[Shiv_1984]

Hello folks,

There is something I wanted to share with you all. The poor guy we will discuss about is one of my oldest friends. There are 2 actors in this story:

1. Ford Figo - Petrol

2. My friend (Let's refer him as Amit)

Part 1

It's dated back to August 2012, my friend Amit had got this desire to buy a new car. Then, he was just married and also wanted to upgrade to 4 wheels from 2. He spends lot of time reading car reviews. Suddenly, one fine day, he calls me and says he is headed for the Ford showroom for TDs with his elder brother.

I still remember him telling me that he doesn't like the Figo's looks, which got me surprised as to why he is TDing a car he doesn't like. Anyways, story moves on and when he came back, he called me. Here is an excerpt of the conversation:

Me: So, how was the TD? Which all cars you tested?
Amit: Only Figo and Classic. Both of them are fairly decent and VFM.
Me: You said, you don't like Figo, then how was the TD done?
Amit:Dont know, I never said I am going to buy one, was just a TD. My brother convinced me to atleast take a TD.
Me: Fine, so hows it? Did you decide anything?
Amit: Not yet, but it isn't as bad as I initially thought. My Brother likes it a lot and wants me to seriously consider it.
Me: Sorry Amit, but it's your car and you gotta like it, and like it as its worth keeping for 5 years. Don't hurry.
Amit: You're right. Let me think.

Hang UP......

Couple of days later: Phone Rings.

Me: Hi Amit, so what's up. Hows it going?
Amit: Fine Bud. Well I gotta tell you something.
Me: Sure, what's up?
Amit: I have decided on Figo. They are giving me some nice offers and I kinda got used to the looks, doesn't bother me as it used to.
Me: *Gestures with a smile*. Good for you, but are you completely sure this is the car for you?
Amit: Yes bro. Everyone in my family liked it too. So, I am happy about it.
Me: Good then. Did you make the booking. What plans ahead?
Amit: blah.. blah.. blah..

Part 2

Months passed by. He seemed to be happy about his purchase (at least he pretended so). Couple of times I have driven the car too. I felt its adequate for the city, but lacks punch on Highways. Would quench for more power.

Anyways, last Sunday Amit meets me and expresses his desire to sell the car. I was surprised. I ask him

1. Any Accidents?
Reply : No

2. Any financial issue?
Reply : No

3. Any other issues with the Car?
Reply: No

Why the hell you want to sell it then? You said you have grown into the car now and you like it.
Reply: I know I told you all of this, but now I cant fool myself anymore. With no disrespect to the car, I never liked it. It wasn't for me. I tried very hard, but I couldn't.

I can't take this anymore, let it go to someone who really likes it. Let me at least do justice to the car.

Moral of the Story

The point is, he rushed into buying a car he never liked, and did it just because he got some freebies, a good finance deal and sweet pressure from family members.

Now he needs my opinion on what can be done. He knows he will have great financial loss and thus, seeks options on what can be done to keep losses to a minimum.

He bought the car with 100% showroom financing from HDFC. It's around 9 months old.

Need help from BHPians on what would be his best take.

Thanks in advance.

Shiv

[anup7649]

Simple, he can sell his Figo for a lac lesser now and add in 2 lacs and go for a spirited car like a Brio/Swift.
That's the only he will enjoy the life ahead

[vnabhi]

I don't think anyone on this forum can advise him on what he should do. If he bought a car which he did not like, then why did he not ask before buying?

And as it appears he bowed to family pressure, I suggest he ask them for their opinion. I feel he was fool-hardy to buy something he did not like.

[GTO]

I'm not aware of your friend's financial situation, hence will advise in two parts:

Keep It if your friend is strapped for cash!

Reason : Your friend stands to lose an enormous amount in depreciation. Since he's opted for full finance, the outstanding loan amount will be higher than the market value of a 9 month old Figo petrol (diesel would have still been better, but petrol = horrible resale). This is his first car, and he's taken 100% finance, hence I'm assuming that he doesn't have much liquidity. In any car loan, the first lot of payments primarily include interest (and not principal).

End of the day, the Figo isn't a bad car. The petrol doesn't have power, but there are other endearing qualities (suspension set up, comfortable interiors, nice steering etc.). Every car has its own list of pros & cons. The Figo petrol is far from the segment best, but it's still a very decent city car.

A cheaper option would be to spend a couple of thousand bucks in sprucing up his ride. ICE, wheels, interiors...you name it. Whatever will keep him happy.

Sell It if your friend has spare cash!

If he can take the financial hit, and is absolutely disappointed with the car, tell him to trade it in for "you-can't-go-wrong" models like the Honda Brio, Hyundai i10 1.2, Swift or Liva 1.5 (power deficiency will be a distant memory ).

And yes, this time, ask him to thoroughly research, take his time and be 100% satisfied before signing on the dotted line.

[amitoj]

Selling a 9 month old car which has no issues with it is a depreciation disaster come true. And that too for a petrol car.

If i were in your friend's place, I would try to do something about the looks of the car if i didnt like it and was stuck with it. Get bigger tyres, nice alloys or maybe some sort of kit for it or a really nice audio setup. Instead of losing a bunch of money, I would consider spending a little more and getting it to the point where i can enjoy the car.

Just a thought...

[Shiv_1984]

Thanks for all your answers. That's why i brought this up here as i knew the best answers can be found on Tbhp only.

The guy isnt from the creamy layer and has spent quite an amount on buying the car. As GTO says, he also knows the financial hit he will have to take if he goes out to a seller but apparently his heart is overcoming his mind.

I am going to meet him today and show him this thread. let the replies pour in.

Thanks!

[KarthikK]

I echo the thoughts made by other BHPians on this thread. While one point of view is to worry about the massive depreciation + outstanding loan amount, I have another question to ask - what if your friend buys another model from another stable and complains of this same kind of boredom few more months down the line? The bored + swapping cycle cannot become a habit, right?

Try to find out what exactly he is 'bored' about. Fixing those aspects might probably fix the root cause itself!

- Is it the power stakes department? He could try modifying the car and extracting more juice out of it. Custom headers, Free flow exhaust, possibly a remap, etc could make the car way more fun-to-drive than it is now.

- Is it the exterior looks of the car? I agree the Figo is not a very visual-mod-friendly car due to its boxy shape, but you can spruce up the ride by adding body kits, side skirts, vinyls, different alloys, thicker rubber, etc. The options for beautifying are endless if you really get down to it. The looks of the car can be totally transformed to any extent, if properly done.

- Is it the interior ambience which is troubling him? I'm sure you can bump up the desirability quotient by upgrading to full leather interiors, installing a wonderful ICE, interior neons, blah blah.

Even if you spend a lac rupees on all these things, it would still turn out to be cheaper than the depreciation hit + interest money spent on the loan all these 9 months. Remember also, that taking a new loan now will again repeat the initial interest amount hit all over again. Like GTO mentioned, all car loans work that way - the first few months have the EMI amount split more towards interest component than the principal repayment component.

I strongly suggest keeping the car and modifying it to fix whatever aspect of the car he is 'bored' of. It will be cheaper and better, plus it will be more fun too, to play around with the spruce-ups!

P.S - the only time one can afford to play around with frequent selling and buying of cars is if
- the car is preowned, thereby the depreciation hit is significantly lesser when selling it again.
- the car is bought on full cash basis, never on loan. No money is lost on interest or preclosure penalties.

For a new petrol car, that too on loan in the first year, its a financial disaster.

[A350XWB]

I agree with the comments from vnabhi, GTO and amitoj. Your friend forgot the most important step before buying a car - that is, listing down his priorities. As GTO mentioned, no car is perfect. It is very important to map your priorities and select a vehicle accordingly. Otherwise, every time he will be in for a disappointment.
Selling a 9 month old car in good condition will have huge financial implications. As others mentioned, one can try to pimp up the car to his liking, but I would suggest to list down what he does not like with the car before spending the money.
If he totally cannot live with the car, he can sell it off (at a big loss of course) and put his money on a car which he likes. But before that, I strongly suggest to clearly list down what he needs out of a car. In the bargain, he will be losing a brilliant chassis, driving dynamics, boot space (compared to many others like Brio, Swift, Indica, Ritz, i10 etc.), rear seat space (again compared to many of it's rivals) and a perfectly calibrated HPS. But he may gain boot space (e.g. i20), rear seat space (e.g. Indica), looks (subjective) power (most of it's rivals). So, he should thoroughly consider what he needs before taking the plunge.
(Just noticed that KarthikK has mentioned exactly these points and he was faster by a minute )

[sagarpadaki]

Ask him to get a Remap done! A proper remap can make the 1.2 mill more punchy and make your friend also happy without putting in too much moolah!Throw in a FFE+Headers and he will not be complaining! This, if lack of power is his main criteria . Later the ICE,Alloys can follow.

Like others have mentioned it does not make sense to sell a 9 month *petrol* car that too bought with 100% finance! A good remap will put a smile on his face!

[bblost]

@Shiv_1984

This must be a pre-facelift model.

Ask him to goto a used car dealer and have the car evaluated.

Is the depreciation loss acceptable to him?
If yes, them tell him that this approach towards personal finance is not going to help him in the long run.

[PetrolRider]

If your friend has enough cash, he would not be needing advice here.

Considering the other case, where financial loss would be more priority for him, the only way for him is to keep the car at-least for three years.

He though didn't like the car when he bought it, still he could make him like the car with pressure from his family. He can continue in that mode for a couple of more years. Otherwise, he can consider the car as a bad investment and he had to be tied to it for 3 years. There are many way he can console himself for next three years.

But the point is, if he thinks he had made a mistake buying the car, he also should know that, he would be doing even more grave mistake if he sells it now.

[Mister_M]

Hope my 100th Post in T-BHP is going to be useful for your friend:

When your friend is clear enough to say that he is "bored" of the car in just 9 months, I don't think he really would feel sad about the Financial losses (Read: Depreciation, Loan Fore-closure charges, etc...)

On the other hand, I also see that he doesn't seem to have a solid alternative choice. Which means, he will probably have to e-start the searching process again followed by buying.

1. What-if he "gets" convinced (this time may be by his cousin or even you) for some X / Y / Z car?

2. Considering he changes his car now, what if he finds 2 additional problems on his new car that would make him get Bored again? (as GTO has quoted, no car is perfect and there are some negatives even in the best-selling cars; So would be in his next car too!)

My verdict for his case:
1. If he has a "Dream-Car" in his mind (Really a DREAM car for him), let him not bother much about external factors (Financial Loss, Family advise / pressure, etc...) and go for it.
2. If he doesn't know his next car yet and wants to research from scratch, it is simple maths. Let him keep the car for atleast 2 - 3 years and parallelly learn more about cars; Either his next car would definitely be a good and a reasonable choice (atleast for himself). Or he would have got so much used to this Figo that he would not repent again

Good Luck

Cheers!!
M

[himanshugoswami]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

I don't think anyone on this forum can advise him on what he should do. If he bought a car which he did not like, then why did he not ask before buying?

And as it appears he bowed to family pressure, I suggest he ask them for their opinion. I feel he was fool-hardy to buy something he did not like.

OT, but couldnt resist it.

This almost sounds like how most people get married!

[ani_meher]

I love your friend, and people similar to him! This is how others get nice deals

If he can swallow the 1 lac depreciation, it would be best for both him and the possible buyer to sell the car and settle for something he likes, and would like to keep for years. If 'buying old' is not a taboo, I am sure he can find someone else like him who is bored of his Brio/Swift whatever car your friend 'currently' likes.

Generally, operating like this is financial disaster. Buy a new car ONLY IF you intend to keep it for 5-7 years, else buy used. I know some people who change their vehicles every 3 years, which doesn't make any sense, as a lot of depreciation is already gone. But this formula is for those who live by heads, not those who live by their (or others!) heart.

[ghodlur]

@Shiv

Can you friend guarentee that this mood swing is a one off thing and that its not going to be repeated. If he geniunely feels that the car is not right for him, then I would suggest he swallow the bitter pill and sell it and be happy with the price he gets. Hopefully next time he does not get fool hardy and jumps to any conclusions when buying a car.

All I hope is after selling the car he doesnt need your shoulder to cry thinking that he sold the car in haste. The sooner he gets the T-BHP membership better for him.