Buying a continental car....

[cml]

The jetta has 160hp if I am not wrong. Its the same as the golf 1.4 tsi. Those are turbocharged engines and should be very sufficient for day to day driving. Going back to the s80 I dont think it comes in 3.2 . I think that biggest capacity was 2.8 but after that they replaced it with the 2.0 turbocharged engine. Parts would of course cost more than the malaysian/japanese./korean cars but then they last longer. The s80 is a pretty solid car and value for money. I think you can get it for less than 100k. If you are looking at new cars one car to consider is the 508, the basic model costs 150 plus , about the same as the jetta which I understand is quite bare and basic in the interior. The 508 is more well appointed. Or if you do not need a booth a 308 would be good also.

[cml]

If it is about 5 years old it should be slightly more than 100k. It has the current body which is not very much from the earlier ones. Those are going for 30/40k (10 year old). It should be a 2.5 turbocharged mode, They are the light turbo version not like the T series which uses a higher charged turbo version. Its a nice car to me , with the depreciation taken care of. Buy it with no intention to sell if off for the next 5 years and you are ok.

[CS Chua]

If it is about 5 years old it should be slightly more than 100k. It has the current body which is not very much from the earlier ones. Those are going for 30/40k (10 year old). It should be a 2.5 turbocharged mode, They are the light turbo version not like the T series which uses a higher charged turbo version. Its a nice car to me , with the depreciation taken care of. Buy it with no intention to sell if off for the next 5 years and you are ok.

The Pug 407 is a good buy. Apparently they are CBU from France but declared CKD here. If what my friend said is true, then it is value for money since it comes with 5 years warranty.

[cml]

Now with naza taking over the brand spares should not be an issue. It should be even more cheap than the s80, not that I am implying that you cannot afford it but its value for money.

[Jennylim]

Tks cml. I am driving an old car, a lot of money are spent in replacing parts. So, I am kind of against buying an old s80. We decided to go for new one or not so old car with affordable price.
Yes, I am aware of both cars' spec as you have mentioned.

What about lower end of MB or BM? Are they any better then VW, Audi of similar range? Oh, may be we should discuss this on a diff thread.

[Rhiga]

Since you guys have touched on the topic on price tag, I would like to share my POV..

I guess if you are new to continental car and don’t have much patience and know-how on car maintenance, getting a new one is a better decision..

Of course, the price tag can be a turn-off..

If the budget is less than 200k, I would recommended the VW Passat TSI…

It is around 180k and it is a really smooth car. It gives me the feeling of a 2.5 Camry (of course, more powerful than the 2.5 Camry) with a continental body.. Nowadays, turbocharge has been so much improved that you can’t feel the difference between a 1.8 and 2.0+

If the budget is less than 300k, than a 2 liter Volvo S60 is a good choice. The car is stunningly beautiful and powerful.. plus all the comfort and safety features that only available in a premium car..

One good thing about buying new conti car now is – they provide rather generous coverage in after-sales due to competition. 5 years warranty and 5 year free maintenance is coomon. The OEM or car dealer actually buy insurance to cover the extended warranty. So only a small amount of extra costs are shared between the car buyer and dealer.

Among all the continental cars, I like the present Volvo as I am impressed by their Scandinavian design philosophy – "beautifully simple and simply beautiful ". It is just my personal preference as I like minimalist design and Scandinavian is synonymous with that.

Federal Auto handled both VW and Volvo and I think they are the better car dealer so far in the market compare to those come-and-go apanama AP beneficiaries..

I try not to spend my money to benefit those crony car dealers and hence I don’t look at Peugeot, Audi and Mercedes..

[cml]

If you are buying a car more than 5 years old there may be an issue of expensive parts that needs to be replaced like absorbers or a overhaul of the gear box and you wouldnt want to bother with that. Unless there are receipts to show that those stuff are done. Otherwise it would be better to stick with the new/newer cars. If you dont mind can go and buy their pre registered cars. Sometimes they are demonstrators or just cars they have to registere to meet their sales targets. Those are basically new cars and comes with full warranty. Only thing is you cannot choose what colour you want. You just pick from what they have. The 408 is basically a booted version of the 308 and would be a good option if you are not to particular about the size. It would be about the size of a civic which should be sufficient for most asian sized people. From your writings it would appear that you are looking for something in the 100-150k range. There are many options available in that price range but do take your time to see whats on the market. You may be surprised with your final purchase. A pretty new 2008/9 308 sells for about 70k and is also a good sized car. a friend bought a x customs seized mercedes e200 kompressor for 175k but then he had jalan. It had only 300plus kilometers. Basically brand new albeit 5/6 years old but kept in the storage yard. To me that is very very good value. All he had to do was to change the battery and 4 tyres and it was as good as new.

[SiangMalam]

Tks cml. I am driving an old car, a lot of money are spent in replacing parts. So, I am kind of against buying an old s80. We decided to go for new one or not so old car with affordable price.
Yes, I am aware of both cars' spec as you have mentioned.

What about lower end of MB or BM? Are they any better then VW, Audi of similar range? Oh, may be we should discuss this on a diff thread.

If you need to buy a used car, then buy a MB. BMW after a few years means Bring Me Worries...

[kwchang]

...the 1.6 turbocharged S60 is not bad...The Volvo now and the Volvo 5 years ago is hell a lot of different...

...The car development is moving towards smaller engine (smaller cc) but with higher power output with the improvement in engine design, transmission and energy recovery device or commonly called turbo-charged device...

So much mention about turbo charging being better power for a smaller engine capacity... but I wonder if you need some space like an intercity highway to get anything out of the turbo mode?
I would ask when does the turbo kick in? Does it happen if you are turning the engine above 2500 RPM? what speed would that be at ... 100Km/h? - if so, then you can't achieve turbo in city driving.
A friend of mine showed me the turbo power of his WV Tuaran (mid-sized MPV) in Singapore and it turned on at 2,000 rpm....but his wife was worried because he was probably exceeding the speed limit on the Pan Island Expressway... so don't think the turbo will be useful if you spend most times in the city roads

Or are there different types of turbo....

..They are the light turbo version not like the T series which uses a higher charged turbo version...

[Jennylim]

If you need to buy a used car, then buy a MB. BMW after a few years means Bring Me Worries...

What about new ones? about 2.0 or more

[cskok8]

Don’t tell me you won't drive a Ferrari because it is now belonged to Fiat.. !!

I don't drive a Ferrari because I cannot afford one

[Rhiga]

So much mention about turbo charging being better power for a smaller engine capacity... but I wonder if you need some space like an intercity highway to get anything out of the turbo mode?
I would ask when does the turbo kick in? Does it happen if you are turning the engine above 2500 RPM? what speed would that be at ... 100Km/h? - if so, then you can't achieve turbo in city driving.
A friend of mine showed me the turbo power of his WV Tuaran (mid-sized MPV) in Singapore and it turned on at 2,000 rpm....but his wife was worried because he was probably exceeding the speed limit on the Pan Island Expressway... so don't think the turbo will be useful if you spend most times in the city roads
....

Well, I guess the best way to find the answer is to give a call to the VW guys in Federal Auto, Glenmarie for a test drive of the 1.8 Passat TSI..

Ok… purely from my experience driving my sister’s Passat and my Volvo..

You won’t feel when the turbo kick-in especially the Passat.. The cars are so smooth that you hardly feel the “moment” the turbo starts working !! If you really want a number.. I would say around 40kmh..

Perhaps I would think you and your friend’s wife confuse between power, speed and torque....

The output from an engine is measured as power in the unit of KW, or more commonly refer as horsepower..

I guess here is where the confusion begins – the power can be utilized to increase speed or to increase the torque which commonly people call it as “pick-up”.

In city driving, when you are driving a car for instance a 1.8 Toyota Altis at low speed (less than 80kmh), you often feel like you still need extra “power” after pressing the accelerator to give you the higher boost of power maybe to overtake the slow car in front of you who is driving at snail speed at Jalan Tujuan..

This is the opposite when you are driving a 1.8 turbocharged Passat.. You feel the car is so smooth and I mean smooth in term of driving pleasure.. The moment you press the pedal a little bit more, you immediately feel the sudden boost of power and you are convinced that enormous amount of reserve still available if you intend to press harder to give you the split second boost of power..

And all these happen at LOW speed.

Highway driving is a different. I am not saying a 1.8 turbocharged car is not good enough for highway but you can feel it when you are driving at high speed. You know this is the max the turbo can give to you in tern of extra power to deliver the higher speed you want. But, you won’t have this problem when you are driving a bigger engine car as the engine is designed for bigger displacement.

Hope it helps

[SiangMalam]

What about new ones? about 2.0 or more

The C200 CGI is a good buy... it has a 1800cc engine and very powerful.

[jimmyay]

Those VW with TSI or GTI are really fun to drive. Power is there anytime u need it. Go test drive it!! A 1.2 Polo TSi can challenge 1.8 Altis anytime.

[SiangMalam]

Those VW with TSI or GTI are really fun to drive. Power is there anytime u need it. Go test drive it!! A 1.2 Polo TSi can challenge 1.8 Altis anytime.

Yup, I can attest to that! I took on a Lexus IS250 with my Golf GTI from Pagoh to 2nd Link... always about 30-50m ahead after passing him before the Spg Renggam turnoff.... Then I changed my tyres at Jurong West and drove back slowly back to USJ hahaha....