At the press briefing for the 2nd Philippine International Motor Show held last Tuesday, automotive manufacturers promised to tell car buyers what they really need to know to “get all that jazz with less gas” and what they need to do to squeeze more mileage for every liter of gas or diesel.
Homer Maranan, executive director of The Chamber of Automotive Manufacturers of the Philippines (CAMPI) shared the following tips:
- Buy smaller engine vehicles if your family is small
- Go for diesel-powered cars. He says it is a misnomer to say that diesel is dirtier than gas (although some “insiders” swear by that.)
- Avoid stop-and-go driving and sudden acceleration as much as possible as this uses more gas
- Paying for proper and regular maintenance is more frugal in the long-term
Watch my video interview with Maranan with reporter Izah Morales.
Elizabeth Lee, president of CAMPI, gave these tips:
- Plan your errands
- Pick the right size of car for your family
- The more gears, the more fuel-efficiency in a car
Watch my video interview with Ms. Lee with reporter Izah Morales.
With this in mind, let me pose a question to you. What if you were offered an almost two-year old, diesel-powered Toyota Fortuner with 5,000 kilometer mileage for P1.4 million, but to be paid on installment at P20,000 a month, with two years grace?
That means you can drive home the macho wheels right this very minute, paying nothing to the owner and with only your face as collateral. You start paying at the end of the second year of happy driving and then go on paying every month until you pay the entire amount.
Let me throw in a couple of details to make this really interesting. Your family is growing. Let’s say you have four kids and enjoy the occasional out-of-town trips. Right now, you have a small Honda car. Gas prices are rising weekly and you live in the city.
This puzzle had several people stumped. With such payment terms, the deal can be too tempting. Yet as you all say here in MoneySmarts, anything that you don’t need, at whatever price is expensive. Right paetechie?
Will you take it?
July 28th, 2008 at 9:28 am
right on…don’t need it? don’t by it.
fortuners are guzzlers and “slow” on edsa since they let it crawl during heavy traffic. easy to overtake
the most fuel-efficient fortuner is that of my boss. i’ve yet to see it leave its parking slot since he lives in a condo near our office
i also know someone planning to switch fortuner to LPG but wanted actual users’ feedback. Some taxi drivers complain of dry throat they attribute to the LPG switch but can’t provide doctor’s diagnosis when asked so i dismiss the claims as invalid
July 24th, 2008 at 5:28 pm
Smaller engine does not always mean better fuel savings.
A small engine will work harder if the car body is too heavy, coupled with a full passenger capacity, and a full blast of airconditioner at high noon. And if it works harder, the more fuel it needs.
Always test drive a car under your daily conditions, so you can measure the fuel consumption.
July 24th, 2008 at 3:41 pm
I’ll take it then sell it at the highest price possible. Even if i get to sell it at only 1.2M, then invest it 8% pa (some RTBs have effective yield that are more than 7%), that’s 1.4M in 2 years. Even if i put that amount in time deposit and subtract 20K/month as payment, i still come out on top because the TD will earn interest.
July 24th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
Even with the grace period, the expenses on diesel alone will actually make you spend more than the required P20,000 amortization at the end of two years.
A lot of potential automobile buyers normally fail to consider the day to day expenses attached to a particular car/suv they buy. This and the repairs and maintenance attached to it after sometime.
I say take the Fortuner for a one-day spin, wreck the car totally, collect from insurance (I assume the suv is with comprehensive insurance), then purchase a new Civic or an Altis.
July 24th, 2008 at 2:58 pm
No thanks, I’d rather stick it up with my 1995 well kept Mazda Power Van.
That “macho” b.s flies out of the window each time you lined up at the gas station to feed your suv guzzler