[greendream]

The Sx4 was not a best seller. So you need to be patient to spot a good car being sold directly by the owner. As you are on a tight budget buying from a dealer obviously is not a great option. Dealer commission and apart from that what else is going into his pocket can all be your savings if you buy from a owner directly.
If a hatchback fits your usage, do not look for a sedan. You will only be confused with options pouring in.
Any competent FNG can service a Swift or sx4 equally well. The Maruti spares are available via MGP outlets.The sx4 spares would be slightly more expensive compared to a hatchback.
From your post it looks like you donot have a good FNG. Please scout for one or take recommendations from forum members in your city. Half of your job is done that way.

[2000rpm]

Why dont you try to look for a i20? 2.5 in Delhi should get you that. If not i20, swift is the way to go. A civic is possible but the spares for a Civic are costly.

[Manoj2268]

Hello fellow forum members,

Normally, it is I who share car buying tips and experiences with family and friends and resolve their confusion(s) when they plan to purchase a vehicle however this time, I am left confused.

To sum it up, I currently have a 2004 WagonR on petrol that is immaculately kept and maintained. Due to the draconian NGT ruling, I am not sure whether I will be able to renew the fitness certificate for my car post June 2019 for further 5 years in NCR. Does the 15 year rule apply to BS3 petrol cars too?

This leaves me in a fix as I do not want to lock my money in buying a new car(either outright or on EMIs).

I have some options running through my mind at this time.

* Keep this wagonR, drive down to Tamilnadu Early next year after getting an NOC, get the registration transferred to TN - 09 or 76 and drive back.

* Sell this WagonR for whatever this goes for and get a replacement preowned car sometime this year..

If I get a preowned car, this will be used as a Delhi Gurugram runabout with an average of 300-370kms running every week. This vehicle will be kept for nearly 7-8 years too.

This narrows down my choices to Maruti Suzuki cars (Again!).

Now the big question. What car? My budget of 1.5L includes cost of car and also repair/replacement of minor wear and tear parts. Can I get a BS4 vehicle at that cost?

I am really confused. Please help!

[autorahul]

You wish to keep the vehicle for 7-8 years, which means it should not be older than 6-7 years, preferably with low running, so that it runs trouble free for the ownership period. Considering that your choices heavily restricts your choices, as there are very few 6-7 year old cars available for that kind of money. Alto 800 would be your top choice, and if you are able to find one, then Alto K10. Wagon R and Celerio could also be found, but I doubt there would be many with low running. If you are lucky, you might get SX4 for around 2 lakhs too.

You might also want to consider stretching your budget for a CNG powered car, as your usage does make the CNG investment worthwhile.

[Flyer]

Does the 15 year rule in NCR apply to CNG cars also?

Is your car equipped with a CNG kit? If converting your WagonR to a CNG will allow you to keep your car in NCR for more than 15 years then why not do it? This will also cost you much less.

I am not sure if the 15 year rule is applicable for CNG cars. So please check on that if you ever consider this as an option.

Otherwise I don't see much options among pre owned cars for your budget other than an Alto. Again finding one with low mileage needs lot of luck.

[Tanveer02]

With a budget of only 1.5L, I wouldn't be too focused on what brand I would get but rather would be focusing on finding the vehicle that fulfills my needs and requirements (i.e low maintenance, availability of spares, practicality etc). You should also keep in mind that Maruti Suzuki cars always ask for premium price in the used car market scene. In my place a 15 year old Alto, decently maintained goes for around 1.6 Lakhs at times.

Anyways, with a budget of around 1.5L, my primary search items would be an Alto 0.8 or an 800 from the Maruti stable. Outside the Maruti stable there is the Santro and the i10 too that is worth keeping an eye at. I would also search for vehicles from brands like Tata that enjoy less resale value.

[silverado]

For 1.5 lacs, you can get a relatively new Nano Twist/Gen-x Nano lower versions.It should still be in warranty since warranty is 3 years. it would serve you the best as a City runabout, will be cheaper to maintain as well.This is the best car you can buy in your budget. Just recently my friend bought home a 4 year old Nano twist, 11k run, 1st owner for just 1.15 lacs!

Stay away from all the star performers, since they will be expensive to buy.
Also would advise you to stay away from Pre-owned CNG cars since they would have done a lot of mileage.

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by Manoj2268

To sum it up, I currently have a 2004 WagonR on petrol that is immaculately kept and maintained. Due to the draconian NGT ruling, I am not sure whether I will be able to renew the fitness certificate for my car post June 2019 for further 5 years in NCR. Does the 15 year rule apply to BS3 petrol cars too?

I believe the NGT ruling depends only on the age of the vehicle, not the emission norms it conforms to. Yours being a 04 model, it will be a BS II compliant vehicle. BS III only came into effect in 2005.

* Keep this wagonR, drive down to Tamilnadu Early next year after getting an NOC, get the registration transferred to TN - 09 or 76 and drive back.

* Sell this WagonR for whatever this goes for and get a replacement preowned car sometime this year..

If you need a vehicle for use in Tamilnadu, I would suggest you get her re-registered there. A 14-15 year old Maruti if maintained properly will easily run for a few more years. I guess getting a NOC as of now won't be that difficult.

If you don't have any use for the WagonR in Tamilnadu, then I would suggest you sell her if you get a decent enough price. There is no point in selling her if you get a really low quote, run her till the registration runs out.

If I get a preowned car, this will be used as a Delhi Gurugram runabout with an average of 300-370kms running every week.
Now the big question. What car? My budget of 1.5L includes cost of car and also repair/replacement of minor wear and tear parts. Can I get a BS4 vehicle at that cost?

As you have already said, I would also suggest something from the Maruti stable. Delhi has one of the lowest used car prices in whole of India, so you should easily get a 09-11 WagonR, Alto k10, A-star within your budget. If you are willing to look outside of Maruti, you could consider the likes of Hyundai Getz, Santro, i10. The i10 & the Getz would feel like an upgrade from the WagonR.

The likes of WagonR (new one), Alto k10 won't really feel like an upgrade from your 04 WagonR. Heck, your WagonR would be better to drive in city condition than these 2 cars, the k10 engine has horrible low end torque. Though something like the first gen Hyundai i10 would really feel like an upgrade, there also shouldn't be any worry about parts availability since the i10 sold in big numbers. My pick would be the first gen Hyundai i10, preferably the Asta variant with ABS & Airbags.

[topedgemonk]

Originally Posted by sibot

Thank you all for your wonderful inputs and insights. They've really given me a good bunch of options.

I was wondering why a petrol Figo (2010-12 model) would not make the consideration set? Nice AC, stock ICE is bearable, engine has a decent low end for city and is available in OP's budget. In fact, I was considering buying one instead of using Uber, but now I'm wondering if I zeroed in on the right car considering no one seems to have recommended it yet!

The diesel figo seems to be the pick in the figo family, but I'm not a big diesel fan.



I've been using Uber pretty intensively the last couple of months, so got to ride in a variety of cars. Whenever the rare Uber Figo came along, the AC has been much better compared to all the others that are commonly used by Uber guys - Indica, Swift Dzire, Ritz, Hyundai Xcent etc

[IshaanIan]

Cannot believe that I have missed the updates on this thread. Dirt cheap used cars are a way more interesting market to watch out for than the new car market

Originally Posted by sibot

Hi guys, the plans to buy a car were temporarily put on the back burner due to some work that I was preoccupied with.
I went to a few second hand car dealers to check out some of the shortlisted cars. One of the dealers suggested a SX4 2010 ZXi model in my budget.

SX4 ZXi is a GOOD car.

Originally Posted by sibot

The second issue that I read about were the poor performance of the AC. Is this an issue inherent to the car? Or just a bad job done by the FNG.

Something has gone wrong in the maintenance. Car's AC is otherwise excellent.

Originally Posted by sibot

The third issue is the spares, are spares really that hard to come by in Delhi? Or can a mechanic source them with a little effort? The Honda City wasn't so easy to get spares for in the aftermarket either.

Having owned a Kizashi, I can tell you that SX4 spares are cheap and easily available at the service center itself. Rare items may take 3-4 days to come depending on where you are from Gurgaon. Nothing to worry about in terms of ease of maintenance.

Originally Posted by sibot

So, my question is whether the SX4 is a worthy option and what are the factors one should consider before buying one?

It is an excellent choice. The car was a really good entry level sedan and still remains one. Thing is most of them would have been driven a LOT so check to see the life of suspensions, belts, clutch etc. to verify odometer reading and get a good idea on how much to pay for it.

Originally Posted by Manoj2268

To sum it up, I currently have a 2004 WagonR on petrol that is immaculately kept and maintained. Due to the draconian NGT ruling, I am not sure whether I will be able to renew the fitness certificate for my car post June 2019 for further 5 years in NCR. Does the 15 year rule apply to BS3 petrol cars too?

First thing I would tell you being a fellow 2004 WagonR owner (my car has done close to 2 lac kms), is that it will be very hard to part with such a perfectly practical and reasonably comfortable car, to go in for something like an A-Star where boot space and rear seat practicality is limited, Alto which feels too basic, Nano which if alto feels too basic I don't know how to even describe and other such cars. I will urge you to explore the legality of things and get a good understanding on whether or not it is possible to continue using your car. Which if it is, I would suggest you do since you say it has been well maintained by you. That said, if you do have to get a used car, the only one I would suggest to you since I feel it will offer you the same levels of satisfaction, is the Chevrolet Spark. Truly brilliantly practical and decently comfortable option. Before you ask, it is not a hassle to maintain either and since the brand has gone it is easy to get one for dirt cheap maybe even less than a lac

[2000rpm]

Let me add to the confusion. A Beat diesel @ 2 lakhs. Imagine the ROI basis diesel mileage of 18 in city.

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Let me add to the confusion. A Beat diesel @ 2 lakhs. Imagine the ROI basis diesel mileage of 18 in city.

+1. Although, not all under 2 lakhs, there are too many Beats for sale in the market. Looks like there has been some panic selling in the past 1-2 months. Besides, Chevy Beat is much better built than majority of the high selling cars.

[scuderiamania]

Okay so here is the situation. I have been in chennai for about a year now and have relied solely on ola share/uber pool for my travel needs. However the services are infuriating to say the least. Frequent delays in pick up and cancellations make daily travel extremely frustrating.

I finally have decided to get my own set of wheels. Colleagues recommended that I buy a two wheeler . Here in chennai pretty much everyone knows how to ride and and has a two wheeler. There are plenty of options in the second hand market as well. However, this bengali boy (embarrassingly) doesnt know how to ride.

So the only option is to buy something with 4 wheels. Now to complicate matters, i expect to shift back to kolkata in 1-2 years. So i dont want to spend too much on a car.

Considering all the above factors I decides to buy a cheap set of wheels within a lac or so. Prices of second hand santros and alto seem pretty high in the chennai market compared to kolkata ranging between 1.5 - 2 lacs for 10 year old examples.

While searching for the car I chanced upon a 13 year old baleno which relatively clean. The guy is asking for around 1.3L. I will be going to check out the car tomorrow. But wanted to take the forum's opinion on whether this would be good option and whether its a fair deal.

[sharktale]

Originally Posted by scuderiamania

Okay so here is the situation.

Getting a 13 year old car doesn't make sense, as it'll be totally defunct in 2 years, and definitely not be usable in the cities.

Get a Pre-owned car whose road tax will expire the same time around when you want to switch to Kolkata. In that case, you can just re-register the car in Kolkata itself, and save some cash.

I cannot judge your fuel requirement from your post, so am suggesting a couple of samples I found on Quikr :

Petrol 2010 Santro Xing GLS - 2.25L
Diesel 2009 Ford Fiesta - 2L.

[Rahul Bhalgat]

To minimise the time and money on breakdown, buy a car which is reliable and popular (so that spares are easily available and cheap).

Popular car will also be easy to sell again, when you want to move out of Chennai.

Buy a Wagon R instead of Santro. Or an Alto. 12 year old Wagon R or Alto shall be available at around 1 lakh.

I see a 2007 Alto from Chennai, offered at Rs. 1.5 lakhs on Team-BHP.

Also read the article "How to buy a used Car" on Team-BHP.