Best Cheap Car for Jordan?

Beetlemaniac

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Nov 10, 2003
Location
Vienna, Virginia
I made the mistake of driving a 2018 Golf manual today. I wish I could talk my wife into getting one of those, but she is from South America (yep, South American Japanese) and only knows the Brazilian VWs, so she is prejudiced against the brand. :(

Anyhow, the only reason I am interested in the Korean brands (Kia and Hyundai) is their salesmen told me they might cover any work done in Jordan under warranty if I'm there on orders. Has anyone had any experience with this? There's nothing about it in their warranty guides, so you'd be pretty much trusting them to do it on a case-by-case basis... As far as handling goes, I would rank the Golf #1 out of the ones I've tried recently, followed by the Mazda3.

I also drove a Hyundai Elantra GT hatch today, by the way, but I would rank it after the Kia Forte5 in handling.
 
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oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
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outside St Louis, MO
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There are just too many to list....
Hehe, I'm glad I wear the automotive pants in my household.

Oh, and my Golf is from Brazil.... will cross 540k miles tomorrow evening. Not too shabby for an 18 year old South American car. :D

To be fair, my wife has really only ever driven Volkswagens, although she has experienced other brands since I have bought and sold a lot of cars over the years. We went to pick up a Corolla once, from a couple hundred miles away, and I made her drive it back... not because I wanted her to experience it or anything, but because I could not sit in one for more than about 15 minutes without needing physical therapy afterwards.

We got home, the first words out of her mouth: "I have no idea why these things are so popular, this is an AWFUL car to drive" :p And at the time, her daily driver was a 1998 Jetta.... this Corolla was a 2001.
 

Beetlemaniac

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Joined
Nov 10, 2003
Location
Vienna, Virginia
Hehe, I'm glad I wear the automotive pants in my household.
Oh, and my Golf is from Brazil.... will cross 540k miles tomorrow evening. Not too shabby for an 18 year old South American car. :D
To be fair, my wife has really only ever driven Volkswagens, although she has experienced other brands since I have bought and sold a lot of cars over the years. We went to pick up a Corolla once, from a couple hundred miles away, and I made her drive it back... not because I wanted her to experience it or anything, but because I could not sit in one for more than about 15 minutes without needing physical therapy afterwards.
We got home, the first words out of her mouth: "I have no idea why these things are so popular, this is an AWFUL car to drive" :p And at the time, her daily driver was a 1998 Jetta.... this Corolla was a 2001.
Congrats on the long life of your Golf. If this drags out long enough (I'm leaving in July), I'll just buy something local spec in Jordan and sell it when I leave. That can be expensive, however (no good tax breaks in Jordan), and heartbreaking, as well (I lost my nearly-new Audi A1 after less than two years that way).

I'm not a big fan of Corollas either, btw, and haven't owned a Toyota since the 1980s. I test drove a Yaris once; it was horrible. My wife tried to get me to buy a Corolla a few years ago, but I dodged that bullet. :)
 

Beetlemaniac

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Nov 10, 2003
Location
Vienna, Virginia
So, I got a Mazda3 over the weekend. I did get at least one concession from my wife and got the hatchback rather than the sedan. :) It is a lot of fun to drive and is supposedly very reliable... Anyhow, thanks to everyone who offered advice.
 

oilhammer

Certified Volkswagen Nut & Vendor
Joined
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Location
outside St Louis, MO
TDI
There are just too many to list....
I'd take the hatch over the sedan, too. Little sedans are lame. The trunks are a joke. At least they are nowadays, not to mention they look dorky.

The 3, which is no longer a Japanese assembled Focus, seems to be a decent package, although they are pretty thrifty with their use of materials. But the price tag reflects that, and I doubt you'll need to worry about rust issues that Mazda seems plagued with, as Jordan is probably not salting the roads half the year. :p

Depending on what engine it has, though, you need to keep close tabs on the oil level. Lots of these cars that spec a 0w20 oil, especially DI ones, can have a nasty habit of emptying the crankcase LONG before the next service interval is due.

I like the 3 a lot, though. Good choice. No diesel versions sold here, so not my kind of car, but if they did sell them here (they do elsewhere), I might consider one! :p
 

nitec

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hmm...a colleague of mine lived in Saudi for something like 8-10 years...his #1 rule was a white Toyota diesel truck...always! you don't want to stand out, you don't want to break down and you don't want something pricey that you`ll be concerned with sun damage, scratches etc. Their security company had done a ton of assessments and Toyota was the only choice...a few of the guys who were making decent money started buying Aston Martins etc but those last a total of 3 years before the heat and sand get to them...

food for thought - I'd go with something that will run on anything and over everything and will provide me some protection if I had to make a run for it...Mazda 3 isn't the first thing that comes to mind lol

best of luck! I think I`m due for a change in countries as well...
 

Beetlemaniac

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Joined
Nov 10, 2003
Location
Vienna, Virginia
hmm...a colleague of mine lived in Saudi for something like 8-10 years...his #1 rule was a white Toyota diesel truck...always! you don't want to stand out, you don't want to break down and you don't want something pricey that you`ll be concerned with sun damage, scratches etc. Their security company had done a ton of assessments and Toyota was the only choice...a few of the guys who were making decent money started buying Aston Martins etc but those last a total of 3 years before the heat and sand get to them...

food for thought - I'd go with something that will run on anything and over everything and will provide me some protection if I had to make a run for it...Mazda 3 isn't the first thing that comes to mind lol

best of luck! I think I`m due for a change in countries as well...
You're moving, too? Any idea where?

I think we are not allowed to bring diesels to Jordan. Saudi also has a ban on trucks, as well, and other countries I've gone to banned convertibles -- so I guess they don't want us to fit in too well or drive anything much past basic transportation. Anyhow, I look very northern European, so there's not much chance of passing for a local, but Jordan is supposedly much safer than the other countries in the area. I've been there a few times already and everyone seemed quite friendly. Of course, their neighbors are Syria, Iraq, Saudi, etc. and even Israel is a bit dangerous, so it's all relative.

A lot of the Arab countries ban tinted glass, by the way, especially aftermarket, so I hope I don't get hassled about the factory tint on the Mazda. They particularly dislike it on the windshield (which makes sense) and the rear window (which doesn't).
 

Beetlemaniac

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Joined
Nov 10, 2003
Location
Vienna, Virginia
I'd take the hatch over the sedan, too. Little sedans are lame. The trunks are a joke. At least they are nowadays, not to mention they look dorky.
The 3, which is no longer a Japanese assembled Focus, seems to be a decent package, although they are pretty thrifty with their use of materials. But the price tag reflects that, and I doubt you'll need to worry about rust issues that Mazda seems plagued with, as Jordan is probably not salting the roads half the year. :p
Depending on what engine it has, though, you need to keep close tabs on the oil level. Lots of these cars that spec a 0w20 oil, especially DI ones, can have a nasty habit of emptying the crankcase LONG before the next service interval is due.
I like the 3 a lot, though. Good choice. No diesel versions sold here, so not my kind of car, but if they did sell them here (they do elsewhere), I might consider one! :p
The trunk on the Mazda3 sedan looked very inadequate for carrying suitcases, etc., so I flat out said no to that. They charge quite a premium for the hatchbacks (over $1k more), however. Thanks for the tips on the oil; I haven't had to mess with it much on our CR-V.
 
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