First car - Indica or not?

herculesksp · 1st September 2006, 23:17

@all: thanks a mil for your inputs... for some reason my heart says that I go for an indica but seeing common opinion we think maybe we should try out that Wagon R. Thinking about the variants.. of course I need AC and PS, and the models that have these both are LXi and GLG in Wagon R and Xeta respectively. I find that the higher end models in VXi and GLX are hardly 20K costlier. I think I can live with that.

So finally I have narrowed down on firstly the Wagon R and Xeta following close second. I have heard a lot about bad tata service and dealership, so here is what I am going to do. I'm gonna go and start off in a driving class so that I can make something out when I take test drives on the Xeta and WR. Then I look at dealer interaction and stuff and I make the decision.

And... importantly, I am waiting post diwali or year end before I make the decision for 2 reason. 1) so that I can get some offers. 2) I wait for some new models (eg: new zen)

Now back to some more questions that I have.

1) You all say that Indica diesel is better and stuff. Does this mean that V2 diesel is that well refined and good (when compared to all petrol/diesel cars), or its just the best in class among all diesel cars. In that case I wouldnt consider it. I am not worried about petrol/diesel cars and I want one that is maintanence hassle free and is smooth and fun to drive without bother about what to take care and what is falling apart.

2) One other reason that I loved the Indica other than the price, space is that it is very torquey. Lets say that we dont consider the power (75bhp) since its so heavy that power/weight ratio would be almost same as Santro or Wagon R. But it generates so much more torque at a low rpm. This would help so much in our great traffic conditions as regards to gearing. Plus it should do well on the highways and bad potholed/muddy roads, Not to mention the few hilly regions that I plan to take it during some long drives/vacations.

So what do you guys have to say about this? Any further inputs to help me out?

Thanks once again in advance,
Kuku

revharder · 2nd September 2006, 10:10

herculeskp,
good to see that you made some changes in your initial plans!

now only thing remaining is that you must learn driving a car before you buys one! and thereafter only, go for a test drive of all cars you wish to give a try. it'll really ease off that tough decision of selecting one by eliminating all others!
my sincere suggestion is that join a driving school as soon as possible and obtain a driving license, with legal ways only.

Happy "L"(earning)!

DCEite · 2nd September 2006, 11:46

Hey Kuku
As revharder mentioned, join some driving school and do take a test drive of both WagonR and Xeta. Also, talk to previous owners. Owner feedback is very important when you are making a car purchase. Also look at JD Power reports on reliability. Dont believe blindly in specs on paper. Drive both and then compare. Some cars look too good on paper, but behave differently in real world conditions.

Best of luck!

shiva_cool87 · 2nd September 2006, 12:35

Well I use a Indica Lsi(Petrol),there's no problem as such.U can go for the Turbo ,it rox.
The main reason for buying a car is for comfortable ride,well i can assure no car Wagon R,santro Xing ,Esteem can match Indica in terms of space.Well i personally feel u can go for Indica Xeta/Diesel/Turbo, depending on ur budget.Also if u consider the looks it is much much better than the WagonRs.
Otherwise y not give a try for the Fiat Palio????

normally_crazy · 2nd September 2006, 15:05

The Hyundai Santro it is , I say for you. perfect for city friving , easy to drive , and no A.S.S problems

esteem_lover · 2nd September 2006, 23:32

Quote:

I am not worried about petrol/diesel cars and I want one that is maintanence hassle free and is smooth and fun to drive without bother about what to take care and what is falling apart.

precisely the reason you should consider maruthi/hyundai over the indica

extreme_torque · 3rd September 2006, 00:23

Why dont you go for a used Palio 1.6... nothing like it! And you will get it cheap too.

Insane Devil · 3rd September 2006, 02:34

Hey Hercules, u said its gonna be ur first car rite, Pllllease! IMHO.. no INDICA at all! I wud luv to see u enjoying it through out, with a positive attitude all thru. Just sat in my cousins 8 months old 20k driven Indica diesel, and eh.. my hatred for TATA just doubled!

The window beedings on the doorpads were all bumpy kinda, lost its shape due to the horrible quality and the sun effecting it! then the noises around the front engine bay, the usual stuff, something or the other rattling around!

Hercules, i wud suggest u go in for the Swift, or the Santro! yea the new WagonR does look great too.

Infact, if u can wait till the year end, u cud go for the NEW ZEN!

subbarp · 3rd September 2006, 06:48

Quote:

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

hey strongman buddy,
i will tell you what. since you are newly married & all that, why dont you go ahead & buy that terrific esteem for 3.0l. i will assure you that you will appreciate it & feel that every damn hard earned paise was worth the buy. it is absolutely trouble free. it has style, class, speed, room, mileage etc etc., which you can only dream of in indica. i know of very tall guys who have fit perfectly into the esteem. i am not tall, i am 5 11 & bulky, but i do fit in quite comfortably inside my esteem. esteem is my choice for you buddy. but bargain that price & have good , safe fun.
cheers

Buddy,

Go for Santro Xing. Santro is a great car in that segment especially if bulk of your commute is in the choked city roads. I have a 99 model Santro and it is still great.
I am 6ft tall and its quite comfy in the front(no issues whatsoever). However if you regularly have 2+ people, the rear can be a bit cramped and possibly a bit bumpy if you have horrible roads like I do.

But in terms of maintenance and service capabilities, I would give Santro 5 stars. Spare parts are cheap, service is good.

subbarp

condor · 3rd September 2006, 09:03

my 2 cents:

herculesksp, check elbow room in the cars that you are trying out - with both front seats occupied, I have found the Indica best for space. Other cars I have tried have come up short on that front, almost fighting for elbow room.

If you select an Indica, go for the Turbo diesel.
Any car you select, try for a new one.
If you wont run much, then check the petrol options.

All cars need regular maintenance. If this is not done, any car will give you problems.

I have not seen the problems that ID has mentioned about the plastics.

And for all you Indica bashers, you are welcome to check my Marina. 20 months, 38K run, I get about 14 in Bangalore city. FE drops by 1 kmpl with a/c. Dont have any problems with reliability or servicing.

OT: The space that this car gives me is such that I dont see a replacement any where, unless I switch to petrol for the Adventure.

sanjeevgpc · 19th December 2007, 12:25

Go for Xeta man. Much improved, refined, better finished, more space, great price, cool interiors, sporty exteriors, powerful engine.

I did a survey for 2 months and purchases a xeta a week back as my first car. I have driven an alto, maruti 800 before ( with a lerner's license :-) ). I am very happy with xeta.

As a new driver I am facing some problems with front visibility as you can't see the engine compartment but overall the car is great. AC performs buch better than old indica petrols and engine is very quiet.

Many people compare xeta with diesel versions which I believe is not correct.

bblost · 19th December 2007, 14:49

A personal experiance:

Maruti TrueValue, Wagon R Vxi, 2004 with 14500 kms on the odometer.

Paid 3.23 lakhs in Sept 2006.

Additional expense :
10k two months later for insurance
6k for ICE.

Loan Details:
100k paid.
225k taken as a personal loan from icici @ 10500 a month for 24 months.

The first two services were completely free and for the third paid 800 bucks for consumables.

The overall experiance with the car has been FANTASTIC.

She has about 27k on the odo now and every kilometer has been spendid.

wolfinstein · 19th December 2007, 14:55

I guess, he would have bought whatever he chose or Mrs Chose...! More than a year now...!

1st September 2006, 23:17	#16
herculesksp BHPian Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 373 Thanked: 241 Times	My thoughts and some more doubts @all: thanks a mil for your inputs... for some reason my heart says that I go for an indica but seeing common opinion we think maybe we should try out that Wagon R. Thinking about the variants.. of course I need AC and PS, and the models that have these both are LXi and GLG in Wagon R and Xeta respectively. I find that the higher end models in VXi and GLX are hardly 20K costlier. I think I can live with that. So finally I have narrowed down on firstly the Wagon R and Xeta following close second. I have heard a lot about bad tata service and dealership, so here is what I am going to do. I'm gonna go and start off in a driving class so that I can make something out when I take test drives on the Xeta and WR. Then I look at dealer interaction and stuff and I make the decision. And... importantly, I am waiting post diwali or year end before I make the decision for 2 reason. 1) so that I can get some offers. 2) I wait for some new models (eg: new zen) Now back to some more questions that I have. 1) You all say that Indica diesel is better and stuff. Does this mean that V2 diesel is that well refined and good (when compared to all petrol/diesel cars), or its just the best in class among all diesel cars. In that case I wouldnt consider it. I am not worried about petrol/diesel cars and I want one that is maintanence hassle free and is smooth and fun to drive without bother about what to take care and what is falling apart. 2) One other reason that I loved the Indica other than the price, space is that it is very torquey. Lets say that we dont consider the power (75bhp) since its so heavy that power/weight ratio would be almost same as Santro or Wagon R. But it generates so much more torque at a low rpm. This would help so much in our great traffic conditions as regards to gearing. Plus it should do well on the highways and bad potholed/muddy roads, Not to mention the few hilly regions that I plan to take it during some long drives/vacations. So what do you guys have to say about this? Any further inputs to help me out? Thanks once again in advance, Kuku
	() Thanks

2nd September 2006, 10:10	#17
revharder BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 460 Thanked: 56 Times	herculeskp, good to see that you made some changes in your initial plans! now only thing remaining is that you must learn driving a car before you buys one! and thereafter only, go for a test drive of all cars you wish to give a try. it'll really ease off that tough decision of selecting one by eliminating all others! my sincere suggestion is that join a driving school as soon as possible and obtain a driving license, with legal ways only. Happy "L"(earning)!
	() Thanks

2nd September 2006, 11:46	#18
DCEite Senior - BHPian Join Date: Sep 2004 Location: NCR Posts: 3,417 Thanked: 2,559 Times	Hey Kuku As revharder mentioned, join some driving school and do take a test drive of both WagonR and Xeta. Also, talk to previous owners. Owner feedback is very important when you are making a car purchase. Also look at JD Power reports on reliability. Dont believe blindly in specs on paper. Drive both and then compare. Some cars look too good on paper, but behave differently in real world conditions. Best of luck!
	() Thanks

2nd September 2006, 12:35	#19
shiva_cool87 BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bangalore Posts: 138 Thanked: 0 Times	Well I use a Indica Lsi(Petrol),there's no problem as such.U can go for the Turbo ,it rox. The main reason for buying a car is for comfortable ride,well i can assure no car Wagon R,santro Xing ,Esteem can match Indica in terms of space.Well i personally feel u can go for Indica Xeta/Diesel/Turbo, depending on ur budget.Also if u consider the looks it is much much better than the WagonRs. Otherwise y not give a try for the Fiat Palio???? Last edited by shiva_cool87 : 2nd September 2006 at 12:42.
	() Thanks

2nd September 2006, 15:05	#20
normally_crazy Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Mumbai Posts: 4,369 Thanked: 528 Times View My Garage	The Hyundai Santro it is , I say for you. perfect for city friving , easy to drive , and no A.S.S problems
	() Thanks

3rd September 2006, 00:23	#22
extreme_torque Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Melbourne Posts: 4,377 Thanked: 5,105 Times	Why dont you go for a used Palio 1.6... nothing like it! And you will get it cheap too.
	() Thanks

3rd September 2006, 02:34	#23
Insane Devil BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 987 Thanked: 173 Times View My Garage	Hey Hercules, u said its gonna be ur first car rite, Pllllease! IMHO.. no INDICA at all! I wud luv to see u enjoying it through out, with a positive attitude all thru. Just sat in my cousins 8 months old 20k driven Indica diesel, and eh.. my hatred for TATA just doubled! The window beedings on the doorpads were all bumpy kinda, lost its shape due to the horrible quality and the sun effecting it! then the noises around the front engine bay, the usual stuff, something or the other rattling around! Hercules, i wud suggest u go in for the Swift, or the Santro! yea the new WagonR does look great too. Infact, if u can wait till the year end, u cud go for the NEW ZEN!
	() Thanks

3rd September 2006, 09:03	#25
condor Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Speed-brkr City Posts: 15,864 Thanked: 16,014 Times View My Garage	my 2 cents: herculesksp, check elbow room in the cars that you are trying out - with both front seats occupied, I have found the Indica best for space. Other cars I have tried have come up short on that front, almost fighting for elbow room. If you select an Indica, go for the Turbo diesel. Any car you select, try for a new one. If you wont run much, then check the petrol options. All cars need regular maintenance. If this is not done, any car will give you problems. I have not seen the problems that ID has mentioned about the plastics. And for all you Indica bashers, you are welcome to check my Marina. 20 months, 38K run, I get about 14 in Bangalore city. FE drops by 1 kmpl with a/c. Dont have any problems with reliability or servicing. OT: The space that this car gives me is such that I dont see a replacement any where, unless I switch to petrol for the Adventure.
	() Thanks

19th December 2007, 12:25	#26
sanjeevgpc BHPian Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 47 Thanked: 35 Times	Go for Xeta Go for Xeta man. Much improved, refined, better finished, more space, great price, cool interiors, sporty exteriors, powerful engine. I did a survey for 2 months and purchases a xeta a week back as my first car. I have driven an alto, maruti 800 before ( with a lerner's license :-) ). I am very happy with xeta. As a new driver I am facing some problems with front visibility as you can't see the engine compartment but overall the car is great. AC performs buch better than old indica petrols and engine is very quiet. Many people compare xeta with diesel versions which I believe is not correct.
	() Thanks

19th December 2007, 14:49	#27
bblost Team-BHP Support Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Hyderabad Posts: 11,008 Thanked: 15,353 Times View My Garage	A personal experiance: Maruti TrueValue, Wagon R Vxi, 2004 with 14500 kms on the odometer. Paid 3.23 lakhs in Sept 2006. Additional expense : 10k two months later for insurance 6k for ICE. Loan Details: 100k paid. 225k taken as a personal loan from icici @ 10500 a month for 24 months. The first two services were completely free and for the third paid 800 bucks for consumables. The overall experiance with the car has been FANTASTIC. She has about 27k on the odo now and every kilometer has been spendid.
	() Thanks

19th December 2007, 14:55	#28
wolfinstein BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New Delhi Posts: 994 Thanked: 20 Times	I guess, he would have bought whatever he chose or Mrs Chose...! More than a year now...!
	() Thanks