3rd May 2006, 06:25
To the person who said that price of a waja is more expensive here compared to overseas. Please do some homework of yours before you make any remarks such as this. A Proton Impian (which is similar to a waja, but it is called an Impian in UK) is selling at a price range of 10995pounds - 11995 pounds. If you convert to Malaysian Ringgit. It'll be at least RM70k. Whereas in Malaysia, a waja is selling at a price around RM57k. Therefore prices in Malaysia for proton cars are indeed way cheaper compared to overseas price.
No cars are perfect in this world. Proton always gets bad remarks about their quality. Why you may ask... it is because of the Malaysian spirit and proton is a cheaper alternative to get a car. The government is supporting proton because it is a Malaysian car maker which with kind feedbacks from you all they are able to improve.
To justify a car have to depend on many different factors. If you are like Jeremy Clarkson who hates Malaysian or Korean cars, then you are better off buying those expensive sport cars to suit your needs. I was laughing at the n00bie remarks about proton that you all have made. There are many things to think about to review a car. A true car lover and able to understand all car would not let feelings take over him and criticize all the way.
For me waja is indeed comfortable. There are problems too same as any other cars. Especially the windows which seems to be every proton user’s problem. But other than that, with extra care to take care the car, there are no major problems. It is indeed better than the other proton lines like Saga or Wira. I like the handling characteristic for the waja as I will often do some slides or drift with the car. It gives me better control of the car compared to a Saga.
Of course everyone will say buying a Japanese car will be great compared to a proton. Even I would agree because protons are front wheel driven. If there is a proton car which has a low cg and a rear wheel driven (please.. not juara.. its too high). I wouldn’t mind buying one. But bear in mind the parts of a Japanese car. They are expensive and hard to get compared to a proton. Proton parts are reasonable tho the OEM parts won’t satisfy a power hungry person. You have to compare the level of the car with the car you are comparing though. You can’t compare a TRD parts with proton OEM parts. You are better off comparing a TRD part with a R3 part.
So bottom line is that get a proton if you want to save ur money on cars. Besides you can get it cheap and you can fully mod.
13th Apr 2006, 22:20
For people whom their earning is equal or a little bit more than their spending per month, the objective of owning something that cost more than RM$300 per month, are not about "getting proud of it".
In fact, for myself, I traded my old car, Wira 1.3 with Waja Campro manual hoping for better quality suitable for the money I pay every month. FYI, I paid Wira 1.3 for RM$598 (Islamic loan, at that time the profit % is quite high, for 7 years). And now I would be paying for my Waja Campro for RM$568 (for 10 years).
Furthermore, you have to understand that the price of Proton car in Malaysia is more expensive compared to the price of car outside Malaysia like in UK. Why? Because they have to compete with other car manufacturer whereby the price is also in that range. But regardless of what reason the Proton car price outside Malaysia have to be much cheaper, we, the Malaysian owner of Proton car have to bear the cost, thus we all are already sacrificing our income for the sake of Proton car got a better price oversea.
So, don't talk about giving chance or being proud. We all have already gave 10 years of chance to Proton and if they still do not improve their QOS, or by giving out Quality of assurance, I can guarantee to you that even in the next 5 years Proton will still not get a single cen of profit, unless the government still indirectly support them.
On comment by "Novice Buyer" on 14th Mar 2006, 19:45, I'm using Waja Campro, bought last month.
Okay, but just a few small problem. One problem that was encountered on the first day is the shifting gear from 2 to 3 or from free gear to gear 2 or 3. It is not smooth. Something wrong with the gear.
Then the reverse sensor, during raining, the sensor beep itself, as if they sense the rain as something blocking at the back of the car.
Other things is the petrol meter. Especially when nearly empty and I really thought it was because the petrol beacon show off. But when refill only 40 liter. When I read the specification, it said that the full tank should be 60 liter. Secondly, after the petrol nearly empty, if I still drive for a few more KM, I found out that suddenly the meter went up again as if it is not nearly empty at all.
Don't put your volume to the maximum because your car speaker would suddenly have some problem.
Other than that, everything okay.
On the petrol consumption, if it still under 1000KM, I notice that the petrol consume a lot.
After 1000km service, for 20 KM ride in KL (with traffic-jam) it took around $15-$20, back-and-forth. But for long trip, say for 300KM, it took only about 20-30 litre of petrol compared to Wira 1.3 manual which used full tank.
I don't know whether it is true leather seat or not, but I felt comfortable driving all the way from KL to S. Prai for 6 hours (with 2 stopping).
I don't know whether the Campro engine can be service by other mechanic or not. I also don't know whether Campro Spare parts would be available or not. But FYI, it is better to be service by Proton though it would a little bit expensive. Because they also gave me free labour for at least 20,000 KM. That would be for the next 6 months maybe. And during that time, probably there already some mechanics shops have spare parts. Or maybe 1 year later. I don't know.
I read a little bit about SOHC and DOHC. DOHC engine, if the car was drive appropriately, it can save some petrol compared to SOHC.
In city, it is really underpowered especially if you are going up the hill. I notice that the engine sound a little bit higher each time change gear when going up the hill. But I think what important is that to control the RPM so that we can also save some petrol. Make sure that the RPM would always below 2 when driving in the city.
I'm not advising that buying Proton car is not good, but if your main concern is on the quality in long term, petrol consumption in the city and cost of purchasing and maintenance is not an issue, get a non-Malaysian car manufactured outside Malaysia. I don't know the best car for that purpose, but I suggest for petrol consumption get an import car that used daihatsu engine.
But if your budget is lower than 60,000 than you should try Waja.
Again, drive Wira or Waja gently. It is not meant for anybody who always have the "rushing" attitude when going anywhere or like to drive your car as if it is a toy. Otherwise, you should have a lot of money in your pocket every month for maintenance.