[Arvind6488]

Hi Guru's,

I own a Maruti Alto Lxi that I purchased in 2011. The car has clocked 24000 kms and is in stock condition without giving me any troubles or coming up with any issues.

However, I came across a Ford Ikon of my friend which was purchased in 2007. The car has clocked only 29000 kms and is lying unused for the past 4 months.

Would it be a good choice to make a move? The only advantages I see are:

1. I would be able to pre-close my 7 year car loan and save around a lakh or so.
2. Upgrade to a bigger car which is more spacious and powerful

Kindly let me know your thoughts. Since production of Ford Ikon is rolled out I am amidst confusion as to whether would it be a hassle free journey to maintain the Ikon?

[asit.kulkarni93]

Well i am no expert but i would suggest keep the Alto.
Recently there was a thread on ford's pathetic after sale service in Bangalore. If you have a good and reliable service center in your locality then give it a thought otherwise it would be a real pain to maintain it. As it is Ford cars have a high upkeep. We never had Ford cars in our immediate family, So all this i am saying is from what i have read on this forum and heard from some friend's who own ford cars. All just have problems with spares and after sales service.
Ikon owners in chennai can answer better


Cheers!

[deetjohn]

If this is going to be your only car, I don't think the swap will be a good idea.

A low mileage car lying unused for the past 4 months is not a good sign. The car could soon start developing problems when subjected to frequent use. So, you'll have to take it for a complete service as soon as you buy and this will cost some money. Also, do check whether the tyres are new. Else, you will need to spend on 5 of them.

Also take into consideration the high cost of running and maintenance as both cars are from different segments and many years apart. The old Ikon was not very reliable. Hope you know the history of the car very well.

[roy_libran]

Now this could well become a case of Pound Wise, Penny Foolish.
Let me explain - You said you stand to save Rs. 1 Lac through this deal, which is great. But you will certainly have to shell out more in terms of Fuel Bills and Running Maintenance.
Ford Ikon spares are not the cheapest ones around, you see. OEM spares will continue to be available for some more time and NON-OEM Spares for a bit further. So, you should hope to see through the next 3-4 years or so without any major scares.
But, compared to an Alto, IMHO, it is a much better car. So, go for it, if the Ikon has been maintained well (mechanically) by your friend.

[the_skyliner]

I too will recommend same what others have already said. You might save a lakh now but if you consider the FE and service costs of Ford then that one lakh is gone in next couple of years and that too if you are lucky otherwise earlier. Add to that the difference between resale of a 5 years old Alto and a 10 years old out-of-production Ford car. Alto will still be in market after three years from today. Stay away!

[BackInTheFold]

Originally Posted by Arvind6488

Hi Guru's,

I own a Maruti Alto Lxi that I purchased in 2011. The car has clocked 24000 kms and is in stock condition without giving me any troubles or coming up with any issues.

However, I came across a Ford Ikon of my friend which was purchased in 2007. The car has clocked only 29000 kms and is lying unused for the past 4 months.

Would it be a good choice to make a move? The only advantages I see are:

1. I would be able to pre-close my 7 year car loan and save around a lakh or so.
2. Upgrade to a bigger car which is more spacious and powerful

Kindly let me know your thoughts. Since production of Ford Ikon is rolled out I am amidst confusion as to whether would it be a hassle free journey to maintain the Ikon?

I would add my $0.02 to the voices advising you to steer clear of the Ikon. We had 2 Ford Ikons in the family and even while they were in production, their routine maintenance costs were horrendously large. The service advisors, while friendly, were always keen to squeeze more after-sales revenue out of us. This experience and high costs were consistent across multiple workshops in Bangalore and Chennai.

Regards,
BITF

[Gansan]

AFAIK unlike Maruti, Ford did not have the Parent and Child parts concept back then. May be they have it now for the Figo, though I am not sure.

So when it comes to replacement of parts, you will be staring at replacing a whole assembly rather than a part of it.

As an example, I remember reading somewhere that while the water pump for a typical Maruti was Rs 1400.00, for the Ikon it was like Rs 15000.00!

[soonya]

My 2cs, advice is if you are OK with spending big money in maintaining it and love the drivability and chuckability go for it.

But if you are the saving type, careful person, I suggest, give it a miss. Though my comments are limited to a Ford Ikon Diesel (I owned it for about 9 years) I agree with the lack of child parts concept. Invariably I used to spend significant amounts for every service. At the end of the day I spent more than the cost of the car in my 9 years of ownership. The airconditioning and heating is a unique thing where they recover the heat from the 'coolant' running through, and since it was made up of plastic it just gave away after about 4 years and it cost me a bomb - since the part was made in France and comes as a complete assembly. If I remember correct it was more than 20K. There were many more such things.

And the interior plastics do not age gracefully, and are hard type. They chip after a while as plastic chairs kept in sun would.

One of my doctor friends had a petrol version, he used to enjoy driving it, but the engine gave him so much trouble that every month it used to be with the Ford ASS for at least 3-5 days!

[abeerbagul]

I purchased a pre owned Indica Xeta Petrol in Feb 2008 for 2.5 lakhs. Used it for 5 years and 50000 kms.
Last week, purchased a Mitsubishi Cedia Sports 2008 model from team-bhp itself. I guess, inflation at 9% adjusted, I paid almost the same for the Cedia as compared what I paid for the Indica in 2008.

Would definitely recommend that team bhp pre owned cars make the best lateral upgrades.

[Gansan]

My 2009 model Alto LXi will fetch about 1.75 lakhs, acording to carwale. A similar vintage, top of the line SX4 will cost about 3.75 lakhs, according to the same site. Will it be a rational upgrade?

I know the bigger car will come with higher running and maintenance costs, but I don't want a white elephant on my hands!

P.S.: A similar vintage Swift ZXi, Ritz ZXI and Honda Jaz are also similarly priced, but somehow I am attracted to the SX4.

[StrangeWizard]

Originally Posted by Gansan

My 2009 model Alto LXi will fetch about 1.75 lakhs, acording to carwale. A similar vintage, top of the line SX4 will cost about 3.75 lakhs, according to the same site. Will it be a rational upgrade?

I know the bigger car will come with higher running and maintenance costs, but I don't want a white elephant on my hands!

P.S.: A similar vintage Swift ZXi, Ritz ZXI and Honda Jaz are also similarly priced, but somehow I am attracted to the SX4.

Sx4's are available for good prices in the used car market.
You spend 2 lacs extra over the price of your Alto and you get a bigger, more powerful, more comfortable car with all safety features like abs, airbags etc.
It's a great deal IMO.

Good Swifts are a bit difficult to come by. Most of them are abused and they rattle a lot. It is even harder to find a Zxi because at that time everyone used to buy only Vxi

[thebfg]

Hi Guys,
I have a 2007 Hyundai Verna which is in really poor condition (Body and Interior). I am planning to sell it off and buy a used Civic. The car is not going to be used much, barely 15 kms a day and is going to be used for the school run. Should I upgrade or not?
Also I am planning to invest very little. Will my car fetch at least 3.25 lacs? My model is SX without ABS. Wifey and kids say no but Yours Truly says YES!

A few scores on key things from my side
Comfort - Civic outmatches Verna in terms of space and is more plush (8, 6)
Engine - Both are good drivers but extra power won't hurt me (9, 8)
Drivability - I really don't know about the Civic but Verna is good (7, 9)
Ride - Verna does have quite a hard ride and from what i've heard Civic is much better but low GC could be a problem in the pot-hole ridden D.Dun (8, 7)
Economy - Verna's a thirsty one (untuned engine the cause) it gives less than 13 kmpl. Don't know about Civic (6, 6)
(38, 36)
Please give me advice. Should I make the move?

[joybhowmik]

Originally Posted by thebfg

Hi Guys,
Should I upgrade or not?
Also I am planning to invest very little. Will my car fetch at least 3.25 lacs? My model is SX without ABS.

With weak demand, and a poor condition (as you have described) you are probably going to be pricing yourself out of the market, all the more so in a small market like Dehradun.

A Civic (used) would not be available for the price you get paid - unless you put in some serious money into it. And then the real question is why would you want to go this route, when your driving is not that much?

IMHO, may make sense to hold on to the Hyundai a little while longer. But of course as T-BHPians - taste and preferences are key, so if considerations other than economics are topmost in your mind - go ahead and take the plunge - after all you only live once!

[mints21]

Why don't you think of replacing your existing car with a vehicle that has not been discontinued. In a city like Dehradun, the upkeep of Civic can turn out to a headache.

I will suggest you to get your Verna evaluated from the used car market, then work on getting some amount financed and buy a new car. For 15kms a day, you should only buy a new car because this would mean you can enjoy a best in class ownership experience over the next ten years.

[IshaanIan]

How much you get for your Verna can only be stated by the condition it is in and the odo reading. Perhaps you can try to get 2.75-3.00 lacs.

You will certainly not be able to get a Civic in good condition without atleast 2.5-3 lacs of expenditure over and above the optimistic resale value of your Verna from your side. If you say that the roads are bad then why hassle yourself with a Civic? You will only be able to get a pre 2009 model and they are just notoriously difficult to deal with. To top that off, the drive-ability in low rpms is not suited to bad roads so unless you are able to buy a post 2009 Civic and then spend some more for an intake, exhaust and a remap, I would not suggest the car.

Try out the Optra Magnum. It is cheap to buy, cheap to maintain, and still entitles you to move a segment higher