Used cars

[dav662]

How are the used car market in the Philippines? Are they mostly decently maintained? And how are the prices compared to other Asean countries?

[Danson L.]

NO, NO, NO, 80% of the used vehicles here are trash, also there is  great possibility  of speedometer rollback (I was a victim of this). Several vehicles for sale here have been FLOODED. Maintenance here is almost unheard of, & the motto is "drive'em until they quit" Some of the prices on used vehicles here are ridiculous. Most of the time the used vehicles are super clean and detailed to the max [inside an outside] but lo and behold what lies underneath, or how many times the vehice has been wrecked, thousands of Kilometers on it, abused, or run into the ground is anyone's guess. You will find if a used vehicle is within a year or two old, then the prices are almost as much as a NEW vehicle. Most of the time MAINTENANCE of a vehicle here is considered a "waste of money" I would never, never, never, even  AGAIN considering buying a USED ANYTHING here. I been there, done that!!!     

[Art, just a re(tired) Fil-Am]

Well, sorry I don't fit your profile! I have a restored 1979 Toyota Corolla SR Coupe since 1999 with a recent makeover and we recently bought a 2006 Toyota Innova, which we got for a good price we couldn't turn down. Both are doing great! I've been there and done that too with better results by maintaining their reasonable regular maintenance upkeep!

[JoeLP]

if you have any mechanical aptitude you might have a chance.  Otherwise, i'd stay away.  People here are not taught nor have any real idea of the word/practice that is maintenance.

One of the stall owners in the market bought a brand new Nissan.  Lasted about 2 years.  What killed it?  Never got a single oil change.  The engine just locked up.  Granted, this was a woman who never drove a day in her life, used it as a status symbol and had a driver to get her around.  Her first car.  Clueless to maintenance.

Right after I arrived the chance came up to buy a '92 honda civic.  My first honda was a '92 Accord.  I figured if the price is right I'd make a go at it seeing I'd have a good idea on how to do minor work as well as all the maintenance.  Pulled out the dipstick and the thickest blackest oil I've ever seen first hand was on it.  No washer fluid.  When i asked about it, the asked me what was suppose to go in it.  LOL  Was too afraid to check the other fluids and passed on it.

Even commercial setups are horrible at it.  Go look at the maintenance of most jeepneys or vans and what have you.  Some of the times I take a van to calbayog instead of my bike I just shake my head at how rickety the van is.  Hearing noise that comes from the suspension system, or steering system that really starts to unnerve me as we are going through the mountains and curves. 

Now, there are some locals who do understand the whole maintenance thing.  But in my experience, they are few and far apart.

[bigpearl]

In Australia My better half has a Peugeot 508 allure wagon, we paid AU 52K, brand new drive away, at current exchange rates that's about 1.65 M pesos.To buy the same car in PH is about 2.1 M pesos and that is only a sedan, we want this sort of car in PH when we move back but the cost is very high. We have looked at the second hand market also and can't believe the prices, and as another writer here says, is there a service history? (a common question here and other countries I am sure) Probably not or doctored.
Even the locally made Toyota Vios at 600 to 950K Pesos (no import duty?) pales to what we can buy here, Toyota corolla, bigger engine, bigger car, same price.
I think it goes back to other posts on here about protectionism, very high import duties though I may be wrong.
All in all, it is what it is and we will just have to pay up for a new car when we get there.
Cheers, Steve

[iamjames]

Just seeing a Filipino start their bikes or cars is enough for me. They sit there and rev the hell out of it - this is possibly to remind the neighbours that they are rich enough to own a vehicle. As for fluid changes!!! This is done when the rest is used up. No sayang.

[jjcabgou]

NO, NO, NO, 80% of the used vehicles here are trash, also there is  great possibility  of speedometer rollback (I was a victim of this). Several vehicles for sale here have been FLOODED. Maintenance here is almost unheard of, & the motto is "drive'em until they quit" Some of the prices on used vehicles here are ridiculous. Most of the time the used vehicles are super clean and detailed to the max [inside an outside] but lo and behold what lies underneath, or how many times the vehice has been wrecked, thousands of Kilometers on it, abused, or run into the ground is anyone's guess. You will find if a used vehicle is within a year or two old, then the prices are almost as much as a NEW vehicle. Most of the time MAINTENANCE of a vehicle here is considered a "waste of money" I would never, never, never, even  AGAIN considering buying a USED ANYTHING here. I been there, done that!!!   

BIG DITTO TO EVERYTHING ABOVE

[Hestecrefter]

Definitely risky business buying used.

Back in about 1995, in Tuguegarao, I bought a used Nissan car of some sort (maybe a Sentra...I cannot recall recall the model).  As Danson L. suggested, it looked great inside and out and performed well on a test drive, but it was not long before problems showed up.  We quickly dumped it while it was still running and bought a new Honda.  A lot more money, but a lot less trouble.  We also bought a Toyota Sportrunner, new, and it turned out okay.  At that time, we lived in Quezon city and one always had to have 2 cars, with appropriately varied tag numbers, because of "color coding".  As someone else here remarked recently, I never understood what that had to do with color.

In 1999 we bought a used Nissan Safari.  We bought it from a Canadian who was returning to Canada and we had known him and the vehicle for awhile.  He was knowledgeable about motor vehicles and kept it well.  We got many good years out of that one and drove it a lot.  So, I would say some decent deals and good vehicles are out there, but one must be cautious.

[cogon88]

Suggest if you can only afford used car go to a Toyota Dealership and see what used vehicles they have that have been traded in many of there units were sold new and serviced by the dealer and have records.

When I first moved here I bought used vehicles from individulas its like a box of chocolates you never Know what your going to get.

Since then I only buy new Vehicles less headaches and no worries of break downs out in the province.

Toyota has the best service in our area 10 times better then Mitsubishi I have both brands goof luck on your search

[mikek1]

I am looking at buying a Ford Explorer 3.5ltr 4x4, or a Toyota Fortuner 3.0ltr 4 x4 . In both cases I would not touch anything more than 2 years old and not more than 20,000 klms. Vehicles MUST be CASA maintained and have full documentation with full details of CASA services.

Do you still think I would possibly be taking a risk with these high priced 'newish' vehicles?

[Danson L.]

Records can be misleading and forged, and the new technology now makes it easier to run a speedometer back. Like the other poster on the forum said. "it is like buying a box of chocolates" on buying a vehicle here. They have go thousands of used vehicles here for sale, remember this, there is ALWAYS a reason to sell a vehicle, sorry to say, most of the time is one word "TROUBLE" YOU will be on "your own" when buying a used vehicle here. The only way I would buy a used vehicle here would be to buy  one from a  90 year old retired school teacher and it would have to be DOWNHILL BOTH WAYS to his/her residence!

[cogon88]

Just stay away from Used Isuzu's with the 3.0 engine there was world wide recall on the DOHC 3.0 4JX1 engine.

Injector problems that have the potential to wreck an engine, however, and this is a huge however, Isuzu has issued two recalls to get the troublesome injectors replaced free-of-charge and still stand by these free

But there is no replacement available under Isuzu here in the Philippines or any computer to calibrate the injectors. Nice SUV but would not out run a tricycle Philippine Isuzu Dealers refuse to warranty

[dav662]

Suggest if you can only afford used car go to a Toyota Dealership and see what used vehicles they have that have been traded in many of there units were sold new and serviced by the dealer and have records.

When I first moved here I bought used vehicles from individulas its like a box of chocolates you never Know what your going to get.

Since then I only buy new Vehicles less headaches and no worries of break downs out in the province.

Toyota has the best service in our area 10 times better then Mitsubishi I have both brands goof luck on your search

I agree. Toyota has good reputation. If you have any issues with the dealership, you can contact Toyota in Tokyo and they will sort it out. I have had this experience before.
Is there a huge import duty on the imports of a vehicle under the allowed amount for the resident visa? Or do they waive it off or reduced the import duty for your first vehicle as some countries do?