LebGeeks

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#51 May 4 2019

Ari
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

I have alot of friends who bought Shangan and chana, they are relatively reliable but the engines are too loud and underpowered. Plus you shouldn't forget about safety, they are bad at that. Get a second hand Japanese instead of new Chinese

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#52 May 4 2019

Elitism Guru
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

Ari wrote:

I have alot of friends who bought Shangan and chana, they are relatively reliable but the engines are too loud and underpowered. Plus u shouldn't forget about safety, they are bad at that. Get a second hand Japanese instead of new Chinese

I have heard they have tons of gearbox issues, one of them has a vent (non hermetically sealed) in which dusts gets in and destroys it under 20k km.

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#53 May 12 2019

rolf
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

Hello, nobody mentioned Seat.
I have had a few friends buy (new) Seat cars, they are usually happy with them.

Last edited by rolf (May 12 2019)

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#54 May 12 2019

purpleradish
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

rolf wrote:

Hello, nobody mentioned Seat.
I have had a few friends buy (new) Seat cars, they are usually happy with them.

Yes, I wouldn't mind a Seat Leon, which is essentially a cheaper Golf, and supposedly sportier too?

What is the Leon's engine spec in Lebanon, 1.2T or 1.4T?

I have driven a 1.4T MK7 Golf for a few weeks, was quite impressed. It got the job done quite effectively getting me from point A to point B, and it had 'an air of premiumness' about it. But I did find it a bit 'soulless', almost too clinical.

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#55 May 12 2019

rolf
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

purpleradish wrote:
rolf wrote:

Hello, nobody mentioned Seat.
I have had a few friends buy (new) Seat cars, they are usually happy with them.

Yes, I wouldn't mind a Seat Leon, which is essentially a cheaper Golf, and supposedly sportier too?

What is the Leon's engine spec in Lebanon, 1.2T or 1.4T?

In my opinion pretty much so, like a Golf, but affordable new and less fancy.

I think it will potentially develop the same problem than a Golf if you have it for a long time and drive it hard.

I don't know details - I would guess 1.4T, because someone told me about a model that has 180HP. I know they did much progress with engines but I doubt they got 180HP out of a production 1.2 yet!

They have the 7 gear gearbox which is really nice. It makes a difference for Lebanon because the roads and speeds are very variable.

If you're looking for 2nd hand, I suppose it may be possible to find a good one, with a bit of luck, maybe one that is a couple of years old. These cars, in my experience are often bought by young people (1st car) and driven hard-ish. It definitely isn't the rule, but you gotta be careful.

I guess that, if you buy the car directly from the previous owner, you can form an idea about how it was treated.

Anyway these cars are generally well suited for Lebanon in my opinion.

By the way, have you had a look at olxliban.com ?

Last edited by rolf (May 12 2019)

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#56 May 12 2019

Johnaudi
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

Lots of my friends were leaning towards the Mitsubishi Lancer, it has become relatively cheaper! You might want to take a look.

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#57 July 21 2020

Guitaret
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

Hello,

Got a good deal on a used Lebanese Mazda 3 2008 but I have no experience in owning a Mazda.
During the current dollar rate, what should I expect in terms of maintenance? How expensive are the spare parts? Availability? Parts that break often?

Any help is appreciated.

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#58 July 21 2020

nuclearcat
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

Make sure this car was not wrecked before, and not even literally accident...
Major issue in Lebanon, if car was has any significant repair at bad mechanic - it is trashbin on the wheels that will keep breaking, and it might be just temporary fixed for selling purposes.
At one time, a colleague of mine tried to open a pre-sale inspection service, but it was not popular in Lebanon. And now it's too late. If you can find such, good one, no bullshitters, then go for it.
12 years old car... you need to be really careful. This age most likely means it already requires changing a lot of serious things, such as the timing belt, and many owner dont do it in time.
IMO smaller car, but less old might be preferable. Because, i expect fuel cost might jump up soon.

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#59 July 21 2020

bobo619
Member

Re: Moving to Beirut, getting a secondhand car

Take it to the dealership and ask them to do a thourough inspection on it. They will charge you but it is worth it and it doesn't help to get 2 opinions so find a mazda specialist and ask him to inspect it too.

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