Car to purchase in Jakarta

My first suggestion would be to not buy one at all, this being because of the terrible jams and problems finding a parking space.
Add any accident is going to be your fault, even if you hit a drunk on a bike riding without a helmet on the wrong side of the road and playing with his phone.

If you do buy one for Jakarta traffic, I'd buy a cheap something that isn't very big.
An Ayla or similar works as the things run forever on very little fuel, are easy to park and, bonus, when some twit on a motorbike pushes past and leave a big scratch, you don't swear as much with a cheap car.

Thanks Fred.

Good points and thanks for the reply.

Since being here 2 months, I have noticed everyone drives quite big cars. Is it the norm here? My wife and I were considering following suit and getting a big car, maybe a Toyota Rush or a Mitsubusi Xpander, thoughts?

We also were thinking of getting a driver as the thought of driving in Jakarta traffic turns me off. Have you got a driver? Or can anyone recommend a good driving business to recruit from?

Thanks
Matt

I haven't got a driver but I do have two kids and a wife that like to go out into Java or on holiday.
I started with an Ayla but found I needed something bigger as the long runs were hard work in the small car so I bought a Luxio.
It's very handy on the long jaunts because ot's so big on the inside, but was still pretty cheap so I still don't swear quite as much when some twit on a bike rams me, and they have four times so far, two from the back, one on each front wing as they overtook in stupid places with no hope of getting past.
If it was city only with maybe the odd longer run, I would have stuck to the smaller car.
There's no way in this wide world I'd buy a big thing like 4X4 - they all everything that the small cars have but it costs you a lot more to do it.
The far greater cost means having to install a swear box.

A lot of people use drivers, and I can see why, but I have no interest at the moment.
You're still stuck in the terrible jams, but you have nothing to keep you occupied as you do when you're driving. They do have the advantage of not having to mess around getting a license and accidents are mostly somebody else's problem (except the repairs), and you won't find yourself behind bars in the event of a serious problem.
If you're talking about the busy parts of Jakarta, my advice remains unchanged - Don't buy a car.

Post 9 will look after most of your questions

https://www.expat.com/forum/viewtopic.p … 05#1643352

Thanks Fred

I don’t have much experience driving in Jakarta but Fred is pretty much on the money with size of car etc
You’ll find the larger cars ( usually but not always) driven by locals with a bit of extra money to spare or on the never never, expats because they are quite a bit cheaper apart from 3.0l and above (V6/V8 etc) or European imports, usually these are at least 100% more expensive than back home
The two vehicles you mention are ok and practical, do a little research on the safety aspects and gizmos, if your employing a driver I would probably get something a little different if I’m honest, I never really seen the point of people getting cars to not drive, maybe worth employing a driver with own car