[aseem]

Backgound Information:
I am in a dilemna as we have almost decided to buy a car for my better (at times not so better) half. She is currently driving an Alto that is 2 years old that we desperately want to get rid off! We currently pay 4500 Rs per month for Alto and 6500 for my Swift. Swift has 1 year of installment left or around 1 lac.
Options:

1) Hyundai i10 Magna or Sports: We pay 100000 downpayment or slight more. It is around 3,95,000 to 4,25,000 on road in Gurgaon. Wife likes the car, its small and comfortable for her. Doesnt know much about cars, but likes Kappa (from what she heard from her freinds). Her car is traded in, EMI of approximately Rs. 6600 so we end up paying 2000 Rs extra per month that what we are paying now. Which is fine with me.

2) Hyundai i10 Automatic Magna: I have been used to Auto as I lived in US for few years. Always curse the manual in Delhi traffic. I am ok with the low mileage, presumably 10-11 in City driving conditions. I am also ok to pay the 30k extra over manual. Two things driving me against this decision:
a) Initial extra cost 4.4 Lakhs (almost no biggie)
b) Resale Value, will I find takers in India willing to buy a vehicle with low mileage (big factor)
c) Even though she has driven auto (matics), she is not big on them and thinks no one in India drives them. Coupled with the fact that she is the primary user (me only on occasions)... Is it right for me to think of my convinience at her expense?

3) Hyundai i20:
We can go for the Magna version, but unfortunately that versiond doesnt have the goodies. Being around 5 lakh on road, I plan to do the following. 1 lac downpayment for i20 and close the loan on Swift (there go 2 big ones). Left with an EMI of Rs. 8600 per month. Which is still less than the 11,000 Rs per month we currently pay.
Two worries:
a) Will it be a dud like Getz or Fabia in resale terms (no offence to the owners)
b) Is it worth with the engine?

4) Fiat Linea Petrol:
On road price Gurgaon, 6.2 lacs. Here I am getting greedy... I pay off the Swift and buy the Active or Dynamic of Linea and give her my Swift (would need some convincing). Take approximately 5 lakh rupee loan. EMI of appoximately 11,000 Rs per month so effectively I pay as much as I pay now. Damage to self 2 big ones.
Few concerns:
- I feel petrol will sell less than diesel
- Resale value
- Would I look like a poor man trying to buy a big car as I cant go all out in current economic circumstances?

5) Fiat Linea MJD Dynamic Option: On road price Ggaon 7.5 lakhs. Trade in the Swift, let her drive the Alto and take home Linea Not possible but still, is it worth spoiling my relationship?

Not considering another Swift petrol or Deisel though I drive a lot, as although I like the car, I have become bore off it.

[phamilyman]

why, really?

Best financial advise - lower your outgo, and conserve cash.

Companies aren't firing people because they are feeling like it

[nishantgandhi]

Another financially wise option to consider would be second hand/pre-owned/used car.

[aka_iitd]

I think better to wait for some more time till you finish the EMI for atleast for a single car and then go ahead of buying a bigger one. Hope global financial crisis will also get solved

[mikon]

My advice :
Save up for the rainy days
OR
Get a used car(less than 1 or 2 year old)
and clear off one loan. It will ease your burden.
OR
Add some cosmetic changes to the Alto and performance to your swift

[Jaggu]

By the i10 automatic live happy in the traffic, wait for few more years and buy a bigger diesel car for yourself (maybe next discount season if you are in a hurry).

[GTO]

Aseem
First & foremost : you need to read this article Your 5 year old car.... (ARTICLE: YOUR 5 year old car : Keep, Upgrade or Swap?). Please don’t get into the habit of changing cars every 2 years (or put your wife in the habit). It is simply too much money down the drain.
1. What is the loan outstanding on the Alto?

Her car is traded in, EMI of approximately Rs. 6600 so we end up paying 2000 Rs extra per month

I don’t think you have accounted for the outstanding loan amount. How much would you get for your Alto? 1.6 – 1.7 lakhs? Even if you have only one year of an outstanding loan, that’s about 50,000 (including principal + penalties). Thus, you’d deposit 1.2 L (Alto) as the trade-in and your monthly EMI will be about 10,000+ (on a three year loan). Or am I missing something here?

2. Between the i10 manual & auto, it is the latter any which day. Even if your wife isn’t too big on automatics, she will once the car is used in our driving conditions. The i10 Auto is the perfect car for a lady.

3. Please skip the i20 : It is over-priced, under-powered and available only in a manual. An automatic i10 is a far superior urban tool. Plus, over-priced under-powered cars have never traditionally done well in resale either.

4. Your Swift is only 2 years old correct? No point upgrading at this point in time. Get the wife an i10. You could splurge on something some years down the line.

[DCEite]

Best financial advice:
Put some alloys on Alto, together with good ICE.
Do some small performance mods - FFE/KnN etc.
Control your desires. One can never be satisfied in life, that's human nature. Today Linea, tommorow you will long for Accord.

[srishiva]

If you want a better car for your better half, get the i10 automatic. And forget about yourself.

[aseem]

So I have finally decided to upgrade the car of my bitter (better) half. She has been harrowing me for some time now, and my latest promotion and increment has almost cemented her views. Reccesion goes out the window, and we need to buy her a car.
We already have a Swift that I drive therefore Swift was out of question. We therefore zeroed in on the i10. Took the test drive of i10 Automatic and both me and her were floored. Specially for the convinience it offers, and at 28 driving 100 kms daily, I have developed knee pain, which is not a good sign.
She was not big on automatics, the showroom guy too, scared us about scary resale and finding it difficult to find buyers. This is the deal we are getting:

1. i10 Auotmatic Manga - 4.6 lakhs on road Noida (4.5 lakh if you are a govt employee)
2. The prices have gone up by 3% 2 weeks ago, making it 12 k more expensive.
3. i10 Manga Manual - 4.13 lakhs on road (4.04 for govt employees)
4. i10 Asta Manual - 5 lakhs on road (2008 model)
5. i20 Magna - 5.2 lakh OTR

I am also getting floor mats, mud flaps, etc. I will negotiate more on freebies, but right now stereo is a no no from the dealer. Given its march I think I can bargain more. Can someone tell/guide me on what all I can negotiate and if the prices are good? (12k discount on regular and 21k for govt employees). No free insurance or anything.


Now we have zeroed in on i10 Auto, but need your inputs on the following:

a) Mileage (10-11 kmpl is a must) given the amount of driving I might do
b) Resale (I plan to keep this car for at least 3 years, but dont want to be like someone who sells his car at 50-60 k below i10 Manual)

Now the showroom salesperson was totally against Auto, he said its for noobs who dont know driving and its very very difficult to find a buyer for the second hand car.

So here is a small poll as to which car you would advise me to buy...

[subscrive]

My OHC auto gives FE or 12.5 to 13.5 kmpl depending on the traffic condition.
So you decide.

[cvvikram]

Friend, I drive the i10 Automatic Sportz to my office daily for about 30kms. Believe me it make me so comfortable in the traffic and i really love to drive it. Only negative point that will arise is the FE, i.e after first service, I am getting avg mileage of about 10-11km/l

Answering to you questions,

1) After first/second service you can expect decent mileage of about 10-11km with 75% Ac on

2) Relatively newer area as resale value of automatic vehicle are not yet known exactly

[aseem]

@subscrive Honda has a much better auto box than Hyundai so averages are not indicative

@cvvikram thanks for the response. Great to have an auto owner in this forum... few queries:

1) What is the FE in similar driving conditions in your home state of i10 munal vis a vis automatic

2) Is 10-11 kmpl with 75% AC with OD engaged and moderate revving or with light foot?

3) What was the FE of i10 auto before first service?

[cvvikram]

Originally Posted by aseem

@subscrive Honda has a much better auto box than Hyundai so averages are not indicative

@cvvikram thanks for the response. Great to have an auto owner in this forum... few queries:

1) What is the FE in similar driving conditions in your home state of i10 munal vis a vis automatic

2) Is 10-11 kmpl with 75% AC with OD engaged and moderate revving or with light foot?

3) What was the FE of i10 auto before first service?

Well, one of colleague has the manual sportz i10 and it delivers ~14km/l mileage after 8months driving 5400kms both in city and long distances with 100% ac on.

In my case i10 for 3500kms both in city and long distances, the avg FE was 11km/l and 13km/l respectively with moderate revving.

Before service, it used to give 9-10km/l within city limits. after service it is giving 1km extra per liter.

[aseem]

@cvvikram do you get these FE figures with overdrive engaged?