Need help - Friend wants to buy a car

[aggressive_anush]

Ok. Im posting this here on behalf of a friend who seems to have some problems registering on the site..

Note: I'm aware that the cars don't fall under the same category/purpose,
but I need to know the same info for all of them, hence they're grouped
together.

1. With regular maintenance and normal driving (no drag races / perf mods)
how many kms of life can you expect from a
a) hyundai accent glx
b) baleno
c) nhc zx vtec
d) hyundai elantra crdi

2. How frequently do these cars come in for servicing and how much does the
service cost total up to on an average (including consumables but assuming
no replacements to parts broken from accidents etc.)

3. What's the mileage like on the nhc zx vtec (have the info for the others)

4. What are your experiences with the skoda octavia 1.9 tdi with respect to a) availability of parts
b) reliability of servicing and
c) cost of servicing.
Any info specific to Bangalore (and therefore TAFE Access would be much
appreciated).

[satyamenon]

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

1. With regular maintenance and normal driving (no drag races / perf mods)
how many kms of life can you expect from a
a) hyundai accent glx
b) baleno
c) nhc zx vtec
d) hyundai elantra crdi

I think you can get an easy lakh plus from each. Don't see any reason why one wouldn't get even more.

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

2. How frequently do these cars come in for servicing and how much does the
service cost total up to on an average (including consumables but assuming
no replacements to parts broken from accidents etc.)

I think once in 4-5 months, depending on usage. If I remember correctly, for our Accent GLE, we gave it every 6 months/10000 kms.

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

4. What are your experiences with the skoda octavia 1.9 tdi with respect to a) availability of parts
b) reliability of servicing and
c) cost of servicing.
Any info specific to Bangalore (and therefore TAFE Access would be much
appreciated).

If it were me, I'd stay away from any Skoda cos of the problems my friend is facing with TAFE. In fact, he is in the process of filing a case against them. The sad part is that he loves the car (petrol version), but hates the dealer....

[hellspawn]

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

Ok. Im posting this here on behalf of a friend who seems to have some problems registering on the site..

Note: I'm aware that the cars don't fall under the same category/purpose,
but I need to know the same info for all of them, hence they're grouped
together.

1. With regular maintenance and normal driving (no drag races / perf mods)
how many kms of life can you expect from a
a) hyundai accent glx
b) baleno
c) nhc zx vtec
d) hyundai elantra crdi

2. How frequently do these cars come in for servicing and how much does the
service cost total up to on an average (including consumables but assuming
no replacements to parts broken from accidents etc.)

3. What's the mileage like on the nhc zx vtec (have the info for the others)

4. What are your experiences with the skoda octavia 1.9 tdi with respect to a) availability of parts
b) reliability of servicing and
c) cost of servicing.
Any info specific to Bangalore (and therefore TAFE Access would be much
appreciated).

1.well like satyamenon said,you can easily clock upto 1lac+kms on all the cars.
2.the servicing costs would range from 2500 to max. 5000 bucks.the baleno will be the cheapest to maintain while the elantra will be more expensive.
3.i own a nhc zx vtec and have been getting a constant 14km/ltr with ac on 100%.
4.no clue about the skoda

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

1. With regular maintenance and normal driving (no drag races / perf mods)
how many kms of life can you expect from a
a) hyundai accent glx b) baleno c) nhc zx vtec d) hyundai elantra crdi

As the others already mentioned, 1 lac kms is easy. And I see no reason why it cannot be more than that.

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

2. How frequently do these cars come in for servicing and how much does the service cost total up to on an average (including consumables but assuming no replacements to parts broken from accidents etc.)

Usually, it is every 12 months or 10000kms, whichever is earlier. Not sure about the Elantra, but the other 3 cars should not tax you much on regular maintenance. Based on spares cost data compiled by ACI, Accent would be the cheapest to maintain, followed by Baleno and then the NHC.

Originally Posted by aggressive_anush

4. What are your experiences with the skoda octavia 1.9 tdi with respect to a) availability of parts
b) reliability of servicing and
c) cost of servicing.

Search the forum and you will find a lot of relevant data on the Skoda.

[Somas]

Thanks for the responses! While I was waiting for the confirmation email from team-bhp, I asked anush to put in my questions (thanks man). Let me add something here that will make things clearer.

I have a company car (dad's actually)- the accent that's done 60k. It's been maintained extremely well - no vibes, no harshness and (for me) more than adequate top end. I can possibly buy it back from the company for a song. The question is, is it worth buying it back. One person (and he's actually quite senior and experienced w.r.t cars) says the accent can actually go upto 2 lakhs kms. I'd love it if someone can (based on more than speculation) dispute or confirm this.

Onto the diesels, after much soul searching and team-bhp searching, I've decided that much as I drool over the looks of the skoda and am willing to forgive its lack of space, acceleration and comfort with respect to the elantra crdi (all in keeping with my bias towards pretty cars), the maintenance costs and service issues make it sound like a masochistic affair. So, it's going to be an elantra.

As an aside, while I test drove the skoda, I asked the skoda rep repeatedly about what major part replacements and servicings were going to occur on the diesel in due course and when, and how much it would cost. I would have appreciated an honest answer and attempted to take it in my stride (who am I kidding ;-)) but he absolutely refused to be specific and went so far as to say that my servicings all included with synthetic oil should total up to Rs. 4k. I later read the posts on team-bhp. Hey, anyone here wants to be around when this guy calls later?

Thanks!

[tsk1979]

Welcome to the Forum Somas.
Of all the cars you listed, skoda is the most expensive to maintain, as regular maintainace parts are very costly. That said it is very very reliable.
Of the other cars elantra crdi is an hidden gem. Since you are a hyundai customer you can get even higher discounts.
A member over here has clocked 1 lakh+ without any problems and another has clocked 4 lakh odd kms.
I suggest you go the the "Long Term Reviews" section and check out owner reviews of the vehicles.
So if looks are not too much of an issue, the elantra is going to make an excellent choice and you can be assured of trouble free performance for much more than 1 lakh kms provided to keep her well.
the service costs are no higher than a hatchback like getz/swift/indica and same can be said for most common spare parts.
the only issue with modern diesels is that if bad fuel fouls up your common rail big time(Can happen with skoda/Toyota/hyundai/Ford) you are looking at expensive repairs unless you can use some corporte muscle to goad the dealer into giving you warranty for such cases too.

[satyamenon]

Hi Somas, I hope you haven't made your decision yet. If not, perhaps this might help.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/car-de...hip-sucks.html

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by Somas

Thanks for the responses! While I was waiting for the confirmation email from team-bhp, I asked anush to put in my questions (thanks man). Let me add something here that will make things clearer.

I have a company car (dad's actually)- the accent that's done 60k. It's been maintained extremely well - no vibes, no harshness and (for me) more than adequate top end. I can possibly buy it back from the company for a song. The question is, is it worth buying it back. One person (and he's actually quite senior and experienced w.r.t cars) says the accent can actually go upto 2 lakhs kms. I'd love it if someone can (based on more than speculation) dispute or confirm this.

Onto the diesels, after much soul searching and team-bhp searching, I've decided that much as I drool over the looks of the skoda and am willing to forgive its lack of space, acceleration and comfort with respect to the elantra crdi (all in keeping with my bias towards pretty cars), the maintenance costs and service issues make it sound like a masochistic affair. So, it's going to be an elantra.

As an aside, while I test drove the skoda, I asked the skoda rep repeatedly about what major part replacements and servicings were going to occur on the diesel in due course and when, and how much it would cost. I would have appreciated an honest answer and attempted to take it in my stride (who am I kidding ;-)) but he absolutely refused to be specific and went so far as to say that my servicings all included with synthetic oil should total up to Rs. 4k. I later read the posts on team-bhp. Hey, anyone here wants to be around when this guy calls later?

Thanks!

somas, i would suggest you go ahead & get that accent for a song. you say it is a good car. who best to say that, except you ? you have been having it. do not worry too much about the kms. they do matter, but as long as the car has done its regular services & stuff, it is good for 2-4 lakh kms. go ahead, man, first buy this car & later go for an upgrade if finances permit.
cheers