[misquitas]

Originally Posted by Aroy

Though diesel would be cheaper on fuel it is by no means cheap to maintain, and add to that a pre owned diesel, you will be treading on unknown territory as far as maintenance is concerned.

Just a suggestion get a brand new Alto K10, it will be extremely cheap to maintain and the fuel efficiency of around 20+ on long run will compensate for costlier fuel. A new car would be trouble free for at least three years, and its small size would not matter if you are traveling with wife and a child only.

+1. I too feel that a new Alto K10 (as opposed to a used diesel car) would be your best bet for the above mentioned reasons. Besides, you would benefit more by buying a K10, even if you were to buy a new diesel car. Going by your annual travel of about 30,000 kms (65 kms x 25 days + 800 kms), I have worked out some rough calculations:

A new diesel (Swift/Ritz/Figo) would cost you about Rs 5.4 lakh (on road price in Goa)
A new Alto K10 would cost you about Rs 3.4 lakh (on road price in Goa)

Difference = Rs 2 lakh

Fuel efficiency (diesel) = approx 20 kmpl
Fuel efficiency (K10) = approx 18 kmpl

Price per km of petrol = Rs 3.33
Price per km of diesel = Rs 2

Difference = Rs 1.33

Extra cost to travel in the K10 car = Rs 13,000 (per 10,000 kms) or Rs 39,000 (per 30,000 kms) per year.

Assuming you buy the K10 and put that extra Rs 2 lakh in a FD, you would get about Rs 20,000 per year as interest.

So, extra cost of running the K10 works out to Rs 39,000 - Rs 20,000 = Rs 19,000.

Also, your annual insurance premium on the Alto K10 would easily be about Rs 2,000 less than that of the diesel car.

So, Rs 19,000 - Rs 2,000 = Rs 17,000

Also, your annual maintenance costs on the Alto K10 would be about Rs 1000 less than that of a diesel car.

So, Rs 17,000 - Rs 1,000 = Rs 16,000

Hence, you would be paying Rs 16,000 extra per year if you run the K10 as opposed that of a new diesel car.

Now, if you were to buy a diesel car, you would have paid Rs 2 lakh extra upfront. If you were to travel those 30,000 kms per year in the diesel car, you would save only Rs 16,000 per year and it would roughly take you about 12 years to break even (to reach to that upfront extra amount of Rs 2 lakh), in comparison to the K10.

Best part is, after those 12 years, you still have the Rs 2 lakh with you and you can easily use it + whatever you get from your K10 to buy a new car.

Think about it.

[misquitas]

Sorry, I forgot to mention in my earlier post that price per km of fuel is calculated @ Rs 60 per litre of petrol and Rs 40 per litre of diesel. These are the prices rounded up here in Goa.

[Aroy]

Originally Posted by misquitas

Sorry, I forgot to mention in my earlier post that price per km of fuel is calculated @ Rs 60 per litre of petrol and Rs 40 per litre of diesel. These are the prices rounded up here in Goa.

You should be aware that the price differential will be reduced to sane levels sooner than later, and that is when the diesel option will not be that lucrative, especially at the lower end where the petrols are quite efficient.

Diesel scores in larger vehicles, where the torque is phenomenal and helps the heavier vehicles pull at low speeds, coupled with very low FE for large petrol vehicles. Thus under 6L only taxi operators benefit from diesel due to lower fuel costs (significant if you do 500km+ daily) and longer life (lasts at least 2-3 years at 1L+ km/year)

[sumannandy]

If you are looking for petrol, go for an AT. It will be great for new drivers. For diesel, you don't have much choice.

The problem area would be when you try to start from standstill in an uphill if you are learning to drive. You need to get used to the clutch accelerator combination in your car.

It will not be much of a problem in a diesel car I would guess. I haven't driven any diesel hatch, but since the diesel engines would have higher torque, it would be manageable.

I think its a myth that a diesel vehicle is more expensive to maintain. It was in the old ambassador days where you had to frequently rebuild the engine every couple of thousands of kms. Rebuilding a diesel engine is more expensive than a petrol one. Most of the other parts are shared. We have been using diesel cars for 12 years, and did not find the expense really higher than the petrol ones. It depends on the brand.

[architect]

Originally Posted by sumannandy

I think its a myth that a diesel vehicle is more expensive to maintain. It was in the old ambassador days where you had to frequently rebuild the engine every couple of thousands of kms.

I hope that highlighted part a hyperbole, suman. I can't imagine rebuilding a diesel every month if I were driving an Amby cab, even in the eightees!

[sumannandy]

Well, its not every 3k-4k kms. Actually, we had to rebuild the engine of our amby within 80k, and the engine of a Padmini (it was seized once) within 100k. After the rebuild, it used to last for another 30k-40k before it required another rebuild.

Could be the way it was maintained, or the garages. Most of the cars were driven by the drivers and maintained at the local garages who were not very competent or lacked advanced tools for repair.

But it definitely made me familiar to multiple visits to garages. And I don't find the TATA A.S.S. or ownership of a safari too bad . Its actually way better compared to the old gen cars we had.

[k_nitin_r]

Originally Posted by Aroy

You should be aware that the price differential will be reduced to sane levels sooner than later, and that is when the diesel option will not be that lucrative, especially at the lower end where the petrols are quite efficient.

With unregulated petrol prices, the price difference between petrol and diesel fuels seems to be increasing and diesel is much more attractive as an automobile fuel than it used to be.

Originally Posted by sumannandy

If you are looking for petrol, go for an AT. It will be great for new drivers. For diesel, you don't have much choice.

If you have a budget of upto 15 lakh, you can get one of the two diesel AT vehicles available in India: Hyundai Fluidic Verna AT and Mahindra Scorpio AT.

Originally Posted by sumannandy

Well, its not every 3k-4k kms. Actually, we had to rebuild the engine of our amby within 80k, and the engine of a Padmini (it was seized once) within 100k. After the rebuild, it used to last for another 30k-40k before it required another rebuild.

The Peugeot TUD5 diesel engines of yesteryear that powered the Maruti Esteem, the Maruti Zen, the Hyundai Accent (?), and several other vehicles can do about 200,000km without an engine rebuild. The only problem is that the engine often outlives the vehicle body!

I would imagine modern-day CRDi engines to last longer, if well-maintained.