Rates for small cars and agencies that give this service?

Hi SHinPJ,

Welcome to expat-blog!

A new topic was created from you post on the Kuala Lumpur forum for better visibility and interaction.

Please feel free to go through the Car rental in Kuala Lumpur section, you might find out a car rental company. Thank you!

Regards],

David.

Agencies would charge much more.  Ask your friend for contact details - the best price I have seen was RM 1.1k per month on the same terms as you mention.

Thank you Gravitas. I shall discuss this in detail with my friend.

800 rm cheap for a swift

Be careful as illegal car hire. Insurance hassle if accident

I going to travel in KL 2 weeks, so I will follow the advices about renting a car in KL....

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Nemodot wrote:

800 rm cheap for a swift

Be careful as illegal car hire. Insurance hassle if accident

I second @Nemodot on this one, insurance claim and disputes during an accident can be a pain in the gluteus maximus without documented agreements.

But 800MYR per month for a Swift is charity, proceed only if you trust and know the person.

Suzuki swift rental rate is myr 2300-2500 per month with security deposit average 1500-2000.rm800 obviously something is not right...might be stolen vehicle also.good luck.

Thank you for that reply. I have done some study and agree with all of you on the rates. It may be better to purchase a car and sell it when you are leaving. The interest is just 3-4%. The monthly instalment will be around 1200 RM for a new Swift, with 20% down payment and 60 months schedule.

Just to mention that when you take on a loan, the period is fixed. So if something untoward happens and you leave Malaysia, you will still be paying the loan until the end of the agreed period.

I think there may be a couple of Swifts available from expats who are leaving. They are about one year old with low mileage and the asking price is RM50,000. That would almost equate to the 20% down payment you will be making on a new vehicle.

The Expat Car Guys may also be of interest to you not only for their sales but their after sales service and help with anything related to maintenance, insurance or car tax is second to none.  The pick up and drop back service is great:

http://www.expatcarguys.com/?page_id=60

Regarding repayment of loan, When I read some car loan conditions, they mentioned of pre closure of the loan also - which means I can sell the car and pay off the balance loan, is that not possible? Or can I transfer the loan to th next buyer? and he will pay the balance instalments.

Loans in Malaysia are based on the Islamic Finance principles, which means they are usually not subject to change.  It is very important to check this point carefully, as I agree with you,in other countries loans are flexible and can be pre-paid or taken over.

In effect the fee (interest) to be paid for access to the money is calculated at the beginning and therefore the amount agreed has to be paid, regardless of what happens in this case to the car.

Dear gravitas, loans in malaysia is not a islamic finacial based. It is an option of eother conventional  or islamic.basically it is a hire purchase concept.more details please contact the bank as I am not an expert. But in case the car  you leaving the country earlier and plan to sell the car. You need to find a buyer or sell through car dealer.forget about making money as your car will be sell at loss.it depreciates a lot n fast in malaysia

Save and Rent Services - once again, I ask that you check your facts associated with car loans in Malaysia.  I said they were based on Islamic finance principles.

If you had a choice of receiving a fixed sum over a fixed period, would you not choose that as a lender?

Even with non Islamic banking the custom here is for banks to issue a total debt statement and than agree the repayments.

This works the same way for fixed deposits. A certificate is issued showing what you will receive at the end of the period for the first deposit.

Gravitas wrote:

Just to mention that when you take on a loan, the period is fixed. So if something untoward happens and you leave Malaysia, you will still be paying the loan until the end of the agreed period.

I will not talk about Islamic and conventional financing as those areas are better off explained by bank folks.

But with regards to @Gravitas' statement above, I think it requires further discussion? I know from personal experience that the option for early settlement (of car loan) is available in Malaysia - where you will pay the remaining of the loan amount in full, with deductions based on how early is the full settlement versus the agreed time-frame during initial loan agreement execution.

Hence, in terms of loan repayment period - it can be settled earlier if you wish to do so. Sell off the car (at a loss, almost always), use the money to pay the loan per early settlement amount.

The terms available for expatriates are usually different, including the size of the down payment. Do Malaysian's have to pay 20% up front?

Yeah @Gravitas, it dawned on me only later that the terms might be different for expats.

Regarding down payment, usually Malaysians are required to pay at least 10% up-front. It can be more if the buyer's financial records are not strong enough.