New Car Buying

[GeoffH]

37 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

I always thought a big plus for using a dealer (and paying dealer prices) was that they do a thorough inspection based on the manufacturer specs.  I can't see how all that stuff can be done correctly without a lift.

That's true, and the main reason we used Toyota casa during the warranty period (such as it is here), however now we get services done at a local Shell workshop (they do have lifts).

[OnMyWay]

3 minutes ago, GeoffH said:

That's true, and the main reason we used Toyota casa during the warranty period (such as it is here), however now we get services done at a local Shell workshop (they do have lifts).

Same here.  After the warranty was done I found a good shop.  However, they don't use the same inspection / service checklists that a dealer does.

[BrettGC]

51 minutes ago, OnMyWay said:

There are a lot of shops offering home services now, but I never heard of a dealer doing it.  Although some services can easily be performed outside the shop, I always thought a big plus for using a dealer (and paying dealer prices) was that they do a thorough inspection based on the manufacturer specs.  I can't see how all that stuff can be done correctly without a lift.

Maybe they have a portable lift system or jack stands, and just use a creeper like in the old days?

They lifted the car on an air powered jack then supported it with some very sturdy struts under the axels to remove all the wheels for the brake and underside inspection.  The mechanics in my last job had the same thing to lift buses on call-outs but on a much larger scale.  It's not a new technology.   Ran the computer diagnostics, liquids and filters replaced, then took it for a 10 minute drive.  they gave it a once over clean inside and out.  Given our dealings with the organisation as a whole and this was the car's 3rd service (1k and 5k previously in their workshop and this time around the 10k at home), I had every faith in them to be honest.  Given where we are I'm sort of still waiting for "the other shoe to drop", but so far it's been smooth sailing. 

It's the only place in all my years of visiting and now living here that I've ever seen workplace health and safety signs everywhere so maybe their parent company corporate mentality is filtering down?

And yes, mobile mechanics have been a thing for decades in the West but like you, the dealer doing the service was a new thing to me as well. 

[OnMyWay]

37 minutes ago, BrettGC said:

They lifted the car on an air powered jack then supported it with some very sturdy struts under the axels to remove all the wheels for the brake and underside inspection.  The mechanics in my last job had the same thing to lift buses on call-outs but on a much larger scale.  It's not a new technology. 

Sounds great!  Of course, my doubts were founded in the way we usually see things done here.  I would gladly pay extra for that home service!

[Possum]

During my informal research the last few days I found it difficult to get straight answers from the few sales people I talked to. Example: OK "all in" includes certain benefits but what if I pay cash? How much extra for the "all in?" Getting a quick answer on interest rates is also not easy, it seems not to vary from 10% down to 50%. This is going to be an adventure. I will say one good thing. The fact that the list price is the price you pay suits me as I hate the haggle. It's the little details that are going to take time to learn. Also, the dealerships seem to be owned by one national owner for each brand so I wonder how much difference it makes searching at one Toyota or Honda dealer to another for a better deal.

[BrettGC]

12 hours ago, Mike J said:

This has me doing some serious thinking for sure.  Cebu City for us is 2 1/2 to 3 hours away depending on traffic.  And once in the city, traffic is a nightmare.

That's why I like this whole thing; so convenient.  

[hk blues]

Going back to the question of cash discounts - we were in SM City yesterday and spoke to the staff at Kia (we were looking at the Stonic) - she said there would be a 40k cash discount.  We will look further into this to clarify but it seemed pretty clear.  

[hk blues]

On 6/19/2023 at 11:47 AM, hk blues said:

Going back to the question of cash discounts - we were in SM City yesterday and spoke to the staff at Kia (we were looking at the Stonic) - she said there would be a 40k cash discount.  We will look further into this to clarify but it seemed pretty clear.  

Update on this - We went to 4 or 5 dealerships on Saturday.  All were offering discounts for cash of between 40k and 50k.  Availability also seemed pretty good, at least for the models we were looking at with the exception being Ford who now have no smaller models i.e. Fiesta or Ecosport (all discontinued) and Susuki with the Swift being discontinued. 

[ThaiWolf]

 

Highly recommend the Toyota Corolla Cross Hybrid (if it's available in the PH) .  
Bought the GR model a 4 weeks ago after having one out on demo for a week, absolutely love it!

Apart from having plenty of 'get and go' it's frugal on petrol. I'm getting around 25km per litre on average. Some great videos available on YouTube about this model in PH and also mentions something about paying less tax because it's a hybrid.

Oh, I said I'd keep in touch!

 

 

[hk blues]

Related -

Today I went to LTO to see about getting my now expired UK licence transferred to a local one.  Not as painful as I had imagined - they only asked for the documents noted on the form and were relatively fast in processing - in and out in about 4 hours which included the theory test - I was exempted from the practical.  I am now in possession of my A4 sized licence!