Korean vs Japanese Cars

[n25]

I've been eyeing the new Hyundai Accent ever since it was announced, however my friend keeps on telling me to avoid Korean cars as they are just not good for the money compared to Japanese cars. He states that the engineering on Korean cars haven't yet been at the same level with Japanese cars, as well as some other things such as performance and resale value among other things which always favor the Japanese manufacturers on all accounts. With that in mind, I wonder how Hyundai/Kia owners feel about this. How about Japanese car owners, are these always true? I'd really like to know your inputs guys as a newbie on cars I can't just rely on my friend's opinion regarding this. I hope to hear from you, thanks!

[Starex_Gold]

Isipin mo muna kung gaano karami ang recalls and issues ng Toyota

[jhnkvn]

Actually this is true somewhat. Before I purchased our family's first Hyundai unit, my brother was discouraging me from buying a Hyundai initially citing lower resale value (Camry = Accord > Sonata) and part availability. Ended up taking that into account but I still bought a Korean car. In the Philippine market, some Hyundai cars already have high resale value (Tucson, Santa Fe) and even Starex units which you can credit that brought Hyundai where it is today in the Philippines.

On a personal opinion, the Vios would still reign supreme over the subcompact category in terms of resale value and part availability. Unless nagkaroon ng major problema ang Toyota that would raise doubts about their quality, our ubiquitous taxis will always be the beloved Vios/Corolla. The 1.4L Accent has a "knocking" problem which is somewhat widespread at the moment. Some complain of the problem, some hasn't. Ewan ko nalang kung meron na bang "definite" fix.

At the end of the day, I still look at my Sonata and say.. "damn, ganda pare!". Kung nabanga man.. "shet, months bago yun bagong pinto dadating?!" versus just "weeks" for its equivalent on an Accord or Camry. Uniqueness has a price as they say

[n25]

By the way, my friend also said that as a general rule of thumb, a 2nd hand Honda/Toyota is better than a brand new Hyundai/Kia... in which I find a bit absurd since by logic most of the time older cars have more problems than newer ones regardless of the manufacturer. I'll never consider a 2nd hand car lately as we already have one (a Toyota Corolla 1.6GLi), and I'm not keen on getting a new Toyota either as honestly I'm not impressed on what's out on their plate now, and Honda's out of my budget. In short, I just want to be assured that I'll be ok if I invested my money on a new Korean car (or from any other non-Japanese brand).

[Ry_Tower]

Mali ata thread na ito. Hindi naman sila nag-aaway eh. Hindi mo rin kinu-compare.

[GTi]

Old notion yan. Korean cars of the 90s had dodgy build quality, poor performance and severe rust issues. But Korean cars nowadays are already better, or at least at par with the Japanese in terms of design, engineering and performance.

[tidus1203]

Your friend still lives in the 90's... Baligtad na nga eh, Koreans are UP. Japanese are DOWN. Watch stock prices of these car companies, the markets know which companies have a good future!

[n25]

That's what I'm thinking nung sinabi ng kaibigan ko yun, na he's just basing on old reputation. Anyway, wala naman kaso sa akin kung gawing taxi yung mabibili kong kotse since mas pabor pa nga yun as dadami spare parts. By the way, I'm not trying to bring out a flame war here, I just want to know if my friend is stating the facts regarding Korean and Japanese cars as it may affect my future purchase.

[kotiko]

I think your friend is still living in the 90's. That was the old notion about the Korean cars.

Today I believe Korean cars are already at par with Japanese ones.

If you look at Hyundai/Kia's performance the past ten years, you'll see that they've significantly improved.

Like what Starex_Gold said, those Japanese cars are currently hounded with recall issues!

[n25]

Hmmm, really? Parati ko ngang nakikita sa mga Vios na taxi na naka-angat yung hood, naiisip ko tuloy kung may overheating problem ang Vios.