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Korean Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:15 pm Post subject: Bad idea to buy a GM/Daewoo car now? |
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Anyone have any opinions on purchasing a GM/Daewoo vehicle, now that the company is on the rocks? I assume that even if they do go under and Korea fails to back the company, parts would still be available for the older cars (hopefully not at insane prices)?
I'm looking at a used Gentra, which looks like a pretty good car for the price.
Last edited by bassexpander on Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:31 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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eamo

Joined: 08 Mar 2003 Location: Shepherd's Bush, 1964.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:17 pm Post subject: |
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Why buy a Gentra when you could buy a Kia Morning LPG for less money. |
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3MB
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:24 pm Post subject: |
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Was it ever a good idea? I have yet to see an attractive Daewoo car on the road. |
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kiknkorea

Joined: 16 May 2008
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:53 pm Post subject: |
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3MB wrote: |
Was it ever a good idea? |
You beat me to it.  |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 5:58 pm Post subject: |
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The Kia Morning matches up to a Matiz, which I've had for nearly 4 years and am ready to part with.
I was looking at the SM3, but they're overpriced, IMHO.
I'm also leery of the "Samsung Effect", which means Koreans going ga-ga over the national brand when all I've had is bad luck with crappy/cheap Samsung products.
The Gentra looks like this... not awful compared to the cars in its class:
http://www.encar.com/dc/dc_cardetailview.do?carid=4676705&pageid=dc_carsearch |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:04 pm Post subject: |
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And on the subject of LPG cars.... they're quite a bit cheaper. How is LPG doing these days price-wise? My wife hates the LPG idea, because she thinks it's difficult to find a gas station, and that they "are dangerous because they blow up." I said that's nonsense.
Wondered why they go for so much less?
How about diesel? Was looking at a used Rexton, but that is one BIG vehicle for Korea, and it uses diesel (probably a lot). Anyone own one? |
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3MB
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:09 pm Post subject: |
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bassexpander wrote: |
The Kia Morning matches up to a Matiz, which I've had for nearly 4 years and am ready to part with.
I was looking at the SM3, but they're overpriced, IMHO.
I'm also leery of the "Samsung Effect", which means Koreans going ga-ga over the national brand when all I've had is bad luck with crappy/cheap Samsung products.
The Gentra looks like this... not awful compared to the cars in its class:
http://www.encar.com/dc/dc_cardetailview.do?carid=4676705&pageid=dc_carsearch |
I actually have a Daewoo, a Matiz and it drove ok for when I needed it but after less than 100,000km its falling apart. My wife still drives it. I wouldn't buy another Daewoo though. I did buy a Sonata recently and am really happy with it, and I would suggest either a Hyundai or a Kia over a Daewoo. I like the SM5 and SM7, not so much the SM3. They look like nice cars. |
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bassexpander
Joined: 13 Sep 2007 Location: Someplace you'd rather be.
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:17 pm Post subject: |
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Yeah, smaller cars tend to part faster, in my experience -- cheap to fix, though. That Gentra only has 25,000 kms on it, I think. I'm a little concerned about paying a lot for gas and insurance. I never drove much until recently, and now that I'm driving more, I'm looking into other options. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:51 pm Post subject: |
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bassexpander wrote: |
How about diesel? Was looking at a used Rexton, but that is one BIG vehicle for Korea, and it uses diesel (probably a lot). Anyone own one? |
Given what you said in your initial post, I'm surprised you're asking this. You do know who makes the Rexton and why they've been in the news recently?
One of the attractions of diesel is that it's cheaper per litre to buy and fuel consumption is better than with an equivalent petrol engine. But the latter comparison is only relevant when you're weighing up cars of roughly the same size, like say a petrol Gentra versus a diesel Verna or similar. The Rexton is a huge chunk of not very aerodynamic metal and whilst its diesel engine does give better fuel consumption than a petrol engine in the same size of car, it's still only around 10-11km/litre (worse than Kia or Hyundai models in the same class) according to the manufacturers, so probably less in reality. So if you're worried about cost of gas/insurance you likely couldn't do a lot worse than buy a Rexton.
Diesel cars,both new and used, tend to be more expensive than their petrol equivalents, so you need to be putting on plenty of kms to be clawing back that extra expense in savings at the pump.
LPG? Much cheaper than the other 2, but much poorer fuel consumption, probably by about 60%. Also, LPG fuel consumption worsens much more dramatically when you do a lot of stop-start city driving. And LPG cars have been known to have winter cold start issues too. |
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3MB
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 6:59 pm Post subject: |
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bassexpander wrote: |
And on the subject of LPG cars.... they're quite a bit cheaper. How is LPG doing these days price-wise? My wife hates the LPG idea, because she thinks it's difficult to find a gas station, and that they "are dangerous because they blow up." I said that's nonsense.
Wondered why they go for so much less?
How about diesel? Was looking at a used Rexton, but that is one BIG vehicle for Korea, and it uses diesel (probably a lot). Anyone own one? |
I always thought the Rexton was the ugliest Korean SUV on the roads. The last poster made a good point, what do you want, exactly? When I was shopping for a car I was either going to buy a sedan or an SUV, but opted in the end for a sedan. I think it was a good choice. Really, nobody needs an SUV. Get yourself a large sedan and you will have all the space you need. The need for space is also why I was never going to buy a small car like an SM3 for example. I had 3 choices in mind, Sonata, Grandeur or SM5 and chose the Sonata. |
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b-class rambler
Joined: 25 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 7:43 pm Post subject: |
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3MB wrote: |
The last poster made a good point, what do you want, exactly? |
.....but then accidentally deleted that paragraph when I edited to fix a couple of typos
Just to clarify, what I'd said was to get a firmer idea of what car you really want/need as the ideas you mentioned above, OP, seem to be all over the place. Buying used can be a minefield anyway, and not one you want to go through without knowing what you're really after.
If it's a bit of extra luggage carrying practicality/versatility that's tempting you towards something bigger, there are quite a few hatchbacks around in Korea these days, which would be a much more economical option than an SUV. The Gentra is available as sedan or hatchback, as is the Kia Pride. This is gradually changing, but Koreans still seem to prefer sedans to hatchbacks and as a result you can find some good used deals on hatchbacks. |
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3MB
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:12 pm Post subject: |
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b-class rambler wrote: |
3MB wrote: |
The last poster made a good point, what do you want, exactly? |
.....but then accidentally deleted that paragraph when I edited to fix a couple of typos
Just to clarify, what I'd said was to get a firmer idea of what car you really want/need as the ideas you mentioned above, OP, seem to be all over the place. Buying used can be a minefield anyway, and not one you want to go through without knowing what you're really after.
If it's a bit of extra luggage carrying practicality/versatility that's tempting you towards something bigger, there are quite a few hatchbacks around in Korea these days, which would be a much more economical option than an SUV. The Gentra is available as sedan or hatchback, as is the Kia Pride. This is gradually changing, but Koreans still seem to prefer sedans to hatchbacks and as a result you can find some good used deals on hatchbacks. |
my wife suggested a hatchback, I said never. |
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Xuanzang

Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Sadang
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:22 pm Post subject: |
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bassexpander wrote: |
And on the subject of LPG cars.... they're quite a bit cheaper. How is LPG doing these days price-wise? My wife hates the LPG idea, because she thinks it's difficult to find a gas station, and that they "are dangerous because they blow up." I said that's nonsense.
Wondered why they go for so much less?
How about diesel? Was looking at a used Rexton, but that is one BIG vehicle for Korea, and it uses diesel (probably a lot). Anyone own one? |
It might be a bit more expensive than what you were spending but why not get a diesel i30? |
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3MB
Joined: 26 Mar 2009
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:29 pm Post subject: |
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Xuanzang wrote: |
bassexpander wrote: |
And on the subject of LPG cars.... they're quite a bit cheaper. How is LPG doing these days price-wise? My wife hates the LPG idea, because she thinks it's difficult to find a gas station, and that they "are dangerous because they blow up." I said that's nonsense.
Wondered why they go for so much less?
How about diesel? Was looking at a used Rexton, but that is one BIG vehicle for Korea, and it uses diesel (probably a lot). Anyone own one? |
It might be a bit more expensive than what you were spending but why not get a diesel i30? |
what do people see in the i30? |
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Xuanzang

Joined: 10 Apr 2007 Location: Sadang
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Posted: Wed Apr 29, 2009 9:35 pm Post subject: |
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3MB wrote: |
Xuanzang wrote: |
bassexpander wrote: |
And on the subject of LPG cars.... they're quite a bit cheaper. How is LPG doing these days price-wise? My wife hates the LPG idea, because she thinks it's difficult to find a gas station, and that they "are dangerous because they blow up." I said that's nonsense.
Wondered why they go for so much less?
How about diesel? Was looking at a used Rexton, but that is one BIG vehicle for Korea, and it uses diesel (probably a lot). Anyone own one? |
It might be a bit more expensive than what you were spending but why not get a diesel i30? |
what do people see in the i30? |
European styling and design. I have a thing for hatchbacks/station wagons. All the other suggestions I know of aren't readily available here so that would be my car pick. Personal preference really. |
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