[blue_pulsar]

Originally Posted by raul

Scratches, dents and accidents happen to all of us whether you are a newbie or experienced. That's thanks to our traffic conditions. I don't think that should be a reason to avoid buying a new car.

Originally Posted by ankit.jhamb

everybody had a stage in their life when they were a newbie

Everybody was a newbie sometime or the other, but if you are able to bring down the probability of scratching your brand new car, then why not?

[netrife]

Hi Blue_pulsar, Isn't fixing the scratches on new car easier & economical than going for two cars? You are bound to loose some money when you sell the second handcar and also there is no guarantee that the new car after that will not have any scratches!

[pingping]

Im using alto LX, a very good reliable car for city use... Gives me on an average of 16/17 km per litre and totally maintenance free other than the regular oil check ups and servicing. It will serve ur purpose very well. But do go in only for a new car (after learning the driving well and it hardly takes few days to get used to) , used cars are not advisable since you (ofcourse me too) are not well versed in automobiles.

But to note its just an Ok car in highway, but its not bad in highway it performs relatively well. Considering your wife its a good lady driven car as well.

Your budget is too much for an Alto....

Decide in case you have any queries on Alto PM me.

[phamilyman]

Vasanth,

I would go completely with Raul here. See, cars WILL get scratched. The best/most experienced of us have our bad days. No reason for you to settle for a lower car.

My take (within budget of 5L):
Swift LDi - amazingly drivable, and should remain current (early part of product cycle of car/engine unlike santro/wagonR). frugal too. good driver's car
Chevy Spark - I personally love it (the LS version should save 1.5L over LDi) - nice engine, good backseat comfort (try sitting rearseat in swift/santro/spark and ask driver to do 50 on bad roads), decent (not great) pickup with AC, not outdated in product cycle.
i10: Good vehicle except for that you're paying a premium. new in product cycle again

also think from the perspective that as your primary vehicle, this car should grow for family/your driving skills. swift diesel would do just fine as I see. even the petrol would. others, not really sure

[reignofchaos]

If you have a budget of 5 lacs, you might as well look at a Swift or a Palio 1.6. No point whatsoever buying an entry level hatch. I'm not in the camp that believes one needs to learn driving in a slow underpowered car.

Just buy what seems value for money to you and don't restrict yourself. You can start driving in whatever car you want... even a D segment car or even an SUV for that matter. A bigger car doesn't mean that its harder to drive. I find an old zen or alto without power steering to be way harder to drive than my Cedia.

[ankit.jhamb]

hey vasanth

still waiting for your decision,

[Ramsagar]

Don't get worried about your driving skills...you will tend to learn with-in no matter of time,as your drive daily to office...

My siggestion would be
ALTO...more mileage but cramped.
i10...better choice.
SWIFT....more space when compared to above one's...fits your budget.

[vasanthn21]

Hi All,

Thanks a lot to each and every one for the inputs. I was a lil confused earlier, now a lot more .

Anyway, will try to evaluate all points, give it some time and thought and then come to a decision. Hope it doesn't take too much time.

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by ankit.jhamb

hey vasanth

still waiting for your decision,

Will let you know for sure Ankit . Let me digest all the information here first!

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by reignofchaos

If you have a budget of 5 lacs, you might as well look at a Swift or a Palio 1.6. No point whatsoever buying an entry level hatch. I'm not in the camp that believes one needs to learn driving in a slow underpowered car.

Just buy what seems value for money to you and don't restrict yourself. You can start driving in whatever car you want... even a D segment car or even an SUV for that matter. A bigger car doesn't mean that its harder to drive. I find an old zen or alto without power steering to be way harder to drive than my Cedia.

Point noted sir A friend of mine has an Alto and he strongly recommended not to go for an Alto without Power Steering for city driving. Will keep this in mind.

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Vasanth,

I would go completely with Raul here. See, cars WILL get scratched. The best/most experienced of us have our bad days. No reason for you to settle for a lower car.

My take (within budget of 5L):
Swift LDi - amazingly drivable, and should remain current (early part of product cycle of car/engine unlike santro/wagonR). frugal too. good driver's car
Chevy Spark - I personally love it (the LS version should save 1.5L over LDi) - nice engine, good backseat comfort (try sitting rearseat in swift/santro/spark and ask driver to do 50 on bad roads), decent (not great) pickup with AC, not outdated in product cycle.
i10: Good vehicle except for that you're paying a premium. new in product cycle again

also think from the perspective that as your primary vehicle, this car should grow for family/your driving skills. swift diesel would do just fine as I see. even the petrol would. others, not really sure

I have read about the bad rear seat experience in santro. I did not know it was true for Wagon R too! Chevy Spark was my favorite when it was launched especially the fact that one does not hear ant engine noise even in the driver's seat, but have read that it is a little cramped. Not sure though. As suggested by some, I should TD all the vehicles of my choice and then decide. Right now I am in a hurry to get my DL, and get some more experience test driving all vehicles of my choice.

[vasanthn21]

Thanks for offering to help on Alto. I am very much inclined towards Alto now.

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by ankit.jhamb

totally agree with you Raul.
everybody had a stage in their life when they were a newbie,and even i feel scratches are essential part of driving in a city.

Yeah Ankit, All said and done, we cannot totally eliminate scratches!

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by raul

Scratches, dents and accidents happen to all of us whether you are a newbie or experienced. That's thanks to our traffic conditions. I don't think that should be a reason to avoid buying a new car.

Also if you are planning to take a loan the interest rates for 2nd hand cars are higher and the emis will work out to nearly the same. Don't worry, you will get used to it. Just a week and you will be an expert.

I would suggest a Wagon-R or Santro/i10. Good widely available service and cheap to maintain.

Thanks for your suggestion Raul. Kind of agree with you. But I am looking at a small car now for 2-3 years max. And then sell it and buy a Sedan, may be Honda City (or whatever is the best sedan after 2-3 yrs) which runs in good condition for 5-6 years. Looking at it from that perspective, I am more inclined towards a used car. If I were to use the first car for 4+ yrs, I agree with you, buying a new car makes more sense rather than buying a used car, selling it and then buying a new one. But your reply did help me in getting a better clarity in my thinking, Thanks

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by motorheadinc

Read my comments in Bold.
Hope it helps.
Cheers





""""I would suggest, buy a second hand Maruti 800, learn proper driving and then sell it with/without scratches. If you have scratches on your 1-2month old car, it definitely hurts. Think practically. This is the way to go. You can use this 800 for about 6-months to 1 year. Till then you will be more certain of your usage pattern. Then you can go in for a newer car.""""

Agree on that with you BP dude.

I agree with almost all your points. Not sure about the CNG part though. Do you think spending money on fixing a CNG kit is worth if I plan to sell the car in 2 yrs? And, if a car has already run 30K+ is fitting a CNG kit after that okay? or does it have any adverse effect? A dumb question: how and where can I get CNG refill?