The Car Shopping Round (Round 64): Tears in Heaven

Very nice reviews :slight_smile:

Nice reviews Dragawn! A very pleasant read.

Argh, I am collecting too many bronze and silver medals :unamused:

Congrats to Leonardo.

Congrats Leo! We had practically the same car, but yours clearly had that extra edge :laughing:

Brilliant reviews, and congrats to Leo! Let the next round commence.

As per ususal, I’m toward the back. I’m bad at catering to a market. :stuck_out_tongue:

I’m very pleased to have my car chosen by such a detail-oriented buyer :slight_smile: Thanks, Dragawn for choosing Baltazar Automoveis.


New challenge:

[size=200]Brand-new ecobox[/size]

This challenge is set to represent the difficulties I faced when buying a new car last year. At first, I was going to buy myself a 10 year old, used car, however my father was very much against that idea, so we ended up getting a, slightly shit, brand new car. So your challenge is to cater to my slightly particular needs. The car must be cheap to buy, cheap to insure, cheap to tax, cheap to run, somewhat fun to drive, easy to park (I failed my driving exam once exactly because of parking, needless to say that I’m not the best at it, although I’ve gotten a lot better since :stuck_out_tongue:), good looking and somewhat comfortable. It’s worth noting that the car has to be suited for the brazilian market and its peculiarities. Long list of wishes and an inversely proportional budget. Good luck.

[size=150]Rules and suggestions[/size]
[ul]
]2015 trim year. The model and engine families can be older, which would add realism, but that is not required. /:m]
]Car must cost less than $15,000 with 5% profit in the market tab, the below detailed tax will be added AFTERWARDS by me. A good sticker price is, of course, a bonus./:m]
]Regular Unleaded (91 RON/87 AKI) fuel./:m]
]Our tarmac has terrible quality and there are tons of speed bumps, so a good ride height and well set-up suspension are desired, I end up going off-road sometimes, but DO NOT use off-road tyres or diffs./:m]
]Reliability is important, as are low service service and running costs./:m]
]Comfort, Sportiness and Drivability matter a lot to me./:m]
]A relatively good interior and entertainment system appeal highly to me./:m]
]Despite being a penalty box, good grip and good acceleration would be highly praised, possibly even if it came at the cost of fuel economy./:m]
]Safety above 30. I value my health, but I understand you can’t afford top-notch systems for so little./:m]
]The car should seat 5 with relative comfort, since me and my family are quite tall. Luggage space isn’t necessary, but could be nice./:m]
]Insurance values here depend on the buyer profile and how likely the car is to be stolen, so low prestige could be helpful there, but I also have to want the car, so tune your prestige carefully. On the other hand, a sleek, modern, dynamic look would be appreciated. /:m]
]The value added tax for new cars depends on the engine size, I will add the equivalent percentages to the sales price of the finished car. Cars with engines below 1000cc pay 7% tax, between 1000cc and 2000cc, 14%, above 2000cc, 25%./:m][/ul]

If you have questions, tell them below and I’ll try my best to explain, and sorry for the weird rules.
[size=150]The deadline is one week from now, on the 22nd, at noon GMT.[/size]

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Another very cheap eco car, hmm.

Well, it goes to show that most of us aren’t particularly wealthy :laughing:

That being said should I ever retake the reins of this thread, I’ll definitely 100% be branching out into other markets. It’s entirely up to the roundmaster.

What I would really love right now is a way to sort bodies by the number of seats. I’ve had to throw out 4 cars already because I got all the way through the design phase and found out they had a maximum of 4 f-ing seats. So, to put it bluntly, my next design is going to be a penalty box for the driver, guaranteed.

walks away muttering something about lining the driver’s seat with sharpened railroad spikes.

So, an econobox for the Brazilian export market…
I’m on it.

Well, that was quite the challenge for a quick exercise. Leo, my car, with the taxes included, comes to 15008. Is that still too high to be accepted/ am I likely to get penalised for going over 15k? (Particularly as the final price is actually incremental so the exact cost of the car is not entirely reflected in the final sticker price).

The taxes will be added after the full-sale value, so don’t worry about including them in the costs just yet, so your 15,008 car probably costs around 14,000 on the market, which is fine. Cheaper cars will score more at the end. I’ll edit the post to make it clearer.

Rephrasing: The cars should cost less than 15,000 in the game markets, with a 5% margin.

Oh goody, thanks for clearing that up.

My negative quality slider gland is really hurting, I may end up sacrificing cheapness for a bit better everything else then… :laughing:

I hope I nailed it this time because I’ve a great idea for you…

Anyway, Leo how long do you plan to keep your new car? You know…is it a problem that it will be full of rust in 10 years? :slight_smile:

I don’t live near the beach, nor in a place with snow, so rust shouldn’t be a big problem. However, having at least some kind of rust proofing would be good to keep my resale value when it comes to sell the car.

How… important is that 5th seat to you? Could you accept a four-seater if it was more sporty and had a better radio, or would anything less than five seats be a deal breaker?

First off: Great job on reviews for everyone Dragawn, kudos. Also congrats to Leo for the victory.

Second: To add onto Madrias’ question since it goes in a similar direction, how important do you consider having four doors? If five seats are important are four doors equally so? (I too have a tall family so i know climbing through can be a hassle, but i figured I’d ask)

Neither is strictly necessary, although both are very welcome, to give that extra edge on practicality. I would say that the rear doors are more important than the fifth seat, the cars are so small that no one would be able to sit there anyway.

Hello there, welcome to Solo Motors Co. Allow me to introduce you to the 2015 Solo Rio SM. This is our international market compact hatch, and this is the sport edition optimized for the Brazilian market. For $14,910, you get a very reliable aluminium bodied, FWD, 5 seat hatch. Powered by a 1.7L V6 producing 140 hp and 118 ft-lb of torque connected to our high quality 6-speed manual transmission with viscous LSD, getting you 30.4 MPG, a 0-100 km/h time of 8.3 seconds, and a top speed of 217 km/h. It’s got 16" alloy wheels, disc brakes front and back, standard suspension with active sway bars and 21.5 cm of ground clearance to tackle the rough roads, as well as for some light offroading. Inside, you’ll find a high quality basic interior and infotainment system and basic safety features, but that’s what you can expect at this price point. I hope you can enjoy our budget hot hatch enough to consider making one your own, and be assured that as great of a car it is, it’s hardly considered prestigious and therefore not a big target for thieves.

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Presenting, for the international market, the Armada Fore Gen IV. Azure.

Since 1984, Armada has been constantly reshaping and redeveloping their enduring crowd favourite, the Armada Fore. Now well into its fourth generation, this is the car that most closely connects with the everyday driver on every level, and Armada’s most versatile model, with a modular trim selection structure to suit every need (and want) from the eco-box, to the sporty eco-box, to the sporty family eco-box, to downright damn fast, all on a budget. This trim, the Azure, is specifically geared towards the everyman and everywoman who, in this modern age of 2015, wants everything for every situation, for less.

That is why this body uses the smaller, lighter body from the previous generation. But don’t be confused, as this model was specially facelifted with a snappy, truly modern style. It also uses Armada’s specially developed small displacement turbo engine, easily manufactured but balanced expertly to attain 100bhp from just under 1L. Mated to a six speed manual, the drivetrain is a delight for the driver who seeks a fun and involving experience, delivering brisk urban performance without burning a hole in your hip pocket at the garage or the pump.

With fade free, vented disc brakes, properly upholstered and padded seats, proper interior sound insulation, six speaker stereo with CD player and Aux device connectivity, and a spacious interior that comfortably seats 5, you might expect this car to go for a lot more, but it can be yours for just $14,170 [size=50]excluding on-road costs and post-sales taxation[/size].

What are you waiting for? Go there.

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