[hserus]

Originally Posted by TheBigH

Thank you. I have reviewed the thread cover to cover quite a few times. Used cars for me are out at this point. Has to be brand new!

This is for your wife to learn driving on right? For any learner the vehicle will have its clutch etc abused a bit (even in an automatic, possibly even more than in a manual, if as a newbie she drives with a lead foot). And there is also the question of dings and scratches and broken mirrors from hitting walls while parking etc.

Your heart just won't be in the new car once a new driver has finished learning on it, trust me - and even after maruti driving school or any local colony wala driving school, there is a substantial amount of driving by oneself on local trips to the school, supermarket etc that will be needed before your wife gets enough confidence to take the car out into regular city traffic.

In your budget please budget some amount for patching up your car (and those of any others she accidentally hits when she's learning) - mistakes will inevitably happen.

Once she is quite confident, sell the car for what it fetches and buy her a brand new one. Just for this purpose, please buy as the first car an older but mechanically sound used car, that has a decent resale value. (Which limits your choices to alto / wagon r / i10 / swift type vehicles, rather than Chevy Beat, Micra etc)

[prasanna_indaje]

Originally Posted by TheBigH

Tata Tiago

Thank you. I have reviewed the thread cover to cover quite a few times. Used cars for me are out at this point. Has to be brand new!

You can look at Nano AMT, Alto K10 AMT in automatics. In NCR region you may be able to get a Celerio VXI AMT or Wagon R AMT within or around 5L on road due to lesser taxes.
If Manual, Tiago looks very good followed by many other options from Maruti.

Was in the similar situation like yours and bought a Wagon R VXi AMT this week.

[TheBigH]

Originally Posted by 2500cc

Tata Tiago:

I quite agree to a large extent!

Originally Posted by avingodb

Nano AMT is your choice. Easy to own, easy to drive and easy to maintain.

My informed decision making flies out of the window under the stare which can defrost a refrigerator

Originally Posted by hserus

You had better see http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...car-india.html and maybe the mods could merge it with that thread?

I've read through the post cover to cover and am not looking at used cars now. Thank you.

Originally Posted by ToyotaFan

Get the Wagon R AMT. It's the easiest to drive in the city or brio AT or Ritz AT if you can get one pre owned.

That sounds like a good option. I and my wife don't like tall boy designs. No offence but a personal opinion. Pre owned is out of the contention.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

For a single handed driven ownership, I'll suggest the K10 and AMT combination. A new one would be around 5.5L IIRC. You can check my ownership thread for all details.

I've read your ownership report quite a few times and I'm personally inclined towards the AMT. The issue is that my wife is still learning and she wants to start with a manual, though I have been insisting that an AMT is the way to go.

Originally Posted by samaspire

Tiago is the perfect choice for her. Even I find myself ogling a passing Tiago.

I like the looks of the Tiago too. Will be test driving one this weekend hopefully.

Mods: Apologies for the previous failed attempt at multi quoting. Still learning.

[hserus]

Tiago has only one issue though - absurdly long gear throw to shift gears. The japanese / korean cars have a nice, short and crisp gear throw that makes it very smooth to shift gears. But that is more of a personal preference, please have your wife test drive whatever car and see if she feels comfortable using it.

[landcruiser123]

Tiago is a wonderful car.
I would still suggest Maruti WagonR or Alto AMT. The extra $$$ is worth it, especially since the car will be driven in the city only. Even you can take the small automatic car on your weekend commutes in the city.

[TheBigH]

Thank you everyone. Consideration in progress. I've seen the Kwid, test driven the alto AMT, and still evaluating others. Will keep everyone updated.

[TheBigH]

As the long weekend progresses, I and The Wife visited the Renault showroom and The Wife fell in love with the Kwid. The conversation went thus:

Me: Like the car?
The Wife: *examining the exterior and the interior and after getting a feel of the car from the driver's seat* Isme bonnet dikhta hai. (I can see the bonnet), and it looks so damn cute! The chrome is too much. We'll have to get that removed. What colours do they have?
Me: Lets hold on till we test drive!
The Wife: I like the car. Your call.
Me to sales advisor: Do you have a TD car? (It was raining buckets in Gurugram on Friday evening).
SA: No sir. Its raining heavily. Come on Saturday or Sunday. We will arrange a TD.
Me: Okay.

Saturday - August 13th 2016:

Me: Do you want to go and look at a few other cars?
The Wife: Who'll do all the household work? We have other stuff to do other than look at cars, such as shop for furnishings for the house etc. Mom also needs help with buying vegetables, provisions, kitchen items etc etc etc.
Me: I wasn't in a position to protest.

Sunday - August 14th 2016 morning 11:30 AM:

The Wife: We have some work in the market. Do you want to look at the other cars on your list?
Me: *Super excited* Chalo!
The Wife: Why don't you finalize the car and then let me know? So much more easier!
Me: It's you who has to drive. Don't be a lazy bum. Come and see it and we will close the deal today.
The Wife: Okay
Me: Chalo

Did the rounds of Hyundai and Tata. The staff at Hyundai was lukewarm and didn't really seem to care whether we bought a car or not and seemed very patronizing about the whole thing. Especially when they learnt we were interested in the Eon or the i10.

Me: Any deals on the Eon?
SA: Sir, we've told you the offers from Hyundai. I can give you another 4000/- off if you book today. The deal is valid only for today yada, yada, yada.
Me to The Wife: Chalo
The Wife: Yes. I didn't like the i10 and the Eon is too small.

Next Stop: Tata motors

Pleasant surprise. Encountered a very courteous female SA.

SA: Good afternoon sir. Welcome to Tata Motors. Which car can I help you with?
Me: Ummmm Tiago.
SA: Sir, who will drive primarily and what is the running?
Me: Madam will drive ~ 50 km's per day.
SA: Sir you should buy the petrol. The diesel costs are now almost equivalent and won't be recovered in even 5 years in your kind of running, plus this is a second car.
Me and The Wife: *Impressed at her honesty and candour*
SA: Full explanation of the car, customary offer of tea and coffee, opened every nook and cranny and covered all the aspects of the car covered in the Team-BHP review and then offered a TD in the variant we wanted to see.
Me and The Wife: *Impressed*
SA: Sir, shall we take a TD?
Me: Sure. *Took a longish TD across different types of roads and not once did the SA complain.*
Me: Hope a longish TD is not a problem?
SA: Sir, you're paying hard earned money. TD all you want. If you want back to back TD's with other cars you're considering, I will arrange for the same as well.
Me: *Impressed*
SA: During the TD, she continued with an explanation of all the features and every single detail.
Me: Any discounts.
SA: None at all sir, but I will see whatever I can do.

Later in the afternoon, brought the parents over to show the car. The same SA was as courteous and as enthusiastic as ever and explained the whole car to my aged parents as if they were small children.

And finally, with everyone's blessings, booked the Tiago in Berry Red with a refundable deposit of 11000/-.

Called up a close friend of mine who was previously in Tata Motors, who in turn pulled some strings and promised delivery in time for our 3rd wedding anniversary in the first week of September.

Will keep everyone updated as more of the story unfolds!

[drmohitg]

Originally Posted by TheBigH

And finally, with everyone's blessings, booked the Tiago in Berry Red with a refundable deposit of 11000/-.

Many congratulations for your new car. And its a great choice. There is no comparison between the Kwid and Tiago. I had recently gone to check out the Tiago around a couple of months back and the SA I met was equally enthusiastic in selling the car. I hope such experiences become a regular thing at Tata motors.

[drsingh]

Alto k10: Best investment.
Wagon R: Most practical choice. Future proof (can seat four 6 footers in comfort, ease of ingress/egress for senior citizens, space for kids stuff, washing machine, shares parts with Alto).

Tiago diesel: Best looking, costs as much as petrol Wagon R. Tata seems to have put more effort in the diesel engine. Better option for those with high mileage running and want to keep the car for a longer period of time.

As a rule it is prudent to wait a year before a new platform/engine establishes itself and all the kinks are ironed out.

So at this point of time it is hard not to recommend Marutis with the k10 engines for first time buyers.

That's what the rational conclusion is, but ... the heart wants what the heart wants.

[TheBigH]

Thank you for your wishes Dr. Mohit

[gupta_chd]

Voted for Kwid on return on investment and value proposition basis.

[Captain Haddock]

The Kwid is a car which is bigger than the nano, yet the weight is only 660 Kg,a notch below the nano. The metal used is really subpar.

The Tata Tiago is the best car, but the dealership would be the pivot. Service quality literally makes or breaks the deal.

In Kochi with Concorde TATA is selling Zest and Tiago like hotcakes while in Trivandrum, TATA has no stable dealership ever since Kulathunkal motors shut down and no new TATAs can be found in the capital.

Service is a big question mark as far as TATA is concerned.

Maruti's entry level cars have good service backup despite being inferior to the Tiago mechanically.

[TheBigH]

Update as on date. Have put together the paperwork for the bank loan. Am getting an interest rate of 9.70% on the car loan with no pre payment or part payment or foreclosure charges. Any idea in terms of whether the rate is competitive? Per my research, it seems to be, however would still want advise from members.

[hserus]

Originally Posted by TheBigH

Update as on date. Have put together the paperwork for the bank loan. Am getting an interest rate of 9.70% on the car loan with no pre payment or part payment or foreclosure charges. Any idea in terms of whether the rate is competitive? Per my research, it seems to be, however would still want advise from members.

Technically competitive .. if the bank is with SBI or other state bank group members you should get a fully transparent loan with no strings.

Note - I think state bank of bikaner and jaipur may give you a few tenths of a percentage less rate than SBI, if you have a branch near you.

[TheBigH]

Originally Posted by hserus

Technically competitive .. if the bank is with SBI or other state bank group members you should get a fully transparent loan with no strings.

Thank you. It is SBI indeed. They are also offering 9.65% if the car is in my wife's name.