Buying a Pre-owned Car

Hi
Why would a Filipino ask an expat about buying a car in the Philippines?? If only to know which is best car that is easy! Honda!!! That is based on brand option only! Mitsubishi Mirage G4 A/T is known to have issues in every country they are sold! Honda's are cheaper to operate and maintain! If both appear to be in good shape buy the Honda! But if looks are important buy the Mirage! You'll hate yourself at the gas pump with the Mirage...LOL!

Honda but get it checked out by a reputable mechanic, especially to see if it has been flooded. I'm not talking about the carburetor or injectors, I'm talking about the car being submerged in water during a flood.

Vince-Both are great and dependable.  Research online  pros and cons of each and longivity of both. Go with your gut feeling and only what you can afford. Remember-ONLY buy from the ORIGINAL owner. I guarantee you will regret it if you dont. JIMMY

ALWAYS ask for service receipts, that applies anywhere, but especially in the Philippines, where many do not perform the required maintenance. They can afford the monthly payment but nothing else. I have purchased two late model used cars in the Philippines, the first only 3 months old (from another expat), was fine. The second was 3 years old, with only 15K, and it has had a lot of issues. And the dealer didn't properly transfer title which was a mess to straighten out. It is also not required to disclose accidents and other damage.  Just be forewarned, it is a risky endeavor to buy used. I won't ever do it again.

Service receipts are good but don't tell you if the vehicle has been submerged in flood water, which is easy to determine.

Good point. How does one do that exactly?  What does the mechanic look for?

Welcome to the forum vincent, are you Filipino?

And onward. OMO but with a budget of 350K there are limited options and potentially purchasing some one elses problem. We looked at cars with a budget of 7 to 800K, 2 years ago, local knowledge, FB, various internet car sites and most were garbage or had no papers or the owner was overseas or the photos didn't show the smash in the side (sorry sir old photos) etc. etc.
We ended up buying new and there can be still problems with new. Search long and hard as 350K is not small change, you just need to find the honest set of wheels.

Good luck with what will be a frustrating search from our experience.

BTW, go with a Honda.

Cheers, Steve.

Yes it can be risky. After I sold my 2008 Yamaha in 2015 I wanted something a bit newer so I bought a 2012 Suzuki NEX 110 cc. It was 3 yrs old and had only 1500 kms on it. The 1st owner sold it to the second owner,The second owner bought it for his wife. She rode it and didnt like it. It was too much for her to handle. I was really lucky the first time I saw it and drove it. Easy to handle and  its been a real gem. 1500 kms is  like new to me. Thats only about 600 miles. Just broken in. 1st owner was a Pinay and she couldnt have done to much harm to it with 1500 kms on the engine. Second owner didnt drive it because she didnt like it and her husband already had a motorcycle. Paid 35k for it used and new ones cost 70k. It was a great day for me. I have had new pick up trucks and used ones in the states. Used ones were just as good as the new ones and much, much cheaper. Its always a gut feeling when you buy something. I made a good decision. Happy as a lark.Its been a great and dependable scooter. Just currently trying to get the ownership transferred into my name. BIG hassle! Always buy from the original owner or a dealership if you buy new! Thats my advice

They are some inconvinient and most  of them have weak 660 cc engines, but because of so big part of used cars in Phils have big problems (maiunainance, flooding, LTO...)  its perhaps worth checking if you find any of the Suzuki Minivans/Multicabs versions interesting.  They are assembled in Phils from Japan surplus (Different good/bad done.  Check the conversion of which side the driver sit at.)
NEW assembled such are for sale for from around 240 000 pesos.

buy from dealer ..then wait three months for temporary plate number , so its useless for three months ,or two months three weeks ..illegal ..i beleive you can use for first week out of shop ..but lto states if vehicle on the road  ...must have plate ??

alankno74 wrote:

buy from dealer ..then wait three months for temporary plate number , so its useless for three months ,or two months three weeks ..illegal ..i beleive you can use for first week out of shop ..but lto states if vehicle on the road  ...must have plate ??

Welcome to the forum alanko, please be factual with your submissions. What you are saying is not true.
As long as you have the ORCR and a current drivers licence you will have no problems without number plates. If you research you will see this is an ongoing problem here. 2 years ago we purchased a new car and had official number plates within 3 weeks, 2 years ago we also purchased a new motorbike and to date no plates, no penalties in fact have never been stopped. perhaps one day the plates will arrive but in the mean time?

Cheers, Steve.

READ THE LTO WEBSITE RE USING A VEHICLE ON THE ROAD .... POLICE DONT ENFORCE THE RULE BECAUSE THEY KNOW THE PROBLEMS WITH LTO AND PLATES .....













!!!!!

bigpearl wrote:

alankno74 wrote:

buy from dealer ..then wait three months for temporary plate number , so its useless for three months ,or two months three weeks ..illegal ..i beleive you can use for first week out of shop ..but lto states if vehicle on the road  ...must have plate ??

Welcome to the forum alanko, please be factual with your submissions. What you are saying is not true.
As long as you have the ORCR and a current drivers licence you will have no problems without number plates. If you research you will see this is an ongoing problem here. 2 years ago we purchased a new car and had official number plates within 3 weeks, 2 years ago we also purchased a new motorbike and to date no plates, no penalties in fact have never been stopped. perhaps one day the plates will arrive but in the mean time?

Cheers, Steve.

Yes...purchased my so called 'brand new' 660cc multicab (philippine assembled) fm the reputable main dealer (rusco) back in June 2019 (temp number plates came with the vehicle which had 15 numbers)...3mths later rec'vd my LTO (certificate of registration) which I always carry with my drivers license when driving it around)
I've been driving it now for >2yrs & still NO LTO number plates... no issue whatsoever with the local traffic cops.

Btw....LTO has a system that allows you to check yr plate number readiness. All you need to do is use your cellphone to key in: LTOVEHICLE[plate numberof your car] and then, send to 2600. After that, wait for around 5 – 10 minutes till you receive the auto-generated reply.

I would try to find an Isuzu vehicle and stay away from popular named-brand vehicles like Toyota or Honda. it is much easier to find Isuzu parts because jeepneys used this brand on their engines for ease of availability and price.  Toyota and Honda parts are usually more expensive and may not be readily available. Just a thought.

Yes it will all get more expensive....Just last year Feb 22nd –Honda Cars Philippines, Inc. (HCPI, President : Noriyuki Takakura), which produces passenger cars, BR-V, City, announced that it will stop production operation in its plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna, effective March, 2020.
Understand Toyota is also having some issues with their production lines here.
Looks like Thailand has become the 'go to' place for nealy all Japanese low cost vehicle manufacturing. (omo)

[link under review]

Bought a new Yamaha motor scooter from Yamaha dealership. They sent in the registration to be registered.  I ask if i could ride b4 registered they said no. The last customer was finned 10k for driving without tag. It took a month to register and get my license #. So it remained parked 4 a month. Only in the Philippines lol.

ho ..only a month to register ?  mine was three months and i had to chase them up ..they supplied photocopy of cr /or plate number was on cr copy ..so i have just wrote number on plastic ..for registration plate .. called dealer this week to get original cr / or  they say waiting plate from lto !!!!  and documents at head office ...ok i have photocopy ..but selling the thing 60 kms in 14 weeks because i cant get a licence ..no one year proof of staying ... anyway have told them i want the paperwork ...i dont like how they operate here ..i beleive some dealers in cebu been fined 100,000 for not registering bikes ,also without me knowing at the dealers with my wife , bikes in her name ..after i handed over the 70 k and she paid cashier ..lots of stuff to sign ..i left her to it ..she also was asked to sign a document which i beleive  ..we never got a copy ...said if we use the bike in the next three months it meant the dealer was in the clear if we were caught using the bike ..i even got my wifes nephew to collect it because i cant  convert my licence due to the one year proof going be here ..so its about as much use as a chocalate teapot ..i would fly out and back ..at least get 90 days i could use ..legally ..but cant even do that .. good here in it !!!!! my wife cant use ..never had bycicle even and here in cavite she would not last five minutes ..... hospital bills ...not happening !!!! to end on dealer said could onlly use his place for free service ...crap ..any honda dealer can do using free service coupons ..also quick to reply when i enquired if they had bike in stock ..very quick ..but messages about registration  ..cr /or several days wait ..got my wife to call in the end ..pay ..take out the door .....gone ..we got the money ....... the bike honda click 125i will be advertised on here ..just says pending ..three times tried put on photos etc says pending each time  ???????????

Many, but not all, Mitsubishis have a horrible noise from the rear end.  My guess it is the CVT.

If used,  try to make sure you got ALL of the paperwork.  In my case I was the 4th owner.  I could not put the car in my name until someone tracked down the 1st owner to get their ID.

Honda all day over Mitz.

2014 x-trail female owner; bought brand new

Who makes the X-Trail?

How many kilometers?

Japan! 40km

Cynthiavilla wrote:

Japan! 40km

Hi Cynthia, perhaps stick an ad in the classifieds with all the details for the members.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nissan_X-Trail

Cheers, Steve.

I bought an Isuzu Trooper Bighorn 3.1 turbo diesel in 2014 for P250K. I could never determine the exact year of the vehicle but it may be a 1996 model. It was originally right-hand drive but someone did a good job converting it. The turbine and compressor wheels were removed from the turbocharger (only in the Philippines) so it was a real dog. I ordered a Chinese turbo through AliExpress for $200 and that pepped her up. She's been a reliable vehicle for 7 years but just the other day the Chinese turbo finally surrendered. I bought a replacement from the same guy and replacing it will at the top of my to-do list when I get back. I'm probably going to sell it and buy a new Montero Sport but I will miss the old Trooper. It's good to have something that you can park anywhere and not worry about getting scratched.

My son worked as a service technician (auto mechanic) at Vacaville Honda in California. After working on both Mitsubishi and Honda, he will never own another Mitsu. Cheap PLASTIC gears in the transmission are DESIGNED to wear out quickly. Sticking you with a bill in the $3,000 range.

Aaron-I owned a new Mitsubishi PU and Mazada PU in the states. No noises that I could remember.

They were both great vehicles. Also had a Toyota Corolla 2 door. Nice car. I FINALLY got my 2012 

Suzuki 110cc motorbike I bought here 2015  transferred it into my name a few days ago. Had to track

down the 1st owner in Manila who bought it 9 yrs ago from a dealership currently out of business.

Wrote her a letter and she responded but didn't get any help from her. Just had black and white photos

of her and the LTO here accepted them without being color and 3 signatures next to the picture.

Also had her deed of sale from her to the second owner who sold it to me. 2nd owner lives 15 mins

from me so no hold up there. I can safely sell my bike to someone else now if I decide to buy a new

one. No thoughts about that yet as this has been a really good ride for the past 6 years. Less than 24K

kms and only had to replace the drive belt once. Keep a spare in my givi- box. Parts sometimes takes a

while to find here but it's getting better,

Isn't the topic about pre owned cars? Please try to stay on topic.

Cheers, Steve.

I am on the left! Magandang Araw! Makeeta tayo!(sp?) Just learning-kunti lan!

capricornrising wrote:

I am on the left! Magandang Araw! Makeeta tayo!(sp?) Just learning-kunti lan!

Yes you are on the left, your Tagalog is worse than your English. Honestly give it up and start your own thread please. Your pick for the topic.

Konti not Kunti,
Lang not Lan.
Magandang Araw ( Be specific Umaga or Hapon ). And where did you get the Makeeta word? That's a new one or did you mean Makita? As in Magkita tayo? Huwag nalang.

Gamitin mo nalang English na lenguahe para hindi ka mahirapan.

Magandang hapon sayo Ginoo.

Cheers Steve.

Well Steve sure seems you are a bit of a critic also. These are words I learned from the locals.

Magandang Araw means good day or have a nice day. Makeeta Tayao means Until we meet again. This

is what I asked them after if I pronounced them and they said it was correct so  maybe you can teach

the locals?HMMMMM Have a nice day! Nobody is perfect. I can think of only one who is. If you are

gonna criticize someone or anyone in this forum please do it in a private message. Thanks!

Some times criticism is deserved. Sometimes not. My better half firstly can spell very well, is fluent in Ilocano, Tagalog, Bicolano, English and general Spanish, I consulted him to sort out your misspelling. I couldn't work it out, only a general idea from your attempt   to try and show off. (perhaps as an English teacher you should also know the correct spelling). Enough of that for now. I'm going to start a new topic just for your ramblings to let genuine members talk about buying a pre owned car (not a motorbike) and their experiences and advice to the OP.

Cheers, Steve.

Sorry yet again to members and moderators for drifting, going off topic.

I just purchased a 2014 Chevy Spark with about 60000 kilometers. I'm in Davao. My wife purchased from one of her friends at church. I also know her husband from church also. He handled everything at the LTO, the transfer of title in my wife's name. Here in the philippines the tag stays with the car . I did not know that. It took him a couple of days to finish the paperwork. So glad he did this 4 us cause we didn't have a clue to the process.

I do believe that the forum rules say to post in English. I've bought a few used cars here, some lemons and some good ones.

Whatever you say!

Hi Guys staying on the topic of cars, after some consideration about used cars and the hassle that you all have experienced my plan is now to buy a new Volkswagen T-Cross once we get there in November. Some of you have mentioned the risks of a new car with accidents, scratches and insurance not really helping but putting that aside just for peace of mind a new car. The question I have is des anyone have experience with Volkswagen in PH, service, reliability, pro's and con's etc. Appreciate some feedback, thanks

I considered a VW Polo a few years back, nice cars and I have an Audi here in US so familiar platform. Problem is not many dealers, and repairs can be difficult if you aren't in Cebu or Manila. Parts could potentially be a nightmare. We have enough difficulty as it is with the Mazda we currently have in Cebu.. more than once waiting for a part from Manila.  It is so much fun to drive though, so worth it. Best for reliability/repairs/parts is definitely a boring Toyota, followed probably by Isuzu, then Nissan, or Honda..

HONDA CITY A/T model 2011 is better,,,,easy to sale many parts.
people who buy 2th hand car need to look for this thinks :
1. or/cr is writing on the owner, the same one who sale you the car(check is id)
   do not buy car with open deed of sale !
  do not accept SPA (all fake)
  go to layer to make the deed of sale
2. check casis number and engien number if same like the or/cr   ( go to high way patrol they will check the car for small money)
3. Do not touch cars that come from CDO with plate number start with letter B
   Most of then did not pay tax when the enter the philippine,,