[iliketurtles]

I like electric cars a lot, but I honestly don't think I could recommend the E2O over the Brio much as I might like to. I'm surprised you're not considering the Grand i10 over it, the Brio is sparse in comparison and it's got the kind of looks and interiors the wifey should love. Do give it a dekko if you haven't already!

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

I like electric cars a lot, but I honestly don't think I could recommend the E2O over the Brio much as I might like to. I'm surprised you're not considering the Grand i10 over it, the Brio is sparse in comparison and it's got the kind of looks and interiors the wifey should love. Do give it a dekko if you haven't already!

He already had considered the I10 if you check previous posts. Rejected due to absence of Abs, airbags

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by GTO

- Importantly, if I meet the above two conditions, I can avail of depreciation benefits on a Brio / Grand i10 too. The only difference is, it'll come gradually over the years (and not accelerated in the first year like the E2O). Over the entire ownership period, I will receive equal depreciation benefits on ANY CAR

Of course you get to claim depreciation on any and every car. Just that, you get to claim a very good amount with the E2o. And as any businessman will say, you'll rather get your money today than tomorrow. Same logic here. 80% of, say, 6L is 4.8L. You get claim deprecation of 4.8L in the first year itself. If the Brio also sells for 4.8L after 4years(which it wont), financially speaking, which scenario is more desirable? I'll prefer getting the benefit in the first year itself rather than after 4 years.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Just that, you get to claim a very good amount with the E2o. And as any businessman will say, you'll rather get your money today than tomorrow.

Absolutely agreed! Money today is better than money tomorrow.

What I disagree with is your earlier statement that said 'accelerated depreciation' negates the resale value disadvantage.

- You can claim depreciation on all cars @ 15% a year (IIRC). Therefore, the difference is only that you're getting your money earlier.

- The total depreciation amount (e.g. 4.8 lakhs) isn't the 'net benefit'. The actual benefit from claiming depreciation of 4.8 lakhs is whatever tax bracket you fall in. 30% of that is 1.44 lakhs. Why? Because depreciation is accounted as an expense.

For the sake of argument, lets put the cost of money @ 10% (you get 9% on a fixed deposit, you can get loans for 11%). First year depreciation of the E2O versus any 6 lakh hatchback is 80% vs 15%.

Difference between depreciation benefit of either car in the first year is 117,000 (1.44 lakhs vs 27000). Therefore, in the first year, the accelerated depreciation of the E2O gives you a net benefit of merely Rs. 11,700 (10% interest earned / paid of the difference in net benefits).

Note that regular cars will catch up eventually, and this 11K a year advantage will slowly & steadily go lower & lower...down to zilch shortly.

[hserus]

I see his point. A car that depreciates down to zero is essentially fully paid for, so any extra use you get out of the car is just so much added extra benefit.

Once you have offset that 80% from your firm or self employed income, you could invest the saved tax amount and so make rather more money than with gradual depreciation.

Of course the implication is that the car might conk out any time after that and you're stuck with buying a new one.

[madbullram]

Hi all: Thank you for all your comments and feedback. It became an easier decision than what I thought. We are going with the Brio. Following are the main reason:

1. Mahindra did not clarify when I asked them about proof of passion NCAP. They said it cannot be shared for some official reason. This does not ring the correct bells for me.

2. They wanted me to drive 60 kms one way to their Mahindra City in chennai for a test drive and that too only on weekdays. Though I was passionate about the car and was willing oversee the cons, having to take off on a weekday and spending around 5-6 hours for a test drive made me decide against it.

May be will buy it 4 yrs later when it is sold and successful in Chennai. Wish it was the other way! At least they made my decision easy!

Ah the Brio discussion. Had one since yesterday as a friend finally went ahead and made a booking. What a car, have test driven it several times just for the fun of the drive. I wish sometimes I was a sheik and could have 300 cars in my garage.

Here's how I would evaluate second home car purchase.
1.) Boot space for groceries especially important when making monthly purchases - Honda scores better, the design is very efficient though it looks flat it has a lot more depth than is visible.
2.) Boot space for overnight journeys - ditto
3.) Can kids loll around in the back street, given today's kids wanting to lounge with their screens - Honda
4.) Side and rear impact more than front impact - Honda scores
5.) Resale value - Honda is one of the best for that
6.) Start and stop and start mechanics - petrol always is worry-free rather than an electric car

But I am also an eco-warrior and electric cars have a certain appeal that just does not go away. So I have taken the safe road. I am waiting for the Tesla :-).

[madbullram]

Hi all,
Mahindra surprised us by bring a car from Banaglore for test drive. I do not know how to actually react since this was a complete shock for me. So we did an extensive test drive part from the observation in the original thread, two things puts the Reva in the negative.

1. My wife is around 5'4. She was quite uncomfortable with the seat belt. The reason being the fixed far than what you see in a regular car. This is because of the single door. I did not have an issue, she was uncomfortable.

2. The feeling of Accelerator and Brake was little scary. We were not that confident on which is which. We never had this issue in Brio or i10. May this was spaced much closer?

3. The space to the right side of the steering was cramped and wife felt it was disturbing compared to Brio or i10.

4. Unlike a Petrol AT, there is not acceleration when you have hit the break. Now when you are in a incline or dense traffic and trying to barge in this becomes little scary as you need to switch between brake and accelerator often to get going. May be people get used to this but it was not a good experience.

Originally Posted by Taffy

Here's how I would evaluate second home car purchase.
1.) Boot space for groceries especially important when making monthly purchases - Honda scores better, the design is very efficient though it looks flat it has a lot more depth than is visible.
2.) Boot space for overnight journeys - ditto
3.) Can kids loll around in the back street, given today's kids wanting to lounge with their screens - Honda
4.) Side and rear impact more than front impact - Honda scores
5.) Resale value - Honda is one of the best for that
6.) Start and stop and start mechanics - petrol always is worry-free rather than an electric car

Hi Taffy:
1. Given its a second car, really dont see much difference in the boot between Brio and the Reva.
2. Will never take this car for overnight, that's the duty of the first car right?
3. Not much difference between Brio and Reva in this. I was comfortable in both and we test drove with 5 adults and 2 kids ( 3 and 4 yrs old).
4. 100% agree
6. Isn't it the other way? Aren't electric cars more reliable and trouble free given the difference in moving parts?

Originally Posted by madbullram

Hi all,
2. Will never take this car for overnight, that's the duty of the first car right?

6. Isn't it the other way? Aren't electric cars more reliable and trouble free given the difference in moving parts?

Hi Madbullram

Reading your observations on the drive just makes me doubly sure that the wait for the right electric car is going to be longer in this country. Thank you for sharing these with us. :-)

Just wanted to clarify that by overnight journeys I meant when the better half takes the kids to her mother's place (if they are in the same city).

Point 6 I was referring to the strain on the batteries therefore bringing down the recharge interval. Or is that problem tackled better than the Reva in this car? :-)

[madbullram]

Originally Posted by Taffy

Hi Madbullram
Just wanted to clarify that by overnight journeys I meant when the better half takes the kids to her mother's place (if they are in the same city).

Point 6 I was referring to the strain on the batteries therefore bringing down the recharge interval. Or is that problem tackled better than the Reva in this car? :-)

My wife drives the Civic, I am more of a biker, so even in that case she would be the one driving, so it will be Civic. Leaving that out with a 120 kms per charge, I do not think driving within a city is an issue at all for Reva.

Charging one needs to do at 25% for optimal performance which means you can travel around 80-90 kms without charging again. So in my scenario where she a daily run is 20 kms, she can charge it once in 4 days which is excellent, in fact she can drive the whole weekday with one charge!!! This is the big difference between the old Reva and the e2o Reva.