Well,
Due to some personal reasons, i had a choice of whether to refinance my trsuty ol' Satria Neo or buy a new car.
Been doing some reserch, with the current high interest of secondhand cars, refinancing would be quite costly.
So i decided to buy a new car, at least it's hassle free that way because it'll still be under warranty :)
Initially, i was looking at a Proton Persona H-Line because at a mothly payment of 600++ for 9 years, it seems quite reasonable especially i get all the nice stuffs like leather seats :p
But the thing that got me turned off was that Proton already announced they're gonna build a replacement model for Persona, codenamed "Persona R" with R stands for "Replacement"
So if i buy a Persona now & a replacement model comes out next year, the resale value gonna drop like hell *urgh*
Then,most of you guys probably know what is the Kia, or rather Naza Forte is..
Did a little research on it then emailed Naza HQ for a test drive. Quite prompt reply i guess because in a few days i could already get an appointment. So i went to Naza Kia TTDI to test drive a Forte 1.6SX.
Damn, love at 1st sight!
I love the gadgets, the Push-Start buttons, everything!~
With a price of RM81,800 & 2.9% interest, damn that's affordable.
After that, apparently next to Naza Kia was also a Peugeot Dealer, and the 207 was already there to be driven. So i signed up!~
The car doors seemed a bit hollow, and not as wide as the Forte. But let me tell you straight, the gearbox & engine is very live! Acceleration was awesome! The designers in Peugeot really concentrated on safety with design later in mind! It has everything, ABS, EBD, Shiftronic gearbox, extra brake lights in case you jammed brake to alert the rear drivers.
In fact, one thing i liked was the boot design, near perfect square! in case u didn't notice, most cars have a little space to cover for the wheel arches of the rear wheels. But for this 207, awesome design to maximize space!
So much attention to safety details was put to the car.
Mind you, with a price of RM72,000+, it's definitely worth to consider. But the rear design really doesn't suit my taste.
But it's definitely a car that gets the job done!
Then, came along polly.. LOL, pun intended.. Finally Proton unveiled Proton Inspira.
Basically it;s a rebadged Mitsubishi Lancer. But in order to tackle some critics, Proton did what it excels in, handling!
They tuned the suspensions just nice to our famous Malaysian roads!
Everything for less than under RM100,000.. wow.. what a day indeed..
So what did i choose to buy in the end?
Jeng Jeng Jeng!~
I chose Proton Inspira!
Why you ask?
Well, i'll be honest. I was ready to give my documents to the Kia saleswoman, but i had a chat with a used car manager, he gave me some insights that really opened my mind.
He said something like this,"Ive been in this business for too long, if you decided to buy the Forte & come to me 4 years later to sell, i can't guarantee i would want it anyway."
Plus the thing is, Forte is still a new car, & all of the Fortes in Malaysia right now are CBU. So even though there are warranties, there are possibilities that whenever u need spare parts, u have to order & wait for it
*sweat*
Well, the reason i didn't want the Inspira is because of the waiting period, hence why i chose the Forte since it has ready stock!~
But as fate had destined me to meet this manager, he suddenly said if i'm serious to get the Inspira, he could help me out.
He called a friend of his who was apparently a Sales Director in Proton Edar & asked him to help "adjust" for me. Basically i', jumping queue, instead of 1.5months waiting, hopefully i'll just need 2weeks!
LOLLLLL!!!!
Then the next morning i straight away met the guy & paid my deposit!
Now i'm waiting & hopefully loan approved by the bank..
Yay!~
Can't wait..
Oh btw, i'm selling off my 2007 Neo at 31K, and full settlement of the loan is 22.5k, so i still have 8.5k, so i used that as my downpayment for the Inspira.
And if you booked before 15th November 2010, you're entitled for 2 years Free Service inclusive of labour & parts..
*woohoooo*
Now i just need to wait..
hehehehe
p/s: lots of other websites have reviews on all the cars i mentioned, just google :p
