[G-One]

Very valid post by GTO, thank you. I am still holding on to my 2005 Ford Fusion, no major issues as of now, albeit a bit more expensive to service and get spares than other cars.
currently going to apply for renewal of registration in 2020.

[VIKINGTILLDEATH]

Great write up as usual.
But I think it ultimately comes down to other aspects of owning a car also.
Important being the amount of work ones car does in household and cash flow of individual .
(Not net earning but cash flow also !!!!)
For example I was in same dilemma in 2014.Whether to buy a a premium hatchback like Swift-i20-Polo or go for sedan like City-Vento-Rapid.
I really wanted to go( read heart!!!) for Vento-Rapid and cost analysis very much allowed me to have one of the sedans.
But as someone has already pointed out Car may function different objective in different households.
In my house Car is a work-horse and runs around 60Kms a day. Its job (along with driver)is to take my kid to In-Laws place in morning ,then drop my wife to her Company ,return to my clinic and ferry me to various hospitals which I visit. The process is reversed in evening as I am the one to return home earliest.
So point is: My house can't function if we don't have a car ( & its driver) available.
So instead of going with sedans i took decision to go with Swift.
Infact my mantra is buy one segment lower Car than one can actually afford and maintain it REALLY REALLY nice. No compromises !!!
Because it is one segment lower car you can maintain it without being bothered about budget.
Had I bought Vento -Rapid my cash flow would not have allowed me to maintain them without being worried about out-go on car ,not to mention loss of days when car would not be working when in service centre for availability of parts.
In hindsight I feel vindicated because I just sold my Swift - after 5 Yrs- 3 accidents (one of them major) - and 1.5 Lakh kilometres on ODO got whopping 4.2 Lakhs as resale value.
All because of it being well maintained (apart from being Maruti!!)
Now I can afford an (Octavia-Corolla) but am going for Rapid with the same logic.

[46TheDoctor]

I think this logic by GTO applies to only people who get that frequent motivation to upgrade their cars and who are in a predictable financial growth curve to accomodate higher buying and ownership costs of the cars in the segments above (applicable to myself and most of us here). But, i have seen people who dont bother much about such upgrades as long as their car is functioning properly. I think that for such people getting a car which can fulfill all the intented duties for a longest possible tenure and which will cost the minimum to buy and run makes more sense.

[ronin]

I bought a segment lower because i liked the vehicle. I could have afforded a X5. But settled for a X3.3.0L since it felt better to drive than the X5. Had it been the X5, I would have probably got rid of it. But now I just love my X3 with its 3.0 L engine that i have never even thought of selling it.

So i feel it also matters how you perceive the whole thing.

[Punatic]

Originally Posted by GTO

A superior car will also lead to nicer memories because it'll make every drive, outing & holiday that much more special. As BHPians, the drive is as important to us as the destination. Cars are anyway such a fantastic passion to have (unlike alcohol / smoking / gambling etc), so go out and splurge a little bit more .

Bravo! Revisited this thread again today, after quite a while, and was moved by these words once again. Happy and safe driving everyone!

[sharan1988]

Just my 2cents.

I think by just increasing the budget will not solve the problem of not getting a new car but getting a car that has mod potentials will. Bear with me as I clarify.

Had I got the Verna or the city instead of the Vento which to begin with didn’t have much features I would have sold it long ago but knowing that we could upgrade the features and improve upon the driving dynamics goes a long way in keep the car up to date.

[TheVegabond]

I feel vindicated here.

I started searching for my first car in 2014. All my well wishers and so called expert car advisers suggested either Alto or Santro to be good choices for first car. But something didn't click and I decided to go 1 level up and purchased grand i10 sports. Each time I get into it I feel reassured of the decision I took at that time. My ride has clocked more than 90k kms and stills runs strong.

My friend bought a Santro in 2015 and for last year or so he has been itching for an upgrade. While for me i10 the grand still feels competitive in terms of features and comfort. I can still hold on it for couple of more years before I think of an upgrade.

[Harvester03]

I agree with your Point #11: changing landscape = downsized engines.
I could feel it in my gut that this was probably my last chance to be driving a naturally-aspirated, 5-liter, v8, SUV. And where better to be driving a petrol guzzler than in the land where petrol is cheaper than bottled water.

Point #8: Nicer memories.
Especially when taking drives on the interstate, the ML-500 (V8, 4966 cc, 288 hp) is addicting. The memories are undoubtedly superior. Having done my share of rentals across the spectrum when I first stepped foot in the land of freeways and interstates, I can vouch for the difference a car can make to the drive.

And to your final point, yes I wanted to have my cake & eat it too.
I bought a car that was over a decade old. And the love affair with my ML500 is still fresh after a few years. I justify the slightly higher annual maintenance of the ML over the annual depreciation of a new Toyota, as the price of love . When you have a Mercedes that’s out of warranty in the western world where labour out-prices the components, I recommend being ready to get grease on your hands, DIY projects, and keeping away from approved service centers like the plague.

Originally Posted by GTO

[i]

Ever wondered how & why I keep my cars for so long? It’s simple = I buy the better car, even if it’s more expensive at the start, but retain it for 9 – 10 years (it's very EASY to hold onto a top-class car for longer). Yes, this might work out costlier initially, yet it's cheaper in the longer run. Why so? Read this thread - Depreciation - The Silent Killer (Resale Value - The Silent Killer).

Thread summary: Buy a 'great' car and use it for 8 – 10 years instead of buying 'good' cars & replacing them every 5 years.

[arindambasu13]

The logic expressed in the opening post by GTO appeals to me. Till now all my car purchases have been one level below the top most variant, mainly due to budgetary constraints. Swift vxi, Brio S-MT and City V-MT. However, extrapolating the logic on the opening post, this time around we stretched our budget by a lakh or two and went for the full fat Ecosport Titanium S, with the full suite of safety features including 6 airbags and that hot S version looks. Definitely happy with our decision to go for the top end version for the first time in our car buying experience.

[sam264_2000]

Very valid post by GTO, thank you!
Back in 2014 when I had just moved back to India and was looking for a car, I chose Tata Zest Petrol Manual top end for approx. 7 lakh on road. My father, who in his life time has owned some 15 to 18 cars, advised me to go for either Zest Diesel (reason being Quadrajet Engine) or Toyota Etios petrol or diesel (D-4D) or Honda City (iVETC) 4th Gen. Etios and City were approx. 2 to 3 lakh over my budget but my father was willing to help me pay the difference (in fact I could have managed to stretch too). His point was Tata Petrol would be a depreciation disaster and you would itch to change the car in 5 years. Etios and City will last at least 8 years (bigger, better and more powerful cars). I was skeptical about my usage and didn't want to go overboard with car purchase, hence decided to stick to Zest Petrol. After 6 years of owning it, I now understand his words and can relate to this article better. I am now looking for an upgrade and will definitely keep this in mind!

[theunstabledesi]

Thanks for the post. I totally agree with you. My baby is six years old and I plan to hold on to her for another 3-4 years. I had thoughts of buying a new one but one look at my baby vanishes all those as she has served me till date without a glitch.

That said, however, bulk of the Indians buy cars looking at mileage and creature comforts.

Bulk of the cost of a car is constituted by creature comforts, most which are just fancy add ons with very little practical value (DRLs being one of them). Making a choice here would really help save a lot of extra expenditure. People are ready to accept a vehicle with more features even if it scores less on quality and reliability aspects.

Bulk of the maintenance cost depends on the intended use too. For many its transportation from point A to B which hardly justifies the added costs.

So if you are not a petrol head with no particular love or affinity towards your machine, this rule may not apply.

[poised2drive]

I think I fit into the description.

7 years back, we wanted a car and were thinking to buy a wagon-r / Santro , but extended our budget about a lakh and bought preowned Swift G Series 1.3L for about 2.9 L . Drove it for 7 years for about 50k km and honed my driving skills , but I never thought to sell it off, till this lockdown where my usage on highway increased and no longer could I overlook its safety and sold it for about 2 L.

I thought to upgrade and go for Nexon/Ecosport , but I was bowled over by a well maintained Honda City IDtec , which ran for 29000 KM , whose practicality and comfort made more appealing than the sportier and spirited Nexon/Ecosport and took the lunge, for which I had to extend my budget over 1.5 Lakh .

So I moved on to one legend to another legend.
But I think I'd have no qualms over as I knew I would not be tempted to upgrade it at least for a few years . And though the 4th Gen City is not as bullet-proof as its predecessors, with right modifications, I think this can be a keeper for at least 7-10 years.

I keep missing the Swift and its legendary 1.3 L G Series sound and its cornering abilities . The drive in the City is not as enthusiastic and peppy as the Swift, but its impeccable FE and the highway comfort make up more for it .

[kiran_aithal]

I agree with buying at least a class above and keeping the car for longer periods.

I had my Opel Corsa for nearly 13 years before the Trident Service Manager told that he can no longer service it any more (literally with folded hands ).
Also, since I brought a Cruze, owning a Corsa at that time got me a loyalty bonus.
And, icing on the cake, got an exchange bonus when buying my wife's Alto.

In all, paid Rs 4.65 lakhs in 2005 and got back Rs 90k in form of loyalty and exchange bonus. Indeed, Great VFM!

The same is the case with my 2-wheelers too.

[GTO]

Practice what you preach .

Bro was planning a Seltos now, and a C-Class after 5 years. Circumstances & me made him jump to a Superb which he will keep for 10 years. Full story in this post (Skoda Superb : Official Review).

[ketan007]

I agree with you on buying a 'great' car instead of a 'good' one.

I was going to buy Ford Aspire 2 years ago as it was in my budget. But, I really wanted to buy Ford Ecosport. The difference in cost was around 3 lakh. Almost booked the Aspire. But, my wife insisted on buying a 'great' car. So, finally bought Ecosport. Now, I think I took a good decision.