Hey,
I know this is a very broad question and depends on the context and cars in question, but I'm looking to get a car <$30k.
I've been looking at Kia and a few of their cars fall into my price range. I'm trying to pick whether I should buy for example the GT Rio or S Cerato, both would be the same price
I want to ask this as a general question and unrelated to Kias but would you personally buy the BEST model of a cheaper car or the LOWEST model of a more expensive car?
Highest spec of the expensive one.
Truly spoken like an OB Veteran. Just missed a reference to high yield investment.
If those were your choices, may be worth waiting a few months for veloster turbo to be in run out sales. its already been announced as discontinued.
Honestly a huge factor is if its a new model or just a refresh.
Also would check the recent mazda haggle thread, 3 G20 Evolve should be able to be had in your budget.
Which one has the better implementation of CarPlay or Android Auto?
I'd go an SUV for the equivalent money if you want to minimise depreciation.
If i had to pick one of the two it'd be the the cerato S, the Rio is a small car and the base model seems to be equipped pretty well for the cerato anyway.
Get the one with all the bells and whistles
if you're going to live with it for a while, you may as well go for the higher spec cheaper model if it has more creature comforts and features, which it probably will, as you will soon regret not getting them if you go for the low spec expensive model.
i could have bought a car with less features for the same price i got my cheaper one with higher specs.
Higher specced one.
Middlest spec of the middlest one
I haven't compared specs (which is what you should be doing) but I'd bet a good portion of the Rio GT price is cosmetic bodykit stuff. You'll possibly get more useful features in the lower model Cerato. They're also not the same class of car, the Cerato is a size larger IIRC.
Its not a simple answer. If the cars are the same size, badge depreciation should be considered. Ie is one Chinese, the other Japanese?
You’ve given the example of two different sizes, so I suggest the one that suits your needs/desires more. Don’t see any point getting a bigger car unless you need it. Don’t see any point getting a smaller car just because it has a voice activated glovebox cooler.
My rule of thumb is don’t buy the upspec model for any other reason than it has a specific feature you want. Get the lowest spec your ego can afford. Often they can be dressed up to look the same as the high spec models by buying a set of second hand alloy rims.
I just bought a mid spec model that kisses a couple of things I can add later, but the too spec doesn’t come with a manual transmission that I wanted.
You want to add least add the safety pack to the cerato. It adds reverse cross-traffic alert, blind-spot monitoring, upgraded forward AEB with cyclist detection, forward collision warning and safe exit warning. It also adds bigger rear brakes, electronic parking brake, folding mirrors, smart cruise control, leather steering wheel and gear shifter. Worth it for $1500.
Does the safety pack decrease your insurance premiums?
Only BEST and LOWEST price is the ozb algorithm.
In the past I've found that often it makes more sense to go to a lower spec of a higher model than higher spec of a lower model, as the higher models often include those 'extras' as standard.
Id buy the cheapest performance variant.
Resale on those is typically much better and typically just a more fun car to own. Recent example helped my boss get a BMW 1 series, she simply got the base 118i, I insisted that she get the 128ti as it was (pre covid) only $7K more then, its not the full fat 135M but cheapest performance variant. Resale now on the 128ti is way more than 118i for same age. Later on admitted that she should of got the 128ti as the 3cyl 118 is gutless.
In your case, Rio is GT-line not GT, cosmetic and not performance variant. Whichever you like more, personally I stretch the budget to a Hyundai I20N or Cerato GT
Not as economical though, for someone who doesn't care about performance:
Also the initial cost is of course higher, which offsets the resale (more interest is charged on a larger initial outlay)
The most base one,with all the ‘fruit’!Now that’s got to be a winner!
Go with your heart, and drive with a lead foot :p
Go down and see which one gives you the best bang for your buck. You will find the Cerato is a slightly bigger car.
Compare the features they both come with standard and what is missing from the other and what you can/can’t live without.
I guess it would only really count if you were cross shopping similar cars in different brackets. Like, should you get the top of the range Kia/Hyundai or the bottom of the range in say a VW for the same price.