Are used Japanese cars the best bet?

[TonyI]

Good day to everyone,

I'm an American who is aiming to move to Cyprus in the next two-three months or so. I'm looking to be on the lean and mean as much as possible, looking for the best buy in terms of used cars. I'm looking to spend no more than 5000 euros, and preferably a standard shift because a clutch job is about half the price of an automatic transmission replacement.

Are Japanese cars (Honda, Toyota) a good buy? How is the parts and service situation for them in Cyprus?

Any general tips on used car shopping in Cyprus are appreciated!

Tony

[MacManiac]

What's a "standard shift"? Do you mean a manual car rather than an automatic? Not making fun but wanted clarification.

[TonyI]

Yes, that would be manual transmission. In my experience replacing a worn out clutch costs way less than an automatic, and automatic transmissions need frequent care esp. if they're old.

[MacManiac]

Thanks for the clarification. I couldn't agree more. Japanese cars, in my experience, seem to go on forever. Good luck. We move over on October 9th and can guess how you are feeling.

[TonyI]

Hope it works out for you MacManiac!

Also another concern to ponder: emissions standards. I've had to part with two over 100,000 mile cars (160,000 km) because it wouldn't pass emissions anymore here in NY. I'm wondering how strict the standards are over in Cyprus by comparison (I'm sure that's not something that's easy to calculate, lol)

[DPK]

Once upon a time.................... it was always old mercedes on the roads in Cyprus, all the taxis were mercedes, but I am going going back to a time of mostly unmade roads out of the main towns!

[TonyI]

That's interesting, nobody'd think of a Mercedes cab in NYC, lol.

I have seen a few old 90's era Mercedes for sale online but they are more expensive than the Hondas and I have no idea if they are more reliable or not.

Also, the biggest issue is parts and mechanics who know how to service the car right. My hunch is that Japanese cars probably seem like a best bet for Cyprus versus other makes.

[Veronica]

The taxis are still all mercs here but the roads arn't a lot better than they were right now because they were all dug up to put in the pipes for the new sewage system and they are taking a long time to repaiur them

When bringing a car over the lower the emissions (they do test for this) and the smaller the engine size the less your road tax etc will be.

[DPK]

The old Mercedes just went on and on and on..................... nobody would even think anything of a car with 200,000 miles on the clock, and because they were so common, parts were easy to come by, and reasonably priced, but I am going back a long time ago.................. I am not really that ancient!

We were a very youthful bunch of girls, and it always amused us that even the young guys had these huge old mercedes that were their pride and joy.

Do not think that Mercedes engineering is as good now as it was then.............

[Veronica]

You still see some very old Mercs driving around here. They seem to be able to cobble them up. In fact unlike the UK some of the local garages still seem to be able to make parts or adapt things to keep the old heaps cobbled up.