Need guidance to buy a Second hand sedan. Budget is only 3.5 lac.

[suren181]

The Accent or the Esteem seems to be a right choice. Amongst these two I would favor the Accent for the reasons being

1) It is still in production, not an outdated model as such
2) Commands a better resale value (not a good feature though when you are in the market to buy)
3) A.S.S. comparable with Maruti and so is the cost of maintenance
4) Looks bigger and much more pricier.

These are just my reasons, however the Esteem also does score high in the choice list

1) Eventhough out of production, spares availability will not be an issue atleast for another 3 ~ 5 years approx.
2) Resale value not pathetic actually speaking eventhough would say there is not much a demand
3) Plus points for A.S.S. with lesser cost of maintenance and serviceability across the length and breadth of the country.
4) FE would be definitely better over the Accent, for sure.

If FE is a major cause for concern here the Esteem definitely scores over the Accent

Not much of help, but for what it's worth, my 2 cents.

[nevertouchme]

My choice would be Esteem (True Value / Private Sellers) also Accent is a VFM car, but you really need to look for a well maintained one.

[harry10]

the best will be if he has 3 lakh as cash to get a swift vdi,palio mjd or vista aura in diesel and i10 in petrol financed as a new vehicle is always a more pleasure than a 2nd hand vehicle. Still if he wants the 2nd hand then suggest him Esteem (which is a good drive for a newbie and is also low on maintanence)

I wont suggest indica diesel or indigo diesel as they are a bit hard to drive for a new driver who is not familiar with tata diesels.

[mjothi]

In my opinion, the Accent makes more sense. Its a decent car with good VFM. Also, as other members said, its still in production and seems will be for a while. So, would yield a better resale if you need to.
The last point is, your friend should drive these 2 and see which is more comfortable for him. At the end, its him who is going to drive. Right?

[diki24]

Ford Ikon gets extremely expensive to mantain. Most ford servicing centers are also not generally aware of Ikon specific issues. Last year i gave my car for a normal servicing and after a few iterations, i finally got a bill of 33K, :-(.
But Ikon is greta to drive on any kind of roads.

Indigo is extremely boring to drive and also the cabin feel is no better than Maruti 800.

[yzfrj]

Why not a Honda city ?
1998-2001 model, You should be able to get one 2-3L range.

[anup7649]

The Accent should be the car he can go with. Since it has a very nice engine and a good life of it too. Also the niggling issues that you may find in Esteem wont be there in Accent. The ride quality is good on stock Accent compared to Esteem.

Originally Posted by diki24

Indigo is extremely boring to drive and also the cabin feel is no better than Maruti 800.

Haha, this is funny, maruti 800 has a better cabin than Indigo. I wonder if you ever had sat in Indigo. I know the diesel Indigo of pre-2005 was bad, but really not as small/bad as 800.

[lohithrao]

I will anyday suggest OHC, am sure in Mumbai you will find a good car(1.3 or 1.5) for about 3-3.5 lakhs...

Great milage...fun to drive........very refined....relaible machine!

[kaushik_s]

Thanks Guys, So seems like we are almost on right track. But now we may need to checkout Accent also. But will Accent be available for the price bracket of 3L?? That's the maximum budget my friend is willing to spend nothing more then that.
Also will the parts of Accent at par with esteem? I thought Accent parts will also be as costly as the Baleno. And my friend not at all willing to go for a high maintenance car (for that matter we've seen an 2000 model OHC VTEC which was quoted around 3.25L but discarded as it's a costly affair to maintain that car)

[suren181]

Originally Posted by kaushik_s

Thanks Guys, So seems like we are almost on right track. But now we may need to checkout Accent also. But will Accent be available for the price bracket of 3L?? That's the maximum budget my friend is willing to spend nothing more then that.
Also will the parts of Accent at par with esteem? I thought Accent parts will also be as costly as the Baleno. And my friend not at all willing to go for a high maintenance car (for that matter we've seen an 2000 model OHC VTEC which was quoted around 3.25L but discarded as it's a costly affair to maintain that car)

kaushik, my bro at Chennai has been using an Accent, at Chennai for many years and approx. 70k kms now. All that has been incurred on the car is the cost for the regular service which is religiously done at intervals of around 5k kms. The car, after all these years and after being driven by drivers of different skill sets still runs like the day it was taken out of the showroom. It has seen a change of one set of tyres at around 45k kms and has done many interstate runs on highways good and bad.

It still runs and feels like the day it was driven out of the showroom, no squeaks or rattles and a very healthy engine to boot. If regular service schedules are adhered to, it's very rare that a car would be an expense monger.

[mav2000]

Well if your friend was interested a few months ago, would have sold him my accent. I sold my accent , which was a 2003 model with a geniune 30k milage for around 3.2 L. I would vouch for the Accent as a good used car as it is usually trouble free and not very expensive to maintain. I think you will get some good deals if you look around a little.

[discobiscuit]

Any Accent prior to 2005 could be bargained to the range you are looking at. (3-3.5l)

[mobike008]

I am using an Accent for the past 2 years and even though being a diesel all i have spent in my 31K+ run is 7-8k till date

The built quality is very good and interiors still look and feel brand new and there are absolutely no rattles whatsoever .

Also, i'd like to mention, the engine is growing "younger" as each day passes

[lohithrao]

Originally Posted by manjo

Can anyone help me know the model of the Lancer/OHC 1.5 that i'll get for the price i said (3.5lacs) in Mumbai.
I checked with a nearby 2nd hand dealer. He s quoting 3.9lac for a 2004 Lancer.

And how old s a 2nd hand car ok to buy?
Planning to keep it for 2 to 3yrs mostly.

If anybody can help me find a good piece in Mumbai i'll be really grateful..

manoj i had 99 OHC and it was great...few things which you can keep in mind:

If the car has run 50k kms then you most probably will have to get the suspension fixed, the silencer might have got rusted and the clucth might need some work

These are not a big issue, the engine life is about 2+lac kms if its well maintained

try to buy a car for 3 lacks and keep 50k for repair etc

[kaushik_s]

Guys, we've almost decided on a Esteem, but there is a small problem as the clutch seems to be little weak. I mean the car judders a bit (and stalled also a few times) while moving from stationary but after that it seems to be picking up well. Everything else seems to be fine and my friend also liked the car. Is it ok to go for this car (but with the issue of clutch). Normally how much would it cost for changing Esteem clutch? (Keeping the finger crossed that that trouble won't come too soon )

PS : Hey Mav2000, thanks and wish we were thinking about it two months back.