[iceman7]

Palio 1.6 is your calling mate. Check the classifieds section, i recall seeing a S10 there. Dont worry about maintenance, I got a Palio 1.2, and no major issues yet.

Regarding repairs, I know someone near Hiranandani Estate who works on my Palio. Neat guy. Knows his cars well.

Do you work with Adventity by any chance?

[Silver Knight]

Am I smelling some insecurity among Fiat guys
No doubt as a product 1.6 GTX is superior to the Zen. But thats not the end of the story, especially when you go for a used one. It's RARE to find spares, RARER to find a garage, RAREST to find a proper mechanic to repair.

[motionfreak]

Shatnyrocks
palio 1.6 for sheer driving pleasure dude.but you have to get it thoroughly checked by a competent mechanic.there is one in thane who specialises in fiat cars.let me know if you want his number.there is no match between the zen and the palio.

Dude, r u talking abt Ronnie and Pranay. They are good, really good, at FIATs. esp Ronie.

I can point u to a good Petra 1.6. PM me if u r interested. I'll have to ask Ronie for details.

[pulsar56]

If you are planning on serious mods, go for the zen.
No mods, but something equal to a modded car and pleasure to drive = GTX.
And, Please avoid true value. They are over-priced.

[YC.BALENO.CHD]

Originally Posted by pulsar56

If you are planning on serious mods, go for the zen.
No mods, but something equal to a modded car and pleasure to drive = GTX.
And, Please avoid true value. They are over-priced.

Yes, Zen is a great tool for mods and stuff.

For a budget of Rs.1.5 lakhs you may in end get a Palio GTX but chances are that it wont be in a really good shape. Point is, palio 1.6 was largely bought by people who really loved the performance and so after years of use and abuse and considering the After sales support for Fiat cars, It will be tough to find a palio in a decent condition.

Coming to Zen, its Jap efficient, has a typical old school jap motor, cheaper to service and maintain and despite being phased out parts are easily available and frankly you won't have to see the service centres on a very regular basis. With Maruti you can't step a foot wrong when it comes to A.S.S.


Anyways even after all this, like many said, if I would had been you, would have followed my heart and went for a Palio 1.6 but then with your scenario there is another angle.

If you get yourself a Palio 1.6 you can safely put aside that 50K for the spares and servicing and stuff. Used palios are difficult to maintain and unless they are bought from close friends/relative chances are you'll end up with a badly maintained car. Sure we have many satisfied 1.6 owners here, but most of them bought it new and hence have maintained it properly.

As for Mr.Raveendra, he was lucky to find one in good shape and if am not wrong he still had to get quite a handful of parts changed to get the car in decent running condition.


Now if you opt the zen, which has been reported largely troublefree from owners of both first hand and used zens, you can keep that 50K for some serious mods (read:engine swap) as you have already planned.

So, buy a Zen, even a Lxi if u dont get a vxi, all you need is Power steering, rest all (power windows,etc.) can be added and bumpers painted easily.
Enjoy the car, get used to it and then safely put a G13 (esteem's motor or better still, a G16 from baleno) with suspension setting from ZenD and you'll have a car with such a fantastic power to weight ratio that you may often find yourself whipping bums of palioGTX,OHCs and Balenos.



Regards.

[karizma_devil]

@ devrajman- i had an esteem sold it off , and am intrested in Zen and Palio GTX only.
@JVH - I would be using to drive the car basically on weekends, and long drives like Mumbai- Pune, Mumbai - Goa , Mum - Banglore , once every month.

@Iceman - I did check out an Yello S10 , but every badly maintained. No am with Tata's.

YC : with 50k am sure i cant have a swap in the zen !

Motionfreak : Honestly i have not thought about a Petra , but do PM me the details let me check this weekend. And ofcoure i would need a reliable fiat mechanic for checking the car.


By the way just to update you guys , sunday checked a Siena 1.6 , lot of rattels, and didnot like the car for reasons I even dont know !

Its getting very frustrating cant find a GTX , sold my old car , wife is just about to kill me ( she hates travelling in a Autorikshaw- POLLUTION ) , am tempted to buy a used zen .. dont know how long can i wait.

Under loads of pressure from wife to go for NEW wagon R / A-star / i 10 .. but i dont like any of these, I like i 20 but not intrested to go for a loan !

Guess situation cant get worst !

Between bought a PSP , from the car fund ! Damage 12 K ( with MMC card & Games).

[finneyp]

A S10 in mint condition (owned by Bhpian Amit) is available for sale. Check the Classifieds.

[prince_pervez]

Go for what your heart says, also if your heart is prepared for below average A.S.S and costly spares. Weekend drives only ? Thats a Palio.
Even I faced the same issue 2 years back. I chose the Zen over the 1.6 as it was going to be driven daily, so more rounds to M.A.S.S. Now I have a peppy engine, great folks at Sagar Auto (bannerghatta rd), and peace of mind.

[JVH]

Originally Posted by karizma_devil

@JVH - I would be using to drive the car basically on weekends, and long drives like Mumbai- Pune, Mumbai - Goa , Mum - Banglore , once every month.

Then its a no brainer really. Go for the GTX. Your requirements were similar to mine the only difference being I already had a Zen and with that I was not at all comfortable on highways.

After I got my GTX, I have been driving mostly on highways on weekends and extended holidays. It really rocks, I'll tell you. You can't think of spending 1.5 - 2lakhs for anything other than a GTX/S10.

Originally Posted by finneyp

A S10 in mint condition (owned by Bhpian Amit) is available for sale. Check the Classifieds.

Yup, please check with Amit

[yzfrj]

If you want Power go for the 1.6 it will kill zen any day and even will out drag "bigger" cars.

But as some people will agree it all boils down to the ownership experience.
Zen will be a better car to own.

Bottom line : If you are gonna use the car for a longer period buy Zen, else if its just for (say 1yr) go freak out and get a 1.6 and burn rubber all the way.

My Zen(carb) is almost 9yrs old, 91K kms 13-14Kms with AC (read : sane driving) in the mad Chennai traffic.

[pedrolourenco]

Originally Posted by YC.BALENO.CHD

Yes, Zen is a great tool for mods and stuff.

For a budget of Rs.1.5 lakhs you may in end get a Palio GTX but chances are that it wont be in a really good shape. It will be tough to find a palio in a decent condition.

If you get yourself a Palio 1.6 you can safely put aside that 50K for the spares and servicing and stuff. Used palios are difficult to maintain and unless they are bought from close friends/relative chances are you'll end up with a badly maintained car. Sure we have many satisfied 1.6 owners here, but most of them bought it new and hence have maintained it properly.

Now if you opt the zen, which has been reported largely troublefree from owners of both first hand and used zens, you can keep that 50K for some serious mods (read:engine swap) as you have already planned.

A modded Zen (50K mods) cannot compete with a stock Palio. Even the Palio 1.2 is quite nice to drive compared to a Zen.
Spares are not a problem for a Palio. You don't need to spend much on maintanance.
I've 73K on a Siena 1.6 and my brother has done 1.3 Lakh on his Palio. No maintanance other than regular service. The 1.6 has a lot of imported parts. Sometime you have to wait a week if they are not in stock. Otherwise no issues. Palio's can take a lot of abuse.

[karizma_devil]

Guys a new twist , my company is selling some company maintained cars , basically all are 2003 indicas , and a few 2003 honda Cities... its kinda of closed envolope bidding, Higest bidders gets the car .. guys base quote for the Honda Cities are less than 1 lakh !!!! and indicas even half .......

Am goin to check the cars tommorow , try and click some pics if possible and give you gurus all details .. please help me decide my bidding price .. am intrested in the Hondas ..

By the was how would be good condition 2003 Indicas , never driven one.... owners please give you valued inputs . Is it worth it ? what would be market price of 2003 good condiotion INdiaca ?

Hope am lucky enough to get the honda city which i heard is in mint condition.

Between i spoke with Amit am gonna check his car on Satarday or sunday ... hope it works out.

[motionfreak]

go for Honda City, stay away from Indica.

Reasons
Indica needs much more careful driing to stay in shape after 6 yrs. I neverliked the cheap quality stuff in it.
Taxi Image.
2003 Version is not as good as the current. ( still far behind current Jap, Italian and others)
U were aiming for Palio. Indica will take a decade to evolve to match the Palio's quality, and feel, etc.

My personal opinions. No offense.

If u can get a city in 1.5L then I would say go for it.

[anurag_p80]

@k_d, if you can get a decent condition City for your budget, it is a super deal. Go for it for sure.

[karizma_devil]

I am typically scared of 2nd / 3rd owner cars.

I was thinking of having a cutt-off Mileage for my surch .

I have though of about say 60 - 70 k for the Zen .

And may be 50-55 K for the GTX, knowing the spares cost and dealer network.
Between are GTX 1.6 and S 10 parts different ???
My understanding was they share almost same engine , with bit of tweaking done on S 10 to spice it up.