Good evening nairalanders and the auto gurus in the house. A friend neighbour needs advice as he intends getting his first car. He is not on nairaland. I have given him some advice and the options have been narrowed down to 3. Please give your honest opinions and reasons as he is viewing every comment as he is going to be reading your advice from my PC.
His salary ranges from 50k to 60k per month.
His budget for buying and doing any work on the car (if it requires any work) is 450 - 550k
He is looking at a Nigeria used or tokunboh
He intends using the car from home to work and church and for town driving mostly. Travelling can come once in a quarter.
He is single for now but intends getting married next year.

Here are the ones I suggested for him:

1995-2000 Mercedes-benz C-class, 1998 -2000 BMW 3- Series/coja (323i or 325i) and Golf 4.

I am using EOD currently and he fell in love with it and I told him that he may not see a really good EOD for his current budget.

Please advice him as he is viewing this thread now.
Thanks.

Don't go near those German cars at all nf moreover his budget won't get dat sef,would advice u go for a small Honda Civic,golf3 or Corolla as a first timer,if u over me a gud money I'll gv u my Honda Civic but not low budget,chat me up on Whatapp for details 07065629472

This Oga above me is sharp. I think the bmw coja makes sense. The maintenance wount cut a hole in his pocket and its reliable, not to talk of fun to drive

I once ran into a Coja BMW 320 manual coupe at N650, 000.

It was a real bargain.

He should buy any of these;
golf 3 or 4
Toyota Camry 99
Toyota corolla 2000

His resources will drain with EOD.
Because based on his salary, he wouldn't be able to maintain it.

Thanks everyone.
But I need more explanations as to why he should go for the aforementioned.
Thanks again

Bisjosh:
He should buy any of these;
golf 3 or 4
Toyota Camry 99
Toyota corolla 2000

His resources will drain with EOD.
Because based on his salary, he wouldn't be able to maintain it.

He is scared of theft for the camry. He wishes to go German
How reliable is the vr6 of the Golf 4?

ba7man:
I once ran into a Coja BMW 320 manual coupe at N650, 000.

It was a real bargain.

Thanks.
I heard that the BMW overheats.
Also, how good are the Nigerian used for about 600k?

Anchor84:
Don't go near those German cars at all nf moreover his budget won't get dat sef,would advice u go for a small Honda Civic,golf3 or Corolla as a first timer,if u over me a gud money I'll gv u my Honda Civic but not low budget,chat me up on Whatapp for details 07065629472

How reliable are the civics of 2000 - 2005? I'm sure that's the I need you're referring to.

How good and balanced are they on 140kmph or 160kmph?

ba7man:
I once ran into a Coja BMW 320 manual coupe at N650, 000.

It was a real bargain.

Thanks.
I heard that the BMW overheats.
Also, how good are the Nigerian used for about 600k?

Philadelphia:


Thanks.
I heard that the BMW overheats.
Also, how good are the Nigerian used for about 600k?

I've seen cases of them over heating but with proper care of the radiator and the right coolant, that shouldn't be a problem.

Check properly at that price for what you're buying, there's a probability of picking a bargain or a wreck at that price range.

I was lucky to run into that one...... being a manual, 2.0L engine and 2 door without leather seats helped lower the price.

He should buy golf3 and leave story.



He's salary is too small to maintain all those cars he's looking at.

Philadelphia:


How reliable are the civics of 2000 - 2005? I'm sure that's the I need you're referring to.

How good and balanced are they on 140kmph or 160kmph?

mine is a 97/98 model but very ok nd balanced,would like to sell to sum1 who will maintain it well cos I know it's a very gud car with very gud Engine,it's a very gud car he'll enjoy..

idu1:
He should buy golf3 and leave story.



He's salary is too small to maintain all those cars he's looking at.

dats it,he shld not even try a vr6 golf4 or even any Golf because of electrical issues of golf4,Golf3 is just too gud for him or even Honda Civic nd if he's lucky to get a 2000 Corolla for even 500k with very sound Engine.

idu1:
He should buy golf3 and leave story.



He's salary is too small to maintain all those cars he's looking at.

True talk. To maintain car no be maimai. He may end up spending about 1/4 of that his salary on fuelling alone monthly (if not more).

Philadelphia:


How reliable are the civics of 2000 - 2005? I'm sure that's the I need you're referring to.

How good and balanced are they on 140kmph or 160kmph?

far from balanced unless you are fully loaded they begin to float at that speed range. .... A Peugeot 206 showed me pepper with my 2003 civic last year and I have gone German ever since. The German machines serves their masters faithfully. just be faithful to them.

I WILL RECOMMEND 3 CARS 4 HIM, TOYOTA COROLLA, 2000 MODEL. WEN IT COMES 2 FUEL ECONOMY, IT'S ONE CAR DAT COMPETE WITH TOYOTA YARIS. VERY CHEAP TO MAINTAIN, N HAS THIRD HAND VALUE. HONDA CIVIC, EUROPEAN SPEC, 2000 MODEL. DIS IS ONE CAR HAUSA PPLE LOVE SO MUCH. IT'S JUST LIKE D COROLLA. I ONCE DROVE ONE FROM OJODU TO SAGAMU N BACK TO OJODU WITH ONLY 500 NAIRA FUEL. N FINALLY, GOLF 3. ALWAYS RELIABLE WEN EVA U NEED IT.

Danabu:


far from balanced unless you are fully loaded they begin to float at that speed range. .... A Peugeot 206 showed me pepper with my 2003 civic last year and I have gone German ever since. The German machines serves their masters faithfully. just be faithful to them.

Thanks Bro. Same thing a BMW E90 did to me last year also. In my EOD, I was doing 140kmph and the BMW just fizzled from my back and I throttled to about 160kmph in order to meet up but the gap kept increasing. It was just for the help of some policemen who mounted road block that stopped the guy and I passed him. Then I reduced my speed to 140kmph. Not more than 5 minutes after the road block experience, the same BMW just zoomed passed me like he was quarrelling with me. This time, I just pretended like I didn't notice what happened

Since then, my love for BMW when it comes to speed and balance grew.

I made up my mind recently to get a BMW E36 328i or 325i manual and then love-vendor the motor. I plan to use it as my long distance waka waka.

Thanks for the advice.

buchilino:
I WILL RECOMMEND 3 CARS 4 HIM, TOYOTA COROLLA, 2000 MODEL. WEN IT COMES 2 FUEL ECONOMY, IT'S ONE CAR DAT COMPETE WITH TOYOTA YARIS. VERY CHEAP TO MAINTAIN, N HAS THIRD HAND VALUE. HONDA CIVIC, EUROPEAN SPEC, 2000 MODEL. DIS IS ONE CAR HAUSA PPLE LOVE SO MUCH. IT'S JUST LIKE D COROLLA. I ONCE DROVE ONE FROM OJODU TO SAGAMU N BACK TO OJODU WITH ONLY 500 NAIRA FUEL. N FINALLY, GOLF 3. ALWAYS RELIABLE WEN EVA U NEED IT.

dis was exactly wat I said too,Honda civic Europe is wat I use nd I also adviced to go for 99/2000 Corolla too whc I trust nd even prefer these to golf3

Philadelphia:


How reliable are the civics of 2000 - 2005? I'm sure that's the I need you're referring to.

How good and balanced are they on 140kmph or 160kmph?

I own a 2005 civic (coupe) American spec and it drives excellent. Fuel efficient and very balanced on those speeds. It's a good car though I doubt your friend can get one on that budget. A golf 3 is quite good (still own one) and they are the cheapest to maintain and are very rugged. A golf 4 is more beautiful but I can't talk about maintenance cost compared to golf 3. Best wishes.

caesaraba:


I own a 2005 civic (coupe) American spec and it drives excellent. Fuel efficient and very balanced on those speeds. It's a good car though I doubt your friend can get one on that budget. A golf 3 is quite good (still own one) and they are the cheapest to maintain and are very rugged. A golf 4 is more beautiful but I can't talk about maintenance cost compared to golf 3. Best wishes.

Thanks so much.