[ani_meher]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

Cars and homes are two assets where I have always, but always bought the highest standard practically attainable with my economic resources at that stage. In the material world they define who you are to some extent and for your business or career or even just self confidence it is valuable to never feel apologetic about the locality you live in or the car you drive.

Technically, an asset is something that produces cash flow. A car is not an asset unless you are a fleet owner (or bought an Innova which appreciates every year ). That being said, I agree to certain extent, that one's possessions project their image. But one should be wary because projection is cheap, anyone can buy a second hand BMW. So a middle ground is best when purchasing such large ticket non-asset items such as a car.

[DriverWanderer]

This thread could not be more relevant! I am planning to shift from Kharagpur to Delhi and was planning to buy my first car.
Among the other debates in my head, the debate of buying 'a better car' or 'a reasonably affordable car' was the one I could not wrap my head around. Your thread definitely helped me out of that rut!

But there is one thing which is niggling me at the back of my mind. would not the more expensive car be much more expensive to maintain too? I am asking as a newbie to car ownership.

[vredesbyrd]

You have me all fired up. Will try for a 2014 530d MSport in 2022.

[laser2707]

Another great thread by GTO. Yes, value is deceptive. Auto OEM's are fond of using the expression "Value Engineering". Its a euphemism for making a cheap car which they know the owner will dispose in 3 years' time. Probably to their own used car department.

The counter-intuitive way to purchase not only for cars but for any item is to invest in quality (at a higher price). Then take care of it very well so you have a great ownership experience over the long term.

I apply this process whenever I buy big-ticket items. Buy the best I can possibly afford and then take care of it. My TV is almost 15 years old & still going strong. With a Firestick attached its as good as any Smart TV now.

I drove a Corolla for 9 years & 150000 kms. My next car was a Ritz which I drove for 7 years. My current vehicle is a Wagon R which I intend to drive for as long as I can.

This thread reminds me of an "Operating Principle" in one of my earlier organisations. "Cost is bad; Investment is good". If you internalize this it will help you in making purchase decisions.

[varman742]

Very relevant thread and I agree that keeping a car longer will definitely be cheaper. In general I think it is true for any car, not just expensive car. i dont think money wise it makes sense to change a car in 3-4 years just for the sake of changing. It will be better to invest in higher segment now if the intention is to upgrade in few year time.


IMHO whether to go for expensive car will be situation and/or segment dependent. If the difference between the shortlisted model and superior model is not much, then it definitely makes sense to go for expensive one.

However, if the difference is > 3 lacs, then it might be tricky. Also, while for 25+ lacs segment, the difference of even 5+ lacs may not matter, for lower segments, there may be some hesitation.

I got my Manza for 8.3 Lacs in 2012 and had option of going with City/Vento/Rapid etc for 10-11 lacs. I went ahead with Manza primary due to Cost. Now 7+ year later I dont regret going for cheaper car. I am okay to keep it for few more years. But with automatic on my mind, I shall be changing it in few months time. I think I would have upgraded even if I had gone with expensive car in 2012. So in this case cheaper car saved some money for me and also provided the best ROI.

I got my nano in 2015 and now I definitely feel that I should have spent few more lacs to go for a superior model. While no issues with nano as such, I find it hard to retain it for few more years!

Now when I am upgrading my budget is ~20 lacs for the SUV segment (Creta, Seltos, Hector, Harrier etc.) I can stretch it to 22-23 for a superior car in 'that' segment. However going for a higher segment is a big ask as the price range will ~28+ lacs. Even if I can afford it, I don't think i will go for higher segment (even my family wont align with my decision :-))


Just my perspective as a buyer with the budget of 15-20 lacs

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by RavenAvi

Guilty as charged!

I am one who has gone through 15 cars in the past 7 and half years. And the result? I still regret selling off my 2012 City for “upgrading” to the 2014 City. In terms of quality, it was a downgrade.

First person who came to my mind after reading GTO's opening post was guess who ? It's not that I have not done such a thing, I was inspired by your car buying spree. I sold my troublesome (yes) Honda Civic for a Verna and later sold the Verna in 6 months and have settled for a new Swift. For now I am happy but the safety concerns (my current excuse) is there which I might sooner or later upgrade by either trading in or getting a additional car. If I had stretched (City Top end eg) at the time of the Verna itself I understand I would have been better off in the long term as far as the financial aspect goes. Lessons have been learned and this will help future proof my next car purchase (here I go again).

[RajeevSharma]

Amazing topic and thought process as there is a lesson in there to be learnt. It is really a great feeling to be EMI free and enjoy the car for a longer duration specially if it is a good machine.

The glamour of buying a new car is always there but wiser head can prevail specially if we invest the EMI saving somewhere it is not visible daily.

[gkveda]

While there are so many agrees and likes here, I think I am the only odd man who beg to disagree.

My thought process:
1. When people buy first car, it is not their brain that decides. mostly it is their heart. They would have some childhood dream to drive a car. They feel, their dream come true when they get their dream car. So, all economics, ROI etc wont work for the first car.

Once they get good (Or Bad)experience on their first car, then the brain starts working. That could have been better, this could have improved, Power should be more, seats should be more, should have had power windows, etc (At least, this was my experience)

Once Brain starts working, and the heart zeal reduces, then the real search starts for a new car that satisfies all criteria set by brain.

So, final point is, since heart decides first car with out logic, I think we should allow some budget loss. After all, "We live to live happily". And as someone said, "Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step"

[narayans80]

Let me go against the tide here

You can only stretch as far as your budget permits and how much are you willing to pay on running costs. Note that buying an 'expensive' car also means more EMI, more fuel costs, more insurance and very likely higher maintenance costs so those need to be factored in. Question is where do you draw the line!

We were in a similar situation exactly a year back and settled for an S-Cross Zeta. Stretching for a Marazzo W8 or Creta SX plus would have added an addition 8K or so in EMI alone. Hexa and Crysta weren't even considered since they were way out of budget.

Another point worth mentioning is, the retainer policy works only for a new car and does not work on used cars.

[PrasannaDhana]

What a timing this thread has come in!!

I have been having countless confusing nights the last two months as of selling my current daily runner - the ciaz or retain it. Blame the bad habit of replacing cars every 3-4 years.



I even went ahead and test drove the following cars
S Cross
Rapid
Vento
Figo S
EcoSport
Nexon

Somehow my mind did not get convinced enough to replace the ciaz as I did not find additional value in any of the above cars over my blissfully maintained, pristine 99,000 km run 4 year old ciaz.



And then I also raised the query in team bhp, and got a response from GTO to retain the car for a few more years.

After reading the first few points here, I actually did something similar unknowingly during the purchase of ciaz. I was replacing my bare-bones utilitarian Sumo Gold, and was confused between Tata Zest diesel and Maruti Ciaz. Though my budget was sub 9 lakhs, I went ahead and spent 3 lakhs over the budget and bought the ciaz just because it felt nicer to be in, during the test drive, and because it was a maruti. And I completely relish that decision and I love every ride in the ciaz for its absolutely great ride quality, terrific fuel efficiency, phenomenal reliability and space. If I had bought the Zest, I would have sold it by the end of 3rd year.

One more similar experience - buying the Safari Dicor over Sumo Victa in 2012. I ended up enjoying the comfort and reliability (yes, zero issues whatsoever) for 6 years and 1,40,000 km before replacing it with a storme v400. I still think I should have retained the Dicor a few more years.



I absolutely love this car despite its tincan build quality and boat like handling around corners.

Reading this thread again reinforces my decision of retaining my ciaz for a couple more years. I should also be honest and admit that when ever I see the worn out leather steering wheel cover(the only part of the car that shows that it has been through 99000 km & 4 years), I do sway a bit thinking about a new car, but that lasts just for a few minutes though Also the fact that none of the current C2 segment / C-SUV cars give me enough reasons to get rid of the ciaz, helps the matter. Moreover pre-owned D segment cars with decent mileage (<40000 km) are all priced at 15 lakhs and above, which is already a couple of lakhs over my current affordability.

One more advantage of retaining it till the 7th year is that one can save a few more lakhs and probably afford cars from a segment above or a fully loaded C2 sedan at a later stage.

[v_safari]

Very well put.
I bought a Swift(Vdi) for INR5.5L in 2008, while we were looking to buy a Santro/Wagon-R.
And the result, I drove it for 1.6L kms in about 7.5 years and sold it for INR 2L, to upgrade to Safari Storme in 2014. Swift was with us till 2016.
I bought the Safari Storme EX, while I wanted the 4x4, the itch to buy the 4x4 is still there, but the 4x2 is serving the purpose very well.
My Safari has completed 1.4L trouble free kms, and still going strong, and there is no other SUV that can offer the same command of road and driving pleasure over the Safari. I intend to keep the Safari with me till I complete 2L kms.

[pavanmadhini]

This thread is just for me!

I initially booked a Honda City, but later cancelled the booking and got a Jetta instead. 5 years and 140,000 kms later, I can't be happier with my decision. I fully intend to keep the car for another 5 years if all goes well.

[teknophobia]

Originally Posted by DriverWanderer

This thread could not be more relevant! I am planning to shift from Kharagpur to Delhi and was planning to buy my first car.
Among the other debates in my head, the debate of buying 'a better car' or 'a reasonably affordable car' was the one I could not wrap my head around. Your thread definitely helped me out of that rut!

But there is one thing which is niggling me at the back of my mind. would not the more expensive car be much more expensive to maintain too? I am asking as a newbie to car ownership.

The maintenance expense is not substantially more unless you are buying a car that is a lot more expensive. For example, the maintenance costs for a city are not substantially more than a swift and 3rd party liability insurance depends purely on engine capacity and they fall in the same bracket.

[mohansrides]

Here is a slightly contrarian view. Buy the car that will suffice; then keep it as long as you can. Stop thinking about what someone else is thinking about you. Truth is that no one is thinking about you. You are not that important. People have their own problems; and in the end everyone dies. So, do the right thing now for your finances and for that of your family's.

Truth is that I have never been able to afford any of the cars that I have liked. Combine that with my aversion to buying anything on a loan and I have been driving an old beater for a long time; and it doesn't look like this situation is going to change soon.

Yeah, there are days when I feel like I am missing out on the joy of owning a nice machine. But, that feeling quickly passes when I realize that I am not sitting on an EMI liability in today's uncertain economic climate.

It's another matter that I have a dim view of 95% of the cars in the Indian market. Without exception, they are all overpriced tin cans with puny engines. Try as I might, I simply could not justify forking over a huge chunk of my savings into a vehicle just because I liked some aspects of it.

P.S.

A couple of times, I actually came close to selling my car in order to buy a new one. But, each time, I ended up changing my mind about the sale when I looked at the price I was offered and asked the guy only one thing - "If I paid you this same amount of money, would you sell me this car if you had it?" The answer is always "No". That made me realize the value of what I had.

Cheers

[Cooltronics]

This is truly "gujju way of thinking" and I so damn well agree to it !
In current times, when income appreciation curve is no where as steep as car price appreciation curve and the show-off mentality being at all time high, its always better to buy the right car at the right time else the EMI trap will derail all your plans.

Additionally, with changing times, we are moving from Carburetor engines to MPFI engines (again smaller blocks) to Electrical engines - the charm of good old car is diminishing thick and fast so hold on and enjoy something which is going to get extinct very soon.
As an example, I love driving my 1987 Maruti 800 with zilch gizmos as compared to modern day cars but owing to its age we restrict it from daily use.

Tangentially, the same applies in all sphere of life, if some one is looking to buy a 3 BHK flat with a tire 1 Builder, buy it NOW ! if you opt for a 2 BHK flat with local Tier 3 or 4 builder and then hope to upgrade five years later, you would have lost the race as the Tier 1 builder apartment would have appreciated much higher and would then be even more out of reach and the current flat might find no takers