A Place for Singles

ya, depends on wat car and how much insulation, what kind of insulation etc...

the most basic is just the material tat is under the bonnet, some pple remove this so tat the engine bay does not get too hot, which is kinda silly. why dun u pop the bonnet and look if u have this piece... this is relatively cheap, less than $100 depending on make/model...

as siao has mentioned, insulating the whole car will cost over 1k, personally i dun go for insulation but conti cars have better insulation.
 


powder, what's that huge piece of dampening material? the ppl at the workshop will know if we tell them that? how much will it cost to replace that? what my bf thought we had to do was to insulate the flooring where most of the noise appear to come in from. then again, both of us know nothing about this at all.

simpleman, getting earplugs sounds good. but will it be dangerous since earplugs will block out most other sounds as well other than the engine noise?

we don't need to insulate the whole car. we really just want to block out the engine noise. can't even hear the radio sometimes.

i googled abit and saw this. is this of any use?
http://sg.geoc*t*es.com/ebb_bp/ (replace * with i)
 
morning everyone! this morning got rain?? i dun even know... slept thru just woke up...

this friday cancel?? alamak...

can't stand that guy leh... super preach.. and childiah
 
thanx powder. we'll prob check it out.
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no lar..me not organising...

was thinking tat since tis fri so many cant make it, y not just make it next fri.same time same place lor
 
ggal,

the thing abt the avante is, its a new car. Its less common on the roads and less stress tested. Also, parts may not be available if its not common. This applies to any brand be it japanese/korean/continental/msia/China.

Not saying that its korean therefore lousy, I think the Getz and Picanto are decent cars for their range. But there are some that are fuel thristy elephants around. So, you have to do proper research. Don't take what the salerep tell u. I haven't seen any salesrep that admitted that their car maintenace is high or is not FC efficient unless they are using that to push you to buy a higher model. E.g. Pushing for the Latio by saying Sunny FC is bad.
 
Hi Milo... thanks for your POV. Actually the Sales rep din talk much about the FC and other technical stuff. We got most of our info from the net.. surfing around sites like Edmunds.com. In the US and Europe, the Avante is still known by it's original name Elantra. The new name Avante is to cater to the Asian mkt which is a lot more brand conscious and also to break away from the image of the Avante's predecesors.

Parts shldn't be an issue since warranty covers 1st 3 yrs right? Servicing is the usual /10K.

Anyway, can anyone pls give me better suggestions for a new car below $58K then? I'm in no hurry to buy anyway... not urgent to have a car in the near future.
 
BTW, I like the Latio hatchback... Not sure abt the Sunny's FC, but my dad drives one and he admits it's heavy, therefore needs more fuel. Also, the noise insulation is BAD!! Cannot hear each other talk when it rains heavily.
 
hi G-gal,
actually, i almost got a Elantra back in early 2000. Kodomo motors was a bad experience for me. I booked an Elantra hatchback during their promo at $69k. But then the COE increased from $18k to $24k. The agent just recommend us to top-up to match the new price of $82k instead as the bid he is offering for us is very low and probably will not get our COE bid.

Also, the colour we selected will not be available as they are no longer bringing in. They only told us of all these problems days after after we paid the deposit.

In the end, I waited for the 2 bids to fail and collected back my deposit. So, Hyundai is on my personal black list. Forgive me, if i have nothing much good to talk abt them. :p

The warranty will cover only 3 yrs. This is standard for all. But do u intend to do all your minor servicing with them? Things like original spark plugs, oil and air filter, how available are there in the market? I'm not sure cos I never owned a Hyundai. Maybe others can provide more accurate feedback on that. I have friends that told me that their aircon compressor breaks down after 5 yrs and the replacement costed them several thousands. This is unverified rumours, again, best to check it up.

If your intention is to change car after 3 yrs, then u should be looking for something with a good resale value. So, your research would be on the resale values of the Elantras as compared to their selling prices. That would probably give u a good indication on the kind of resale value u will get.

On sound insolation, the only purpose I see are for those that install power amps on their car stereos & they intend to blast at top volumes without distortions and tabulences. Road noises can be reduced thr undercarriage coatings & carpetting.
 
Hmm... do you resell or simply scrap the car? I really can't tell if I will stick to the car or sell after 3 yrs. My opinion is that if something is nice and still usable, why change it? And go thru the hassle of shopping again. Of coz if I earn so much in the future that I can have any car I wish, I may wanna upgrade to soemthing much much nicer. Else if it's another car in the same price bracket, I'd prefer to stick to the one I'm using if it's still in good condition.

7 yrs is a long time.. If you told me you experienced this 2 yrs ago, I'd think twice.. but I believe things wld have improved a lot over 7 yrs. Indeed 7 yrs ago, I'll never think of buying a Korean car! :P
 
Again, if you are talking abt keeping it longer than 3 yrs, maintenance would be something to check on.

To be safe, check on both maintenance and resale.
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Yah, 6 yrs is a long time liao. its just my personal black list only. ;p
 
Hi Milo, I understand... it's hard to change one's perspective or biasness...like some pple will always be racist :P Like I can accept a korean car more than a Thai, PRC or M'sian car though ;)

But thanks for the comments.. will keep all these in mind shld we revisit the car.
 
that's true. I used to be sceptical towards Thai cars too. The soluna was a nono.

But most mechandise we get today are no longer produced in Japan. I have faith in Japanese companies to instill the quality and japanese product 'culture' in their regional plants. Just as in China, even BMWs and Merc produced locally.
 
salsa me on mc la.. sleep and sleep.. medicine already no use for me... my body developing anti bodies against medicine haha! going to sleep now.. hope i can wake up for man u match later... arsenal lost.. so happy.. hehehe
 
the chinese produced BMs, Audis and Merc are not for export but specialised for the Chinese market only.

Its very much the same in the industry I'm in. Products produced for the Chinese market are pretty unusable elsewhere cos the big customers in China define their own standards and requirements. Their products aren't compliant to products elsewhere globally.

But they can do that, cos the Chinese market itself is big enough.
 
Ggal,

Ok. I thought I won't share my experience about getting a Korean car but since Milo shared his, I might as well.

That was in 2003. Then COE was high (29K) and wife wanted a cheap car. A cheap car then was a Hyundai (or other korean car) or Proton (which we were biased against). So we went to the agent and booked and paid deposit. Agent told us to bid COE 29K, very safe. Then few weeks later when COE was announced, yes it was 29K. Agent didnt call us. We called him instead the next day. He said that he forgot to bid. What the heck? Forgot to bid? We were not in hurry so no choice, as agent said can bid again. Then 2 weeks later this time he bidded but COE was 30K+. So our bid was unsuccessful and he told us to 'top up' if we wanted the car. At that point we were furious and we refused to top up and we complained to them that they should give us the car at 29K COE as it was not our fault but theirs. Made no progress so the rest was history. After three months and much delays, we were refunded our deposit. Wasted our precious time. And we ended up buying a Toyota Wish from PI in double quick time - guranteed COE and the car was delivered in 2 weeks or so.

So much for the bad experience with their service attitude. Of course this may not mean that they are really bad but just a point to note.

Also one of my friends got an elantra. During one of his routine checks, he noticed that his engine oil has disappeared. His was a new car and his elantra's engine "swallowed" the engine oil. This is a classic problem with Hyundai engines. That was a couple of years back and hopefully they should have solve this problem now.

OK. Not to scare you but just to relate some stories about Hyundai. Of course we also know about the legendary Hyundai Pony that turned rusty after just 5 years.

Again the reason I pointed these problem are not to scare you but to let you know that Hyundai has since improved by leaps and bounds. These quality problem should be gone by now, hopefully.

One of my ex-colleague has a elantra (think 2 years back) and according to him it was very good. I drove before his car, interior still plasticky (but we can't expect much) but it was nice. Handling was good except that the steering was very light and not very precise.

I have not heard him complain about the car but also I have since lost contact of him.

Overall, I think that Korean (and Hyundai in particular) cars have improved a lot over the last 20 years, epecially in the last 5 years. Build quality is almost (I say almost) Japanese standard and the only weakness is probably their engine. It will take them another 10 years to reach Honda and Toyota engine quality.

Now to maintenance issue. I believe it is a non-issue. I think we Singaporeans are being scared too much by the car agents. Most parts are available. There is nothing special about spark plugs, oil and filter for eg. We are not talking about limited production sports car in which maintenance may be an issue. We are talking about a mass production car. Actually you will have more to worry if you own continental cars in which at times special equipment must be used to service the car. For Korean cars, it is not an issue.

And I also don't think that a Hyundai compressor will cost a few thousands dollar. That is probably a rumour, at most it may cost up to 1K (or slightly over), definitely cheaper than Honda or Toyota compressors.

Most modern cars we have are very reliable. The problematic ones are most likely the unlucky batch. Whether it is made in Japan or Korea or Thailand does not matter much. For the Japanese, their production and process control are very good. We are not talking about limited-edition hand-made cars that can only be produced by master-craftsman, we are really talking about process and production technology. Japanese, in particular toyota is the real expert in this. Most of the production are automated anyway and I don't understand why we are still paranoid about cars not being produced in home country of the manufacturer.

The problematic ones are the likes of Chinese designed and produced(or Malaysian produced) cars. These production processes are adopted and modified (as they cannot copy 100%) and may not be optimized - and that is where quality may suffer. But if it is a German designed production process in China (say for Merc) then I don't think there is a need to worry.

In short, the Hyundai Avante will probably be as good (almost) as any other Japanese car in its class. As to the service attitude of the local agent for Hyundai, you have to discover for yourself. Maybe they will surprise you as well.
 
hi simpleman,

just to add one more thing to the list. I have heard of some cars that require proprietary fluids for their tranmission etc.

That is one problem with the Opel I had too.
 
Yo simpleman, looks like you're another unlucky one w Hyundai. 2 (you and milo) is a pretty small sample size so maybe it's just coincidence or they have really dishonest sales staff...nothing to do w the quality of the car. I'm in no hurry to buy, so who knows by the time I really get a car, all these problems wld be gone?? Heh.. that's another 10 yrs then :P My parents also have certain prejudice against Hyundai. Not only the fact that they are Korean but that most of the drivers of this brand are lousy! That's judgemental for you...
 
milo,

This is interesting. The need to change transmission should be quite rare - probably once or twice in an 10 year life of a car. If you own your car for < 3 years, most like you won't need to change unless there is leakage - this is probably a defect then.

Anyway, the fluid should not be expensive (even if it is a special type) and the workshop should be able to do it.

But you are right that continental cars are more perculiar - it really depends on the brand. Like some French cars like Renault being notorious for its ECU failure. Or the SAAB gearbox failure that will need to be serviced by having the car jack up. Japanese car are more or less more standard.
 
hi G-gal,

yah. it has nothing to do with the car itself. I did not think the Elantra was a bad car. Otherwise, I would not have booked it.

But the experience once is bad enough for me. I did test drive the Getz and is pretty happy with its performance. However, to me, the engine is still on the noisy side when compared with Toyotas and Nissans that I tested. I have no comments abt the avante since I haven't tested one before.

It will take one really impressive Hyundai to change my impression they had imprinted on me.
 
hi simpleman, the crutch worn out and the pump leaked. Probably, ran out of fluid due to the leak and worn out. Warranty was over as it exceeded 100k liao.

It costs a bomb to repair that after the stupid timing belt was replaced shortly earlier.
 
ggal,

I guess sales staff could be hit or miss. There are good and bad ones. I suppose Hyundai kena blacklisted by Milo and me. But actually not true, I may go disturb them again for a test drive (just for fun).

The other car that I hate absolutely is Honda - OK nothing against the car - it is good (and over priced) but the sales people just piss me off.
 
milo, That is probably a design or part defect. I have had a toyota - > 200K till I scrap it. Still good when I scrap it. Also didnt change transmission fluid. Timing belt is a must lah, say at 70K to 80K - ok, remember to change the water pump at the same time when you change the timing belt (to save labour).

Some cars don't use timing belt. Like my BM now. Use timing chain. So, no need to change.
 
simpleman, the sales staff who served me and hb on Sat was a lady and she was v friendly, not pushy at all. I think I prefer to deal w a female than male staff. Males tend to be condescending towards female drivers :P well...they dunno who really controls the purse strings ;) Hey go for a test drive and tell me how's the car!! You might wanna try the 3.3L Azera too! It feels so gd inside... almost as good as a Lexus ;)
 
ggal, Ha ha.. I also like female sales staff. There was one at Nissan, ex SIA stewardess.. I always go there for test drive when there is a new model out. She saw me so many times but also never complain, always smile and service me. So one of these days I may just buy a Nissan.
 
Morning...

Simpleman.. wahliao... cheap thrill leh.. ex-SIA stewardess to serve you.. shiok huh?? ;) I must go and look for a place where the male sales staff are dam good looking but not ah beng type...ex-stewards??... hmm... any recommendation?? Keke...
 
morning.........

i never go ard test drive car b4..the only time i go test drive is i going to book the car liao...

let me where got chio bu car sales agent, i go there n test drive..keke
 
You say never go and test drive at all till you're ready to book mah... sounds like the type who will wait till the wedding night.. hehehehe :P
 


ya lor..my current one also..i already decided wat i wan liao..go test drive is just formality..after tat just sign a 5K chq for deposit, on the spot book it liao!!....haha
 
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