Team-BHP - Sedans

How I almost bought a car, not once but thrice!!

sachinj12 — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:03:02 GMT

We have never owned a car before. And neither were we interested in buying one until a puerile talk with friends turned serious and I decided that I must ask dad to buy one for our self. After his initial argument about the need of a small car/sedan for the family,he finally relented to my demands. I started hunting in june. I always wanted a scorpio and finally my long standing dream was about to be fulfilled.I have zero knowledge about cars,about it's maintenance or for that matter to decide whether I need a petrol or a diesel. I was simply following my heart-wanted a scorpio and was going to buy it,to hell with the maintenance,practicality and need of the family. Numerous visits to various used car showroom and I didn't find anything attractive within my reach(budget<4l). And then a visit to Mahindra first choice got me what I was looking for-a black fully loaded 2006 model, done 59k on odo, quoted at 5.65l. All was well and the deal was about to be finalized(negotiated and finally agreed for 5.35 after stretching) and then the unexpected happened, uncle learnt of the deal and asked dad to stop, put some gyan into my head about and convinced me to go for a small car or a sedan.Bad Luck no 1.
Thus began another hunt, now for a sedan(back to the initial budget of less than 4l). After some user reviews on carwale and team-bhp, decided on Chevy Aveo. But on visiting Sundaram Motors, saw a 2004 Optra Lt,well maintained, 42k odo reading quoted at 4l and immediately fell in love with it. As luck would have it,the deal did not happen and the plans were put on hold for sometime.Bad Luck no 2.
Come august and we finally decided against buying a used car and began another new hunt. Round 3-hunt for a brand new sedan. Another round of research and decided on Dzire (dad was particular about Maruthi, thanks to it's famed A.S.S, low cost of maintenance and resale value). Did a test drive and everyone liked it. We finally decided to book, it was almost September end. The dealer(Sagar automobiles, we know him) told us he could get the car in less than a week. So we decided to buy it in January next year, after all it was only a matter of waiting 3 months. October month,Bad Luck no 3. Due to some urgent financial commitment, the car money was used and buying a car has been put on hold infinitely.
Does it hurt? Yes, it does. Hurts a lot, especially when it's your first car and you are so near to buying one. I am sure, many of you have been through similar situations. No amount of consoling has helped me, I am shattered. Thought would share it here, as only a car lover can understand the pain of a fellow car lover. As for now, I have to be content watching other cars ply on the road.
PS: Mods, move the thread if its posted in the wrong section.

Need 2004 Corolla AT replacement - Now what?

rhandle — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 13:43:40 GMT

Hi Guys,

Okay my DaD decided to sell off his car Toyota Corolla AT 2004, for 3.5Lacs. The car has done hardly 1.25K kms. I tried showing him GTO's thread but then decided against it. I say DAD stands for DO AS DIRECTED. Towe morrow the car is going and we need to make a decision.

The Options - anything 10-14L budget. Shortlisted Cruze, Altis and Innova.
and might be.... CRV - 2nd hand
( few months back I was looking for a car and was almost down to buying a second hand CRV for my wife, thanks to all suggestions and encouragements over here at TBHP, but Fortuner came and spoiled the party.)

We drive 30-40K a year. Once a month short highway run and at least once a year long one (first wek of November, this year we did Delhi-Mumbai-Delhi).

My dad has driver 99.5% of times. This car we plan to keep is for at least another 5-7 years.

1. Innova. Our first preference. Everyone likes Innova in the family. We personally like the V model 7 seater and it's comfortable even than Corolla. The issue is other cars in Family are , Gurkha, Safari and Fortuner slated to be there in January. Might be to certain extent Taxi like image of Innova.

2. Cruze LTZ: Diesel, powerful, good looks, I know some one pretty senior in GM so even discounts would be thrown in and in Jan Auto is being launched. Not sure if in Petrol or Diesel but 2010 Jan Auto is being launched is confirmed. Plus point, we will have a SEDAN in the house.

3. Altis: Because it Corolla - Toyota. And we get to have a Sedan? -ve Petrol - huh!

4. CRV (?) 2.4 AWD - Saw 2006 december CRV registered in 2007, genuine 23K kms for 12.5 lakhs. -ves - Petrol? Before Fortuner killed its prospect earlier I am so so convinced for CRV - but then again it is shaped more like softroader SUV

Though we all are in Favor of Innova, the thought of not having a single Car (sedan) in family is kind of disheartening. Fortuner or Safari would serve any day to serve our family of 4+ 2 kids.

Do not know if Cruze can hold on like Toyota products or the Cruze bubble would burst?
Should we hang on till 2010 to either get 2010 car or to get more discount on 2009 car?
WHICH CAR?
AND The whole process would have been so complicated had it not been the Fortuner angle :( Another thought - cancel Fortuner, buy Cruze and Innova.

PS: I know this whole thing has not been put up properly - yeah goes on to say I am confused.

Honda Civic AT 2008 or 2009 Purchase Question

jocreative — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 20:21:26 GMT

Well after a strong and well faught battle between the Altis and the Civic in my mind, i have finally decided to go for the Civic AT. Feeling proud of making the decision, I confidently picked up the phone to call the dealers to book for a Civic AT Black!
Here comes the next confusion - The dealers say they may have another possibly "better" offer that may interest me and tells me that they have a Civic AT model available, but its the previous model without the cosmetic upgrades and the cruise control on steering wheel... and its White!

They offered me a big discount - Waived off the 49K insurance, and threw in a 4k Rear Parking Sensor for FREE, and since they looked desperate to sell the model, I asked if they can give me a Rear Spolier for free...or even half the price :). They put me on hold and said that it was not possible, but they managed to give another 1.5k discount on the 20k spoiler, and throw in some more freebies like Perfumes, Mats etc.

My paranoid thoughts are - be it the old model or the face lifted new model, the resale value is really going to go below 50% after 2 years or so, because of the other well valued competitor cars and also them having alot more features that Honda will obviously bring out a new Civic with alot more features soon... hence even driving the value down more. Its a pretty obvious assumption, so I guess thats one of the reason why I am still leaning towards the White AT offer.

I really dont care for the cosmetic changes in the new model, or cruise control. I am right now basically in Trivandrum, and cruise control is not going to be in my list of usage controls for a very long time since the roads are really bad. And everything else is still the same, and I am getting the same AT model for 60-80k lesser than the newer model, and ofcourse White rather than Black.

I have no issues with the color White, but considering my previous car Chevrolet AVEO was Ivory (off white), I was actually ready to go for some color on my next purchase.

Another quick doubt, does the 2007/8 model and 2009 model suffer any major difference in drive comfort, FE, or performance?

I already have a semi-guilt for not going for the well classy royal Altis because I am just not ready to transistion into the grown up mature looks classy Car yet... and also because the TVM dealears refused to provide the car in Black. I just want to make sure I make the right decision on this one.

So, the question is should I go for the White previous model AT (14.2L) with the ridiculous discount offer and get it delivered within a week... or Spend 15L on the new model and get it in Black and also wait for 30 days.
Let me know if you guys have any thoughts on this.