Team-BHP - advise needed on tata estate

hi all
i recently saw a tata estate with newly made interiors, excellent body line with safari 2.2 vtt inter cooler turbo engine,new geo lander tyres and super king blower. the party is quoting Rs 1.5 lakh and says everything is done incld new wiring harness. rto has endorsed the engine in rc book. i wanted a big car for once a month airport drop and once in a while high way trip outside the state.will this suit my needs? buying a innova will be not less than 12 lakhs, and also the issue of monthly EMI on a depreciating asset, that too for a once a month use. can you help with the reliability issue of estate with safari engine? things to look forward in this deal?
thanks

Check as to where did he get the 2.2L engine from?
the engine probably will be costlier than the whole car.
Did you take a TD.
Well engine swap jobs,are not usually reliable,but then remember it will be a 15 year old car,engine may be new,but rest everything around is susceptible to fall apart.

hi samurai, yes its long time since been to team bhp. how are you doing? i cannot afford a big new car. so this thought. i agree about your reliability issue. that is why im asking you experts. not decided to buy yet. even taxi operators have become unreliable and very expensive these days.

If that guy has been able to successfully shoe-horn a 2.2 VTT into the Estate, then it must be something. He would spend 1L + just on that conversion. But the Estate's body itself would be quite old, and I am not sure how long it will hold up with an engine that's twice as powerful as the OE engine.

Are you sure this thing actually works without problems ?

And why not a Marina - would be a much safer bet.

EDIT : Did you say 2.2VTT AND INTERCOOLER TURBO ? Pls check if it is the 2L Turbo or the 2.2 VTT

1.5 Lakhs for such a modded car with new interiors, engine, tyres, etc, etc. There is something wrong with the offer. Guess, the engine was from a scrapped Safari and interiors were done at a road side mechanic.

For once in a month trip to Airport + the occasional highway drive in this car, might become a bit of a nightmare as it is a very old car. The maintenance cost will be on the higher side and unless you know a local garage and have spare money and time to spend on the car, it would not be worthwhile.

Hi Nutmello,

I used owned an used Tata Estate a couple of years ago. I have done many highway trips and also used it as a daily driver in Bangalore's chaotic traffic. My take..
1. Its a great old car on the highways. It sticks to the road and driving position is like a car but built and feels like an SUV. (pls note great OLD as nowadays you have far better cars with better technologies but also cost more).
2. It always felt underpowered and if your engine swap is for real then that culd be solved too but like someone mentioned above am not sure your chasis is built to take such a powerful engine?
3. Service was a huge issue even with a friend of mine being a TATA dealer and having a mechanic for a friend. It used to visit the garage every second month. YOu can expect the same or worse with yours thanks to the modification.
4. Reliability of any 10 year plus car is always a question until and unless you are talking Merc quality. So I enjoyed bull dozing my way through city traffic but was always worried when I went out of town.

I have given you all the sides of the picture now you can decide. YOu may get tempted with the 1.5 figure but it could cost you twice or even thrice as much over the next 12-15 months of ownership. So decide wisely.