In 2021, our households for normal family increasing. It is proven that the birth of babies is faster than we thought. It is closely related to the daily needs will increase too. Daily necessities such as groceries, housings, utilities, and transportation are simple examples of daily needs. You need to eat, so you have to buy groceries to cook at home or dine in restaurants. Moreover, you need to have a shelter, to protect you from rainy days and a place to sleep. Wait a second! Today’s topic will cover the complete guide to buy used car Malaysia.
Other than that, electricity and water are the basic service for your home. If no electricity, your home is left in the dark at night. Similar situation with water supply, you will need to release your thirst and shower yourself. All these are important to our life. Your earnings must be able to cater to all the expenses.
Transportation has been an important necessity too. If you don’t private transport, you will need to wait for ehailing or by public transport to move you from one destination to another. Cars are the basic need for everyone today. The purpose is to move you to emergency health matters, going out to buy groceries and deliver you to offices.
If you saw the news and TV, an advertisement for cars has been normal to us already. You will see many carmakers will do their effort to convince you to buy their cars. You can see they are many types of cars depending on their size and capacity.
It might grab your attention to go to their showroom and purchase it. But your earnings don’t qualify for any financing. The best option is, buying a used car (known as second hand car). So, in this article, we share with you the complete guide to buy used car Malaysia:
Know your financing profile
The first thing that you want to check is your financing profile. You must know the level of income category you are in. There are three types of household income category which is the low, middle, and high earnings. Then, you must know the eligible financing for each car’s price.
In the low-income group, the salary range between RM0 to RM2,500 per month. Usually in this group, their occupation is retailers, clerks, authorities, and small-medium enterprise owners. Their financial power may vary caused by economical factors. This group might want to purchase cars with the aid of a financing institution, which is a bank loan.
Other than that, the middle-income group ranges from RM2,500 to RM10,000 per month. This category is labeled as M40 by the government. They make their own living as managers, founders, professionals, lecturers, and executives. These groups often purchase cars by depositing a certain amount of down payment or fully in cash.
Lastly, the high-income group ranges from RM10,000 to unlimited per month. Based on the recent research, these groups are entrepreneurs, ministers, senior professionals, and top-level management. Usually, they purchase high-end cars fully in cash money. It is possible as their earnings can save that much money.
Hence, all the groups need to know the right car that is suitable for your income. Below is the suggested cars for the income groups:
Income Groups | Suggested Car’s Prices |
B40 | RM10,000 – RM50,000 |
M40 | RM50,000 – RM200,000 |
T40 | RM200,000 to RM1,000,000 |
All the information is based on the statistics by the non-government agency. It can be concluded that these numbers do not seem to follow Malaysians current spending. So, not to push yourself into a financial disaster, fit well to the table above.
Know the car that suits you
Anybody would want the fastest and comfortable cars available in the market. But the most important thing is your financial strength. Apart from that, know the car that suits your needs. Whether it is sedans, compact, or wagon cars, all have different purposes and styles. There is various car that is suitable for families or not.
Family Car – Usually this car must fit more than five persons at a time. Wagons and MPV are suitable for the fit. Usually, the cheapest price for MPV is RM30,000 for the used ones. You must know that the car can fit more than 5 people and bigger space for the car boot.
Sports Car/Two Seated Car – The car can fit only two people, and Malaysians call this car’s owner a stingy person. But, people’s interests are different. There are few two-seated cars in the market. Financing is quite difficult to approve because of the car’s value. If you still insist, look for the newer year of manufactured. It can guarantee it is well maintained rather than the older ones.
Sedan Car – It is a normal type of car. Usually fits up to five persons at a time with a small family size. A lot of these cars on the market are well maintained, and suitable for long-distance journeys. It is the popular choice of low-income groups.
Compact Car – For those who are new to the working environment, this is suitable for you. It is also fitting for students who want to drive within their campus. Not only because of that reason, but the low fuel consumption is also definitely the best choice to save more.
You can test drive your potential list car at the most used car outlets. The test drive is to ensure you have the exact experience for yourself. Next, inspect your car.
Inspect the potential car
Next, you must inspect your car before you proceed to purchase the desired car. You can learn the appropriate way to inspect most articles and videos on the internet. First, you must check the accident spots on the car. You can detect it with an unusual shape or design on the exterior and car boot.
Next, check the interior which is the dashboards, door trims, and cushion. Check whether all parts are in good condition, as those parts, might leak or break. Used car owners usually polish all the interiors to hide all the defects in the car.
Finally, check all tires thread. If got lucky, the car might be installed with brand new tires. But, you can claim to the shop for a new tire. New tires guarantee the seriousness of the used car seller.
If you still do not confidence with the car’s condition, you can hire car inspection companies to do it for you. You can explore those companies below:
- Carsome
- Shupom
- Carlist
And many other independent companies that offer you 160-checkpoint for your car. But, be ready with the extra charge on the service. It is recommended as you can know exactly the car’s condition and maintenance. Whether it is for every day’s driving or weekend car, you must surely the car is in good condition or it will drain your money in the future.
Those checkpoints that you need to know are:
- Braking System
This is the most important part of a car. Without a proper braking system, you cannot put your car into a stationary position. So, to know about the braking system, you can test drive the desired car on the road. Test the braking system on the rough surfaces and traffic lights.
- The Lights System
The lighting system is consists of both tail and headlights. Newer cars have their own module to control the lights. It is either to adjust the brightness or the position of your lights. Check the braking lights, and the headlights to ensure it is operated smoothly. It is a safety measure for the car as it will reduce car accident factors.
- Transmission
The best part of the whole car system. The transmission is important for the car’s durability. To know whether it is operated smoothly, you can feel the gear shifted without any jerk sound. If it is not okay, you need to tell the car dealer to reduce the price or service the gearbox.
- Engine
For everyday use of the engine, you need to know the condition of it. Once you start the car, you need to carefully monitor the engine sound. If it is okay, then you turn your head to below of the car check any oil leakage. Oil leakage can cause you a lot of problems, as the worst-case scenario is to overhaul the engine. And, it is very costly.
- Multimedia System
Newer cars are equipped with complex sets of multimedia systems. Depending on your car’s age, the newer version might be too complex for you to inspect. All aftersales multimedia systems are equipped with a warranty if any errors occurred. You can check the system by switching it to your Bluetooth connections, or directly to your USB Pendrive. And if the connection can play the audio for you, then it is working well. If not, check with the car dealer about the warranty.
Ask for a service record book
A car needs well maintained for daily use. If you are an ehailiing driver, driving the car to work or buying groceries by every day, your car might want to be served. The service record is a book that recorded all the oil and filters that have been changed during the ownership of the previous owner.
The car dealer will keep the record book inside the car dashboard if there is any. But, usually, the dealer hid it anywhere to keep the bad record unseen to the client. It is unhealthy for the market. So, beware of this unwanted etiquette of the car dealer.
Once you acquire the service book, you will check the gearbox and the engine service. Gearbox service is in the interval of 30,000km, and your engine depends on the engine oil recommendations. This information needs to be kept, and it is advisable that you send your car to service once you get the car’s key.
Request to Test Drive
It is a bonus if you negotiate to test drive the car. Usually, a car dealer didn’t want to take a risk of having a test drive. But, it is a common recently. Don’t overexcite the first impression of the car. The first test drive can be so good to be true.
The test drive session is for you to negotiate well with the salesperson or the car owner. These are the tips for having a good conversation with a salesperson:
- Ask the long routes for you to test
- If it fits you, and minor problems with the car, negotiate the first conversation with them
- Don’t overpress the pedal, it might harm the car
- Test all the lights and feel the drive
- If the conversation going well, ask about the previous owner’s care.
So, all the tips are based on our experience of buy used car Malaysia. The tips are also useful when buying a new car. It helps you to have a full picture of the car’s condition and the reputation of the salesperson as well. Other than that, monitor the way the salesperson treats you. A good service demonstrates a good quality product. The body never lies.
And another good tip after you did the test drive, bring along a checklist. You can search all over the web to get a good template. Here is the link >>> Inspection Checklist.
In this inspection list, certain questions highlighted that is useful for you when meeting the car owner or the salesperson:
- How long have you owned the car?
- Why are you selling it? (for car owner)
- Does everything work/any problems?
- Any service records, what have you done since owning the car?
You might not get the absolute right answer, as the exaggerate might occur during the meet-up. Ask if you test drive the car immediately so that both parties have the higher trust in conversation. Your emotion must be in control, although the car styling is your favorite so far. So, bring along the checklist and appropriate tools for you.
Negotiate on the price
After you are fully confident with the car’s condition, do a minor conversation with the salesperson. Shady price will slip into the invoice if you are not aware of the tricky negotiations. You must be aware of the ownership transfer’s fee is too costly for you. You must know that on top of the based price, you must pay for additional services such as the road tax. Insurance, ownership transfer, bank’s interest, and other accessories installation.
It is a huge amount for you to take, but if you negotiate well, you can get it free of charge. It is not against the law, but you must know the strategy insider with your salesperson. All these methods are practical for loanees.
For cash buyers, you can negotiate with the car’s dealer very well. It is because the dealer would be fascinated if hear that you are going to pay them with cash. So, this time, negotiate with them with additional perks for your car. You can claim to them all new tires, and refurbish all car accessories. It is an advantage for you as the buyer.
Car Valuation
Once you go with the negotiations, always talk to the owner or the salesperson you will get right back to you after the meet-up. It is good to have that way, to ensure that you have the right car that causes you no harm of money. With this, you can check the valuation of the car based on the asking price that the salesperson or car owner mentioned.
Firstly, you can compare the asking price by exploring those second hand car platform sites. You can explore Mudah, Carlist, and other valuation checkers using the insurance calculator. With this, you can compare the difference with the bank value. If it is too high on the difference, perhaps you can search for another car. It is because you have to overpay for the car.
Bear in mind, that you cannot get the desired car overnight. You have to search for at least a month to ensure that your car doesn’t give you headaches after purchasing it.
Signing the hire purchase agreement (if loan), and ownership transfer
This is strictly for loan buyers. Not all people afford to buy a car with full cash transactions. So singing the hire purchase agreement is a method whereby the final stage of owning the car. Usually, the car’s dealer will arrange a bank connection to approve your loans. First, you have to submit all the desired documents to screen your eligibility. Next, wait for a week or two for the bank to screen your application.
Then, if approved, you will receive a bank’s call telling you to go to the bank for signing the agreement. Ask them about all the installment structure and the interests as well. It will benefit you to manage your cash flow easily.
After manage to sign all the required documents, the dealer will call you to go for the ownership transfer. Certain car dealers have their own digital kiosk to transfer the ownership to you. The ownership will grant you full ownership of your car. Then, you will receive the appropriate documents for the car including the insurance and the road tax sticker.
Another thing to ponder, you can add driver more than a single driver. Imagine you want to combine the ownership of the car with your spouse allowing the spouse to take full responsibility for the car, now you can
If not, you will have to wait for the dealer’s runner to do it for you. Usually, the runner will do it in one day to do the appointment with JPJ. Then, you can have full ownership of the car. Quite a long process, but it will be worth it.
Drive the car
The best day in purchasing a car is the drive. You will feel extra excited because of the good vibe inside you. It will be historical if the car is your dream one! So, cherish every moment with it. But wait, you will need to save all the contacts and retrieve the car’s warranty if any. The car warranty is a powerful tool to ensure that your car is good to go.
And you will receive all the documents with you. As below:
- Car Insurance
- Car Grant
- Road tax Sticker
- Loan Agreement
- Warranty Agreement
- Service Record
Check your driving license expiry. You might not be knowing that your license is expired and you have roadblocks ahead of you. After you receive all the documents, place them in the safest and easiest place to file. It will benefit you in the future. So anything related to breakdowns, a car dealer will offer you a week warranty. For the direct car owner, negotiate well with him/her.
Conclusion
Household needs are essential to our daily lives. Groceries, transportation, and utilities are the main elements to keep your life going. Without all of it, you will experience starvation, bankruptcy, and crime to continue living. Cars are a symbol of importance in our lives. Private cars are used to help our daily necessities such as buying groceries, driving to work, and earning as ehailing drivers. Buying a new car can be expensive for most people, so the best option is driving a used car. A used car is quite popular among Malaysians nowadays. It is not costly at first, the maintenance will drain you slowly in the coming years. It is because of the expiry on the warranty, so the wear and tear expenses are all on you. The perfect guidance to buy used car Malaysia is knowing your financing profile, picking the suitable car for you, know the whole process of ownership transfer and car inspection. The most important part is to know your car’s condition. If it is not good, then the problem will come to you after that.