Do you think we should think about our net worth before thinking to buy any car? It is important to determine the price that you can pay. For instant, if your car cost you RM100k & your net worth is RM200k, then you have spent 50% of your net worth on the car.
Many people may have their dream of a car model that has caught their eye. Or probably the features of a car will make them driving more pleasurable. However, the first thing that you should consider is about your financial ability. Then only estimate what price range that you can afford. Am I right?
There are 2 common thing that you should think carefully and plan wisely:
i) Down payment – How much can you pay for your deposit in cash
ii) Monthly payment – If you plan to get car loan, then what is the maximum payment that you can afford each month?
My financial advise for you: It’s better to put down as much first deposit as you can (preferably at least 20%, for me, I will try to put 50%), this is to minimize the amount of money that you need to borrow, meanwhile it can reduce monthly payment and the amount of car interest that you will pay at the end. Plus, buying car is not just installment; we need to take into account maintenance, fuel etc.
Why We Should Buy Car Even Malaysia Car So Expensive?
Honestly, I wish that I could make use of all the public transports if they were well established. However, Malaysia public transport still disappointed us at this moment. So, we cannot fully rely on it.
New Car vs Old Car
My colleague bought a second hand Proton Wira, but ended up forking out his money for maintenance every month. So, if we know nuts about car, it is always advisable to get a new car.
My conclusion: You drive must correspond to how much you earn, not how much you are worth. Just to buy car for show off is not always a good idea !!! This is because owning a car is a liability or not all depends on whether the car said is still on loan or fully paid. If fully paid then the car should be considered as an asset.
My wife and I purchased Malaysian Proton roughly 11 years ago.Car still going strong with many miles.
The key to a second hand car is the same no matter where its made.Previous treatment ,maintenance and general up-keep are deciding factors.
When one does not know beans about a car he or she cannot make a purchase alone without running the risk of buying a bad car.
It is always recommended to have a mechanic look over the vehicle before buying.
We have been happy with the performance of the Proton.
The recommendation on down-payment is very sound. Larger down-payment guarantees lower payment/interest.
A car is a necessity for me cos public transport is hopeless in PJ/KL.
And I think buying an expensive car is such a waste of money! It’s never a good investment and I would say I need a simple car that help me get from one point to another safely.
Besides, why buy expensive cars and attract robbers? Even if you are wealthy, I would advice driving a cheaper car or even an old car so as to avoid being robbed!
My proton is also around 11 years and it has been still used until today. We should always get a reliable mechanic to service your cars or else they will usually ask you to change a lot of parts. So far, most of the mechanics are not reliable at all. Too bad… 🙁
I think it’s a great idea to place the biggest deposit that one can afford in order to drive down the long-range overall cost with interest. I would rather just pay for the whole car in one lump sum than to donate my money to a bank.
i believe we should not put too much money on downpayment. 10% is enough. it is better to put the rest of your saving into ASB or ASW. can you comment on that?
I am earning around $4K per month, do you think I can afford a car installment of $900 per month? My husband and I brought a house with $1500 intsallment per month. We don’t have children yet.
For me… New car is better than second hand car. But better don’t buy expensive car in Malaysia (due to high tax) unless you have lot of money to burn. 😉
except buying new car price is 2x more than its value / worth details of new car purchases in Malaysia
Nerwen: assuming ur husband is also earning 5-6k, then your case is very common and typical. The $1,500 house installment is most probably 25-30 years. $900 car loan sounds fine in general, try to minimize the loan period ie. to 3-5 years and avoid long term loan like 5-7 years. ( car loan rate is 1.9x more than house loan )
Well I may be different from you becuase i’m not local, but I was wondering about something and i said to myself you better ask the local they may have an idea that wil help me.. i’m international student studying in kuantan pahang i found out that the university hostel is far from the campus so i was hoping to find a car by loan to go back and forth to the university.. is there anybody have an IDEA please don’t keep silent
I am not a local and I earn around 37,000 rm a month from my job overseas. I cannot afford a nice house or a nice car here. I feel sick when I look at the prices of cars here. Malaysian govt. better change its policies or else I am taking my business elsewhere.
@Amasha You better pray for us to overthrown BN in next election, else you better take your business elsewhere now, especially when Ringgit appreciated so much without much (good) reason.
Don’t just look at the cost of a car, look at how much you need to earn (pre-tax) to afford a car (post-tax)
More info @ http://chongkonghui.blogspot.com/2010/09/after-tax-money.html
Thank you for sharing your thoughts. I really appreciate
your efforts and I will be waiting for your further write ups thank you once again.