Questions on buying Used Car

[Gafff08]

Hi,

I'm in the process of looking for a used MPV as my family is now consisting of 7 members including myself. I believe the norm is to send the car for STA evaluation but I have heard many stories saying that it's not worth the money. Reason being that it will only detect some MAJOR problems. Another test is the Vicom evaluation. Can anyone share the details on this type of test? Is it a good yard stick?

[Auron]

this kind of test i think it not really useful...

they can come up with so called "A" grading... but end up if you kenna a lemon car after buying, you can't go back to them for compensation for wrong grading...

[Contax]

If you got a good relationship with your echanic/workshop , get him/them to look at the car .

[Jlim]

Check that there no major accidents before will be good enuf I think. Wear and tear cannot prevent.

[Gafff08]

how to check whether there's major accident? will sta or vicom reveal tat?

[Furrynadz]

vicom is the worst

 

sta test better than vicom

 

if AA member, go for AA test best

 

vicom and sta certs very easy to buy, just bribe nia

[Gafff08]

so AA test is the most reliable? if so, i will request the dealer to send it to AA. Is there any standard it must achieve? like in STA, it's must grade A before we accept the car?

[Gafff08]

do you have any good ones to recommend? i wun hold u liable if anything happens though...

[Hmsg]

why dun u consider new?

[Gafff08]

cause of the high depreciation... for used car, the 1st owner bears the depreciation while for used car, I can break even in 2 years even if i choose to scrap it.

[Hondasteam]

Yeah, the 1st owner usually suffers a higher depreciation selling the car.

 

Generally, I think most car owners in s'pore would take good care of their pricy assets.

 

Do take note that you need to pay a steep transfer fee + higher interest rate for resale

 

car which you should weight whether to buy a new one...

 

Regards,

 

Victor

[Chongster]

for STA the report does look quite comprehensive. it doesn't help you choose the car you want, but it can tell you which cars you wouldn't want.

 

you also got to be realistic. even if you get a mechanic to look at it, the guy also can only look at the major, obvious areas. some parts of the car, will be working perfectly until it reaches a certain age, then stop working one fine day.

[Dicksonzhang]

[Robo]

ok.. just wanna share...please be careful of these 2nd hand dealers..

 

last month..my car got into an accident that i decided not to repair but just scrap..

so naturally i would be looking for a car.. between new or used.. i decided to get a used one instead... the price is better compared to new as the bulk of depreciation being thrown on the new owner..

 

so i began scouting.. found a aveo5 that seems really good. sony mp3 w/6disc changer, solar film and leather seat. den i realised the seller is the same one as the one that selled me my old car..

 

gave him a call and arrange for a meeting at his showroom. upon arriving the next day, realised i was able to shop in peace as there wasnt anyone in the place..

 

as the price was very good, i began checking whether there was any signs of accident. nothing seems to be wrong except a small dent near the passenger door. ok fine. i ask him whether or not he will fix it. he agreed. swee..

 

now is checking the interior and the comfort of the cabin. first noticed all that he mentioned in the ad is not present! No sony mp3 with changer headunit, no solar film except factory tint which of course is damn light, no leather just the standard fabric.

 

so asked him! eh.. dont have wadeva u mentioned in the ad leh! he swee swee agree, i will tint for u, fixed up a sony mp3, and also the leather. he still asked me wad colour i wanna put.

 

den came the part where the docus are being process. i asked him how long will he take to tow my old car to scrap yard. he said once the loan approved he will tow away... loan will take 3 days max!

swee.. cauz i cant possibly leave the car in my mech's place for too long also... paiseh mahz..

 

after 3 days i called him.. eh how!? loan??? he say no news leh.. nvm... i patiently wait and wait.. 5 days i called.. same answer... 7 days called again.. same answer given.. finally afetr nine days he called.. eh.. your loan hoseh liao! i can give u the car tmr.. i asked how? fix liao anot? the dent the HU, solar film and seats..solar film and all tmr i do for u! den said seats we must 50-50.. i was like wtf! eh siao eh u agreed de hor! den he came of stupid excuses say wad the loan money not enough to cover his profit... i said ok. nvm.. market price is $800. u drop in $500 back to me..

 

next day came.. went down late around 8plus cuz delayed by work. he parked the car at a super dark spot. so checked the car. ok dent fixed. but wtf! sony mp3 become panasonic!kNn! i asked eh siao eh! u not honest lehz! say sony now panasonic! u know how much diff anot!? den siao eh.. u say got solar film liao, u gonna coat it to be the standard legal!

he sian 1/2 lot tio spot liao.. told me to go his friend's place.. and do under his account.

 

called and went down on a saturday morning.. reach his place and the fellow tell me 2hrs later come back...only do 4 doors! knn where got do solar film do 4 dorrs nia! around 1hr later called me say sorry wor boss.. tdy cannot tmr. so tmr morning called hp off!

 

now i super hot liao. called the agent fark until he agreed on solar filming the whole door.. so on monday which is few days ago.. went down again wasted 4hrs... finally tinted the whole car.

 

so... please be careful make sure those peeps get your whole car done up before u collect... best is got black and white to double confirm.. just in case u all are curious who this dealer is... the name is similar to one of the super big organizations in sg.. somewhere in the entertainment line.. wanna know the name... gimme a pm.

ps. sorry if my story is too long winded...

[Gafff08]

the dealer quoted me less than $200 for the transfer fee and the interest rate quoted was 2.68% and on top of tat, i only need to top up 7k to settle my outstanding loan..

[Galantspeedz]

misconception.

 

Break even point is the point when you can sell your car w/o topup to repay loan.

 

How fast this break even point is depends on how much downpayment you make.

 

Those dealers that tell you how much you can get if you sell your car after 2yrs is most likely trying to pull a fast one, reason is no one can predict the body value of a car in 2yrs. And even whatever the body value they tell you that the car is worth now, i think you divide by 2.

 

And if you getting full loan, there is no way you can breakeven in 2yrs without any downpayment.

[Gafff08]

Hi Robo,

thanks for sharing.. i have a few questions. For the scraping, it was done by the dealer? Do you need to pay? How about the outstanding loan(if you still have)? I quite comprehensive on this part since the car kingdom saga.

Edited August 8, 2008 by Gafff08

[Galantspeedz]

you be surprised at what a experienced mech can spot in a car.