LebGeeks

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#1 November 24 2016

Red7
Member

Buying a new car

Hey, I want to sell my Nissan Tiida and don't quite know what to get instead and where from.

Here's what I'm looking for:

- New
- Reasonable price
- Coupe or Sedan
- Urban (if we can call our streets as such)
- Reasonable MPG
- Appealing body (for instance not a Smart)
- Automatic

I hope there's some car connoiseurs hiding around here who can help me or redirect me to a better place.

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#2 November 24 2016

Salloum
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Budget?

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#3 November 24 2016

Metalloy
Member

Re: Buying a new car

it depends on your budget, and in Lebanon I would recommend a crossover instead of coupe or sedan but anyway:
small budget: elantra
medium budget: civic,altima
in between budget: accord, maxima, c-class, 3series; genesis
big budget,  e class, 5 series
luxurious: suit yourself
some of these cars have coupe variations.

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#4 November 25 2016

Draguen
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Hey, with a medium to important budget, i recommend the nissan juke (it's a hate it or love it design).
It's compact enough to drive in tiny roads, the ground clearance allows you to drive on the sidewalk or fall in a pothole without having a broken back and without impacting the car mechanic too much.
Furthermore you should expect a 10 to 12 liter per 100 km when you live in Beirut.
The gear box is a cvt, that means that it compelty takes the joy out of driving but works well and is less prone  to failure.

I've been driving one for two years now, never had a single issue, plus as a bonus, rymco can "pimp"  the ride a bit with spoilers ect. If that's your thing.

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#5 November 25 2016

Red7
Member

Re: Buying a new car

HI don't think my budget would exceed $30,000 without registration and such. So high-end cars aren't an option.

Metalloy, I've made some research and besides from the Civic the rest is a bit high. Some cars that got my intention:

- 2017 Chevy Malibu LS for around $27,000 (there's also the less fancy and pricey Cruze)
- 2016 Honda Civic LX for around $24,750 + 1,800 registration fee (official price, contacted the seller)
- 2017 Mazda Mazda3 Core $24500
- Suzuki Swift Regular/Sport (sent a mail for prices and the sport one seems ideal for me)
(Prices are approximative because it's hard to find the true prices online)

Draguen, although it looks like an awesome car with a good price, I'm really not into SUVs.

What do you think about the cars I found ? Any other suggestions ?

As for the 2008 Tiida is there a better way to sell it than putting it in a garage and waiting for him to sell it ? Is the dealership the best option even though I might not buy a Nissan ?

Last edited by Red7 (November 25 2016)

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#6 November 25 2016

thegodfatherdany
Member

Re: Buying a new car

@Red7, your best bet is to post your car on OLX or facebook groups.

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#7 November 25 2016

Georges00
Member

Re: Buying a new car

I have a Seat Leon 2016.
I really love it.
You should also check Volkswagen cars, they might be cheaper than you think.

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#8 November 26 2016

Metalloy
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Suzuki are having a very strong year in terms is sale due to vitara, sx4 and sx4, and so it is a brand that I would be confident in buying their cars.
No direct experience with swift, but my sister got the latest vitara and I was really impressed so this brand went up on my list.

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#9 November 26 2016

Flakk
Member

Re: Buying a new car

The SEAT leon and the toledo are nice cars, you should check them out.

http://www.seatlebanon.com/models/model/Leon_5dr
http://www.seatlebanon.com/models/model/toledo

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#10 November 28 2016

Red7
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Thanks a lot, I study each suggestion.

I'm also kind of impressed when I see a Lebanese dealership with a decent website and including prices.

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#11 November 28 2016

Salloum
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Seat, Volkswagen, Skoda etc (all brands from VW Group) usually have expensive parts and will require lots of maintenance when the car is 5-6 years old. Speaking from experience.

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#12 November 28 2016

Georges00
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Red7 wrote:

Thanks a lot, I study each suggestion.

I'm also kind of impressed when I see a Lebanese dealership with a decent website and including prices.

Seat reply to their facebook messages if you want :)

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#13 November 28 2016

Red7
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Thanks for the info Salloum.

Georges, good to know ! Chevy and Honda (Lebanese dealerships) answer quickly to mails. Suzuki didn't answer yet neither on Facebook or by mail. The owner is my neighbor, the irony.

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#14 November 28 2016

Metalloy
Member

Re: Buying a new car

you are better off calling the dealerships

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#15 November 28 2016

Bahij.M
Member

Re: Buying a new car

My cousin recently bought a 2016 ford focus , its pretty nice for its price , and driving it is a blast as well , add to that the positive reviews from worldwide owners .

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#16 November 29 2016

Red7
Member

Re: Buying a new car

On my shortlist, thanks !

The 2017 Focus Trend is priced around $21,000 with registration (official numbers). It seems fair compared to the competition.

Last edited by Red7 (November 29 2016)

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#17 March 15 2023

scorz
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Wow, that's an old thread.
I'm looking for a new car these days (I don't mind getting a used one, a Rav4 or Crv/Pilot were my choices but I don't trust any Lebanese person selling a vehicle - sorry guys)

I narrowed it down to Skoda Scala (which is 20k + VAT(@15000) + registration(not sure how much) for a straightforward reason: Manual Handbrake. (All the other brands got them, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, etc...)

I've read tons of reviews about the Skoda  but I would like to know if anyone in Lebanon has any experience with them?

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#18 March 16 2023

Salloum
Member

Re: Buying a new car

scorz wrote:

Wow, that's an old thread.
I'm looking for a new car these days (I don't mind getting a used one, a Rav4 or Crv/Pilot were my choices but I don't trust any Lebanese person selling a vehicle - sorry guys)

I narrowed it down to Skoda Scala (which is 20k + VAT(@15000) + registration(not sure how much) for a straightforward reason: Manual Handbrake. (All the other brands got them, Toyota, Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, etc...)

I've read tons of reviews about the Skoda  but I would like to know if anyone in Lebanon has any experience with them?

Skodas are very good cars, however spare parts are more on the expensive side compared to say, Korean or Japanese vehicles. If I were you I'd find a good, clean car from abroad and import it myself.

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#19 March 16 2023

Guitaret
Member

Re: Buying a new car

I would second @Salloum advice, Lebanese car dealers has MASTERED the art of making a bad car look good. Unless you can buy a car from someone you know and trust, import a car yourself.

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#20 March 16 2023

scorz
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Thanks, guys.
My first choice was Toyota/Honda anyway, but I am not convinced electronic parking brakes are safe in the long run.

As for imports, I thought about it but with the current situation in the country I'm not sure how easy it will be + I have no idea how to do it.

Any idea if there are some kind of brokers in Lebanon that can be trusted to bid/import in my place?

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#21 March 16 2023

scorz
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Update: Got my eyes on a new Nissan sunny, it still has a manual handbrake which is great.
But not sure how reliable is it in Lebanon especially with the jouwar and all theses mountains roads

Edit: They have the damn EPS -  I think I'll restore my old Buick Regal and screw all new cars.

Edit#2: It appears EPS is not "less safe" than hydraulics so it looks like the Nissan Sunny is good enough now

Last edited by scorz (March 16 2023)

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#22 March 16 2023

mikasa
Member

Re: Buying a new car

for jouwar, driving on sidewalk, light ofroad on mud and snow, passing through a flooded street,  get an awd suv, thank god i have an suv because my car would be totaled long time ago.

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#23 March 18 2023

Guitaret
Member

Re: Buying a new car

mikasa wrote:

for jouwar, driving on sidewalk, light ofroad on mud and snow, passing through a flooded street,  get an awd suv, thank god i have an suv because my car would be totaled long time ago.

What SUV do you have?

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#24 March 18 2023

mikasa
Member

Re: Buying a new car

Guitaret wrote:
mikasa wrote:

for jouwar, driving on sidewalk, light ofroad on mud and snow, passing through a flooded street,  get an awd suv, thank god i have an suv because my car would be totaled long time ago.

What SUV do you have?


crv 2014

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#25 March 20 2023

Salloum
Member

Re: Buying a new car

scorz wrote:

Update: Got my eyes on a new Nissan sunny, it still has a manual handbrake which is great.
But not sure how reliable is it in Lebanon especially with the jouwar and all theses mountains roads

Edit: They have the damn EPS -  I think I'll restore my old Buick Regal and screw all new cars.

Edit#2: It appears EPS is not "less safe" than hydraulics so it looks like the Nissan Sunny is good enough now

I think the Sunny uses Nissan's CVT - if that's the case stay as far away as you can. Nissan CVTs are known for failing and/or being a huge headache. Also I don't see what the problem is with an electronic handbrake, 99% of new cars have that. It just activates it electronically instead of your arm having to snag it into place.

Last edited by Salloum (March 20 2023)

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