[Crazy4.Cars]

Originally Posted by Denali

The reason I am more inclined towards the Octavia is because I practically grew with one. My father has a 2009 Octy which I’m extremely fond of, but his taste in vehicles differs from mine and I don’t feel giving it the sort of treatment I would like (some nice alloys and a few more veeeeeery basic mods) would please him. This is why I’m looking for another, for myself.

A clean, well-cared for Octy is what I want, but have not been able to get any in the last 5/6 months I’ve spent looking for one. Please share any leads you might have for a clean Octavia/Old Laura/Mondeo.

Hi, You are definitely more Inclined towards the Octavia, I would say stick to your heart and be patient in that case, you'll find one.

However, in my opinion the 2007 Accord is a Gem of a car. Sure it might lack the overall solid nature of the Octavia , but that Vtec engine is a gem, plus it handles very well. 2007 is last accord that can be termed sporty, post that most of the accord's are family oriented medium to full sized sedans.
You'll not only have a peace of mind during the ownership period if you find a clean example, and sourcing the parts and maintenance will be easy too.

Think about it and take your call. Cheers!

[Denali]

Originally Posted by Crazy4.Cars

However, in my opinion the 2007 Accord is a Gem of a car. Sure it might lack the overall solid nature of the Octavia , but that Vtec engine is a gem, plus it handles very well. 2007 is last accord that can be termed sporty, post that most of the accord's are family oriented medium to full sized sedans.
You'll not only have a peace of mind during the ownership period if you find a clean example, and sourcing the parts and maintenance will be easy too.

I was, actually quite keen on getting an Accord and was being offered a 2010 2.4 MT Accord, done only 37k kms with extensive Honda service history. I made up my mind & was ready to purchase the vehicle, but was informed that it had been sold to a relative by his BIL (was actually his BIL's car which he had been entrusted to sell) 2 days back, and he too was just made aware about the sale.

I've tried very hard scouting for an Octy, and continue to do so. However, If I do come across a super clean, low mileage Accord, I'll not let it pass this time. There is another Accord on offer, Single Owner 2011 AT Fl (w/ Sunroof), done 77k kms, which the owner claims has been maintained exclusively at Honda. What according to you should be a fair price for it? I was put off by the mileage and did not pursue him much; he was demanding close to 5 lakhs.

Although my head tells me to get a Laura/Jetta, my heart is set on something rare, like a Ford Mondeo or an Opel Vectra. The proper way to keep this vehicles is, I believe, to get a both, mechanically and cosmetically sound donor vehicle, which one may store somewhere and secondly, know the mechanicals of the car like the back of one's hand.

The Octy is a wonderful machine, but it's becoming super hard to find clean ones in today's day and age

As they say, All beautiful things are headaches.

[adiiityaaa]

Hello everyone,
Hope you are having a nice day. This would be my first post on this forum, so apologies if I am going wrong anywhere and would appreciate if you correct me.

I was scouting for a car which would be tuner friendly, has great performance on its default settings, is reliable, has appreciable safety and somewhat unique. Having a family which is biased towards Japanese cars, buying something else would be a big NO. I already have a Zen on which I am currently working on, however, G10B does not have much potential.
One car to which I have been looking forward since a long time is the Maruti Suzuki Kizashi. The J24B powered car is real quick, and its sporty design makes it look fresh even today. It was the only 5 Star NCAP rated car from Maruti and was good in features at its time. As it was expensive being imported as CBU, it can be rarely seen on our roads today. I have came across many ads of Kizashi in the used car market retailing between 2L to 5L budget, having good enough mileage for a 10 year old car in Manual variant. Before finally having one of them parked in my garage, I have some questions:

1. Would it be a good buy in 2023?
2. Would it be a great option in the Accord and Civic dominated market?
3. Are the spare parts available in market today?
4. Most important: Is it tuner friendly?

Apart from this, is there anything else I should be aware of, which should make me consider a different option?

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by adiiityaaa

Before finally having one of them parked in my garage, I have some questions:

1. Would it be a good buy in 2023?
2. Would it be a great option in the Accord and Civic dominated market?
3. Are the spare parts available in market today?
4. Most important: Is it tuner friendly?

Apart from this, is there anything else I should be aware of, which should make me consider a different option?

I would not recommend spending more than 3.5lacs on a kizashi unless it has had the following attended to: steering rack replacement, rear suspension overhaul and all new front suspension linkages. These should all total up to about 2.5 lacs in service cost (mind you this does not include the obvious things like beading, any engine mounts and other rubber parts and wearable bits) thus no matter how clean the car looks, avoid giving the owner more than 3.5lacs given you will have to attend to all of these issues (unless owner has had them taken care of already).

The mod potential is immense as I remember a twin turboed kizashi breaking some record on the salt flats. That said, it is an expensive endeavour as it was a worldwide flop so there are hardly any bolt on modifications available and you will thus have to pay more to get things done the right way. Being a CBU doesn’t make things any easier either since parts will tend to cost more than you’d like and stuff like aluminium suspension linkages will have you spending quite a bit on annual maintenance before the mods come in.

I would suggest going with an SX4 as a locally made 1.6 petrol Maruti is any day going to be an easier project. If you do go with the Kiz, please keep us posted

[adiiityaaa]

Originally Posted by IshaanIan

I would not recommend spending more than 3.5lacs on a kizashi unless it has had the following attended to: steering rack replacement, rear suspension overhaul and all new front suspension linkages. These should all total up to about 2.5 lacs in service cost

Thanks for your report. I would definitely keep this in my mind while checking out the Kizashi in second hand market. Maybe the dream of having a Kizashi would not be practical considering that it would come with a hefty maintenance and not being enough tuner friendly. Moreover, if any thing goes wrong, there would be less to no scope in procuring spares from a donor car.

I would suggest going with an SX4 as a locally made 1.6 petrol Maruti is any day going to be an easier project.

We already have an 1.6 SX4 in our family, so that completely rules out the possibility of getting another SX4. However as you said, yes indeed, the locally made engine will surely be an easy project.

Other than that, what German options would be recommended at a budget of 6L, excluding the aftermarket additions? I have recently seen E60s and E90s as well as W212 and W203 retailing in the same price point, thanks to 15 year scraping policy. Can they make-up as good options or should I stick to the Japanese?

[adiiityaaa]

I have dropped the about getting a Kizashi or going for a German machine. I recently had talks with my friends and had a test drive of some of their cars. The list includes:

• Maruti Suzuki Esteem
• Maruti Suzuki Baleno [Old]
• Honda City 2nd Gen
• Honda Accord 7th Gen
• Honda Civic
• Hyundai Verna
• Hyundai Eon
• Skoda Fabia

From the list, I got my heart on the Baleno and the City. The Accord and Civic are beasts, but the FE they offer is terrible, and as I am considering it as a project car, I expect it to drop further. I have found some good options and according to them I can get a Baleno for as low as 75000, whereas City starts from 90000. Moreover, a Baleno is quite rare. So if I were to go with either Baleno or the City, which one would be a great choice, the Good old Baleno with it's G16B or the Monster with VTEC, Honda City?

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by adiiityaaa

Moreover, a Baleno is quite rare. So if I were to go with either Baleno or the City, which one would be a great choice, the Good old Baleno with it's G16B or the Monster with VTEC, Honda City?

A city VTEC is on the classifieds in Mumbai/Pune.
Asking is definitely higher, but I reckon parts + mod potential given the city / 1.5 VTEC was fairly popular in other SE Asian markets.

[adiiityaaa]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

A city VTEC is on the classifieds in Mumbai/Pune.
Asking is definitely higher

This is what I don't want. I actually want my first "proper" project car to not be heavy on pockets, hence I'll need to drop it. I prefer to gain experience at this point instead of spending at repairs/getting the base.