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.

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.

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

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.

Red7 wroteThanks 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 :)

you are better off calling the dealerships

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 .

scorz wroteWow, 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.

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.

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?

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.

mikasa wrotefor 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?

Guitaret wrote

mikasa wrotefor 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

mikasa wrotefor 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.

Yeah, an SUV makes more sense, but the amount of used ones for sale is overwhelming are all "خارق", whenever I read that I close the ad - And new ones are either too expensive (Toyota/Honda), or not too safe (Dacia Duster), or have too much electronic stuff that I don't want.

Salloum wroteI 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.

Yeah, I called Rymco, the new one they have are not CVT, plain old automatic, but with the older design/body which is probably assembled in Egypt (that's why it's cheap) I've read/watched reviews that the safety rating is horrible (including Egyptian mechanics doing youtube video about it). It would have been a perfect car if used only inside Beirut or any other village/town, but I can't trust it on the highway (because we drive like animals)
As for the electronic handbrake yes unfortunately almost two-thirds of new cars have them, I just don't trust anything electronic (except maybe electronic steering which seems good enough) and I've read on multiple forums/youtube videos about their problems written by professional mechanics, not just enthusiasm or motorhead.
The point of making them was purely economical and to add more dash space to include USB ports/wireless charging, stuff that I don't really need.

I gave up on a new car and will look into using pre-technology cars, or even restoring my current car (That I abandoned in 2019).
I have a 93 Buick regal/V6 3.1 with almost 230k km, I brought it 11 years ago from a senior who brought it from Impex in 1994 so it was in good condition. I know that their parts are way more expensive + fuel economy, but it was actually reliable.

I'm actually interested in finding a second-generation Buick Park Avenue (1997–2005) with the 3.8 V6 engine that I've read was the best produced by GM at the time, that can run 300k-400k miles without major issues. (If anyone ever saw a for sale sign on any older America sedan, hit me up)

Older American sedans are maybe the only ones I would buy from a Lebanese because most of their owners got them when they were
old enough to not do anything stupid (in general I mean) - If importing is possible though, I would definitely get a Toyota Landcruiser.