Malaysiaminilover

Author: Angelina Soul

World’s ugliest car: The Fiat Multipla is with beer belly

If you follow what we write about automobile world since day one, we seldom want to criticize how ugly a car is but the ugliness couldn’t stop us from writing an article to disparage it. The production of this car has no longer available and it is really doesn’t matter for us to talk about it right now. It is the Fiat Multipla that released by Fiat in 1998.

The Multipla was base on the Brava but Fiat wants to make the car a little wider so that the front row can fit in three adults. When the width of the car was broaden, the second role can also fit in three seats nicely. Two rows of three seats is the biggest selling point of the Multipla compared to some of its competitor during that time like the Renault Kangoo the car eventually shorter than its rivals.

We understand that Fiat wants to create a car that gives comfort ride to its passengers just like one of its biggest success Fiat 600 Multipla. The 600 Multipla is world’s first minivan and it was a big hit in the ‘50s to ‘60s. A car that is cute to look at, nice to ride on, and eye-catching. The 1998 Fiat Multipla has slightly the look but it doesn’t have the feeling that the Fiat 600 Multipla has. When the design of the car is widen and shorten, the car has become weird and ugly like a beer belly (You may also want to see the coffin-look Volvo S60). We do not understand why there is another layer of “belly” in between the car windscreen and the car hood. More over, the belly is even added with eyes.

Can you spot the similarity between the left and right image?

Forget about the outlook, the two-row six-seater family car was voted by Top Gear as “Car of the Year” in 2000. It is really comfortable to ride on and three in the front row is once in a blue moon in automobile history. As for the performance, the car is available in 1.6L and 1.9L with 5-speed manual transmission which is powerful enough to pull the car with curb weight in between 1300 and 1490 kg. Nothing much to praise this car anymore since it has now been replaced by the rebadged Dodge Journey and named Fiat Freemont which is much better looking and more charming.

December 19, 2011
The death of the hero Proton Wira

Proton Wira was born in 1993 as the official second son of Malaysian car maker Proton. It serves the country very well for 15 years and it is almost the only car for most of the youngster inMalaysia to pick up their girls in the ‘90s. Wira is means hero in Malay language. The price, performance, and the reliability of the car make it a real hero for the market. Why such a good car deceased in 2007 and replace with Proton Gen-2?

What about the outlook? When the Proton Wira first launched in 1993, it gained consumer’s heart because it is no longer as square as the Proton Saga. From front to rear, the car is perfectly design. Besides, it has many after market parts and allow owner to modify to whatever kind of look they like with custom body kit and some cool interior accessories. Some Mitsubishi parts are also compatible to the Wira too.

The Wira is available for sale as a four-door sedan and four-door hatchback which known as Wira Aeroback. Both models are also spacious and able to fit in 4 adults comfortable and up to 5 adults. The Wira is as nice as other competitor in the market during its launching. However, one main reason Proton decided to cease the production is because the car did not receive much major upgrade throughout the 15 years. Compare to Honda Civic, one famous model from Honda, many engineers are continuously doing research and develop a better Civic. Look at the picture below here and you will see the difference.

On the left is 1993 Honda Civic (fifth generation) and on the right is 2007 Honda Civic (eight generation). Now look at Proton Wira again from 1993 to 2007.

It makes no different other than some grills or the bumper. Front are rear are still remain the same. Although we have previously praised that the Wira is nicely design, but it still has to change to be better throughout the time because that was 15 years!

What about the performance? The Wira has a wide range of engine capacity including 1.3L, 1.5L, 1.6L, 1.8L, and 2.0L diesel engine. With the curb weight of only 980 kg, the car can eventually fly with fast acceleration even with 1.3L 4G13 engine. Four-door sedan model are slightly heavier with the curb weight of 1011 kg. But still passengers will have the feeling of “flying” when the car reach 120 km/h or faster. People once said a 100,000 km on a Honda engine is nothing and we will say 200,000 km on the Proton Wira engine is nothing too. Most of the Wira running on the road are over 100,000 km on the odometer.

What is special about the car? The Aeroback model is best known to kill corners due to the light weight of the car. It is fun to ride around. What else? The air-conditioning is extremely cold. It may due to the hot weather inMalaysia and the car maker is purposely target on this.

What about the feature? It has everything a car need. A standard stereo, a nice steering wheel with perfect size for anyone, a beautiful interior panel, and a good sitting position are what you can find in the car.

What isn’t so good? Although the engine is nothing when the car runs 100,000 km, the power window has something. Most of the consumers experienced that the power window stop working after few months using the car. Some consumer even experience that the power window isn’t working after purchased the car just out from the show room.

The Proton Wira isn’t only a hero forMalaysiamarket but it also exports to some other countries includingUnited Kingdom,Singapore,Thailand,Australia, and among others. One thing we couldn’t understand is the name “Wira” has been imprint in many consumer’s heart and why don’t continue to create a better second generation and just simply replace it with the Proton Gen-2. It takes 15 years to market a car name and why just simply wipe it off. RIP for this car that you may use it to fetch any girls before.

2000 Proton Wira

December 18, 2011
Car Jokes: Kia Suzuki Merger

Well, it’s Sunday. Let’s have some car jokes about KIA and SUZUKI and don’t get so serious about loan, finance, or reviews on any cars.

A Singaporean billionaire did a research on KIA cars and Suzuki cars. The results is now out. Majority people love Peter Schreyer’s design. They want a car that has the outlook of KIA but they prefer to have the power of Suzuki. This has sparked his mind to merge these two car brand. He then set up a joint venture company in Singapore with the purpose to build a hybrid car using Kia’s design and Suzuki technology.

This billionaire has no idea which name to use for the new hybrid. So he called up a meeting for all the high level managers in his company to think a new name for the car. They spent hours and hours to discuss all the pros and cons about naming the new hybrid but no one can bring up a nice name until one cleaning lady in the room raise up her hand and said “KIASU!”

Kiasu means “fear of losing” and it is a common Hokkien word used inSingapore. It is also a philosophy of “Always must win”, “Borrow but never return”, “Everything must grab first”, and “Must not lose face”. That’s the best car name of the year 2011.

December 18, 2011
Refinance car loan for a home
Lately, we received an email from Nong Min who is currently paying 10,000 baht (roughly US$318) for her monthly car payment. Nong Min would like to buy a house for herself but she is facing some difficulty to obtain a new home loan because the monthly car payment has taken up nearly 1/3 of her monthly income. At the same time, she doesn’t have much savings to pay the down payment for the house. She is seeking for some advices after reading one of our previous articles “Refinancing car loans into home loan”. Now here is some of the calculation we do for her.

In Thailand, if you are having one loan that has taken up 1/3 or more than 1/3 of your monthly income, you will have some difficulty in getting another loan. However, you can play a little trick in order to get both things you want at the same time as long as the income is stable and going to be stable for long.
- Monthly salary: 38,000 baht ($1200)
- Monthly car payment: 10,000 baht ($318)
- Remaining car loan: 240,000 baht (24 months)
- Current car value: 650,000 baht
- Savings: 50,000 baht
- House value: 1.6 million baht
- Down payment needed: 16,000 baht
Base on the current car market value, Nong Min can refinance her car and get 650,000 – 240,000 = 410,000 baht cash. She can pay 400,000 baht for the house down payment and save the 10,000 baht into her savings for emergency purposes. With 400,000 baht down payment, the bank is now considering giving her the credit. As for the car, it is easier to refinance at the maximum of 9 years. Now the refinance goes like this.
- New monthly car payment: 650,000 @ 3% @ 9 years = 7,643 baht
- House loan monthly payment: 1.2 million baht @ 5% @ 30 years = 6,450 baht
- Remaining savings: 60,000
Base on the new calculation above, Nong Min now has a total monthly payment at 14,093 baht, which is just slightly over 1/3 of her monthly income at the acceptable range. She can now own both house and car at the same time. In this case, the car loan should go as many years as you can because the interest rate is only 3% while the housing loan is 5%. Other than that, what you should be well prepared is a minimum of six months stable salary income statement, six months permanent address, as well as good credit scores.
December 15, 2011
What is unregistered cars and what is recon cars?

Most of the first time car buyer or inexperience buyer must have come across “unregistered car for sale” when searching for the dream car. Often, these cars tend to have attractive price and it is usually lower then new car price. What does unregistered really means and why the price is lower than new car?

Unregistered car is cars import from foreign countries and haven’t register at transportation department (JPJ) because these cars are waiting for its new owner. These cars could be new but at 99% they are all used cars from foreign countries. Sometimes or at most of the time, the advertisement will state the year make of the car like “2010 Unregistered Mini Cooper for sale”. In other words, these cars are reconditioned or used from foreign countries.

Majority of the unregistered cars or recon car will not have 0 miles or less than 50 miles on the odometer because they are not brand new. They have been used in foreign countries by someone. This also explains that why these cars are cheaper than brand new car. In some car ads, you can even still see the foreign registration plate on the car. A 2010 reconditioned Mini Cooper may cost few thousands up to few ten thousands cheaper than the new one.

Some consumers prefer to go for reconditioned car because it is cheaper. However, if you are unlucky, you may end up paying more for the car because spare parts replacement isn’t cheap. There are parts need to be replaced after few ten thousand miles has been put on a car engine.

What is recon car?

A car may be brought in to the country using AP (Approved Permit), student AP, working AP, foreign AP, or other kind of permits. Some of these permits are tax free. Therefore, the profit is quite high for used car dealers who are able to obtain these permits.

With these permits, car dealers import some used cars from foreign countries, get them clean up and replace some necessary parts, and sell it as reconditioned cars or recon cars. Nevertheless, you will never see an advertisement tell you that “this is a reconditioned car” rather than “this is unregistered car”. In fact, they are all used cars. Reconditioned is just a better word to listen and sound more comfortable for buyer.

Some car dealers will advertise their car like “03/09 Mercedes Benz SLK for sale”. This means the car is made in year 2003 and it has been import to the country and registered at 2009. Other than that, 2009/2011 means the car is made in 2009 but registered in 2011.

In conclusion, whether you would like to pay less for a car with few thousands or few ten thousand miles on the odometer or you would like to pay more for a brand new car with brand new smell, the calculation still have to base on your own calculator. If your choice is recon cars, make sure you have followed all the steps to buy a used car or bring a trustable mechanic to inspect the car for you.

AP, AP, Approved Permit. Permit is something has been approved and why still call it Approved Permit?

December 9, 2011