap piece of junk and run it until it fell apart then sell it for almost what I paid for it.  That is the Philippine way.

Your experience will be different than others and other members will have vastly differing opinions.  When it comes to buying a used car its all up to you.

[GeoffH]

It's hard to give advise about buying a second hand car because there are all sorts of issues (not just related to the vehicles mechanical condition) which can come back later to be a problem.  

If you are looking to buy a second hand car then I'd stick to one of the volume selling japan made or korean made cars (Toyota, Honda, Suzuki, Hyundai) because parts for less common models can be very slow and you don't want your car off road for months while a part is imported.

The issue of water damaged cars has already been mentioned, one way to check is to look under the carpets and in the spare wheel well.

Going new is preferable but it is possible to buy ok second hand cars (get someone who knows cars well to check it over, we used a local taxi mechanic who works on the family taxi to inspect the second hand wigo we ended up buying).

Just... be extra cautious.

 

 

[scott h]

4 hours ago, simon1 said:

I was thinking of a small 2/3 year old car

As others have said, be very careful buying a used car.

My Filipino brothers in law both said they would never buy a used car unless it was from a close friend or relative. That is completely opposite from the states and maybe even GB, but there are no lemon laws here and it is very easy to get cheated.

welcome to the forum 

[OnMyWay]

 

8 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

First advice is to stay away from cheap cars for sale in Manila.  After a flood there are always lots of them for sale.  They have been in a flood and will never be the same.

This will be extremely amplified in the coming months as the cars flooded right now in Manila and Laguna will be hitting the market looking like "really good deals".  There are probably thousands of newly flooded cars, based on the pictures I have seen.

6 hours ago, Dave Hounddriver said:

The Honda Fit is often a "surplus car" which means it is remanufactured out of surplus parts (most often illegally imported) and the year or remanufacture is used rather than the actual year of manufacture.  They are cheap, often illegal, and wise to steer clear of.

Would I go to a main dealer?  Yes I would.  I would buy new to be sure there were no previous issues.  At least I would if I could afford it, otherwise I would buy a cheap piece of junk and run it until it fell apart then sell it for almost what I paid for it.  That is the Philippine way.

Your experience will be different than others and other members will have vastly differing opinions.  When it comes to buying a used car its all up to you.

I think 100% of cars sold here at Honda Fit like Dave says.  The equivalent car sold new in the Philippines is Honda Jazz.  I'm fairly certain the Fit name has not been used by Honda Philippines for several years.

3 hours ago, GeoffH said:

Going new is preferable but it is possible to buy ok second hand cars (get someone who knows cars well to check it over, we used a local taxi mechanic who works on the family taxi to inspect the second hand wigo we ended up buying).

Just... be extra cautious.

I think it is possible to find good used cars, but you need patience, and follow the advice given above.  I don't know what you budget is, but stick with almost new cars.  Just like in the U.S. and UK, new vehicles lose a lot of value the minute they leave the dealer.  If you can find a legitimate motivated seller of a car less that a year old, it lowers your risk a lot.

-- Buying almost new reduces the risk that the car has not been maintained.

-- Almost new makes it easier to see if the proper service was done by the dealer.

-- Most often, the dealer warranty will carry over to you.

I bought my Chevy Trailblazer from a Brit who was motivated to sell it with only 5000 km, 6 months old.  Buying from an expat reduces risk some, but does not entirely eliminate it.  All service at the dealer with records.  I saved p300,000 over buying new.

I also bought my Honda Brio from a professional local guy at 6 months and 5000 km.  He already upgraded to a BR-V because his wife was pregnant and Brio is very small.  All dealer service records, and I saved about p150,000 compared to new.

Both came with the balance of the 3 year warranty and have been great cars.  Currently, I would be extra careful to make sure that "almost new" cars on the market have not been flooded.  People with means will get an insurance payment and then just sell these to the guys who will fix them up and resell them.  As others said, they will never be the same.

I love Honda but sticking with Toyota will get you many more options for dealers, parts and service.

 

[Freebie]

Buy new... with Honda there's a 3 year warranty and I think with Hyundai ( or another manufacturer) there's a 5 year warranty. given the road conditions here those are valuable warranties.

And with the first couple years no year for the useless emission test... why is it useless.. well most cars use unleaded petrol. But the 50 year old jeepneys use cheap nasty unleaded which as you will see/will know spew all sorts of crap out their noisy tailpipes and they never get anywhere near an emission test, nor a tyre safety test for that matter .

With new car from an official dealer you get new and proper paperwork..with a used car you really dont know who the real owner is. Plus with an official dealer you can promptly arrange insurance.  Plus schedule the normal servicing at your convenience.

Honda and Toyota will both work out well given that they have dealerships and a wide range of models from which to choose. And given the recent rains consider getting a car thats higher off the ground, plus getting the rustproofing underseal . In the rains of the last few days it would have been money well spent !

 

[graham59]

I would have thought the Jeepneys would be using diesel fuel.  

[Gator]

It’s also a good idea to check if the LTO (Land Transportation Office) has any “alarms” or “apprehensions” on the vehicle. Alarms = stolen vehicle; Apprehensions = outstanding fines and if the tag matches the vehicle. 
 

To check the tag simply send a text to the LTO. From any network send “LTO VEHICLE (plate number) to 2600. Example: LTO VEHICLE ABC123. You should get a reply within a few minutes. 
 

Note: their clean reply (no alarms) is no guarantee that the vehicle is not stolen, but it should indemnify you. So take a screen shot of the reply and save it.