which second hand car ????

[gonecase_01]

hello guys,
i have finally gathered the courage to buy a second hand car.
These are some of the parameters which the car should satisfy:
1.Low Maintenance
2.Good FE
3.Should be able to park it in cramped space
4.Maximum budget of 2.5L
5.Easy handling since my sister would drive it too.
i have zeroed in on Palio.
Some light on Palio1.2/1.6 would be great.
thankx

[esteem_lover]

hey gonecase,
i think you need to see this first & give your requirements accordingly & we will definitely help you. cheers


http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-c...r-section.html

[Insane Devil]

Hey gonecase,

For the list of things u are asking, u have picked the wrong car mate!
For all things u need, the best car for u would be

1.Hyundai Santro
2.Maruti WagonR
3. Maruti ALTO (NEW)

gonecase, how long do u want to keep this car, is a big question. If u plan to keep it for a few years, maybe 3-5 years or more, then sincere suggestion is to go for a NEW car in your budget. the ALTO is the best bet here while it does go a bit out of budget, so u could instead go for a Sparingly Driven ALTO of 2006 model which u wil definately get for within 2.5lk. something maybe driven just say about 5-10k max!

Second Hand cars willl give u problems time to time, however good it is, and will never give u that peace of mind and the satisfaction wont be there.

The FE of the Palio is not good, please mind that, wether its 1.2 or 1.6, compared to the Santro/WagonR and Alto, coz its quiet a heavier car, and engine not being so efficiet as these.

You can try searching for a nice Sparingly driven 2006 Alto from some dealers, as many cars come seized from customers to the Banks who finance them, and they are a great deal! Try to even have a look at ebay, as i heard some banks have started auctioning off their seized vehicles thru that.

I am into the Financing business, so know of what am telling u, The banks are very strict with defaulters, and there are a good no. of ppl who default the first few installments itself! and those cars are really good!

You can even contact one of the sales person in the Maruti showroom, and take him aside and ask him if he knows of some customers how want to sell their Altos recently purchased.

I got my ex-car, the Scorpio just like that....
Driven only 250 kms, one month old, my choice of color (blue) for 1.5lk less than the OnRoad Price! this was in 2003 September. I went to buy a new Scorpio DX, and the sales person just outta curiosity (for his commision) called and asked me if i wud be interested in such a car, went and had a look, and gave the downpayment right then and took the car away!
This happend coz the person who bought it, after 3 days of buying it, fell from a height, and fractured one of his legs and was not going to drive anything for the next 6 months, and as he had taken it on Finance, he considered it wast paying the installments for it, so sold it to me!

[gonecase_01]

i would love to make some changes to my above post
it will be self driven and family members too
will be used for 500-600 kms per month
buying it for 2-3 years max.
would be used mainly in the city
i can let go of FE if i get performance
that is if i get a FE of 10-12 kmpl its ok by me
should be low on maintenance coz i am very lazy.

[raja_ys]

sir, its not courage to buy second hand car, rather the need and budget and purpose thats important. and also u have forgot to mention the main parameters that are required for selecting a car: 1) the average kms/month u expect to travel and 2) the num of ppl generally travelling in the car. on a general family size and travel format i wish to suggest u a wagonr/santro/alto/outdated 800 which meets ur parameters if we suppose u travel around 1200kms/month and have a family 0f 4-5 members. second hand palio is expensive to maintain.

[iraghava]

I would agree with ID here your best bet is a Santro. Palio would be expensive to maintain & would also have comparatively poor fuel efficiency. Whereas a Santro would be reliable, have cheap spares & services, easy availability of service & good quality, not to mention good resale too.

It's also easy to drive & access is good so it should suit your family needs & requirements well!

[Insane Devil]

Originally Posted by gonecase_01

i would love to make some changes to my above post
it will be self driven and family members too
will be used for 500-600 kms per month
buying it for 2-3 years max.
would be used mainly in the city
i can let go of FE if i get performance
that is if i get a FE of 10-12 kmpl its ok by me
should be low on maintenance coz i am very lazy.

Gonecase,

FE of 10-12 will be acheived by the Santro/Alto/WagonR, i doubt the Palio gives that, my friend has a palio 1.6 and his car gives him an FE or around 7-8kmply max! Palio is a heavy set car, while Santro/Alto/WagonR are light.

IF u only want to keep it for 2-3 years, then can think of a sparingly used car, in that case u will not lose much when u sell it after 2-3 years. A new car is better off when used for 4-5 yrs min, as then the resale thing doesnt bother much.

Santro/WagonR/Alto are all very low on maintenance, very cheap, and great A.S.S. record! the cars are also highly reliable, while Palio being Fiat, spares are costly and cant say it wud be as reliable quality wise as the Hyundai/Maruti. Palio Owners here can give u better idea on its maintenance.

[himanshugoswami]

I dont know how cramped do you mean when u talk of parking space, but if you are referring to regular parking spaces in teh city, one car that suits you to the T is the esteem. There are huge numbers of second hand esteems in teh marked, extremely cheap to maintain and economical to run. the car is very manouverable in teh city as well.

One thing though- avoid top end vx versions since the power windows pack up very early in an esteem's life.

[turbofreak]

Go for Alto...it fits into all 5 of your requirements.

[sumitdongerkery]

Hi Gonecase!!!!!!!

Looking at your criteria the best bet would be Alto... But in a more premium league would be a santro Xing. For that budget you should comfortably get a 2003 model. It is good on FE and also the handling and parking in the city...

Palio wud be a real bad choice.. It is poor on FE. Turning radius is too much... Although shockups are good enough. Neither will it have a good resale value later.

Cheers

[vijaypalrana]

Originally Posted by gonecase_01

i would love to make some changes to my above post
it will be self driven and family members too
will be used for 500-600 kms per month
buying it for 2-3 years max.
would be used mainly in the city
i can let go of FE if i get performance
that is if i get a FE of 10-12 kmpl its ok by me
should be low on maintenance coz i am very lazy.

Hi Gonecase,

Used cars in general will ask for some maintenance depending on the number of years and the number of kilometers it has run. Some months back I was looking for a used car with even lesser budget than yours. Test drove a hell lot of cars and ultimately settled for a new Maruti Alto LXi.

Depending on your requirements and budget I can recommend you Maruti Zen, Alto, 800. WagonR is tough to get in that budget. Try buying from True Value as you will get 1 year warranty plus 3 free services. Also you can ask for basic accessories. My last car was an 800 bought via true value and the dealer did provide me basic accessories. As you are planning to sell this car after 2-3 years and may buy a new car you will definitely get better resale on maruti cars. For Performance Zen is pretty good. Alto is not bad as well.

Palio 1.6 is an excellent choice if you are ready to spend on fuel and are performance freak. But getting a decent one will require expertize and patience. Also to unleash this babe you need long wide roads. Esteem & Santro also are fun to drive but not very sure of maintenance.

Happy driving and do let us know what you finally go for.

Cheers!

[ollie]

Hey Gonecase !
With the kind of budget and all your other requirements, go in for the Maruti Alto - new!!

[Octavia2]

Hey Gonecase,

Try getting a Santro, look at a low 2005 model with low mileage (Xing XK A/C I think). If it has low mileage, the owner most probably would also have a 4 year extended warranty on it (buyer mentality) - dealers in South always sell this. You should get it for around 2.5 lacs. This car satiisfies all your params. When u buy the car - try to take a 1 year AMC from the dealer as well - this comes for about 3 to 4k anually. This combined should take care of your maintenance both with respect to parts (covered in warranty) and service (covered in AMC).

Hope this helps! I own as one of my cars and I am very happy with it for city driving.

Thanks,
-P.