To big car or to little car? that is the question....

[Gumpertapolloss]

My vote goes out to the Honda Jazz.

The 1.5 with I-vtec is no slouch and you still get decent fuel economy and best of it all, you don't pay for all the extra options like you do with the German cars.

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[D3TTOL]

Ive driven the Honda Jazz 1.5 and the Mazda 2 1.5 and i would go with any of them - they are both fun little cars to drive

150 - 200k id rather stretch for a German Diesel (Merc or BMW) your choice

I won't go german(BMW,Merc,Audi) at this point in life. They are nice and all but if something goes wrong it costs a small fortune to repair.
My dads BMW Diesel needed it's turbo replaced. R8k for the Turbo alone. My friend's(the Brio owners) father owned a Merc B class and the Automatic gearbox went and that was over R25k.

 

[Toi]

Buy a 1.5 Jazz and thank us later.

 

[SCHUMI4EVER]

The only thing about the Jazz, at least older models, not sure whether it persists, is that it used expensive non-standard 15 inchers. However size VS power this car can not be beaten. It's small and yet roomy. Great for a family that can't get the full SUV/large MPV.

 

[PJtheKILL3R]

As someone who has splashed a lot of money on cars in a relatively short time span and lost thousands in the process.

Fix the lemon,
Drive the lemon,
Enjoy the lemon,

a car is 99% of the time the single worst investment you will make, you and I are both young guys, and the need/want for a performance car almost feels absolutely necessary.
But just don't.

lets leave the choice of car out of consideration for a moment, lets say you buy a "cheap" goodish performance car, any decent well maintained and lowish km's something like a 1.4,1.6/2T
You are looking at 150K atleast 200K if you splurge a little.

lets take the 150K car

for 150K over 48months with a 12% interest rate, you will be paying the bank, for a asset that can only lose value R3950 PM
Now,
Lets say you spend R1000 a month JUST fixing the lemon, this won't ever even be the case.
But lets take the extreme R1000 every month for the next 48 months
after 48 months driving the lemon cost you : R48 000
The nice 150K car cost you R189 600

The lemon 4 years from now, will still be worth almost exactly the same as it is today, if it is road worthy, has a Toyota badge on, and moves its worth 30K
The R150K car however...
Lets say it loses 10% of its value year on year, which is a very generous percentage might I add
It will be worth R110K

Just on the capital of the car you also now lost R40K, and you paid R39600 in interest
So thats 80K down the drain in 4 years, for which you got nothing.

And obviously since its a more expensive car your insurance premiums go up.
If it has nice 17" or heaven forbid 19" tires, thats going up.
Services out of warranty will be significantly more expensive than on the Tazz
As well as replacement parts.

if you fix the Tazz every month for the next 4 years for R1000 a month and save the difference (R3950-R1000 = R2950).
Lets say you go with saving instrument that gives you 7% interest (Very easy to get) if you save that R2950 every month, after 48 months,
It will be worth R164K +-
Buy that time you will now what your family needs in terms of transport, and you can buy yourself a niceish car, almost cash.

If I could turn back the clock I would still be driving my blue 2005 Renault Megane and just fixing it along the way and laughing for my friends with their debt (I mean fancy cars)
Remove your emotional baggage out of the equation, this is nothing more than a financial decision and financial decisions should not be done with any emotions.

Fun fact: If I kept that little blue car for 2 more years and saved the amount of money I spent on Premiums, Insurance, Tires, services and the like:
I would have had a cool R230K waiting for me in the bank.

Just my 2c

 

[g0l1athrulz]

As someone who has splashed a lot of money on cars in a relatively short time span and lost thousands in the process.

Fix the lemon,
Drive the lemon,
Enjoy the lemon,

a car is 99% of the time the single worst investment you will make, you and I are both young guys, and the need/want for a performance car almost feels absolutely necessary.
But just don't.

lets leave the choice of car out of consideration for a moment, lets say you buy a "cheap" goodish performance car, any decent well maintained and lowish km's something like a 1.4,1.6/2T
You are looking at 150K atleast 200K if you splurge a little.

lets take the 150K car

for 150K over 48months with a 12% interest rate, you will be paying the bank, for a asset that can only lose value R3950 PM
Now,
Lets say you spend R1000 a month JUST fixing the lemon, this won't ever even be the case.
But lets take the extreme R1000 every month for the next 48 months
after 48 months driving the lemon cost you : R48 000
The nice 150K car cost you R189 600

The lemon 4 years from now, will still be worth almost exactly the same as it is today, if it is road worthy, has a Toyota badge on, and moves its worth 30K
The R150K car however...
Lets say it loses 10% of its value year on year, which is a very generous percentage might I add
It will be worth R110K

Just on the capital of the car you also now lost R40K, and you paid R39600 in interest
So thats 80K down the drain in 4 years, for which you got nothing.

And obviously since its a more expensive car your insurance premiums go up.
If it has nice 17" or heaven forbid 19" tires, thats going up.
Services out of warranty will be significantly more expensive than on the Tazz
As well as replacement parts.

if you fix the Tazz every month for the next 4 years for R1000 a month and save the difference (R3950-R1000 = R2950).
Lets say you go with saving instrument that gives you 7% interest (Very easy to get) if you save that R2950 every month, after 48 months,
It will be worth R164K +-
Buy that time you will now what your family needs in terms of transport, and you can buy yourself a niceish car, almost cash.

If I could turn back the clock I would still be driving my blue 2005 Renault Megane and just fixing it along the way and laughing for my friends with their debt (I mean fancy cars)
Remove your emotional baggage out of the equation, this is nothing more than a financial decision and financial decisions should not be done with any emotions.

Fun fact: If I kept that little blue car for 2 more years and saved the amount of money I spent on Premiums, Insurance, Tires, services and the like:
I would have had a cool R230K waiting for me in the bank.

Just my 2c

This i can relate to, i have a wrx paid off, and an impreza 2.0r that still belongs to wesbank, i dont need both, guess which one im selling? [emoji14] I fucking hate paying the 2r every month, and its more expensive then the wrx on insurance, cuase its newer, my wifes car will be paid off in the next few months, and i have a company car, between the 2 imprezas and the i10, combined we drive less then 500km a month [emoji85]

I have the option to go trade in both imprezas on something newer, but its going to cost me more every month, the best car you can have, is one that doesnt belong to a bank [emoji14]

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[Crouchinglee]

Buy a 1.5 Jazz and thank us later.

This ^

Trust me the Mazda 1.5 or the Jazz will be amazeballs compared to the Tazz

 

[SCHUMI4EVER]

As someone who has splashed a lot of money on cars in a relatively short time span and lost thousands in the process.

Fix the lemon,
Drive the lemon,
Enjoy the lemon,

a car is 99% of the time the single worst investment you will make, you and I are both young guys, and the need/want for a performance car almost feels absolutely necessary.
But just don't.

lets leave the choice of car out of consideration for a moment, lets say you buy a "cheap" goodish performance car, any decent well maintained and lowish km's something like a 1.4,1.6/2T
You are looking at 150K atleast 200K if you splurge a little.

lets take the 150K car

for 150K over 48months with a 12% interest rate, you will be paying the bank, for a asset that can only lose value R3950 PM
Now,
Lets say you spend R1000 a month JUST fixing the lemon, this won't ever even be the case.
But lets take the extreme R1000 every month for the next 48 months
after 48 months driving the lemon cost you : R48 000
The nice 150K car cost you R189 600

The lemon 4 years from now, will still be worth almost exactly the same as it is today, if it is road worthy, has a Toyota badge on, and moves its worth 30K
The R150K car however...
Lets say it loses 10% of its value year on year, which is a very generous percentage might I add
It will be worth R110K

Just on the capital of the car you also now lost R40K, and you paid R39600 in interest
So thats 80K down the drain in 4 years, for which you got nothing.

And obviously since its a more expensive car your insurance premiums go up.
If it has nice 17" or heaven forbid 19" tires, thats going up.
Services out of warranty will be significantly more expensive than on the Tazz
As well as replacement parts.

if you fix the Tazz every month for the next 4 years for R1000 a month and save the difference (R3950-R1000 = R2950).
Lets say you go with saving instrument that gives you 7% interest (Very easy to get) if you save that R2950 every month, after 48 months,
It will be worth R164K +-
Buy that time you will now what your family needs in terms of transport, and you can buy yourself a niceish car, almost cash.

If I could turn back the clock I would still be driving my blue 2005 Renault Megane and just fixing it along the way and laughing for my friends with their debt (I mean fancy cars)
Remove your emotional baggage out of the equation, this is nothing more than a financial decision and financial decisions should not be done with any emotions.

Fun fact: If I kept that little blue car for 2 more years and saved the amount of money I spent on Premiums, Insurance, Tires, services and the like:
I would have had a cool R230K waiting for me in the bank.

Just my 2c

What you say makes a lot of sense. But that's not the end of the story. We live in South and how does the car break down and where does it break down? It could very well move from being an annoyance to a security risk. A car considered unrealiable that one is unwilling to drive and which may cause you to become stranded in an area that brings you/your loved ones harm is utterly pointless and represents an enormous opportunity cost obliterating any saving to a new car.

 

[Areola Grande]

Snip

Some valid points.

But you are ignoring things like safety, comfort etc. I bad accident in a Tazz could cause physical harm, leading to lack of employment. How does that factor in, financially? Whereas the same accident in a safe car with airbags would be far less harmful. This is obviously an extreme example. Nevertheless, it's possible.

 

[Toxxyc]

The only thing about the Jazz, at least older models, not sure whether it persists, is that it used expensive non-standard 15 inchers. However size VS power this car can not be beaten. It's small and yet roomy. Great for a family that can't get the full SUV/large MPV.

Jazz has fully standard, all round available tyres, nothing strange about them.

OP for some reason I thought you had kids. If no kids, get a Jazz. I drove one for a while. Comfortable, big space, VERY light on fuel and safe. I traded mine in on a bigger car when it stood on almost 190k km, not a single issue with it. Long road saw me doing ~24km/l when I watched my foot, so that's doable. In-city economy was still very good, but not as good as some lighter cars. It has a ton of low-down power which was VERY nice (if you're lazy with the gears), and I really can't find much wrong with it.

 

[Skalabala]

My opinion. Fix the taz. 4EFTE is a straight fit in there and 20km/L capable. And maxed out they do 9s on the 400M

 

[PJtheKILL3R]

the best car you can have, is one that doesnt belong to a bank [emoji14]

This ^^

What you say makes a lot of sense. But that's not the end of the story. We live in South and how does the car break down and where does it break down? It could very well move from being an annoyance to a security risk. A car considered unrealiable that one is unwilling to drive and which may cause you to become stranded in an area that brings you/your loved ones harm is utterly pointless and represents an enormous opportunity cost obliterating any saving to a new car.

This is true, there is a greater safety risk with the Tazz, but if you read my post to the end you will see that I said if he saves up a bit now, and bites the bullet now, he can buy a much better/safer car later in his life when he needs it most.
With that said, any car that is well maintained regularly serviced and not driven into the ground will never leave you stranded.
I got me Renault (Que all the French car haters : Ohhh you must have been stranded all the time) with 105K KM on the clock, put 70K more KM on top of that with not 1 I repeat 1 stranded experience.

Some valid points.

But you are ignoring things like safety, comfort etc. I bad accident in a Tazz could cause physical harm, leading to lack of employment. How does that factor in, financially? Whereas the same accident in a safe car with airbags would be far less harmful. This is obviously an extreme example. Nevertheless, it's possible.

Like I said above, the risks associated with the Tazz are greater than a newer car, but some risks you can manage and other you can't, manage the risks you can as best you can.
And keep in mind that I said, that he should just try to squeeze a little more life out of the Tazz it doesn't have to be 4 years, but the longer the better.
Accidents happen and if they do, its terrible, but regardless of the car you drive, you should not drive a car if you do not have temporary and permanent disability cover.
But yeah, its just a small way you can manage that risk.

 

[SCHUMI4EVER]

This is true, there is a greater safety risk with the Tazz, but if you read my post to the end you will see that I said if he saves up a bit now, and bites the bullet now, he can buy a much better/safer car later in his life when he needs it most.
With that said, any car that is well maintained regularly serviced and not driven into the ground will never leave you stranded.
I got me Renault (Que all the French car haters : Ohhh you must have been stranded all the time) with 105K KM on the clock, put 70K more KM on top of that with not 1 I repeat 1 stranded experience.

Eh, the waiting game is a dangerous game. All things being equal yes, you are right. But volatile country + continued use of risky and heavy damage repaired wheels don't really guarantee that will be the case. I guess I am just very risk averse, I would rather waste money to be safe and only worry about the money rather than additional factors.

Also your analogy makes no sense. The Renault sounds like a MUCH newer car far less used up than a Tazz would be.

Nothing wrong with finding an older second-hand V-Tec 1.5 Jazz for something inebetween both our sets of advice though. Something you can put another 70k km on before moving on just like that Renault you had.

 

[PJtheKILL3R]

Eh, the waiting game is a dangerous game. All things being equal yes, you are right. But volatile country + continued use of risky and heavy damage repaired wheels don't really guarantee that will be the case. I guess I am just very risk averse, I would rather waste money to be safe and only worry about the money rather than additional factors.

Also your analogy makes no sense. The Renault sounds like a MUCH newer car far less used up than a Tazz would be.

Nothing wrong with finding an older second-hand V-Tec 1.5 Jazz for something inebetween both our sets of advice though. Something you can put another 70k on before moving on just like that Renault you had.

Nothing wrong with being risk advert, I like a certain degree of risk maybe its just my personality, but yeah you are right, a nice in between car could be nice.
My Renault in 2012 cost R52K so not really what you would call "expensive" or new but it was awesome for R52K.
If the OP could find a similar low cost car for little money it could help him.

But then it should be like:
Sell the Tazz = R30K
Add 20K pref cash
And maybe 20K financed

That would give him a nice 70K budget to shop around, and shopping only starts once the Tazz is sold

 

[Toxxyc]

You can get really nice Jazzes for around R70k. That's for a car with 4 airbags and a ton of extras you won't find in many others.

 

[SantaMuerte]

[MENTION=32560]D3TTOL[/MENTION]'s if you don't mind getting a used car (I did not read through the entire thread), look for either a used E46 330D or E92 330D that has been well looked after.
They are amazing cars to drive. Silky smooth with more than enough power, they last long and the diesel economy is not bad. My 330D is getting 9.1L/100KM and that's driving with a heavy foot.

 

[SantaMuerte]

I won't go german(BMW,Merc,Audi) at this point in life. They are nice and all but if something goes wrong it costs a small fortune to repair.
My dads BMW Diesel needed it's turbo replaced. R8k for the Turbo alone. My friend's(the Brio owners) father owned a Merc B class and the Automatic gearbox went and that was over R25k.

Keep in mind that a turbo will last if you don't fuck up your car. My 330D had it's original turbo up until just under 225 000k's. Turbo was replaced last year. Sitting on 234 000k's now. A great car lasts as long as you look after it

 

[Pyro]

Get a smaller bike then the Tazz wouldn't feel as disappointing

The Jazz is a fun drive. Rear brakes are drums, and the steering is a little light for my liking, but it's an awesome little car.

We got a 2010 for R120k quite some time ago IIRC, other option was at the time 2009 Civic at a similar price.
The Civic is nicer all-round, but you'd have to go significantly faster to have as much fun as you can have in the Jazz.
The extra bulk is also a pain around town if you don't really need it.

Another option is the Suzuki Swift. A little less power, but still fun to drive.

 

[Neko]

My personal opinion, I drive a Kia Picanto 1.2 and quite happy with it. It has very reasonable performance and all the comforts.


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[D3TTOL]

Get a smaller bike then the Tazz wouldn't feel as disappointing

The Jazz is a fun drive. Rear brakes are drums, and the steering is a little light for my liking, but it's an awesome little car.

We got a 2010 for R120k quite some time ago IIRC, other option was at the time 2009 Civic at a similar price.
The Civic is nicer all-round, but you'd have to go significantly faster to have as much fun as you can have in the Jazz.
The extra bulk is also a pain around town if you don't really need it.

Another option is the Suzuki Swift. A little less power, but still fun to drive.

I have a suzuki GW250 motorcycle and it still goes better than the Tazz xD.
I'm actually leaning quite a bit into a suzuki swift but my inner child wants the 1.6 top of the range sport.

Deciding on a car is quite a frustrating task.

 

[jeffuhig]

We have a 1L turbo opel corsa and it is light on fuel, awesome in town and cruises easily 140 to 160 open road. Makes my 1.8L astra gtc look silly. And the build quality is fantastic

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[SCHUMI4EVER]

We have a 1L turbo opel corsa and it is light on fuel, awesome in town and cruises easily 140 to 160 open road. Makes my 1.8L astra gtc look silly. And the build quality is fantastic

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That's because sporty Opels are silly already

 

[jeffuhig]

That's because sporty Opels are silly already

Lol yeah the 1.8 gtc isn't the sportiest engine, but that little corsa 1L turbo is unbelievable. I was shocked the 1st time I drove it. Absolutely amazed. Just another option to Chuck in there. I'd assume the opel Adam is just as good engine wise

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[Superflan]

You'll never be happy with a car's performance after riding a 1000cc, You'll need a 170kw+ car to be happy

 

[PCUSER]

I always owned both a bike and a car. I just accepted the fact that no car that I can afford will ever be as fast as most bikes. I lived with it.
That said, it is not to say a bigger car will use too much fuel and cost more to maintain. Just look at the right one's. I drive a big SUV with a 2.5L petrol engine. I still get more than 10km/L in town, and the torgue of this bigger engine makes it so nice to drive in town. On the open road I would have liked a bit more power, but I do not exceed the speed limit so I do not really need more power.
Then, if you can buy a older, bigger car that is really looked after well, you will save so much cash, and on insurance, that the difference in fuel consumption will not matter anymore.