Tag: cars

2010 Honda City Review

The Honda City is a subcompact car that we see on the road everyday. One of the Honda City owners contacted us to review her car. Thanks to Vivian who had given us the opportunity to test drive her beloved 2010 Honda City Grade S. It is the fifth generation that was first introduced in Siam Paragon, Bangkok on 10 September 2008. Vivian purchased the car at RM85,480 in 2010. She traded in her Renault Kangoo for RM40K and the balance she settled with cash.

Vivian told us she goes for the Grade S because it shares the same engine with Grade E and Grade SE. All of them use the same four-cylinder 16 valve SOHC i-VTEC engine that delivers 120 hp @ 6,600 rpm and has a maximum torque of 145 Nm@4,800 rpm. She prefers not to pay RM92,980 for extra accessories including fog light, door mirror with turn light, exhaust pipe finisher, 16” alloy wheels, Modulo body kit, Nanotechnology solar control film, paddle shift, steering wheel audio control, leather steering wheel, leather gear knob, rear armrest with cup holder, and rear foldable seats. Grade S comes with 15” alloy wheels which is good enough for her. Grade E and SE have adjustable seat but Grade S has no such feature, this does not bother her at all.

When the car was first launched in 2008, our first impression was the front view of the car looked exactly like the Kamen Rider Black (Masked Rider Black), a superhero for most of us when we were kids. The design of the car looks cyber and it is a big jump from the previous generation.

Road Test

This time, we are told not to rev the car over 140 km/h and with this speed it is good enough to test the car. We brought the car to North-South Expressway and try it till 130+ km/h. The car ran steady and did not wobble. Driver’s heart will definitely pump faster especially those who are not used to high speed driving. When we reved the car, the response was fast compared to some other vehicles in the same category. The handling was good and we could slightly feel the taste of the fourth generation City. The steering wheel is light and it will be a good car for beginners or first time car owners.

Honda City maintenance cost

The car has 32,000km on the odometer at the time we reviewed the car. According to Honda service center, these are the preventive maintenance rates and costs for a Honda City up till 35,000km.

x1,000 km**	1	5	10	15	20	25	30	35
Month**	1	3	6	9	12	15	18	21
Labour* (RM)	27.56	62.01	110.24	62.01	124.02	62.01	110.24	62.01
Parts (RM)	Nil	85.22	115.90	85.22	221.75	85.22	200.34	85.22
Total Cost (RM)	27.55	147.25	226.15	147.25	345.75	147.25	310.60	147.25

Vivian sent her car to Honda service center seven times during her ownership. She sends the car to Honda according to the maintenance table above. All in all, she has spent RM1499.05 (~US$500) in one and a half years.

Fuel Consumption

Combined 42 mpg or 18 km/liter. (This we have not yet tested)

What is good about the car?

The 506 liter boot capacity is very practical for anyone who needs a subcompact with big boot. You can put in two large luggage without any problems. The interior is also beautifully crafted with a hidden CD player. On the dashboard, there is a digital fuel consumption gauge to inform the driver how many km the car still can go. If it indicates less than 10 km, it is advisable to drive to the nearest petrol station. In the middle of the dashboard, there is a very useful USB port for today’s living. A USB can be used to charge most of the smartphones with USB connector. You can also load thousands of songs into a pen-drive and play the songs through the car stereo. Beside the USB port, there is an auxiliary port. You can play songs from iPhone or iPod on the car stereo by connecting them to the auxiliary port.

What is not so good about the car?

The car could run better with a wider tire size.
It will be better and more comfortable if the rear headset can be adjusted.

Honda City’s competitor or other similar cars: Toyota Vios, Ford Fiesta, Proton Gen-2, Suzuki Swift, and Mazda Mazda3.

Over the years, Honda has put in a lot of effort to research and develop the City which has gone through improvement after improvement. In conclusion, the name “Honda City” has established itself in the automobile world.

February 24, 2012

List of car names

The list of car names here is incomplete but it is a long list and consists most of the popular car names. These names were taken from automobile books, magazines, websites, and also contributions from Carsut’s readers. Funny, cool, gibberish, feminine and all kind of weird car names can be found in the list here.

A

A4
Accent
Acclaim
Accord
Achieva
Aerio
Aerostar
Alero (more…)

February 23, 2012
Honda Jazz or Honda Fit: It doesn’t really matter

Some called it Honda Jazz, some called it Honda Fit; it does not matter because it refers to the five-door subcompact car that has been one of the best selling small Honda cars on earth. The Jazz was a big hit when it was first introduced in 2001. This is because it looks small but it is not small. The outlook is small, the wheelbase is short, the engine is small, but the passenger cargo is spacious and the power is big.

What we are going to review today is a used Honda Jazz manufactured in 2007. It was own by a young girl,Phoenix, who purchased the car when she was 18 years old. Phoenix’s car model is the 1.5 i-DSI where she bought it for RM94,800 in 2007. With RM20k down payment, she pays roughly RM1400 per month for a five-year loan at 2.88% APR. It is not surprising that lots of Asian is paying over 1k a month for car installment because of the car price. In the U.S., the same model could have just cost less than half of what Phoenix paid in Malaysia. (more…)

February 23, 2012
Step 10: Life after having a car
It is necessary to understand the life after having a car. This is because there are many things you may not expect and you need to prepare for it before buying a car. Some new car owners will walk to the window and peep at the car once awhile to make sure it is still there. “What the?” Don’t be shock; it is a truth based on the results from our research. There could be many reasons, the owner is afraid of the car being stolen, worry about the car being scratched or just look at it to satisfy themselves. For some people, spending a huge amount of money in one shot to buy a depreciating object (car) is hurting, so they will definitely try to take good care of the car. Other than that, these are several things you may not know about having a car especially for the first time car buyer:

1. Someone regret it. If you did not manage your budget properly as mentioned in Step 1, you may start to regret buying the car when it starts to suck money out from your pocket every month for the installments.

2. Extra money for extra accessories. To celebrate the new purchase, people often spend extra money on accessories to decorate the car. This includes head rest, floor mat, new carpet, steering wheel cover, windscreen tint, car seat covers, and many other things that may cost few thousand dollars or more. Some people will also spend a few hundred dollars for high quality steering lock or transmission lock as a theft deterrent. Furthermore, car wash and car detailing are something which will keep costing money.

3. Extra protection. Do you notice that there are many bottles sitting in the store room? Detergent to wash car, car wax kit, polishing kit, fluid for windscreen protection, and tire dressing are extra money for a car owner. A person who takes public transport does not need all these things.

4. Extra trip. First time car owner will find excuses just to drive the car out because they want to drive it. Well, it doesn’t really matter as long as you enjoy it.

5. Parking Charges. You may need to pay parking fees wherever you park your car. For those who are staying in apartments or condominiums, there will be monthly parking charges. Do take this into your calculations before buying a car.

6. Car maintenance. There is always a maintenance fee, for example, engine oil, oil filter, car batteries, tires, and others. The maintenance fee for cars with bigger engine often cost higher.

7. Customize your own car. Other than buying aftermarket accessories to decorate the car, some car enthusiasts will customize their own car. Sound systems upgrade, sport wheels, customized dashboard or extra gauges to make the car look cool.

These are some of the opinions from our research:

Jonathan Blanchfield said: “Buying a used car is very complicating. I will prefer a new one to avoid all the hassles.”

Jeremy Teoh said: “I prefer a new used car because I do not want to throw all my hard-earned money into depreciation.”

Isabella Joel said: “I am a girl, I do not understand a lot about mechanical things and car maintenance, buying a new car seems to be more practical for me.”

Jonathan Lipnicki said: “I love cars, I love new smells, I love new features but I prefer a used car. With the same amount of cash, I prefer a used branded car than a new cheap car.”

What is your choice then?

Having gone through what you have to go through from Step 1 to Step 10, you should get your new car now. Most people find having a car is more convenient, and yes, it is. What you need to do is to enjoy the ride!

Carsut’s car buying guide is written by Howsen who is an experienced car dealer. Thanks to people who participated in this research and contributed their opinions in making this buying guide a success.
- Suming – a used car dealer since 1983.
- Peter Czech – a mechanic who specializes in Mercedes-Benz, BMW,Toyota, Honda, and Suzuki.
- Phoenix– an insurance agent who has been dealing with car insurance for more than 10 years.
February 21, 2012
Step 9: Making the deal

It comes to the deal when you have decided to buy a car. Do not be over excited with the new car you are buying and overlook some other important things including insurance, loan rates, processing fees, registration fees, ownership endorsement fees, extended warranty and sales tax which vary from state to state. Do not forget about incentives and rebates if you are buying a new car. If you are buying it with your company name, these fees could be doubled.

Steps to deal a new car

Ask for a complete quotation from the salesperson who arranged the deal with you. Bring the quotation home and view it in a stress-free environment if you are not in a hurry to seal the deal. In that way, you can clearly review the amounts and see if other expenses are too high. If the salesperson is giving you the best car price but with sky high insurance or loan rate, you can still buy the car from him but not the insurance and loan. Double check the invoice and see if there are redundant charges such as processing fees, handling fees or miscellaneous fees. All these refer to the same thing. You can request the dealer to have these extra fees removed. If they refused to do so, look for another dealer.

If there is no problem on the invoice, you can request the salesman to deliver the car to you at your convenience. You will have to check the car properly before signing the contract. Make sure you have gone through the car from head to toe before you nod your head to confirm the car. A person who had just bought a new car told Carsut that the dealer who delivered the car to his house showed him how a thief can open the car and drive it away without the key. They showed the whole process in front of him and tried to sell him additional security items to protect the car. Besides, a salesperson will always take this opportunity to sell you extended warranty, steering lock or a GPS locator. We recommend you turn down all these things, otherwise it will end up an extra few hundred or few thousand dollars. You may only consider extended warranty when you feel it is really needed in your situation.

There will be several forms to sign including the loan contract, insurance contract, transfer ownership of your trade-in (if you have one), and new car registration form. DO NOT HURRY! Nothing to rush about. Read every form one by one carefully before signing it. Last but not least, check if all the options and accessories are there when the salesperson passes you the key. If you are buying a full options model, make sure everything is there, for example, paddle shift, GPS system, 18” wheels or special edition body kit.

Steps to deal a used car

Things could be easy if you are paying cash for the deal. Make sure what you are getting is the same car that you have inspected (Refer to Step 7.1 Inspect a used car before buying it). Make sure there are no scratches and no parts have been replaced since the day you inspected the car. Compare it with the pictures you took on the inspection day if you are suspicious about the car.

If you are planning to finance the car, compare to see who is giving you the best rate; dealer, bank, credit union, online lender or some insurance companies that provide car loans. Financing through a bank is highly recommended because it is easier and usually cost less.

The dealer will prepare all the documents and sales contract for you if you are buying from them. Still, you will need to read through everything written in the contract before signing it. Ask the dealer to amend the contract if you find something is not right.

If you are lucky to get a great deal from a private seller, you may request the seller to prepare an automobile bill of sale. This is very important because it serves as a legal contract between buyer and seller (Refer to Step 9: Bill of Sale for more details). You can also print it out and use it for the deal. It is either the seller or the buyer do the leg work to transfer the title and registration. You can request the seller to do this before making the payment. In some cases, buyer and seller will have to do it together to have everything transferred on the same day. You will have to make sure you have insurance for the car you bought.

Last but not least, check again everything from head to toe and compare the car with the pictures you took on the day you inspected the car. If there is nothing wrong, all you need to do is get the key and go for a ride.

February 18, 2012