[she_abs]

Dear Members

Pls guide me on this, i am desperately looking for my first car.

Tata Indica V2 DLX

Model Year - Jan-2003

Owner - First

Kms Done - 50,800

Price - 1,35,000


TATA INDICA DLX (Diesel), Power steering, All 4 Power Windows, Rear Wiper, Central Locking, New like tyres and interiors, Brand new Pioneer CD player and speakers which plays MP3 ,WMA and WAV formats with auxillary port.

Do let me know

[neofromcapone]

NO, you should not buy this car. Its way to old, will have quite a few niggles and will take up your time and resources.

But it does look in good shape, If you will be able to enjoy whatever the car throws at you, GO for it. Or else go for a new Nano.

[v&v]

she_abs,
Since the car has run 50k, whats the immediate expense like condition of clutch, front suspension. Run the car with A/c in a high traffic condition to check the A/c performance. About Service records, since tata has online software, you can get the complete service history.

My first observation - Car looks clean by photo. Bit on higher side. 7 yr old indica should be around the range of 1 to 1.1 L.

[pvgeorge]

Since the car has run 50k, check for tires if they are replaced ones/ nearign the end of life. a change in stock tires could put U back by 13 - 14K

Also Indica at that time priod are prone to oil leak. Check the engone for any leakage signs and also for any suspension issues.
Also check the clutch condition.

From the pictures, the car looks pretty neat and for an Indica the running Kms is pretty low.

I would say go for it.. its one of the cars that are damn cheap to run (although I would never dare to rate it in the comfort/ snob value)

[adityamunshi]

NO, dont even think about it. The all indicas had problems, especially the pre-2004 ones. This is a very early V2 and will cause you a lot of headaches.

[v&v]

Originally Posted by adityamunshi

NO, dont even think about it. The all indicas had problems, especially the pre-2004 ones. This is a very early V2 and will cause you a lot of headaches.

aditya , this is a generalised statement. I owned a Indica Dls 2000 versiion till 2007 , drove around 1.4l kms. I didnt had any problem with it at all.
Even my clutch lasted 95K kms.

[VW2010]

Check the heart and transmission of the car with a little attention towars the axles, suspension, engine noise and smoke.

If the condition is good or very good you should go ahead as these cars last longer knowing their history(cabs).

And TATA cars usually cheaper to maintain.

If there are minor niggles you can either ask the owner to fix it or reduce some money from the asking price. Just get it checked as others have said.

[HammerHead]

If rest of the car i.e engine, suspension and transmission is in equally good condition as its exterior/interior then why not? Go for it

[jinojohnt]

I know quite a few indicas which were run as taxis with private registrations, and then sold off to unsuspecting customers after tampering the odometers.

[Cyrus43]

Those Taxi Indicas will never be a DLX. This car looks decent. And she is a workhorse. What is your actual usage pattern going to be? IMHO, this car doesnt look bad. but then you can never tell from the pictures.

[drpullockaran]

Seriously are you pulling our legs. You must be joking thinking about buying the Indica.

All you have to do is to get any Indica of that vintage up to operating temperature with the A/C switched off such that the auxiliary cooling fan comes on after about 10 minutes of driving in congested crawling traffic. Now switch on the A/C. Next remove the oil dip stick and also the cap that screws onto the oil filler hole on the valve cover. If smoke emanates from either of these orifices then run from the car. Its a lemon. TATA has spent about Rs 60000/- in 2002 and then about Rs 35000/- this year and still have not been able to rectify these defects in my car following a verdict from the consumer court. If the company could not rectify it then only the almighty can save you if you land up with this smoking gun.

Next ask 3 people to sit in the rear of the car and travel forward for about 5 meters on level road. Get out of the car, but keep the rear 3 passengers seated and walk back to the starting point and look at the rear wheels. If they show excessive negative camber perceptible to the eye then you have a smoking rear suspension assembly too.

Take my advice and put your hard earned money elsewhere even if it means using public transport to save up sufficiently to buy a better designed car where spares are easily available too. When buying an old car make sure spares are easily available and affordable by you.

[amitoj]

With a second hand car, it is always a risk unless you know the owner personally and are sure that the details are honest. With a second hand, 8 years old TATA car, the risks just go up.
Also, what do you mean by "new like tyres"? If the tyres are stock, then you WILL need to replace them, as suggested by pvgeorge as well.

Since you are in Mumbai, don't you have those independent car evaluators there? I think someone had put up their review here. I'd suggest getting the car evaluated from them if the costs are not too prohibitive.

[thedreamcatcher]

Just re-iterating what many have put here.

Stay clear of this car. If it was a petrol, it can still be thought of, but not a Diesel. It is also one of the early models of the V2, and we all know how Tata's early launch cars are.

Look for a newer option and try to expand your budget to about 2L and you will get quite a number of decent cars

One word of caution when looking at buying pre-owned cars, and since this is your fist car.

1. Never fully go by physical appearance. A good waxing, polishin, buffing can make a dead beat look brand new (I have personanly seen a transformation like this in front of my eyes, to an Indica at a garage in Gurgaon. The car was filled with scratches, swirls, chips and blemishes, but after the detailing job, I was speechless.)
2. Get the KMs checked. A 'diesel car', 2003 and only 50k kms? Seems odd
3. Dont go by things like, oh its got a latest pioneer stereo, this stereo, this accessory and so on. They are nothing. And can blind you into making a bad purchase. Accessories can be procured later Get a good car first

[pvgeorge]

we cant generalise all old Indica's to be bad. yes the chances are high and there is always a risk buying a second hand vehicle.

I won an V2 DLS (Jul 2003) with 51K on the odo. My average TASC cost for service is 1678 Rs and the milage is 17.3 on a litre of diesel (Mostly in City traffic).
The only parts replaced other than consumables (tires) are
- radiator bend


Yes it doesn has trouble like
- very low on power (a meagre 53 bhp)
- AC fan making pretty good noise on 3rd and 4th speeds

So if you know the history of the car, I would say its okay to go ahead.

George V

[kartikk]

Mumbai vehicle 8 years old, pls do check for under body rusting, its in surprisingly good condition, has it undergone some treatment after the floods, just a thought. Small thingy do I read the picture correctly the music system reads "ERROR 12". Else seems really good.

Listen to thy neighbour, but act thy own.