Compact Car Shopping, prices, experiences... Aygo... then..
Posted: Tue Mar 06, 2012 8:29 am
as is often the case, many things start with an itch
have a good mechanical condition opel Corsa sedan that was the wife's before she got her Daihatsu Materia, that has done duty for two years with me, its been reasonable.
its had its issues, however high mileage, was bough second hand before my time. . . . .
we had discussed getting a small vehicle, as a run around for me, preferably new, however a good deal on a nice demo, could of also done the trick
just like we did our homework when buying the quad, so we planned on doing it with the car purchase
the quads, and there is less to chose from then with the cars, took us three months to decide on each of the three times that we bought quads
the car needed to be comfortable, and durable and economical on fuel and to run
some might lough, however some of the Chinese brands have big reputations else where in the world, and due to me chasing best value for money, we looked at the GWM Florid, now here could of gone for the cheapest, however, thought if we going to spend the money, might as well do it right and get the top of the range model.
so we looked at the Florid Cross, it has roof rails, think its a little raised, and looks like a little SUV, like the Polo Cros is to the normal Polo
the top of the range, that goes for 130k had all bells and wistels and seemed a little expensive for a Chinese car. JMO
any case the list of features justified it, believe the motor is the same as the Daihatsu 1.5, witch is also has the Toyota link the body was based on the Auris with different cosmetics. no problem with this one either
however the getting in and out was almost a problem, as I am big wise length and breath wise. lol
the stering adjusts however not enough, and as a result we looked at these cars twice
not sure in witch order, however the one Saturday we looked at chevy spark, Kia, Hyundai, Daihatsu and even Tata, and on another at Renault
we tried to be open minded, and look at every thing to find best value for money, except Nissan. we did not look at the Nissan Micra, so much for keeping an open mind. lol
believe in voting with my feet, past bad experience, and amongst the most cars that I have had
the one Saturday, once we were done running around, next to Germiston lake, there are a whole row of different manufactures
that day we started with looking at the new shape Chevy Spark, looks good and am impressed
we liked a lot of thinks about it, including the location of the door handles, the digital rev counter combo display, the speed is still analog, and the steering adjusted to suite me, the price here came close to 130k for top of the range and then there was still no service plan.
by now we had learned the difference between a service plan and a full maintenance plan
normally to us a service and a maitance plan meant me working on the cars on weekends.lol
next we drive to Daihatsu anew Kia dealership, about 400m away, with Tata in between them
as mentioned by other members, Daihatsu has gotten expensive, as is my general opinion of Toyota
never the less we like the little cars and hence we went to look
as we walked in there was a Mazda MX5, second hand, and though, ummmm, can like to drive this around!!!! lol
we looked, took some pics of me sitting in the car, sent it to friends saying it was my new car, and soon friends were looking at it, and nearly traded on his lumina on the little MX5. lol
however the cup holder on the drivers door, irritated me even just sitting in the car for the photo
so we managed to have a look at the Kia Picanto and the new Kia Rio
both very impressive cars
the Picanto, comes in a 1.0 and a 1.2, both come in manual and auto
top of the range 1.2 manual 119k and then they are full house very comfortable, did not test drive, as in the mean time we were shown the Rio, that comes in a 1.2 and a 1.4
the 1.2 is a 1.25 actually and see it as being closer to a 1.3
there is only one model variety for the 1.2 Rio, or would that be a lack of variety. lol
and that is 140k with a service plan, witch is a plus over the Picanto
and at moments like this things can get carried away, as we started looking at the entry level 1.4 that goes for 157k and yes it does have a lot of extra features
and then the idea of my daily run around that could also be used as a weekend run around for the family comes up again, as we get carried away
even with the wife there for brakes, things can get carried away.
a few weeks later we decided time for the test drives, and we were very keen on the Rio 1.2
however none were available and no 1.2s were available for a test drive
as by this time we had come to some sort of senses as the idea was a daily run around for me, and spending extra on the 1.4, was not part of the plan
the top of the range 1.4 goes for 171k, with no leather seats
in between that, saw a advert on the net for the Renault Sandero, from R1687 per month, and that got my attention, in the mean time we seen the Stepaway model on the road, its a little raised, similar to the VW Polo Cross, and it looked very nice
so popped in a dealer the one day on the way to work, and it looked ok on the inside, however not as nice as some of the other cars that we had seen
the Stepaway goes for 149k
the steering does not adjust at all, and hence just as good as the GWM for me to get in and out
think they said the seat adjusts up and down, however the higher I sit the better when I get gout in my knees, and need to get out of the car
it has a 1.6 8v motor, believe some old donkey motor that is very reliable and durable, similar to the hiluxes. lol
it has a cam belt and that to me was a big minus, as last year had a cam belt go on the opel
so that would mean extra service cost, think they spoke about around 4k for a cam belt service, and here I stand to be corrected. however a service plan was extra, however its a big car inside
another negative is that what they call a standard equipment radio, is a locally fitted Sony radio, with a detachable face
besides that believe in voting with my feet, and hence will have nothing to do with Sony
spare wheel sits on the outside under the boot, like on our bakkies, and we all know how those get stolen, even though on the Renault the release was on the inside of the boot, to me it spells risk
then, this specific dealer, at the Glen, me had explained that the idea was to only buy after August, the lady asked for my number and I explained that I did not wish to be bothered, and was assured that it would not happen, however in case some good deal came up, so I parted with my number
week later while walking into the Doctor's consulting room, I get a phone a phone, me asked if she could phone me in 30 min time? ?
next day still nothing
so they got it from me, if this is how they do things before I buy a car, what happens after they have my money? ? ?
the wife also wished to see the Sandero so we popped in to another dealer.
and whilst there, saw the Twingo, its a 1.2, similar to the Aygo in size, with all the bells and wistels, spacious inside, sat very comfortable, would of also been light on fuel, however 147k, and it include a service plan for that price, if memory serves me right
earlier on had also looked at the Citroen C1
don't remember the exact price that I was given however think that I might not of looked at the top of the range
service was pleasant and friendly
we also had a look at Fiat, and despite my preconceived ideas, have been told of families who have multiple Fiats and have had no issues, however have seen way too many standing on the side of the road, and electric windows that don't work at the toll gates, with people opening doors to pay.
could be a case of how they are looked after, however that is my perception
went in to look at the Panda, and ended up also looking at the 500 and the new Punto
the Panda are very nice, however can't remember if it was the Panda or the Sandero or both that the boot only opens with the key, and seeing that where I work, security suppose to search/look in the boot when driving in and out, the idea of getting out unlocking, closing, stopping and restarting the car every time, is not on my to do list.
besides the extra wear and tear on the starter
can't remember the exact amount however the bottom of the range went from around 100k to around 120k for the better equipped model
steering is adjustable, however not as much as I wished for however not as bad others
we were shown the new Fiats Punto before they were released in the back, they were/are cheaper then the old model
old model around 147k, new model 127k and better equipped
however it did not tickle my fancy
the 500
if it was priced different, could of fallen for this one
a lot of great fun features, however madly over priced, Basic model 144k
all the way to 212k for top of the range
have heard that there will be major changes to pricing
and the new Panda is due for release in Europe
later visited chevy again and had a better look at the Spark, and even the sonic
have no prices written down for the sonic even though the salesmen gave me his card and a pamphlet, however the sonic is over 150k with no service plan
we also had a look at the new shape Fiesta, and keep in my mind am a Ford fan, however did not enjoy the feel of the car
they do have some good well priced deals, as does Mazda on the Mazda2
however don't recall those exact prices
somewhere 130-140k upwards depending on speck
was not well that day so maybe that could explain why I did not get comfortable in those cars
in this need to add the Ford Figo. don't remember much about this one either, sorry
was sick on that day
on a different occasion, think on the same day as the Mazda 5, also had a look at Hyundai
the i10, Atos (tos car lol) and the Getz
there are currently big specials on Atos think 94k and 1st payment in July, for a well speked car, however found it the smallest car that I sat it, hence wasent in there very long
the i10, is again built on the same platform as the Kia Picanto, however look completely different and even feel different inside
self think the centre console robs knee space for the longer guys like us
the salesmen also showed me some well priced Getz, however all second hand as its no longer available as new, friend has one and they are very nice
can't remember the price of the i10, however similar to the Kia Picanto
last the Tata, yep we had no choice, lol
while waiting for the one sales lady, there was one standing there, the strange thing we saw on the Tata was a big label on the bonet that indicated that this was the front of the car, we found this very funny
and as we were trying to take a Kia Rio for a test drive, and they are all next door to each other in the place, we reframed from making our usual coments out loud
in between all this had seen the Toyota advert advertising the Aygo 3door
105k for the wild, and think 97/98k for the fresh
for the extra features, the wild was well worth the money
and might as well tell this part of the storry here now
the dealer, halfway Toyota Ormonde had the wild for 105k other dealers had them for 108, did not know it at the time, however my bad experience at halfway Toyota dealer continued
self believe that couz I wear overalls and safety boots during the day, that I don't seem to get service when walking in there, evetualy let rip, and got helped
arange that we do the test drive on the Saturday and was told no problem
on Saturday, when we arrived at Kia, called to make sure all was ok for a test drive, salesmen said he would call me back in a few min time
about 40min later when leaving Kia, had not had a phone call
called him again and he sounded like a headless chicken
so we went to Rand Stadium Toyota, where we went for a test drive, in a 5 door Aygo fresh
their price was 108k on the 3 door wild, however they would match the 105k of the other dealer
wife was impressed, Was however a little disappointed with the power, however there 2 big people in the car and a small salesman in the car with the aircon on, on the uphill between Alberton and Camoro offramp.
for this that don't know its very steep hill, and self use it to test my cars to see if they are still in tune and performing well
the day of my son's Bday, was early to pick up the wife, and so decided to pop in to Parktown Toyota in Empire road and waste some time
also took a while to get someone to notice me, so decided to go sit inside a new Yaris and had a nice BBM chat with the wife till someone noticed me. lol
Know that I am difficult lol
we had looked at the new shape Yaris, and they have become expensive as well, and for the purpose of a daily runaround it was taken off the list specially when compared to the Aygo wild
have prices for the Yaris, however can't remember for what model was given the price, so will rather omit those prices
so asked for a price on the 3 door wild Aygo, luckily was sitting when the woman gave me the price
99 900
uh
are you sure? ?
does that include VAT? ? ?
what have you guys left out that other dealers have in their cars
was reasured that is was the same car, so got the price on a card and off I was happy that I had found a huge bargain
next day went to the bank, aranged for finance, wanted below prime, and every one was telling its very difficult and I won't get bellow prime
with approved finance of 10.1, and the woman at the bank telling me its a very good rate, and armed with a phone number to discuss the rate, was off to the dealer to get an invoice for the bank to proceed with the paper work
and here the pawpaw hit the fan and I stripped and lit my short little fuse
the salesman had made a mistake on the price, she had given me their price for the fresh, wanted the wild
she said she could match the 105k of the other dealer, said not interested, told her straight for that I will go the other dealer, and walked out
the wife works up the road, and was on my way there to collect something
there she had to keep me quiet a few times as I was talking loud and was not using nice words
stupid me had walked out leaving the business card with the price behind
so went back, and did not expect to get it back
was told that it had been throughn away, I got the bin and started pulling out the pieces
she had sent me a sms just before I walked in, with a revised price of 104 951, including the on the road costs
agreed to accept on condition that I also got a set of mats
so that was done, and the paper work went ahead
by that time my bank had phoned me back and was offered a rate of 9%
Toyota finance, said they would better that deal, still waiting, told my bank that, and they bettered that deal, got 8.5% in the end, happy with that.
have now already done over 500km
and am loving jt
aircon works great, feels great to drive
have a good mechanical condition opel Corsa sedan that was the wife's before she got her Daihatsu Materia, that has done duty for two years with me, its been reasonable.
its had its issues, however high mileage, was bough second hand before my time. . . . .
we had discussed getting a small vehicle, as a run around for me, preferably new, however a good deal on a nice demo, could of also done the trick
just like we did our homework when buying the quad, so we planned on doing it with the car purchase
the quads, and there is less to chose from then with the cars, took us three months to decide on each of the three times that we bought quads
the car needed to be comfortable, and durable and economical on fuel and to run
some might lough, however some of the Chinese brands have big reputations else where in the world, and due to me chasing best value for money, we looked at the GWM Florid, now here could of gone for the cheapest, however, thought if we going to spend the money, might as well do it right and get the top of the range model.
so we looked at the Florid Cross, it has roof rails, think its a little raised, and looks like a little SUV, like the Polo Cros is to the normal Polo
the top of the range, that goes for 130k had all bells and wistels and seemed a little expensive for a Chinese car. JMO
any case the list of features justified it, believe the motor is the same as the Daihatsu 1.5, witch is also has the Toyota link the body was based on the Auris with different cosmetics. no problem with this one either
however the getting in and out was almost a problem, as I am big wise length and breath wise. lol
the stering adjusts however not enough, and as a result we looked at these cars twice
not sure in witch order, however the one Saturday we looked at chevy spark, Kia, Hyundai, Daihatsu and even Tata, and on another at Renault
we tried to be open minded, and look at every thing to find best value for money, except Nissan. we did not look at the Nissan Micra, so much for keeping an open mind. lol
believe in voting with my feet, past bad experience, and amongst the most cars that I have had
the one Saturday, once we were done running around, next to Germiston lake, there are a whole row of different manufactures
that day we started with looking at the new shape Chevy Spark, looks good and am impressed
we liked a lot of thinks about it, including the location of the door handles, the digital rev counter combo display, the speed is still analog, and the steering adjusted to suite me, the price here came close to 130k for top of the range and then there was still no service plan.
by now we had learned the difference between a service plan and a full maintenance plan
normally to us a service and a maitance plan meant me working on the cars on weekends.lol
next we drive to Daihatsu anew Kia dealership, about 400m away, with Tata in between them
as mentioned by other members, Daihatsu has gotten expensive, as is my general opinion of Toyota
never the less we like the little cars and hence we went to look
as we walked in there was a Mazda MX5, second hand, and though, ummmm, can like to drive this around!!!! lol
we looked, took some pics of me sitting in the car, sent it to friends saying it was my new car, and soon friends were looking at it, and nearly traded on his lumina on the little MX5. lol
however the cup holder on the drivers door, irritated me even just sitting in the car for the photo
so we managed to have a look at the Kia Picanto and the new Kia Rio
both very impressive cars
the Picanto, comes in a 1.0 and a 1.2, both come in manual and auto
top of the range 1.2 manual 119k and then they are full house very comfortable, did not test drive, as in the mean time we were shown the Rio, that comes in a 1.2 and a 1.4
the 1.2 is a 1.25 actually and see it as being closer to a 1.3
there is only one model variety for the 1.2 Rio, or would that be a lack of variety. lol
and that is 140k with a service plan, witch is a plus over the Picanto
and at moments like this things can get carried away, as we started looking at the entry level 1.4 that goes for 157k and yes it does have a lot of extra features
and then the idea of my daily run around that could also be used as a weekend run around for the family comes up again, as we get carried away
even with the wife there for brakes, things can get carried away.
a few weeks later we decided time for the test drives, and we were very keen on the Rio 1.2
however none were available and no 1.2s were available for a test drive
as by this time we had come to some sort of senses as the idea was a daily run around for me, and spending extra on the 1.4, was not part of the plan
the top of the range 1.4 goes for 171k, with no leather seats
in between that, saw a advert on the net for the Renault Sandero, from R1687 per month, and that got my attention, in the mean time we seen the Stepaway model on the road, its a little raised, similar to the VW Polo Cross, and it looked very nice
so popped in a dealer the one day on the way to work, and it looked ok on the inside, however not as nice as some of the other cars that we had seen
the Stepaway goes for 149k
the steering does not adjust at all, and hence just as good as the GWM for me to get in and out
think they said the seat adjusts up and down, however the higher I sit the better when I get gout in my knees, and need to get out of the car
it has a 1.6 8v motor, believe some old donkey motor that is very reliable and durable, similar to the hiluxes. lol
it has a cam belt and that to me was a big minus, as last year had a cam belt go on the opel
so that would mean extra service cost, think they spoke about around 4k for a cam belt service, and here I stand to be corrected. however a service plan was extra, however its a big car inside
another negative is that what they call a standard equipment radio, is a locally fitted Sony radio, with a detachable face
besides that believe in voting with my feet, and hence will have nothing to do with Sony
spare wheel sits on the outside under the boot, like on our bakkies, and we all know how those get stolen, even though on the Renault the release was on the inside of the boot, to me it spells risk
then, this specific dealer, at the Glen, me had explained that the idea was to only buy after August, the lady asked for my number and I explained that I did not wish to be bothered, and was assured that it would not happen, however in case some good deal came up, so I parted with my number
week later while walking into the Doctor's consulting room, I get a phone a phone, me asked if she could phone me in 30 min time? ?
next day still nothing
so they got it from me, if this is how they do things before I buy a car, what happens after they have my money? ? ?
the wife also wished to see the Sandero so we popped in to another dealer.
and whilst there, saw the Twingo, its a 1.2, similar to the Aygo in size, with all the bells and wistels, spacious inside, sat very comfortable, would of also been light on fuel, however 147k, and it include a service plan for that price, if memory serves me right
earlier on had also looked at the Citroen C1
don't remember the exact price that I was given however think that I might not of looked at the top of the range
service was pleasant and friendly
we also had a look at Fiat, and despite my preconceived ideas, have been told of families who have multiple Fiats and have had no issues, however have seen way too many standing on the side of the road, and electric windows that don't work at the toll gates, with people opening doors to pay.
could be a case of how they are looked after, however that is my perception
went in to look at the Panda, and ended up also looking at the 500 and the new Punto
the Panda are very nice, however can't remember if it was the Panda or the Sandero or both that the boot only opens with the key, and seeing that where I work, security suppose to search/look in the boot when driving in and out, the idea of getting out unlocking, closing, stopping and restarting the car every time, is not on my to do list.
besides the extra wear and tear on the starter
can't remember the exact amount however the bottom of the range went from around 100k to around 120k for the better equipped model
steering is adjustable, however not as much as I wished for however not as bad others
we were shown the new Fiats Punto before they were released in the back, they were/are cheaper then the old model
old model around 147k, new model 127k and better equipped
however it did not tickle my fancy
the 500
if it was priced different, could of fallen for this one
a lot of great fun features, however madly over priced, Basic model 144k
all the way to 212k for top of the range
have heard that there will be major changes to pricing
and the new Panda is due for release in Europe
later visited chevy again and had a better look at the Spark, and even the sonic
have no prices written down for the sonic even though the salesmen gave me his card and a pamphlet, however the sonic is over 150k with no service plan
we also had a look at the new shape Fiesta, and keep in my mind am a Ford fan, however did not enjoy the feel of the car
they do have some good well priced deals, as does Mazda on the Mazda2
however don't recall those exact prices
somewhere 130-140k upwards depending on speck
was not well that day so maybe that could explain why I did not get comfortable in those cars
in this need to add the Ford Figo. don't remember much about this one either, sorry
was sick on that day
on a different occasion, think on the same day as the Mazda 5, also had a look at Hyundai
the i10, Atos (tos car lol) and the Getz
there are currently big specials on Atos think 94k and 1st payment in July, for a well speked car, however found it the smallest car that I sat it, hence wasent in there very long
the i10, is again built on the same platform as the Kia Picanto, however look completely different and even feel different inside
self think the centre console robs knee space for the longer guys like us
the salesmen also showed me some well priced Getz, however all second hand as its no longer available as new, friend has one and they are very nice
can't remember the price of the i10, however similar to the Kia Picanto
last the Tata, yep we had no choice, lol
while waiting for the one sales lady, there was one standing there, the strange thing we saw on the Tata was a big label on the bonet that indicated that this was the front of the car, we found this very funny
and as we were trying to take a Kia Rio for a test drive, and they are all next door to each other in the place, we reframed from making our usual coments out loud
in between all this had seen the Toyota advert advertising the Aygo 3door
105k for the wild, and think 97/98k for the fresh
for the extra features, the wild was well worth the money
and might as well tell this part of the storry here now
the dealer, halfway Toyota Ormonde had the wild for 105k other dealers had them for 108, did not know it at the time, however my bad experience at halfway Toyota dealer continued
self believe that couz I wear overalls and safety boots during the day, that I don't seem to get service when walking in there, evetualy let rip, and got helped
arange that we do the test drive on the Saturday and was told no problem
on Saturday, when we arrived at Kia, called to make sure all was ok for a test drive, salesmen said he would call me back in a few min time
about 40min later when leaving Kia, had not had a phone call
called him again and he sounded like a headless chicken
so we went to Rand Stadium Toyota, where we went for a test drive, in a 5 door Aygo fresh
their price was 108k on the 3 door wild, however they would match the 105k of the other dealer
wife was impressed, Was however a little disappointed with the power, however there 2 big people in the car and a small salesman in the car with the aircon on, on the uphill between Alberton and Camoro offramp.
for this that don't know its very steep hill, and self use it to test my cars to see if they are still in tune and performing well
the day of my son's Bday, was early to pick up the wife, and so decided to pop in to Parktown Toyota in Empire road and waste some time
also took a while to get someone to notice me, so decided to go sit inside a new Yaris and had a nice BBM chat with the wife till someone noticed me. lol
Know that I am difficult lol
we had looked at the new shape Yaris, and they have become expensive as well, and for the purpose of a daily runaround it was taken off the list specially when compared to the Aygo wild
have prices for the Yaris, however can't remember for what model was given the price, so will rather omit those prices
so asked for a price on the 3 door wild Aygo, luckily was sitting when the woman gave me the price
99 900
uh
are you sure? ?
does that include VAT? ? ?
what have you guys left out that other dealers have in their cars
was reasured that is was the same car, so got the price on a card and off I was happy that I had found a huge bargain
next day went to the bank, aranged for finance, wanted below prime, and every one was telling its very difficult and I won't get bellow prime
with approved finance of 10.1, and the woman at the bank telling me its a very good rate, and armed with a phone number to discuss the rate, was off to the dealer to get an invoice for the bank to proceed with the paper work
and here the pawpaw hit the fan and I stripped and lit my short little fuse
the salesman had made a mistake on the price, she had given me their price for the fresh, wanted the wild
she said she could match the 105k of the other dealer, said not interested, told her straight for that I will go the other dealer, and walked out
the wife works up the road, and was on my way there to collect something
there she had to keep me quiet a few times as I was talking loud and was not using nice words
stupid me had walked out leaving the business card with the price behind
so went back, and did not expect to get it back
was told that it had been throughn away, I got the bin and started pulling out the pieces
she had sent me a sms just before I walked in, with a revised price of 104 951, including the on the road costs
agreed to accept on condition that I also got a set of mats
so that was done, and the paper work went ahead
by that time my bank had phoned me back and was offered a rate of 9%
Toyota finance, said they would better that deal, still waiting, told my bank that, and they bettered that deal, got 8.5% in the end, happy with that.
have now already done over 500km
and am loving jt
aircon works great, feels great to drive