I'm considering a second car for those times when my OBS is down for uhhh... let's say a new windshield, headgaskets, oil seals, heatshield removal, etc... anyway, my landlord (who's a used car dealer) has a really clean Daewoo Lanos for $3,500.

 

Anyone know if these things are worth a crap? What about getting parts?

 

It's either this, or maybe get something new like a Forester T.

Why is it ONLY between a Daewoo (Kia wannabe - 'shiver') or a NEW Forester!

 

OK - I vote new Forester - duh.

 

(really, I bet 3,500 would get you a nice mid 90s soob, maybe high mileage but hey, its a soob.)

Run Away! Run Away! Daewoo Makes Hyundai look like BMW.

Daewoo folded big time with huge amounts of debt (GM bought out what was left) I don't know how available parts are, but I know you'd be needing some soon.

Get the Forester, No question.

Texan & Eyesore,

 

Thanks man. I needed a dope slap.

 

I had a chance to look closer at the front end and it appears that the previous owner had applied the inertia of the the moving Lanos into some much larger object hard enough re-arrange the geometry of the front clip but not damage the rubber bumper or actually bend any sheet metal (basically the gaps between the body panels, the alignment of the hood closure, and the mounting position of the visible part of the lower radiator were all skewed). Consumer reports had absolutely nothing good to say about this hunk 'o crap except that it was cheap.

Whoa, that was a close one. I thought for a minute we were going to have to stage an intervention.

If my landlord had a Daewoo, I'd have to move...

 

-MR

A used car dealer landlord. Is he a part time attorney too?

blitz, I wouldn't be suprised if it came from the factory with those gaps & alignment issues.

You should have seen some of the internal Daewoo documents....hysterically scary.

For example: One document outlining 5 steps to be undertaken numbered... 1, 2, 3, 3, & 4. (5 steps!) And these people assembled cars!?

Great advice!!!

 

Just FYI....

 

Most parts are NOT available for the Daewoo vehicles!!

 

GM was originally talking about taking over Daewoo but they faced HUGE lawsuits from current vehicle owners and dealers because their goal was to continue manufacturing them only for the foreign market. I think what they ended up doing was to purchase controlling interest of their parent company which kept the suits off GM's back.

 

I have several customers in need of glass for their Daewoos and they are stuck with windows missing in their cars!!! No glass!!!

Alright then, I'll accept my penance.

 

What tempted me was that my last car was a cheap Dodge (Mitsubishi) Colt econobox that ended up actually being a fantastic car. Manual trans, manual steering, no A/C, no radio, crank windows. Four wheels, an engine, a steering wheel and a seat. Car ran flawlessly for 11 years, 196k miles and got 40 mpg. Still had the original clutch!

 

I sincerely appreciate the heads up.

I hear Daewoo has a death spike under the drivers seat.

Something can happen in a accident and piece of metal breaks off and shoves through the seat

Originally posted by torxxx

I hear Daewoo has a death spike under the drivers seat.

Something can happen in a accident and piece of metal breaks off and shoves through the seat

 

No, that happens at the dealership when you purchase the car

Offer $500 for it.. its fairly new, it runs.. Its worth $500

I'm gonna second sydfloyd... we had a sales rep come to the maintenance shop and that day his Daewoo Lanos died. He only had it almost a year. He had 65,000 miles on it. He broke the timing belt on it and it pretty much totalled the car. He wanted to fix it and sell it for 6000$ Everyone at the shop was laughing under their breath... he would have never sold it.... Parts are pretty darn hard to come by and from what i hear from the guy, its not exactly a cheap car to have either

Originally posted by calebz

Offer $500 for it.. its fairly new, it runs.. Its worth $500

 

I also agree that it's a Daewoo, therefore crap, but I think this is the best idea. Seriously. Just drive it until it breaks, then dispose of it on some moron for $1000... Think of it as a disposable car

Disposable cars are great. Funny you say this i know where there is a Lanos for $3500 too. Must be the going rate. GM dealers are supposed to stock/offer parts for these cas because of the buyout....also you would be surprised what is here on ebay parts wise for these.

 

As for the ones with glass issues....can't glass shops make windows for cars? I was told that they can....atleast my local ones supposidly.

 

Matt

When I bought Eyesore 3 years ago or so, (for $500) it was with the intent of it being a disposable car (I always was, and still basically am, a Domestic car guy) But then, as you are all so familiar with, the Soob bug bit me. Also, Eyesore has proved to be unkillable. By far the best $500 I have ever spent.