Big Question, New Car ?

[vishaltanksale]

Hi All,
I got to know about team BHP couple of days back and going thourgh most of the threads. This really helps for somebody like me who is having first time experience of car research.
I am looking for car for last 4 months now and I dont think i would be more confused for anything else even while buying new Home.
Basically I have budget of about 5-5.5L, if car really worth and if I can't find car which is good for money then ready to compromise to mid size car for abt. 4L.

Here are my priorities for car :
1. Milage
2. Performance & Ride quality
3. Top prioroty, After sale Maintenence & Dealer service
4. Looks
5. Resale value
My usage will about 600-800 KMPM, so ppl say should not go for Diesel car but do not seem to understand reason as cost difference between 2 are very less nowdays with significant difference in FE(diesel far ahead). Also not sure if Maint. is that costly, so can somebody suggest me on this ?

Just to give you brief about my research till now :-

Getz was just launched when I started my hunt, but with time I realised that its just bigger Santro with low FE (although it is 1.3L)
So don't feel as real value spending sub 5L

Next option was Ford Ikon, never very happy with looks and found FE is about 8 which is very less after spending 5.5L (performance is OK). Also Ikon 1.6 and above are not in my budget.

Next obvious choice was Petra Petrol (Diesel is out of reach)
Although very impressed with looks and ride quality and njoyed test drive. But its not easy to put your hard earned monty on Fiat whoes future is not known.

Started thinking about Tata Indigo / Marina, but whn saw reviews 1 thing was for sure, everybody complains about quality / Performance and not so good *** and still everybody says its VFM that too just because you get Sedan / Estate with space for about 5L. Well I think, whats the point in car which doesn't give you performance / quality and only space. I hope many of you will have suggestions, so please comment.
I even heard that never go for tata as they are still not upto standard but still its VFM.

Then though, why not have a looks at most reliable car producer in India.
Looked at Esteem, well no looks / space and I think everybody would agree to me. But good performance / Ride quality / FE. But then spending 5L for a car which is costly coz of only boot.

As I was in MUL showroom so thought of having Baleno test drive, really impressed with car except for looks (Interior is average) but real good car for price but again out of my budget.
Although I read in Autocar that there is heavy discount on Baleno. Can somebody provide me more details as I could not confirm from dealer neither he though of letting me know.

So basically after all this I feel instead of spending 5-5.5L for car which I am not sure I will be satisfied, so thinking of santro Xing about 4-4.5L. alteast I will feel that I have not spent huge on something which is not upto the expectations.

Really appriciate your comments on this. And thanks for all the good work you all doing for new comers like me.....

[Dippy]

Hi

After reading through your dilemma and seeing your shortlist of cars, I feel you should strech your budget a bit and go in for a Baleno Lxi. It fits your requirements perfectly except maybe in the looks dept. The car performs well.. that 1.6 is a jewel of an engine, its fun to drive, *** should not be a problem since its a Maruti product, being Japanese its reliable as ever. Resale value maybe bit on the downside but you could just maybe overlook that part.

I would recommend the Indigo diesel but fit and finish may not really be up there. Otherwise its a great value for money package.

Happy car shopping

Dippy

P.S Welcome to Team BHP. How bout a little more about yourself in the Intro section

[vishaltanksale]

Hi,

I am IT professiobnal, just returned back from US about 5 month back. I used used Nisan sentra (1998 model) and was really happy it.
Now planning to buy car here and as you already guessed from my mail, really very confused.

BTW, thanks for the advice.
Can you tell me how is Indigo LS/LX, considering am not going to make >1500 KM/month ?

Thanks again
Vishal

[RX135]

Originally Posted by Dippy

Hi
*** should not be a problem since its a Maruti product, being Japanese its reliable as ever. Resale value maybe bit on the downside but you could just maybe overlook that part.

I get bugged whenever someone talks about great *** of Maruti. Fine! Statistics may be highly in favour of them, but it finally boils down to the car dealer in your city. So, it doesnt matter if the car is from Maruti, Ford or xyz, most important factor is how good is local dealer. My friend got duped for almost 50-55K for his Zen by Authorised Maruti Service Center.

[GTO]

Get some discounts, pick up a sweet finance deal and the Baleno will fit your budget. Remember, to get the best price....just shop around a little aggressively.

GTO

[drifter]

The indigo is a very good car, has lots of space, seats are great, ride is good, FE is taken care of by the diesel engine and with a turbo its got decent performance as well. If you want more space then try out the marina diesel, it looks better then the indigo in my opinion.

Indigo LS/LX

For
1. Fuel efficiency
2. Space
3. Ride Quality

Against
1. High dashboard restricts vision for short drivers.
2. Gearshift better than before...still has room for improvement.

But since you dont drive that much, you wont make much savings due to the price difference in petrol/diesel,
Your choice the santro xing is a very good car for the city
I will not recommend the palio which is also a great car, but service from fiat is not good and fiat cars are depreciation disasters.

Santro Xing
For
1. After sales service.
2. Good interiors.
3. Easy to drive.

Against
1. Backseat ride is bumpy.
2. Awkward position of the accelerator pedal (hurts the ankle after long drives)

The baleno doesnt come into your budget, why dont you try looking for used baleno...that is if you dont mind going for a used vehicle.

But from the options given, i'd pick the Santro Xing XS, its fully loaded and well within your budget.

Drifter

[speedsatya]

the base steem wil easily come inside your budget.
why dont you stretch your budget and go for the base baleno.or wait for the Swift.

[DCEite]

just close your eyes and go for a top end WagonR vxi with ABS and dual Airbags. Thus you get safety+performance+A.S.S in one single package

[vishaltanksale]

Would agree to you it does all my criteria, except Looks. Althoufh its not top priority but WagonR looks decade old. I mean when I see ppl drving this car feels as if they are driving OMNI. Sorry but no offense ment here.

BTW thx of response and suggestion.

[RX135]

Vishal, I think it will be good if you can give second thoughts to Getz. As I see, it has almost everything that you need. It is not very powerful engine, but refined enough. It is safe, decent FE, contemporary looks, good interior, well known in A/S/S and dealer experience, predictably decent resale value.

I don't think it's a bigger Santro with low FE, though it seems like somewhat higher priced.

[muni]

Any real news about the Fabia hatch back which has been due from Skoda for quite some time. I would put my money on either GETZ or SWIFT or FABIA

Donno when they are gonna be launched.

As of now i feel Getz would be a better choice in the Lot.

[Vulken Auto]

Fabia not comin as a hatchback, its a 3 box sedan in india for 7-8 lakhs range which is a good value car in my opinion

[vishaltanksale]

Thats 1 more confusion...everybody is very excited about new launches and advice to wait till its arrival.
But most of the time that launch disappoint or not meet your expectations.
Also is it really advisable to go for newly launched car or advisable to wait for some period, with all reviews out and then decide ?

Expert comments please.
Thanks

[RX135]

Originally Posted by vishaltanksale

Thats 1 more confusion...everybody is very excited about new launches and advice to wait till its arrival.
But most of the time that launch disappoint or not meet your expectations.

People were crazy about Getz when it was launched. I guess, all cars except Fiat, create lot of hype around them It's your call how long you want to wait. Even if you wait for Swift, someone will ask you to wait for Fabia and then probably Panda and then.......

[lamborghini]

fabia coming out dec 2005 (facts from skoda dealer)
i suggest you gor for a baleno
they are giving free ins, free reg., + MP3 player, icebox and all
if you bargain really well, you can get it for 5.75 on road but be sure to upgrade the tyres unless you arent fast around corners