A Place for Singles

Hi G~gal, tat incident with Hyundai not being able to bid successfully for the COE & having to refund the deposit seems pretty common. Fren went thru it too. Ended up getting a Vios instead.
 


Hmm.. do you think they tell you COE is $X and then they actually bid $X-Y? SO they can take the difference and tell you the bid was unsuccessful?? What if you try to bid yourself? Possible? Anyway, I'm super wary of sales pple whether they're selling me cars or durians.. :P
 
pls dun be too smart n go bid the coe urself..even if u have the coe, the car dealer might not wanna sell u the car!!!..

n korean cars ususally have low coe bid n less no of tries, tat's y they're so cheap mah..end up u cant get the car..
 
Sigh.. how I wish I'm living overseas.. less problem buying a car. This weekend, hb wants to look at Mazda...
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I dunno look for what when we cannot afford... maybe just drool all over the models on display :P~~
 
Ya... at Macpherson there... Kampong Ampat.. v near my old workplace. The sales agent is a lady huh... Me looking for tall and yandao one...not chio.. else I tell hb dun go liao.. haha
 
i agree with ah siao, Hyundai car dealers tactics is to bid low COEs hence customers risk not getting their bids. With Toyota, I didn't manage to get the 1st bid either but instead of letting me wait, the sales person got me the open cat COE which is higher
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He did the registration everything for me while I was overseas and I only needed to come collect my car once I returned to sgp. My personal experience with Toyota has been good. Incidentally, he also processed my mum's purchase of a vios. So, maybe its repeat customer, hence better follow-ups.
 
morning! cars still haha.. ggal there's a used car mart at ubi.. i bought my first car there... nissan sunny... there's another near leng kee... ard commonwealth area.. i forgot the nam of the place.. most cars there are sports or luxury cars... but 2nd hand..
 
milo, i also feel toyota has better service.. i dun like honda too.. i feel the sales agents very stuck up.. all one kind face.. not as if their cars are so damn good.., even audi & alfa ones serves better even u dun buy
 
laundry.. i only know those that get open cat are super anxious and urgent to get a car.. so the COE in that cat is very high... the rest i'm not sure... better ask the guys.. i only know how to buy and drive haha
 
Vaguely remember someone saying tat there are some implications when selling the car. Senile liao. Can't remember. Mebbe I imagined it.

Other used car marts:
- Automobile Megamart (the Ubi one. best in my opinion)
- Leng Kee Car Mart (never been)
- Commonwealth Car Mall (looks a bit sad)
- Turf City (mebbe it was a Sunday. Looks deserted)
 
the open Cat COE is pegged to the Cat A or Cat B coe value. ie there's a particular month of $101 Cat A coe... if u buy Open Cat coe of 30k and use it on a Cat A car, your 30k coe's value will be $101. there's another danger month where Cat B coe was 11k, and open cat was 30k... these are the killer months and agents generally dun advise, nor do they know.
 
Ya, Powder. Think it was something like tat. Open Cat value gets sacrificed when u peg it to a Cat A car. But Open Cat COE price will always be higher than Cat A & B rite? Since transferable? All tis jargon is taking eternity for me to grasp. :P
 
about sales agents... dislike female ones... the kind of things they tell me makes me cringe... i seriously think they're bimbos, i'm sori... the only good ones i know are from conti marques... the most stupid girl i met was from Subaru, all she could tell me was that the Tribeca is American-made... and kept repeating the same freakin thing... knows nuts abt the car. i wanted to make some calls to get to the boss... how the hell they employ such pple???

else u have the Old-man who has seen it all and can only tell u, "trust me, it's a good buy" and tells u how many cars he sold, warns u about not being able to get a colour u want due to backlog, warns u abt how the price will go up... i absolutely hate scare tactics, but it works... when u buy 50k car, dun be bothered if the prices goes up by 3k... cos it's better to make a good 53k purchase, than a 50k bad decision. u'll feel stupid trying to save 3k... and also, i think pple take longer to buy a 3k luxury bag than a 50k car.

Kah - they live on old reputation. Borneo - overly-spoilt bunch, excluding Lexus. otherwise i'm most impressed with Komoco, C&C (Mitsu/Kia). no comments on Tan Chong cos all they do is sell u the sunglass holders, cup holders and many other gadgets u dun need to drive... i must say alot of pple dun seem to be buying a car for the purpose that it was built for... they dun ask abt the driveability issues, they ask abt equipment issues and are bought over by silly little stuff u can buy at less than $50 off the market. for a 50k product, we are convinced by the $50 equipments and $5 plastic parts.

anyway u guys wanna know wat a test-drive shuld really be about, go down to see BMW, Alfa Romeos, Peugeots... this is what i call Buying. Performance - the sales lady was knowledgeable and definitely a driver, let us test drive 3 different cars EACH, total 9 drives and each was more than 5km.. we felt like she wanted us to KNOW the car intimately... same with Alfa Romeo, i used to take pple to Marina South... that's wayyyyyyy better than the stupid 1-round tat u get to drive on a Toyota. and worse, cannot rev... whilst the others beg to rev abit and get a feel...

but i guess it sums up local service... it sucks...
 
Hehe... powder, true... that's why hb's colleague was convinced to splurge on a conti car... even if he and his wife have to live on $3 meals and share a drink for the rest of their loan tenur (10 yrs) :P The service was so good, they were sold. For me, aftersales is more impt. I like to know they are there to help me if the car has problems.
 
usually jap car got less problem..these days conti car come w lota electronic gadgets n always have some problem..den u need to send in for repair, quite troublesome..moreover, u need to send back to agent for servicing n will cost a bomb..normal jap cars outside can service liao n also at much cheaper cost
 
heh... ah siao, think simpleman and powder will have some comments on that..;)

Laundry thanks for info on those used car marts.. will check them out when we're free.
 
ya i dun agree... let me tell u abt the electronic gadgets... if i get an error msg (only twice), i drive to my frenly mechanic, he plugs in the diagnostic, start the windows, delete the msg, and i'm done. 5mins? FREE. in any case it's under warranty so it's fine.. my fren is a 2nd hand owner of a volvo... his car almost 3yrs, he went down and they changed EVERYTHING from brake disc, pads, suspension for him FOC... no questions asked, and initiated by distributors. another with Audi had similar level of service, Jaguar too...

some of these stuff come-on to warn u of certain things to lookout for, ie Oil level low, clutch, brakes etc... and sometimes it's just overly sensitive cables... the early warning saves us the implications and consequential damages cause if we dun heed the warning.

the initial 4eyed merc E-class were a nitemare, and they lost a few faithful customers to BM cos of tat... but they have since rectified and made things right again.

my car 3.5yrs (touch wood) running totally fine, but always have uncle/pple ask me with expectations of a nitemare story... but no leh... anyway for servicing u no need to die die go back distributor... but for certain parts u go back becos u want original parts and not re-con parts... and not all workshops can buy a diagnostic computer ranging from 15k-100k... there are definitely workshops for Conti cars, u just need to accustom yourself to the niche market... for my Alfa, there's at least 5, and more than a dozen in Malaysia as well... it's not like the japanese car tat every workshop can basically service, but all workshops are found in similar vicinities ie sin ming, amk autopoint, ubi etc... doesn't mean driving japanese car u can go downstairs and the workshop is there... u still go to industrial areas.

i have owned korean, jap, conti... my most expensive servicing came from my hyundai sonata (engine - 1.2k overhaul) and mitsubishi colt (changed 3 compressors $350 each)... have never had such problems for my conti ownership.

alot of nitemare we may still hear are hearsay circulated from the 90s... i can tell u man, some jap car owners dun dare to tell pple if they face problems.
 
ya.i service my car in auto pt....n since my car isnt those high peformance one, so going to a normal workshop will save me quite alot of $$ compared to going back to agent
 
hi powder,

i beg to differ. I guess there are good & bad stories from every brand. I have a friend whose whole family uses Toyota. He managed to sell his 11 yrs old Corolla for a profit. None of the cars he had ever encountered any major problems. He is now driving his 4th personal Toyota. His family are loyal supporters for Toyota cos it gave them no problems after all these yrs.

The lancer my mum drove for 5 yrs has the computer board and the compressor replaced.

I think 'japanese', 'korean', or 'continental' are too broad a generalisation. Anyway, we should compare apples with apples. If we talk abt highend cars, then the comparison should be made with the high end models too. Say Merc/BMW vs Lexus and not compare with the service quality of Altis or Vios.

So, if you look at the lower end ranges of continental where the price is comparable to a Japanese car, I don't think they don't really that much value in their maintenance package.

On the sales marketing, they know what the selling point of their car is. You will sell performance on a performance car and not a Nissan Sunny. When u test drive a WRX, I'm sure, you will need more than a single round. But to rev on a Picanto would be silly. So, naturally, sales pple know what kind of customers are coming in. The HDB uncle & aunties is probably more interested in the little feebies and chrome finishings in the cars than long or short it takes for 0-100km/h.
 
siao, i think the agents vs external workshops for jap cars have a bigger differential in prices... of cos the jap market also have more recon parts...
 
the major diff is the cost of labour also..agent charge damn high for labour cost n other overheads..external workshop pretty cheap..my mechanic charged me $20 nia when i bring my own engine oil go servicing
 
Milo u disputing which point? the one where i say "some jap car owners dun dare to tell pple if they face problems."?

on just Sale/Service, i think it's apple vs apple given that both are of high value, and there are basic considerations when u buy a car, whereby a longer drive over a variant of speeds + bends will allow us to know the car better, whether Picanto or Ferrari. Customers will need the same attention & service... becos they will face the same problems and have the same questions. just becos u sell cheaper by volume doesn't mean u're not expected to provide a decent level of service... btw, the profit margin earned from my Alfa is lesser than the profit margin Kah makes from selling a honda civic, so shuldn't the Honda owner get better service in such case?

anyway selling for profit only happened in certain bubbles of period where COE was ridiculously HIGH, 1994-96?... u can buy any car and sell for a profit. we bought a merc 200E at 26k and sold it at 36k... the car has only 1yr left to scrap... so it doesn't mean anything for corolla... it's the market, not the brand.

i agree u sell on the car's strengths, but i believe basics of a car like bhp, fc, handling etc are very basic knowledge the sales pple shuld possess... and we as would-be owners shuld know and experience 1st hand, else test-drive is for wat? just cos u want an A~B car doesn't mean u dun need to know the other stuff. and the car shuld not be sold to u by telling u that u have a backlog, this car definitely can trust, price will go up etc... this is like when i walk into Gucci and the lady tells me this is the latest model and i shuld get it while stocks last... or buying an LV becos it's LV. buy handphone also need to play with the handphone... No? what more for a 50k product u're taking a 2.85% yearly loan that adds up to 20% over 7yrs... for the money we spending, why do we need to shortchange ourselves and the service we shuld get?

that's the reason why spore will take donkey years to improve on service... becos even buyers belittle themselves when they buy lesser-priced products. Sincere Watches gives u the same service whether u're buying a 5k Omega or a 50k Patek, or in my case a $500 watch-winder... i dun expect, they Give.

a rev on a Picanto is Not silly... bro, u know the rev and the ability for the car to be responsive and react immediately to your acceleration - could mean the difference between Life & Death? when u're in a suddenly dangerous situation and u need to determine if u shuld Rev or Brake or Steer left/right to avoid the situation - u need to know what your car Can Do. if u know your car, u will know exactly what's the best course of action... tat's the fine line between accidents & near-skirmishes.

on a more serious note... pple get into accidents becos they dun know their own cars, nor do they know the cars around them... driving is not abt sitting in your car and driving from A to B, it's abt the dangers around u... the more aware u are, the better it is.
 
For car agents, if I am serious about the car - it is immaterial cos I will have done my research. I have no need for them to tell me anything about the car. They can spout nonsense for all I care.

But most of the time, I test drive for fun (no intention of buying) - for this it doesnt hurt being served by a pretty lady. You can say this is cheap thrill, so is test driving a new car. There was once I test drive a seven seater (Volvo XC90) and I took with me give colleagues - we litterally loaded it up fully to test the car. Then I can have feedback from the reat row to tell me if the seats at the end is cramp or not or the air-con cold enough or not.

As for the service attitude I don't know why those company don't send their sales stuff for proper training - not in the sense of knowledge but at least service attitude. Or they are too driven by their commission that they lose sight? Honda used to be the No 1 car in SG and over the years, their sales number has not grown as fast as the rest - and I believe part of the reason is the service attitude of their sales staff.

As for korean vs Japanese vs continental cars - there is no point in debating as it really depends on the driver themselves. Most people want reliable, no-nonsense car - and the Japanese cars are the best bet. Toyota is the perfect example. Some want more value out of their car (I mean cheaper), then go for Koreans. But if you want comformt and luxury you have to go for Merc/BMW or Lexus. Of course in between there are niches market here and there and each manufacturer will try to fill those niches.

I agree with Milo that Toyota symbolizes reliability. I have had a Toyota that I drove to death (> 250K) and it is still a functioning car when I scrapped it. If you want to move from point A to B (forget about the excitement and the looks) then Toyota is for you. But you will be in the majority and your car probably will not stand out from the rest.

I also believe that in the lowend/mid-range, in general Japanese cars are better bet against the continental. Continental cars are too varied here to have meaningful comparisons. The horror stories of some of the continental cars are beyond our wildest imagination. But I believe they are exceptions rather than the rule. In general continental cars haves better handling but the Japanease has the edge in reliability and predictability. And yes, if you want to stand out from the crowd, choose something differrent - a continental (like powder) rather than your typical toyotas/hondas.

In the luxury segment I don't think there is much to choose rather than on personal preference. Merc is all about comfort and finishing. BM is about driver-centric and handling. Lexus is about refinement.

The only myth I wish to correct is on the perceived high maintenance of continental cars. I must say when I bought my 1st BM (8 yrs ago) I have this initial fear as well. But it is not true. My 3.5 years old 520 is very cheap to maintain, surprisingly. I have had 3 servicings in total (over 3.5 yrs) and in total I spent < 1K (for three years). Just last year (in my 3rd yr and under warranty) - I have had performance motors changed most of the parts that can be changed (worth a few Ks) free of charge. It means that I have changed parts that are 3 yrs old (and probably failing) just before the warranty expired. I am not too sure if Lexus or Merc also has this.
 
ah siao, no one ask you to go agent. I never go to agent unless it is warranty and I want them to change PARTS FOC.

Of course it helps that BMW service centre serves gourmet coffee.
 
I agree with powder on those stupid sales tactic by the sales staff. Most of the time when they start on those tactic I would just stare at them and then walk away.
 
haha siao, tat's wat we do too... bring our own oil... we can do it with our agents too leh.. and yes, some of these pple charge very high for labour... personally, we have a choice to go back or not to go back...

u must understand 1 simple thing... 1 mechanic is trained overseas and attends courses, the other is a DIY man who is self-taught. there's a definite cost involved... even though the same job can be done, there's a difference in doing the job... which screw goes in first and tightened to wat degree... it is something tat is taught. the DIY man goes by feel, he may over-tighten and problems come later... he can remove a part of the car which after putting back, will rattle for as long as u drive and u LL. Audi got a man who simply helps traces the rattling in your car... he must be paid.

1 person can warrant his work, the other give u verbal guarantees and u hope nothing happens... that's where the difference in workmanship comes from.
 
ACtually about test-driving, I believe it is essential. We are paying so much for a car and we can't test drive? Like what the Honda salesman was telling me, everyone knows Honda is solid, no need to test drive. What colour you want huh? Pay deposit now.

This is a total pissed off. And even if they allow you to test drive, they will tell you the designated route - and cannot do this, cannot do that. Might as well don't test right?
 
Hehe... wah... hot debate here... ;)

Simpleman... tell me when you wanna go and test drive the Hyundai ok...I really think the Azera is a nice car, but over my budget...
 
ah siao,

Actually I have one mechanic (I don't visit him now cos of the distance), he allows me to use his place to change engine oil - no charge at all. Actually it is quite easy.
 
Wahliao... I dun want Honda liao... the service so bad?? :P

simpleman.. you test drive now means I cannot tumpang for a spin. Still gotta wait for hb to get his license after his Basic Theory in May . How long to wait after the test??
 
ya agree with simpleman... Conti cars are Not tat expensive to maintain... oh Lexus quite impressive too... my fren bought a 2nd hand lexus and in 2weeks, he rcvd a 1k voucher from them to help him restore his bodywork... can u believe it? i was pretty impressed actually... same with the 2nd hand volvo another fren bought where he got his changes prior to warranty expiry, and recently another fren who bought a jaguar had similar experience...

anyway i'm happy with the myth... it's good for us
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powder, not all agent allowed tat..some car got partnership with a certain brand of engine oil..u bring other brand they will not accept one..

simpleman..i rather pay $20 n save my trouble of getting dirty..
 
wah then tat's too much restriction liao lah.... dun know man, i dun have this kind of problems... some of us group-buy then get cheaper, then go down agent with our own oils...
 
hi powder,

why I mentioned the profit its because a 11 yr old Corolla has a better resale value than a Hyundai Elantra of the same age.

I couldn't wait to scrap my mum's Lancer simply cos it really cannot make it by 10 yrs age. Its the similar condition for the Nissan pulsar my dad got. Both were Japanese cars too. But with the Toyota, I was quite surprised of its condition after driven for such long mileage and age.

I just feel that we all have unique experiences that makes us biased towards a certain brands. Not every one of it are due to 'hearsay' rumours.

I never disputed your point on how expensive borneo motors servicing were. Precisely the reason why I service elsewhere. For a 40 to 50k car, I probably cannot realistically get the services that you have shared about. I would prefer to look for one (within the price range) that can quite easily and cheaply get original parts replacement outside. And more importantly, one that has a reputation of not breaking down frequently.

Shopping for performance would be for a fun ride and not serious buy for me. At least for now.
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ah siao,
i only heard of special discounts for using the 'in-house' partner brands of oil but didn't hear of any the prevents them from bringing their own oil.

Unless their engine only works with proprietary fluids otherwise, it is really quite silly to be restricted like this. its as good as chasing the customer away.
 
bro milo,

of cos corolla will have a better resale than elantra of same age, it's undisputed fact... but we also need to look at the initial finances to buy either car... the elantra would no doubt cost less.

pls note i'm not against corollas at all, i'm just against the stupid service some of their sales pple give. in fact i strongly recommend the corolla and avante to most 1.6 a-b car owners... the car i'm seriously biased against is called the Sunny, it's not so sunny to me.

oui, how come u defending toyota when i never commented on the brand har? basket... i wondering if i typed something wrong or wat...
 
no lah... not defending for toyota. Just as I mentioned earlier. Continiental, Japanese or Korean are too broad a category.

To say continiental cars are cheap to maintain, I wouldn't say all brands. Likewise, I wouldn't say a Japanese car is good or reliable.

I see a big difference in the Daewoo and a Hyundai too.
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I'm biased against the Sunny too. Uncle design. Eat petrol but slow pickup.

For me, I had good experience with sales pple from most jap cars. Except for Hondas and Subarus. The 1st salesperson, I went to was good. Actually tempted to buy one. Then the following ones all basically drove me away.
 
cos diff agent will have dealership w diff engine oil brand lor...i think mazda use shell helix..forget which jap agent use mobile..subraru use shogun..

n hor, i think cos u bring own oil, they cant charge u the oil mah, which is usually at a mark up..
 


Milo,

I don't think we are biased towards particular brands - biased against the agents or service or sales staff, perhaps.

Actually I agreed with you that Toyota is reliable. Don't think powder would disagree as well. It is not difficult to know why Toyota is reliable and predictable because of their manufacturing prowess and their strategy of using standard components across their range of cars. As reliable as Toyota is, it is also "boring" and not exciting, at least to me.

As for parts. YOU can get original parts for most of the cars - I don't think this is ever an issue, be it Toyota, Honda or Hyundai. And just to let you know for toyota parts, the non-original parts are much cheaper than the original and work as well (not 100% as well). At times it may not be cost effective to use original parts - especially for an old car > 5 yrs. And because of their pre-eminent position that Toyota has built up, their cars (and parts) are getting more expensive and less value for money.
 

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