27 year old Malaysian save money driving a 21-year-old Proton Saga

[conybrwn]

but old cars will spend more $$$ on maintenance

[Kklim]

Miss the Honda Quintet I had when I was 27. 

[Ara84]

https://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.php?ID=918295

 

Speaking of old protons, anyone keen on this?

Very low depreciation plus tried and true japanese technology with cheap spare parts too.

[13177]

41 minutes ago, Ara84 said:

https://www.sgcarmart.com/used_cars/info.php?ID=918295

 

Speaking of old protons, anyone keen on this?

Very low depreciation plus tried and true japanese technology with cheap spare parts too.

Wira is not a bad car la, space consider quite spacious, drive wise is ok if you dont expect too much.

[Ara84]

On 8/16/2020 at 10:21 AM, 13177 said:

Wira is not a bad car la, space consider quite spacious, drive wise is ok if you dont expect too much.

Actually I agree. If you need a no nonsense point A to B car then it fits all your needs plus it's cheap to maintain too with lots of spare parts available.

[kingkong123456]

is he single?

[Unfazed]

25 minutes ago, kingkong123456 said:

is he single?

Looks like some newbie has nothing better to do and clocking unnecessary post. 

[lexiton]

@kingkong123456 

 

high chance which normal gen z girl will wanna sit in that garbage

[Jamesc]

The not high maintenance one

that makes the best wives.

[Ct3833]

On 8/16/2020 at 10:21 AM, 13177 said:

Wira is not a bad car la, space consider quite spacious, drive wise is ok if you dont expect too much.

in fact in a country that  does not have to  pay for COE,  it is most economical  to drive a car for along as one could until it is no longer road worthy.  of course not many would want to do that. 

[SG8]

On 8/11/2020 at 5:06 PM, RickyWee said:

https://mothership.sg/2020/08/malaysian-drive-old-proton/

 

Hi, I'm Ken. This is my experience of a 27 years old Malaysian guy on driving an old Proton car in year 2020.

Ever since graduating from my university on 3 years ago, I've been driving this car as my daily car. Time to sell this old Proton for a new car that is more suitable for someone of my age? Not yet.

The car I'm driving is just a 1999 Proton Saga Iswara 1.3 Aeroback. An old car that is as normal as you can get in Malaysia. Not a BMW, Lexus, Audi, Nissan GT-R or any other luxury cars.

Owning a new car in Malaysia can be expensive considering the price of a new car per average monthly income ratio. By average, I would say it is easily over RM500 per month for the upkeep of a new car in Malaysia even if it is an entry level car.

By average, what was needed for the upkeep of this Proton Saga Iswara per month would be around RM300, inclusive of fuel, maintenance and any random repairs. Yup, that would be around RM3600 per year and it should roughly be enough to keep my car running for a year. It doesn't demand repair every single month of course and those are the months that I can save up more.

What have I learned from driving a 21 years old Proton as my daily car? Well, at first during my early days of driving it, I do get a lot of negative feedback from it as it was in quite a poor condition before I restored it. Many recommended me to take up a car loan for a new car instead of wasting my money to fix up this Proton Saga.

It is a good thing that I din't or else I would still be paying at least RM500 per month for the 9 years car loan installment at this moment. I haven't even include the costs for fuel and the yearly insurance costs which isn't cheap for a new car.

My current income is eligible to sign up for a RM50k to RM60k car loan from a bank but why spend so much per month to pay for a new car that I use as a daily point A to B transport? Not only that, a car value depreciates quickly per year, even faster than the amount that you are paying in a year for some cars. Say if I buy a car for RM60k under a 9 years loan, by the time I finished repaying the loan, the car is probably worth only RM20k by then. RM40k lost in depreciation and I have not even factor in the amount that I've lost in paying interest rates to the bank.

Instead of tying myself up under a loan commitment, I'm better off driving this old Proton Saga and save up all the extra money per month. What I can get with the extra money would be flexibility as it can be invested, given to family, saved up for the future, for property, etc.

Obviously compared to my similarly aged peers, I look like the sad poor guy who drives an outdated old Proton Saga that his family handed it down to him when others are driving shiny brand new cars with latest technology. Some will even say that I am risking my life because of the poor safety features in this car. Hmm, does that mean that motorcycle riders are battling against life and death daily as they ride out? Or maybe your parents or the older generations are risking their lives too during a few decades ago when they are driving cars like this?

I can't say there is a 100% guarantee in road safety regardless of what car that you are driving but having a nearly empty bank account per month due to high commitments is a guaranteed risk in personal finance management.

v good

[N2020]

On 8/11/2020 at 5:06 PM, RickyWee said:

https://mothership.sg/2020/08/malaysian-drive-old-proton/

 

Hi, I'm Ken. This is my experience of a 27 years old Malaysian guy on driving an old Proton car in year 2020.

Ever since graduating from my university on 3 years ago, I've been driving this car as my daily car. Time to sell this old Proton for a new car that is more suitable for someone of my age? Not yet.

The car I'm driving is just a 1999 Proton Saga Iswara 1.3 Aeroback. An old car that is as normal as you can get in Malaysia. Not a BMW, Lexus, Audi, Nissan GT-R or any other luxury cars.

Owning a new car in Malaysia can be expensive considering the price of a new car per average monthly income ratio. By average, I would say it is easily over RM500 per month for the upkeep of a new car in Malaysia even if it is an entry level car.

By average, what was needed for the upkeep of this Proton Saga Iswara per month would be around RM300, inclusive of fuel, maintenance and any random repairs. Yup, that would be around RM3600 per year and it should roughly be enough to keep my car running for a year. It doesn't demand repair every single month of course and those are the months that I can save up more.

What have I learned from driving a 21 years old Proton as my daily car? Well, at first during my early days of driving it, I do get a lot of negative feedback from it as it was in quite a poor condition before I restored it. Many recommended me to take up a car loan for a new car instead of wasting my money to fix up this Proton Saga.

It is a good thing that I din't or else I would still be paying at least RM500 per month for the 9 years car loan installment at this moment. I haven't even include the costs for fuel and the yearly insurance costs which isn't cheap for a new car.

My current income is eligible to sign up for a RM50k to RM60k car loan from a bank but why spend so much per month to pay for a new car that I use as a daily point A to B transport? Not only that, a car value depreciates quickly per year, even faster than the amount that you are paying in a year for some cars. Say if I buy a car for RM60k under a 9 years loan, by the time I finished repaying the loan, the car is probably worth only RM20k by then. RM40k lost in depreciation and I have not even factor in the amount that I've lost in paying interest rates to the bank.

Instead of tying myself up under a loan commitment, I'm better off driving this old Proton Saga and save up all the extra money per month. What I can get with the extra money would be flexibility as it can be invested, given to family, saved up for the future, for property, etc.

Obviously compared to my similarly aged peers, I look like the sad poor guy who drives an outdated old Proton Saga that his family handed it down to him when others are driving shiny brand new cars with latest technology. Some will even say that I am risking my life because of the poor safety features in this car. Hmm, does that mean that motorcycle riders are battling against life and death daily as they ride out? Or maybe your parents or the older generations are risking their lives too during a few decades ago when they are driving cars like this?

I can't say there is a 100% guarantee in road safety regardless of what car that you are driving but having a nearly empty bank account per month due to high commitments is a guaranteed risk in personal finance management.

💪

[Wt_know]

if i kept this ride ... i'll be on the front page too?

Edited June 27, 2021 by Wt_know

[Ho2786]

I rather take BMW

bus

mrt

walk

 

[Ct3833]

those who renewed their COE can also renew their COE again when their current one  expired, by then they do not have to suffer  any PARF, just pay for COE and the car can be driven on. I hope I could do this to mine 😀

[Kopites]

6 hours ago, Wt_know said:

if i kept this ride ... i'll be on the front page too?

Mine as well! Brown colour.

[Spidey10]

11 hours ago, Kopites said:

Mine as well! Brown colour.

my dad used to have this...in blue! his last car till he kick the bucket....on hindsight, if i had kept the car, i'll be on the front page too...

[Kopites]

11 minutes ago, Spidey10 said:

my dad used to have this...in blue! his last car till he kick the bucket....on hindsight, if i had kept the car, i'll be on the front page too...

I still have those film photos hiding somewhere in the boxes. Wait for cny spring cleaning see whether will it pop up somewhere. 😄