Second car - buy Used or New?

[SkyWalker]

[FONT=Verdana]I have been driving a Palio 1.2 for more than five years now. My wife decided to start driving to work after postponing all this years - so we need to pick up a second car.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Originally I was thinking of picking up new Santro\Alto. Easy to drive & park in congested [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Bangalore[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] roads. Good for the city traffic. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Now here are the questions I have:[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] (a) Assuming that I have a hatch already does it make more sense to buy a sedan?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] (b) If I go for a sedan - does it make sense to pick up a used one or buy new?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] (c) What cars do you recommend I look at in used/new?[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Probably I need to make myself clear on :[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana](a) If I choose a hatch i will be pretty happy while commuting to office, but our occasional long drives would suffer.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana](b). It’s pretty obvious that a used car cost less - but I am a little worried about maintenance hassles.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana](c) My budget is up to 9L for a new car or max 5 L for a used one. Here are my current preferences – should I go for a hatch I will choose either Santro or Alto depending on what my wife chooses after test driving both. Not so sure in the [/FONT][FONT=Verdana]Sedan[/FONT][FONT=Verdana] segment though.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Our drives are short - offices are under 10 Kms roundtrip, weekend shopping under 30 kms, and there will be 2-3 long drives a year totaling 2000 Kms. I covered only 30K Kms in 5 years. [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Here are my priorities (in that order) :[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]1. A practical cars with as less maintenance hassles as possible (Palio has been kind that way - just 6 services/4 paid)[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]2. A peppy engine and good driving dynamics would be great to have. I liked driving the Palio 1.6, Baleno and corolla. My 1.2 has good dynamics, but engine could be peppier.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]3. Space and a nice boot will be good for the long drives [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Has anyone been in this situation before? Even if you were not - I would like to hear your opinions suggestions.[/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana] [/FONT]
[FONT=Verdana]Sorry that was a long one. Thanks for your time.[/FONT]

[SkyWalker]

i dont know how the post got screwed up like that - I am reposting it here:


Second car - buy Used or New?

I have been driving a Palio 1.2 for more than five years now. My wife decided to start driving to work after postponing all this years - so we need to pick up a second car.

Originally I was thinking of picking up new Santro\Alto. Easy to drive & park in congested Bangalore roads. Good for the city traffic.

Now here are the questions I have:
(a) Assuming that I have a hatch already does it make more sense to buy a sedan?
(b) If I go for a sedan - does it make sense to pick up a used one or buy new?
(c) What cars do you recommend I look at in used/new?

Probably I need to make myself clear on :
(a) If I choose a hatch i will be pretty happy while commuting to office, but our occasional long drives would suffer.
(b). It’s pretty obvious that a used car cost less - but I am a little worried about maintenance hassles.
(c) My budget is up to 9L for a new car or max 5 L for a used one. Here are my current preferences - should I go for a hatch I will choose either Santro or Alto depending on what my wife chooses after test driving both. Not so sure in the Sedan segment though.

Our drives are short - offices are under 10 Kms roundtrip, weekend shopping under 30 kms, and there will be 2-3 long drives a year totaling 2000 Kms. I covered only 30K Kms in 5 years.

Here are my priorities (in that order) :
1. A practical cars with as less maintenance hassles as possible (Palio has been kind that way - just 6 services/4 paid)
2. A peppy engine and good driving dynamics would be great to have. I liked driving the Palio 1.6, Baleno and corolla. My 1.2 has good dynamics, but engine could be peppier.
3. Space and a nice boot will be good for the long drives

Has anyone been in this situation before? Even if you were not - I would like to hear your opinions suggestions.

Thanks for your time.

[AirWind]

A used car is the best bet for Bengaluru's pathetic traffic, a sedan (if you can afford the parking space) as you already have a hatch, the maneuverability will suffer and you will have to live with it. You can go for a used Baleno or a Petra, a low mileage/well maintained one could be yours south of 3L

[BaCkSeAtDrIVeR]

IMHO, if the question is just "2nd car in the family - Used or New", the answer depends on same factors applicable to the first car.
If wife is absolutely new to driving, I suggest you go for an ancient M800 and wait till she gets comfortable with that. Then, give the existing hatch to her and you can go in for a sedan.

[lamborghini]

Who would be using the car?
If it is your wife than i would recommend a hatch (check out the i10 as well) as she is new to driving.
If you will be driving it and your wife would be using the Palio, then i would suggest a Fiesta 1.4 ZXi, either petrol or diesel depending on how many kms you do.
You could even look at the SX4 ZXi variant for its safety features though the interiors are poor.

[SkyWalker]

Who would be driving the car depends a lot on whether we buy a hatch or sedan. If we buy the hatch we will go for something a little smaller like Alto and then my wife will drive it.

If its a sedan i will take it.

Used Baleno sounds attractive to me though as i have driven that car and really liked it. What makes can i expect in that range?

Thanks for the i10 suggestion - i was considering taking a test drive of that.

[reignofchaos]

Depends on what you really want... Anyway here are my suggestions based upon your priorities.

New Hatch:Alto/Santro/i10
Used Sedan: Baleno or Elantra CRDi
New Sedan: Mitsu Cedia

[lamborghini]

If you would be driving the sedan than you could seriously look at the base version of the Cedia or the Fiesta.
Second hand options - The Baleno is a great car. You could also try looking for a used 2003 OHC VTEC or a 2005 Lancer SFXi or even better the 1.8 Invex AT.

[prskumar]

As you already have a hatch, go for a sedan as the second car. This will also serve your needs for any long trips and for local use you'll have the hatch anyways.

[SkyWalker]

thanks for the suggestions:

Baleno is a viable used car option. How is the spare parts prices/maintenance for OHC 03 models. Any idea about the price range?

I like the looks of Cedia - but i am not too sure of buying a HM supported product - even if its a Mitsu.

[wilful]

Go in for a new car (Luke?) Skywalker; nothing like it if you can afford it! And as you have a decent enough budget you have some nice options before you.
Since your annual usage is only around 6000 kms, diesel might be a waste.

I would suggest that you take a look at the Fiesta. It offers you the sedan advantages but is compact enough for ease of use in the city. You sound like a driving enthusiast, since your wish list calls for a peppy engine with good dynamics, so maybe you could try out the 1.6 version. I should imagine it would be priced well within your budget.

[reignofchaos]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

thanks for the suggestions:

Baleno is a viable used car option. How is the spare parts prices/maintenance for OHC 03 models. Any idea about the price range?

I like the looks of Cedia - but i am not too sure of buying a HM supported product - even if its a Mitsu.

Trust me on this... Lathangi service (the authorized mitsu service center in blore) so far has been way better than anything I've experienced from Maruti in the last 7 years when I used my dad's zen.

[navin_bhp]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

Who would be driving the car depends a lot on
Used Baleno sounds attractive to me though as i have driven that car and really liked it. What makes can i expect in that range?

You can get 98,99,2000 model OHC's, lancers and ikon within 3L (get the low milege one's its best VFM and if you have a plan of moving to luxury sedan in near future ). Also the road view in a OHC is very good compared to Palio and its easy to drive, Im sure your wife would feel more comfortable driving the city in the city also. Good Luck.

[danlalan]

My budget is up to 9L for a new car or max 5 L for a used one

Hmmm 9+5= 14lakhs goood enuf. Honda Accord. ahh Just kidding

But if 9 i your budget then you've got a lot of options. Dont go in for CRDI's or D's or D i's not really what you need for your kind of driving.

But for 9 you've got

1. Ford's Fiesta
2. Honda City
3. Corolla Executive
4. Baleno New

Dont go in for a used car. You have the budget by a new one. There no Comparision for having a BRAND NEW CAR.

[DirtyDan]

Maruti-Suzuki Swift is another option. Peppy 1.3L engine. Well under your budget new.