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purpleradish wroteThanks guys for all the useful information.

Based on your suggestions, I will stay away from used BMW's, due to their dubious origin and potentially high maintenance costs.

Toyota Yaris looks pretty good, I like its looks and the fact that it uses a CVT, either sedan or hatch would do (but I prefer hatch, it looks better).

The Yaris is just big enough for my needs, the engine (1.5L version) should provide just enough power for the occasional excursions out of Beirut. The interior looks a bit spartan and stripped out (even compared to Yaris from other markets). But it should be easy to drive around in the city. The CVT probably isn't going to provide the most sporty driving experience, but it should extract what little power the little 1.5L engine has. Being a Toyota, it should go on and go without breaking. I can find some 2015 examples for about $11k.

The C4 by comparison appears to be better value, it is a lot more car for the money, and a class bigger. Not to sure about long-term reliability and resale value though. There aren't that many advertisements for used C4's, so I presume it isn't that popular of a car over there? There is a 2016 one for $12k, pretty tempting.

What does it mean when sellers state 'company source' in their advertisements? Does it mean the car has been sourced through official dealership in Lebanon (i.e. not a private import), or an ex-company vehicle?
If you decided to go with a Japanese manufacturer, why don you check Mitsubishi Lancer?
kareem_nasser wrote
If you decided to go with a Japanese manufacturer, why don you check Mitsubishi Lancer?
Yeah, good suggestion, will keep an eye out for any good Lancers that turn up
purpleradish wroteWhat does it mean when sellers state 'company source' in their advertisements? Does it mean the car has been sourced through official dealership in Lebanon (i.e. not a private import), or an ex-company vehicle?
Exactly, this car was not used in another country and imported to Lebanon, it was bought from BUMC the official Toyota dealer and only driven in Lebanon.
Aly wrote
purpleradish wroteWhat does it mean when sellers state 'company source' in their advertisements? Does it mean the car has been sourced through official dealership in Lebanon (i.e. not a private import), or an ex-company vehicle?
Exactly, this car was not used in another country and imported to Lebanon, it was bought from BUMC the official Toyota dealer and only driven in Lebanon.
which means that it probably wasn't totaled and imported as spare parts here then rebuild. it could however have been totaled locally and repaired, because F logic.

Also, someone mentioned buying second hand from official dealerships, which in my opinion is B.S as i have been firsthand victim of a car that developed major issues 2 weeks after being bought from the official dealership, and who refused to do a single shit about it. it ended up costing me 3K + in repairs

your best bet is to find a good mechanic, i'm sure geeks here could recommend one, and take him with you whenever you are seriously considering a car, or take the car to him, also don't be cheap and pay him for his service, and absolutely do not go to a mechanic recommended by the seller.

Also, learn the basics on youtube on how to recognise a car that had major repairs.
purpleradish wrote The C4 by comparison appears to be better value, it is a lot more car for the money, and a class bigger. Not to sure about long-term reliability and resale value though. There aren't that many advertisements for used C4's, so I presume it isn't that popular of a car over there? There is a 2016 one for $12k, pretty tempting.
I drive a 10 year old C4.

Amazingly the 4 speed auto gearbox has held up so far. Outside of the gearbox being abnormally sluggish, it has only caused minor occasional trouble, as expected considering the age.

But it does show signs of wanting to fall apart and disintegrate.
Some plastic parts are brittle. I had a surprize the other day, big chunks of rubber started falling off the gearbox knob. Hot conditions in Lebanon do that. It is a French car (France being mostly a cool and flat country) and mostly made of cheap plastic.

Some say they made progress. Anyway I believe that for up to 5 years of age and even more you should be OK. If you pick a good engine/gearbox combo, it is quite enjoyable.
However the resale value will not be terrific I am sure.
Get a japanese cheap car..a honda..a hyundai..anhfhi5with cheap parts and simple mechanics
A 4 cylinders with good mileage
BMWs are for drivers, not for people who want to get around. Owning a BMW is expensive because they’re not very reliable. If you don’t care about driving experience it isn’t for you
Never buy a used German car if you're not willing to pay for its maintenance. I cringe every time I see a Merc, BMW or Audi that has an SRS, Check Engine light, etc..on the dashboard and the owner just doesn't want to pay the required amount to get it back to snuff.

I still own an E-Class from 1997 which was bought new and has been maintained at Gargour all its life, there's nothing that beats a well maintained car. Take care of the car and it will take care of you. Mercs are pretty much bulletproof in the drive train, it's all the electronics that make those car unreliable. BMWs have had engine and transmission issues ever since the early 2000s and the excessive use of plastics in critical areas in the engine bay as well as their trashy ZF transmissions.

You want rock-solid reliability go Japanese, especially Toyota & Honda.
Get a Toyota and an old Nokia phone.
rolf wroteGet a Toyota and an old Nokia phone.
Rule 11. Immortality discussions are not allowed.
I had a ton of old nokia phones including the 3310. The battery used to last at least 10 days. The only issue I had with it was the small call log size.
The last nokia phone I had was the C3 before I jumped ships to android phones.
They still make them! I have a new Nokia 105, I bought it a year ago to put my other SIM in it and see if anyone thinks about me (apparently quite a few telemarketers do).

Yes the call log is a problem I have noticed. Old calls just disappear - I guess the call log is allocated 32 bytes or something like that!

A battery charge lasts 5 days. It does not cost you $300 to repair every time it slips from your hand.

I would use Nokia as a main phone and forget about Android - but I would miss a few things:
- Whatsapp
- Maps
- Playing chess or games at home (I don't do it much outside home)

That's all, really.

Sorry I broke rule 11 again!
Just to be clear, what is your budget? And how long will you be staying in Lebanon?
hmmm.... the good old immortal Nokia and Toyota.,Now thinking back, I have never had a Nokia or Toyota die on me. In fact, I am waiting for Nokia 9 to become available, the cameras look pretty promising, despite mixed initial reviews, most of the problems should go away with an OS update with further optimisation
Johnaudi wroteJust to be clear, what is your budget? And how long will you be staying in Lebanon?
Budget will be around $10k, will need the car for about 3 years.

Don't mind paying a bit more for routine maintenance for a German car that is rear wheel drive and fun to drive. I am just worried that something expensive may break (like BMW's VANOS valves) and cost a fortune to fix.

On the other end of the spectrum, I also don't mind a cheap and cheerful Japanese or Korean car that can just zip around the city and fulfill my occasional excursion needs. Like the Yaris, Cerato or Accent. Honda City also looks pretty good, and it does appear to be slightly better equipped than others. Although Cerato is a class bigger (but it seems severely stripped down in terms of standard equipment level).

In fact, I have some fond memories driving a rental 1.6L Accent around, quite a zippy car. It wasn't the best driver's car, but it had enough go and was cheap enough so that I didn't have to worry too much. But I think the Accent in Lebanon is only 1.4L?
Buy a brand new kia from the company if you're only staying for 3 years. A nice picanto/rio will do the job as they have very low mpg. A Toyota or Nissan would do wonders for the long run, but that may be out of budget unless you're aiming for secondhand.
portaxeplayer wroteNever buy a used German car if you're not willing to pay for its maintenance. I cringe every time I see a Merc, BMW or Audi that has an SRS, Check Engine light, etc..on the dashboard and the owner just doesn't want to pay the required amount to get it back to snuff.

I still own an E-Class from 1997 which was bought new and has been maintained at Gargour all its life, there's nothing that beats a well maintained car. Take care of the car and it will take care of you. Mercs are pretty much bulletproof in the drive train, it's all the electronics that make those car unreliable. BMWs have had engine and transmission issues ever since the early 2000s and the excessive use of plastics in critical areas in the engine bay as well as their trashy ZF transmissions.

You want rock-solid reliability go Japanese, especially Toyota & Honda.
I have to disagree on your comment on the ZF transmissions, their new 8 speed on the 4 cylinder turbos is buttery smooth, too early to tell on reliability but so far so good
Salloum wrote
portaxeplayer wroteNever buy a used German car if you're not willing to pay for its maintenance. I cringe every time I see a Merc, BMW or Audi that has an SRS, Check Engine light, etc..on the dashboard and the owner just doesn't want to pay the required amount to get it back to snuff.

I still own an E-Class from 1997 which was bought new and has been maintained at Gargour all its life, there's nothing that beats a well maintained car. Take care of the car and it will take care of you. Mercs are pretty much bulletproof in the drive train, it's all the electronics that make those car unreliable. BMWs have had engine and transmission issues ever since the early 2000s and the excessive use of plastics in critical areas in the engine bay as well as their trashy ZF transmissions.

You want rock-solid reliability go Japanese, especially Toyota & Honda.
I have to disagree on your comment on the ZF transmissions, their new 8 speed on the 4 cylinder turbos is buttery smooth, too early to tell on reliability but so far so good
Okay, but at some point during 1999 till 2004 or 2005 i don't remember exactly, many bmw E46 models (mostly 323) suffered from no reverse issue and it was due to bad ZF transmission. You suddenly loose the reverse functionality and you cannot go backward with your car, you will have to rebuild or replace the transmission which is of course expensive.
That problem was so frequent they even made a website for it back then (noreverse.org)
rolf wrote
purpleradish wrote The C4 by comparison appears to be better value, it is a lot more car for the money, and a class bigger. Not to sure about long-term reliability and resale value though. There aren't that many advertisements for used C4's, so I presume it isn't that popular of a car over there? There is a 2016 one for $12k, pretty tempting.
I drive a 10 year old C4.

Amazingly the 4 speed auto gearbox has held up so far. Outside of the gearbox being abnormally sluggish, it has only caused minor occasional trouble, as expected considering the age.

But it does show signs of wanting to fall apart and disintegrate.
Some plastic parts are brittle. I had a surprize the other day, big chunks of rubber started falling off the gearbox knob. Hot conditions in Lebanon do that. It is a French car (France being mostly a cool and flat country) and mostly made of cheap plastic.

Some say they made progress. Anyway I believe that for up to 5 years of age and even more you should be OK. If you pick a good engine/gearbox combo, it is quite enjoyable.
However the resale value will not be terrific I am sure.
My second C3 transmission as did my first, Will sometimes without any reason or notice, go into safe mode(4 speed->2speed). Never again will i own a french car, toyotas are appealing, good engineering, cheap parts, and unlike citroen, mechanics don't cringe when they see your car's logo.
my friend why not checking Honda civic or city ? they are small for Beirut and great for your needs. i drive a 2000 accord 4 cylinder, and i get 240km/20 liters of fuel. it has reached +270 000 k.m this month and still drives like new, everyone in my family learnt to drive on this and used it as their first car, actually i am the 10th person driving this car. Hondas are very reliable and they have cheap parts. i am considering buying a 2015 crv for my wife and kids as those are great cars for family and change my accord with a new civic. i really recommend you to check civic and city of any year. those are solid built cars.
Ari wrotemy friend why not checking Honda civic or city ? they are small for Beirut and great for your needs. i drive a 2000 accord 4 cylinder, and i get 240km/20 liters of fuel. it has reached +270 000 k.m this month and still drives like new, everyone in my family learnt to drive on this and used it as their first car, actually i am the 10th person driving this car. Hondas are very reliable and they have cheap parts. i am considering buying a 2015 crv for my wife and kids as those are great cars for family and change my accord with a new civic. i really recommend you to check civic and city of any year. those are solid built cars.
I agree, japanese cars are amazing, Hondas are beater cars!

Edit: I just remembered, the new civic has a very sporty look!