[filcord]

I can understand the grouse about less power in the Alto. It's the same thing I had when I owned an Omni.
You can only get more power if you upgrade to one of the new 1.2 litre and above cars.

Since you cannot afford new, it'll have to be an used car from this category.
What falls to mind is a second-hand Getz 1.3, a second-hand i10, a Palio, or a Swift.

But you will lose a lot in selling the Alto. The alternative is to grin and bear it with the Alto for another four years or so. Give her a good service, tighten all bolts and plastics, use sound deadening mats, etc. This will get rid of rattles.

[shamax20]

No point in selling a 9 month old car. better give it to a family member or friend for the same price that true value offers. at least they will be grateful to u ( true value will just make money out of ur itch to sell). alto is nxt only to the old zen in terms of sales and can hardly be called a bad car. Infact a very good car to hone one's driving skills

then go around and make a better selection with all the new cars around as though ur were to make a first car purchase. only then will u b happy.

with power high on ur list i must say nothing less than a 1.2 l petrol would do.
EG i10 kappa, ritz etc. extended range would be 1.4 i20 - power + space too.
new vista ignis also again 1.4.

drive all of them and make a choice on all the parameters u have listed.

best of luck

[splitsecond]

Try to get a buyer for your alto for 2.5 lakh then it will be fine, 50000 loss will be ok.

[irphan007]

Abhi, I think you are tempted to for a new car. I used Alto for 5 long years and completed 73000 kms before going for a Jetta (21 Aug 09). I know its power is less but its a good looking and VFM car and you can definitly use it for 1-2 years more. after 2 years also you will get 1.5 lac for your alto and that time you can upgrade to urself in 1.2l segment or above. In any small car if you are using it with AC then performance affected, so sometime instead of changing the gear I use to swith of the ac. I think you can manage with appropriate gear changes. I use to drive my alto Bangalore-Chennai @ 110/120 with 1-3 couleages.

If you are very much intersted then you can go for used cars like Swift or Palio as suggested by our other friends. For new one Spark or i10 is a good option in small cars. Estilo is newly launch so wait for some feedback.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by irphan007

For new one Spark or i10 is a good option in small cars.

They will be only marginally better than the Alto. The loss of power/performance with A/C on will still be noticeable.

[coolclouds]

Instead of selling, try some performance enhancement mods for the time being.

[advaitlele]

Abhi,

In my opinion, stay put for time being. Alto is a nice car and given the choices you are thinking; in my opinion, Alto is better than those listed by you. Moreover, selling the car would mean losing 1 L + buying new means adding about 1.5L more. Strictly money-wise, it wont be a wise decision to sell your ride just now. Better save that increased EMI money for better upgrade 2-3 years down the line.

I had gone through the same state of mind 3 years back. I had bought a pre-owned M800 DX, though that was not what I wanted, I waited and being a new driver myself, practiced on that car and then upgraded to bigger hatch. OT -- My M800 DX had cost me lesser than what I had paid to the builder for my covered parking lot when buying new flat. And now my father is driving that car.

[abhi3284]

Thank you Guys for your prompt Responses and for guiding me in the right direction.
Now, i think probably i was taking a Hasty decision and it makes sense to stick to the Alto for a couple more Years and then upgrade to a 1.2 Ltr. + Car.
I also heard that Maruti is going to revamp the Alto with a toned down KB Series Engine.
My concern is that if that is launched, the resale value of the current Alto will go down by a considerable amount.

Can you Guys suggest what all modifications can be done on an Alto to enhance the Looks and Power and also the Estimate. And will that void the Warranty of the Car?

Another Query i had is whether filling Nitrogen in the Tyres improves the Ride Quality like the impact won't be felt that much inside the cabin when going through Bad Roads. I am running on stock tyres which is JK Tyre.
Should i give it a Try? Any Positives or Negatives of filling Nitrogen?

[rohan_iitr]

Hi abhi3284,

Thank God you have decided not to sell your brand new Alto, it would have been a blunder.

I can understand what you are going through right now, its common for first time car buyers. Most newbies purchase their first car based only on their current requirements, and fail to consider that their requirements/desires would change in the near future.

I felt the same way a few months after I purchased my i10 1.1. When I was buying this car, I was a learner. Hence, i10 1.1 seemed more than sufficient for my usage. After a few months, as I mastered my driving skills, I started to have the feeling that I could have gone for the i10 1.2 or even the Swift (which was initially ruled out because of poor visibility). But I am sure that even if I had purchased the Swift at that time, after a few months I would have felt that I could have gone for the Swift Dzire.

So you see, there is no end to this thought process. You should evaluate all your requirements before making the purchase, and be satisfied with it once you purchase it.

Every car has its pros and cons, you have to learn to live with the cons and enjoy the pros. Alto may be slightly underpowered and cramped, but look at the brighter side. It is one of the most fuel efficient and best selling cars in the country. It has great handling and its small size is actually a boon for the congested city roads and tight parking spots.

Believe me, after having driven the Alto, if you decide to buy a bigger car immediately, you will run into another type of problems - low FE, higher running costs, difficulty in driving and parking, higher cost of spares and service.

Also, new models with new engines will always be launched, you should not constantly keep comparing your existing car with other cars. New cars will always be better than older ones, you would end up feeling frustrated if you keep making these constant comparisons.

Don't worry about resale value of the car, Maruti's always fetch the best resale value.

So here are my suggestions for you:

1. Keep the Alto for at least 2-3 years. Enjoy its low cost and high FE.

2. To satisfy your need for more power, go through the threads on performance modifications and ask for advice.

3. For better ride quality, invest in alloy wheels and tubeless tyres (possibly upsized). Go through the relevant threads and ask for advice.

Filling nitrogen will marginally improve the ride quality. The bigger advantage of filling nitrogen is that it has to be filled only once in 6 months.

Hope that was helpful.

Rohan,
Bangalore

[Gansan]

Generally, modded cars will be difficult to sell and will fetch a lesser resale price than stock cars. Keep this in mind and don't go overboard with modifications. Best of luck and happy motoring!

[musicmanaman]

Good to know you have decided to stick to the Alto for a few more years, it's a nice small car. Don't go overboard with modifications, as the resale price goes down on heavy modded cars. I suggest keep the car stock as much as possible.

[AirWind]

Wise decision to stick to the Alto. Frankly within Bangalore city, I'will be happy to take the 800 vis-a-vis Swift as its much more easy/fun to zip/park and more so to rip without having to worry for mainenance, dents or scratches.

Add a K&N air filter and a Free Flow Exhaust to get a little boost and note(iced).

[gostel]

Dear Abhi,
My sincere sympathies with you and me. I am in exactly the same boat. I took a very educated decision to buy the Alto, and now get that inner hurt thinking that my car is not as spacious and as powerful. But then I console myself and say: well old man, so what if you could drive faster in another car, you better keep the Alto and drive safer. Driving sedately is safer than driving with air-bags and ABS and what not.

Another point is that you really do not know if another car will give you as better a feeling as you contemplate. Hehe, if the car feels cramped then spend a little time and get into fitness mode, and the car will grow roomier.
Cheers.

[blackasta]

Rohan, Great decision in retaining your Alto.
Even if you go for mods, DO keep all the stock parts stowed safely in your house, as while selling the car, you can refit the stock parts and sell the car as is.
You can invest in air filters (K&N, Green Cotton), Alloys, upgraded tubeless tires etc.
If you decide to go for FFE, you MUST get it done from someone experienced, and retain the stock exhaust manifold etc.
Also keep in mind if you decide to install an FFE, it might not be legal in a few places, and you shall have a tough time passing the PUC test.

[jp2u]

Originally Posted by abhi3284

I also heard that Maruti is going to revamp the Alto with a toned down KB Series Engine.

Are the MUL goin to really revamp the ALTO with the New K-series engine, if so, please throw some light on topic