Need help to upgrade from Santro to a Sedan

[blueband4u]

Hi Guys,
This is my first post in Team-BHP. Currently i own a Hyundai Santro 1999 Top model. I bought it 2 years back as a second hand vehicle. Before that i had Omni. While owning omni i faced lot of problems like starting trouble(happens every day in spite of having a new battery...blame the carburreted Engine),car tries to lose the steering grip in highways especially when trucks passby in the opposite direction.Since i was a beginner i got used to it. Then i thought of upgrading to santro without discussing with anyone and my santro never let me down.Though i bought it as a second hand i took risk by taking it to Kodaikanal from chennai the very next week of its purchase. I was never let down and when i returned to chennai i decided to keep this car for life time..as it not only let me down but believe me it gave me 23 kmpl mileage!
Things have changed now especially after the launch of Xing i began to feel my car's looks were not appealing.
Please Note...
1. My monthly income is just Rs.17000 and apart from this santro i can pay the downpayment Rs.3,50,000(Thanks to my mom and Dad)
2. If i can manage to sell my santro for about Rs.1,30,000(Well maintained,Leather Seats,DVD player with USB playback and TFT Monitor with Sony subwoofer system with Amp.....Do you guys think i can sell it to that amount?i am a second owner for this car!)
Totally i can manage Rs.5,00,000 and the loan amount i can get is Rs.300,000 making the total to be Rs.800,000
Now,i am stuck with this.....Should i go for the New SX4,Fiesta,Verna...etc...or should i go in for a second hand Honda civic which i can get by Rs.850,000
Please help me in this sort...i cannot spend more than Rs.3000 per month for car( Fuel and Maintanence alone)and my monthly usage will be around 500 kms. Please suggest your views...i am sure about one thing...i want a sedan only...no Hatchbacks please...
Cheers,
Senthil

[lamborghini]

@blueband4u,
welcome to Team-BHP.
I would suggest getting an entrylevel sedan instead. Look at the Dzire, new Ikon along those lines.

[revved_up]

i Would suggest either SX4 ZXi or Honda City.

SX4 comes with all the bells and whistles and will also be cheaper to maintain than a Honda.

Take a test drive of both and decide which one fits your needs.

Cheers

[Veelubai]

Welcome to team-bhp - Since you are willing to spent 7-8lakh, wait for a couple of weeks for the new fiesta to be launched.It might be just ideal for you.

[abhinav.gupta88]

SX4 is a big no no if you want to spend only 3000 including fuel and maintenance

Even if you are able to maintain it within the budget
The fuel efficiency is not that appreciable that is it will give you a maximum of 10

Some calculations:

50 Rs Per Litre
10 km Per Litre

effectively comes out to 5 Rs per km

Now 500 kms a months means 2500 Rs only on fuel

And also if the efficiency doesnt come around 10 and stays up at 8.

Then your fuel bill per month will be 50*500/8 which is around 3125 , which has aleady exceeded your monthly bill

Now for Honda City Gxi, you get a mileage of around 12.5( Approximate)
So your monthly fuel running will be 2000 Rs. ( 50*500/12.5)

And the maintenance of Honda City is not that much that it will come around 1000 Rs a month.
So if you want a C Segmenter, then the Honda City wins

I dont think you should go for a deisel because your running is low( 6000 kms a year) which will not help you break even the additionut al cost you pay for the deisel.


But wait. Why dont you just go for the Accent CNG. High fuel prices, can be easily avoided and comes for 5.75 lakh ex showroom, so effectively will cost you around 6.5 on road

You can be rest assured about the maintenance, however i have no idea about the maintenance costs for a hyundai but then the service backup is excellent and CNG will not allow you to any way exceed your running cost.

[rider60]

get a dZire diesel its a entry level sedan and a diesel too costs around 6.5lacs,
or you can look at Indigo CS diesel its approx around 5lacs,
the honda city decent mileage but a little heavy on spares
the sx4 mileage is a concern with this one.
ikon is a good car but has costly spares and more expensive maintainance
or the fully loaded logan petrol or diesel is also a good option.

and then there is option of waiting for the new ones to be released.

[sirajbose]

I completely agree with many people have already said... do not go in for diesel... Your yearly running would not justify the costs.

I believe that the Honda City or like someone said... the Accent CNG would be good options.

You could also check out the Aveo 1.4 LS or the Fiesta 1.4. If maintained well, I do not forsee any major A.S.S. problems with either brand.

[snaronikar]

Go in for Diesel. Swift Dzire will meet most of your criteria. Or you can also look into Indigo Dicor/TDi. These will definately have low maintenance costs and will also come well within your budget.

[gopinathann]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

SX4 is a big no no if you want to spend only 3000 including fuel and maintenance

Even if you are able to maintain it within the budget
The fuel efficiency is not that appreciable that is it will give you a maximum of 10

Some calculations:

50 Rs Per Litre
10 km Per Litre

effectively comes out to 5 Rs per km

Now 500 kms a months means 2500 Rs only on fuel

And also if the efficiency doesnt come around 10 and stays up at 8.

Then your fuel bill per month will be 50*500/8 which is around 3125 , which has aleady exceeded your monthly bill

Now for Honda City Gxi, you get a mileage of around 12.5( Approximate)
So your monthly fuel running will be 2000 Rs. ( 50*500/12.5)

And the maintenance of Honda City is not that much that it will come around 1000 Rs a month.
So if you want a C Segmenter, then the Honda City wins

I dont think you should go for a deisel because your running is low( 6000 kms a year) which will not help you break even the additionut al cost you pay for the deisel.


But wait. Why dont you just go for the Accent CNG. High fuel prices, can be easily avoided and comes for 5.75 lakh ex showroom, so effectively will cost you around 6.5 on road

You can be rest assured about the maintenance, however i have no idea about the maintenance costs for a hyundai but then the service backup is excellent and CNG will not allow you to any way exceed your running cost.

If SX4 is big no no, then Honda city is definitely NO NO NO. Don't mistake me that I am defending SX4. The reason I am telling is you get mileage advantage in Honda city but the amount you save on petrol, you have to shed that amount as the initial cost (1 lakh more on hondacity + Interest amount). If Honda city is decided then it has to be kept atleast 5-7 years to regain the initial amount spent on it. It looks like the thread creator is a car freak like me, as he is ready to go for used Civic from Santro. So definitely he may look for a latest model in another 3 years.

Since the maintenance should be less go for a Maruti or Hyundai cars. SX4, Verna, Dzire, Accent. With petrol prices going high it is difficult to maintain less than 2500 per month. Considering 11 kmpl and Rs55 per ltr it comes to Rs 2500 for 500 km. Also 25000 should be spent on the car insurance.

[mobike008]

Originally Posted by blueband4u

Please Note...
1. My monthly income is just Rs.17000 and apart from this santro i can pay the downpayment Rs.3,50,000(Thanks to my mom and Dad)
2. If i can manage to sell my santro for about Rs.1,30,000(Well maintained,Leather Seats,DVD player with USB playback and TFT Monitor with Sony subwoofer system with Amp.....Do you guys think i can sell it to that amount?i am a second owner for this car!)
Totally i can manage Rs.5,00,000 and the loan amount i can get is Rs.300,000 making the total to be Rs.800,000

Firstly, I don't intend to play a spoilsport nor mean disrespect to you.

Since you have Rs.17K monthly income, how do you plan to pay your EMI for 3 Lakhs ( assuming you will take it for 5 years it will be 2K/Lakh) = 6K + 2.5K fuel bill = 8.5K which is 50% of your monthly income.

I strongly recommend that you look at a cheaper option for a sedan and IMO, Indigo CS and Logan ( petrol) perfectly fit the bill without you spending too much on EMI and Fuel bills.

Also, you can look at the Accent GLE ( 4.99 Lakhs ex-showroom) probably more cheaper as it gets made in chennai.

Finally, i don't think you can get 1.3L for a 1999 Santro Model, it would be much lesser than that.

Just trying to help you save some money

[Naga_SwiSan]

Senthil,
If you can't afford more than 3K for fuel and maintenance, dont have a look at any of the second hand car(The sedan's battery itself will cost around 4000+ and any worn-out tyres and spares will drill your pocket more)

Also CNG is not available in chennai now(So Accent is ruled out)

Logan1.4/1.6(~4.7-5.5L) / Dzire Lxi(OTR 4.85L)/Vxi(5.3L) would be better options avoiding 3Lakh loan amount and interest

Fiesta1.6 / NHC(check for all discounts) / SX4 would be ideal in 7-8 Lakh range

[esteem_lover]

blueband, my sincere suggestion is to avoid taking out the loan & settle for a good car within 5 Lakhs. Used cars that come to mind

1. 2003 OHC Vtec
2. Mitsu Lancer
3. 2006 Baleno VXi
4. 2001/2 Honda Accord
5. Toyota Corolla

Buy any of the above cars & you can spend a bit on sprucing them up.

[Technocrat]

I agree with EL's suggestions, given the scenario you have provided its best that you avoid a loan.

[razor4077]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

blueband, my sincere suggestion is to avoid taking out the loan & settle for a good car within 5 Lakhs. Used cars that come to mind

1. 2003 OHC Vtec
2. Mitsu Lancer
3. 2006 Baleno VXi
4. 2001/2 Honda Accord
5. Toyota Corolla

Buy any of the above cars & you can spend a bit on sprucing them up.

I agree. Makes more sense.
Only, I would not keep the Accord on the list since cheap maintenance and high fuel efficiency are not synonymous with the Accord (I love the car though).

You could also look at at these 2nd hand cars (about 2 yrs old):
- NHC (first type)
- Chevy Optra 1.6 (petrol)
- Esteem
- Accent

[blueband4u]

[quote=mobike008;862489]Firstly, I don't intend to play a spoilsport nor mean disrespect to you.

Since you have Rs.17K monthly income, how do you plan to pay your EMI for 3 Lakhs ( assuming you will take it for 5 years it will be 2K/Lakh) = 6K + 2.5K fuel bill = 8.5K which is 50% of your monthly income.

I strongly recommend that you look at a cheaper option for a sedan and IMO, Indigo CS and Logan ( petrol) perfectly fit the bill without you spending too much on EMI and Fuel bills.

Also, you can look at the Accent GLE ( 4.99 Lakhs ex-showroom) probably more cheaper as it gets made in chennai.

Finally, i don't think you can get 1.3L for a 1999 Santro Model, it would be much lesser than that.


I'm sorry...actually i have deducted the monthly Emi for 3 lakhs and then my income would be 17000(apart from paying the loan amount)i just mentioned it cos u guys can consider how much could i bear the maintanence costs.

Friends,
I really love civic...my dream is to own a civic but since no one suggested it i have to postpone it at least for the next 3 years!(im so sad)..i really enjoy driving a lot and no one in my family except me know to drive(includes my brother who is in college first year...he's not interested in cars)so my family members just look for comfort...but i want a car which has great looks and gives lot of pleasure to drive....i really dont like that boxy Logan and Indigo gives a cab look...im surprised why nobody said anything about cedia (2 year old model is available for Rs.6.75 Lacs,chennai)...i saw one yesterday and wow it's looks were amazing in the front but looks like a esteem from the sides..im really confused now.
New : SX4 or Verna or City(GXI) or Dezire or Fiesta or Optra Magnum
Second Hand : Civic(No way but still....), corolla, Cedia..
I feel Lancer,Esteem and Accent look outdated...so i prefer any one of the above or something even better u may suggest

Friends...can i get used Accord(01-03) within 5Lacs? if it is recommended then i can spend Rs.5000 per month or even more..instead of 3000 because if i can get it below 5 Lacs i dont have to pay any loan and since my growth in the company that i work is increasing rapidly within 3 years i could afford to buy a New Civic(if it stays below 13 Lakhs after 3 years)
This is what i have finally decided
1. Not to take any Loan as suggested by fellow BHPians
2. Discussed with Mom and Dad and the final amount availale is Rs.5.75 Lacs Exactly)
3. Monthly i can spend Rs.5000-7000 (Thank god i will be Loan free for the next 3 years)
4. 500 km per month mostly on Highway and i don't drive rashly coz whatever car i have i will treat it as my Family member.My speed Range will be around 80-90kmph but i dont like Maruti 800 or Amby to overtake me!!!!!! Even in such scenario i wont cross 110 kmph.
5. I really want my car to give a status symbol for my family thats the only reason im upgrading from Santro to a sedan....The car should not be like one among 1000 but it can be like one among 100
so friends please suggest me the perfect car.....i hope some of you might suggest Accord!i really love to own that car because my Boss is currently owning a Accord!