[freag34]

Howdy,

I'm going to buy a used car in HK for commuting - price range $10K->15K, and so maintenance might be pretty important to me. What makes should I consider that will give me the cheapest repair bills? I was looking at Saab, Mazda, Opel, but I'm not sure which of these (or another make) would be a good idea.

Would Saab be a bad idea since I think there's only one Saab parts dealer in Hong Kong, and maybe European parts are more expensive here than Japanese? How would Mazda compare?

Who has driven what type of car, and what are your maintenance bills like?

Thanks,
Dave

[shri]

We bought a Volvo about 7 months ago and were shocked to hear the estimate for the first service (20K) from the authorised dealer. Their estimate was about 10KHK$ to fix a bunch of stuff that was "broken". We took it to an unauthorised mechanic and he did the job for us for HK$4K or so.

A couple of things that I've learnt since the purchase.

If you want to keep bills low, go to the repair shops that you see on various streets in HK. We can recommend a good one for you in the Pok Fu Lam / Sheung Wan area. Ask your chinese colleagues and you'll get good recommendations.

Also, this is important. Avoid the European cars, as they tend to be "exotic" and few in number, when you compare them with the Toyotas and Hondas in HK. A taxi driver once told me that the Toyotas were the cheapest to maintain in HK, because parts (original and aftermarket duplicates) were so easily available (almost 95% of the taxis in HK are Toyotas).

Buy direct from the owner (most used car shops will mark up the price by about 20%) and see if they'll let your mechanic check the car out before completing the transaction.

A good source for ads is on: http://www.auto-one.com/ax/eng/
and so is the classifieds post in the SCMP.

[shri]

Couple of more things I should warn you about

-- If the car is older than 7 years, it has to pass some certification tests annually. Count on spending 3-5K/year on that.

-- Consider buying something a little bit more expensive if you can avoid the tests (3 or 4 year old car). This may also give you some resale value.

-- Consider that you have to pay to scrap your car (you can dump it .. but its illegal) if it does not pass the tests and the estimates to fix it up are high

-- Make sure you get a car with a < 2.0 liter engine to keep road taxes down

[alchemy]

I just bought a '94 1.4i Opel Corsa for 7K. I'm also concerned about the maintenence costs. I've read many reviews about Opel Corsa and it seems to me that most Opel owners think it's an economical car. I won't know since I just bought the car, however, I wouldn't agree much on the car being fuel-economical.

[moomin]

I am a saab owner in HK, The brand is stylish, reliable and fun(convertible) but it needs a lot of care and maintenance. It is not a good idea if you just need a transportation or commuter from A to B. Except you are a saab enthusiastic, Japanese car will be a better choice.
There are some saab specialists in HK, they also provide parts and services. the price is lower than the dealer.
I repair the car after I bought it. The air-cond cost me HK3000. water pump leak for another $3000. Supension for $2000. However, the car cost just $6000.
Used saab is bargin in HK. So think about it to have a cheap saab for repair or a higher price japanese car for cheap maintenance cost.

[Ronin]

Thought about leasing one ?

[shri]

Ronin, The leases in HK are *expensive*. Besides, I think people prefer to buy in HK / Asia than to lease.