Chery J1 or buy a Used Car

[Rodge]

My stepdaughter and her boyfriend's old car, (circa early 1990's twin turbo Subaru Legacy) was stolen last night and because they're on a really tight budget it wasn't insured.

Anyway after a legacy, (excuse the pun that's intended to be a number of old cars) that leak oil and continually break down and cost a lot too keep on the road they need something they can count on to get to work and back and shopping and running around with our grandaughter e.t.c.

The other day my other daughter clipped something out of the newspaper that surprised me.

Adrew Simms are opening a new dealership In Botany Downs Auckland and have an opening special on a brand new Chery J1 for $8,800 Kiwi, (approx $A8,000) plus on road costs and rego of $650. Total $9,450 Kiwi, (approx $A8,500), drive away incl 12 months registration, 3 Year warranty 100,000 km's. This is unheard of in terms of brand new car value.
http://www.cherymotors.com.au/media/...re-Oct2013.pdf

Now I know they're made in China, (so is a heck of a lot of the stuff we buy today, clothes, TV's, computers, all sorts of stuff really), but the point is they're on a really tight budget and don't need the hassles with costly repairs and breakdowns and after owning a long line of old bangers I feel I should help them get into something new or near new. The beauty of this deal is its SO cheap and because its brand new with warranty the first 3 years of servicing should be fairly straight forward and anything untoward should be covered by the warranty.

Should I help them into this deal or a 5-7 year old something else of equilivent cost ? (Any alternative suggestions MUST BE very fuel efficient and reliable) Thoughts ?

[Yellow_Festiva]

Would never buy a Cherry.

Spend the same on a decent used car. 2-3 years old would perhaps be in that bracket, not something 5-7 years.

If something came out with a facory 5yr warranty you will have a little left over for yourself.

[JTFG]

Could get a decent Hyundai Getz for that money?

[MercurySilver]

everyone laughed at me when i bought a tj magna advance
and fair enough, i kinda understand why
but that car was excellent
ive just sold it to a mate for 3500 with 195000 on the clock and ive never had a prob with the thing
sports kit vrx rims black and cream interior power windows mirrors etc
just do the timing and water pump every 100 tho and turn the key every day
didnt want to sell it but i needed a ute
they are cheap to pick up with low kms...if you can handle FWD

[TC200six]

I would have a look at a used Hyundai I20, or a Mazda 2.

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by Yellow_Festiva

Would never buy a Cherry.

Spend the same on a decent used car. 2-3 years old would perhaps be in that bracket, not something 5-7 years.

If something came out with a facory 5yr warranty you will have a little left over for yourself.

You can't buy a main brand used car that's 2-3 years old in N.Z. with moderate km's for that sort of money.

Originally Posted by j0nni

Could get a decent Hyundai Getz for that money?

You could get one that's done moderate km's about 5 years old for that, but then you're into higher maintenance due to age and mileage and, (serious question), are you really buying a much better car ?

[Shonky.]

I would rather a bus ticket than a chery

[Rodge]

He can't get a bus to work and back, its simply not possible where he works.
Fact is young people have to start somewhere...he has 2 x child support payments per week for previous kids to another lady and doesn't earn a lot.

[Glen 5150]

I haven't got a granddaughter, but if i did, there's no way i would risk her life and safety in a poorly built small vehicle like the Chery. The Chery ticks a lot of boxes for those on a tight budget, but it will be worth next to nothing when the factory warranty expires in 3 years. Short term gain for them, but long term pain. If they want a small car like the Chery, i'd be looking second hand in a Toyota Yaris, or if a bit bit bigger, Toyota Corolla or Mazda 6 would be my picks.

[The Yeti]

I've got 2 words

Hyundai Excel, when they launched the 12990 drive away no more to pay every one laughed at what a rubbish car they were, and how you would be better in a second hand KE Laser.

But people did buy them and they had their issues, but with the long warranty they weren't overly exposed unlike the second hand laser they could budget not to have a major mechanical bill for the next 3 years. And well now look at Hyandai they are now a reputable manufacturer.

Mate, take one for a drive and see if it suits your / your daughters needs, if so and you think the car is acceptable go for it. BUT don't expect it to be worth anything in 3 years time, just factor that it will depreceate $8,500 over the warranty period anything after that is cream

[csv8]

Suzuki Alto ??

[MercurySilver]

excels are great little cars
guy at work drives one and while it doesnt look the greatest (few dings and faded paint and a basic interior) he services it when its due and has had no probs with it and says its reliable and cheap

[stevz]

You would literally have to have sawdust in your head to buy a Chery. Honestly you would be better off with even a 1990's used car.

[93EB_SXR6]

I'd probably go for an AU on LPG, don't know what the price of LPG is like in NZ though.

[superfly]

The Chery safety ratings aren't very high for a new car, so I'd look at something for the same money, say a 2 year old car with better safety features.

[Mickxr8]

Would you seriously put your grandaughter in one of these ?

http://www.ancap.com.au/crashtestrecord?Id=398

I wouldn`t put my worst enemies kids or grandies in one...

[Rodge]

Thanks for your reply's so far guys.

I really don't know this end of the market at all, (although I did help my old mum chose a very nice Ford Fiesta a while back and she loves it), probably should have read a few reviews before asking the question this morning.

Having read this http://www.motoring.com.au/reviews/2...chery-j1-24805 there's plenty of cause to pause for thought.

Back to the drawing board :-

Toyota Yaris, Hyundai Excel, Hyundai I20, Suzuki Alto, Suzuki Splash ?, what's this, is this just a newer Alto ?, Mazda 2 Nissan Micra, Ford fiesta or something similar.

The old saying "the bitter taste of poor quality lingers long after the thrill of a bargain has worn off" has sprung to mind after reading the above review and you guys comments.

[ebv8]

personally i would not buy one mainly because i can fix older cars that break down but for someone not wanting to have any unwanted expenses in the first 3 years they are ok, the quality may not be like a korean or jap car but for half the price?? why not
and yes hyundai excels were very popular becuase of price and now they have a cult following, there is a race series for them and where i live they are the number 1 p plate car still along with v6 commodores.
my gf bought her mum a car in NZ it was a 10 y/o corolla cost her $3500 and lasted 2 years before the engine gave up and due to the fact it was a rare jap import there was no chance of a new motor and she had to give it away so buying an older jap car in NZ is still not a great idea unless its a su-barr-ru then there are heaps of spares and good prices
top gear aus did an endurance test at eastern creek and the only thing they complained about was the ill fitting trim

[Rodge]

Originally Posted by Mickxr8

Would you seriously put your grandaughter in one of these ?

http://www.ancap.com.au/crashtestrecord?Id=398

I wouldn`t put my worst enemies kids or grandies in one...

Ouch !!!! No I'm losing interest already even at that super cheap price.

[stevz]

http://news.drive.com.au/drive/motor...101-2wr7e.html

These cars were banned in Australia because they couldn't meet minimum safety standards.
Good riddance and don't ever come back here again. We don't need nor want rubbish like this in this country.

[TC200six]

I had to look up the Suzuki Splash, never heard of them before. Turns out they aren't sold in Australia so that explains why I've never seen one.

[stevz]

Originally Posted by TC200six

I had to look up the Suzuki Splash, never heard of them before. Turns out they aren't sold in Australia so that explains why I've never seen one.

Thank heavens for that, what a stupid looking car.

[Rodge]

^^ Trouble is all the cars in this segment look really stupid to me.

After spending hours trolling through Trade Me the best I can come up with that's reasonably modern for them and in their price range, affordable and fuel efficient is
Holden Barina Spark 2012 done 50,000km's for $9,995.
Well equipped and good safety rating for a little affordable fuel efficient buzz-box.

This isn't over by any means yet, it remains to be seen if my daughter's boyfriend can shoe-horn his 6 ft 3 inch frame into one.

Actual Car

[smoo]

BA wagon. Safer then anything mentioned above, 100 times more practical, better on gas than a twin turbo Legacy, one of the most reliable, and the most basic car on the market mechanical wise. Can pick them up from 6 grand onwards.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used...-670333866.htm

And LPG is about $1/litre with rockgas card.

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used...-668469496.htm

http://www.trademe.co.nz/motors/used...-671046922.htm

[Rodge]

Good idea mate but 15.9L / 100 km's on LPG at say $1.10 per litre is more than 5.2 L / 100 km's on petrol @ say $2.10 a litre and then you've got the costs of maintaining a circa 200,000 km car in the Falcon compared to servicing a Holden Barina spark done only 50,000 km's, so servcing and maintance costs would be chalk and cheese.

If we could convince my daughter's boyfriend to give up smoking which he's wasting over $70 a week on we could help finance them into a better car...but he just won't listen and see's smoking as his right and has no interest in quitting whatsoever even when it compromises their ability to finance and maintain a decent vehicle

It really grinds my gearstick that they sometimes complain of running out of food before pay day but while they're complaining about that, he's lighting up another ciggy, (not even a roll your own), a manufactured one which are nearly $1 a pop here now.
Sorry smokers for the rant...but its been a very, very frustrating day.

[csv8]

As he is tall, any small SUV's ?? Do you get Diahatsu Terios in NZ ??

[Rodge]

^^ Thanks for that idea mate.

Just heard a couple of minutes ago that the Police have found his stolen Subaru Legacy, yet to find out how much damage.

[bigwil]

Chery J1 or roller skates? Roller skates every time

[Rodge]

I'm sure he'd be thrilled about travelling to work and back 60 km's each way every day on roller skates, rain, hail or shine...but yeah I hear what you're saying, you think they're junk as do most others. Thing is though everyone thought Hyundai Excel's were junk at one stage too but they provided transport to many families that couldn't afford anything better.

Hopefully his Subaru isn't too badly knocked around.

[Matty4]

I'd be more inclined to put it to him that if he quits the "nails" and puts that $70/week plus whatever you're deciding to contribute into the deal into something of a far better proposition than the Chery, that is a far better option for them all, including your grandkids.
Chery's are banned from sale here in Vic last time I looked due to their poor safety equipment.

His kids and your step-daughter will also improve their quality of life without him lighting up all the time around them.