Comments on: Proton to sell cheapest car

By: franz chong

franz chong — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 12:16:42 +0000

Do what I did and buy a Nissan Micra while they are on runout $14990 drive away.

I did consider Proton and Suzuki before but the fact the latter is too tiny and gutless and I don’t trust made in Malaysia…They do great food there though but not great cars.

By: toxic_horse

toxic_horse — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:01:47 +0000

The alto may be cheaper but it is gutless as and tiny.
I would take the proton if i was that desperate.

By: scott

scott — Thu, 25 Feb 2010 04:57:21 +0000

We want cheap actually & Suzuki Alto is cheaper than Proton but not in Townsville where the salesmen don’t seem to care about making sales & earning commissions. I really can’t see why even the cheapest cars are so overpriced in Australia compared to elsewhere.

By: FrugalOne

FrugalOne — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 12:11:05 +0000

Have’nt we heard all this before?

We DON’T want cheap, we want VALUE

The ONLY way they can get Proton off the ground [imho] is to offer a guaranted buy back price.

Cheers

F-0

By: DesignEngr

DesignEngr — Fri, 22 May 2009 06:30:24 +0000

Elsewhere this car is known as the “SAGA”. Can’t really see that name taking off…..

By: sud_gt

sud_gt — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:09:04 +0000

this cheap car is based on savvy’s chassis..proton didn’t have to spent so much during the R&D process..

By: Andrew M

Andrew M — Tue, 19 May 2009 03:01:54 +0000

Frontman,
Now you are also talking used vehicles.

Im Talking up the scenario that you’ve got 15K to spend, does that mean you have to buy a budget car???
Does that mean you have to buy new???

Are you suggesting that i wont be able to find a better car dollar for dollar than a new budget car??

Are you saying that a 5 year old mainstream car will be out classed by a new budget car??

Mazdas and hondas are probably a bad example if you are looking for outright dollar value as they have bloody good resale.
If you want to dull it up and become an astute buyer not caring for anything else other than A-B sort of stuff, then vehicles such the Focus, Corolla, Lancer and Tiida represent my side of the argument better as they have resale that isnt quite as good as the Mazda.

Lets take the first one off the block the Focus.
yes its starting to look a little bland, but the koreans arent oil paintings either. Focus like others I mentioned sell to fleets and hence resale is ordinary.
But in saying that, its still a great car when judged on its actual qualities, and dollar for dollar on the 2nd hand market it presents a great option.

Now when you talk dollar for dollar with the cheaper brands in mind, budget cars look even less appealing new or 2nd hand.

By: Tom

Tom — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:31:21 +0000

TS, the rate of depreciation is at its highest in the cars first year of ownership which is why buying a near new car is a better use of money than buying a budget new car. A budget brand like a Proton has to depreciate faster as well, for the simple fact people are not willing to pay
the same price for a second hand Proton Savvy as they are a Hyundai Getz or Toyota Yaris. Toyota for the past few years have sold around 2300 Yaris’s a month, which means a large number of those Yaris’s are entering the second hand market and competing with the second hand Savvy’s. The large number of Yaris’s forces their own resale values down, which forces less desirable cars (as shown by market demands) down further. So a new Savvy will cost you much more once you price in depreciation.

Yes, you are paying extra for choice. Looking at the options list of a Savvy though, is that really worth the several thousand dollars buying new costs over say, a second hand Yaris, or even Getz, which are better cars in every quantifiable way?

By: Frontman

Frontman — Tue, 19 May 2009 02:00:42 +0000

Actually Andrew some of what you say is correct, but the Astute buyer looking for cheap transport, not something bought with the heart, then Vehicles like Sonata’s (available from 13k ex renter) or Kia Optima mark very good arguments. These are both massive amounts of cars for the money and are still well under new car warranty. For the dollars, is a much older Honda or Mazda a better car? NO.

By: swampdawg

swampdawg — Tue, 19 May 2009 01:16:27 +0000

We are looking at some interesting times ahead with the cheapest new car competition kicking off, particularly with cut price Chinese cars coming in the next few years.

“Currently the cheapest RRP for a car in Australia is tied between the Proton Savvy and the Hyundai Getz, both on $13,990.”
It is not hard to work out why the Getz outsells the Savvy.