Team-BHP > The Indian Car Scene


View Poll Results: Would you keep a beater car?
Yes 454 80.93%
No 107 19.07%
Voters: 561. You may not vote on this poll

Reply
  Search this Thread
71,801 views
Old 17th November 2020, 13:05   #16
Distinguished - BHPian
 
ninjatalli's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 3,786
Thanked: 15,372 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Quote:
Originally Posted by libranof1987 View Post

But in today's world, where you have Uber for intra-city runs and the extended working from home caused by the pandemic, one would rather have one car that ticks the most boxes.

So, voted No.
Second this.

And to add - In a city like Mumbai or Bangalore, it doesn't really make sense to own more than one vehicle unless those satisfy the needs of a large family than a nucleus family; even those with two (or more) vehicle users. Given the abundance of taxis and the increasing focus on metros by city managements, I'd say only having a single car (beater or non-beater) make sense. And when you put that filter, I doubt all those saying "YES" would agree to having only a beater car in the house. Although logically, having only a beater car is the perfect situation if you ask me.

Voted No (understanding the question as of owning a beater car as the second vehicle).

Edit: If only one vehicle and that is to the beater car, definitely yes!

Last edited by ninjatalli : 17th November 2020 at 13:07.
ninjatalli is offline   (3) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 13:48   #17
Distinguished - BHPian
 
R2D2's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2008
Location: Pune
Posts: 3,231
Thanked: 5,740 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

I'd have voted maybe on this thread had there been an option.

Parag's and Shashi's cars are "beater" cars? LOL! Seriously, those cars are more precious to their owners than a brand new vehicle. Shashi uses his new XL6 as a beater while the 20 year old M800 is treated like a Queen. I personally wouldn't call some cars as beaters even if their age may define them as such. Those cars are better referred to as "worshipped cars".
R2D2 is offline   (13) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 14:07   #18
Senior - BHPian
 
giri1.8's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2012
Location: Chennai
Posts: 1,760
Thanked: 4,712 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

My new Figo AT is my do it all car and doubles up as my beater as well, easy to maintain, easy to park, folding rear seats gives me flexibility, doesn't attract any attention, easy on my pocket as well.

1.5L Dragon engine, good dynamics, decent ride quality and superb steering keeps the enthusiast in me happy.

Only expensive part is the fuel bill, but having one less car kind of makes up for it.

Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car-screenshot_20201117_140631.jpg

Last edited by giri1.8 : 17th November 2020 at 14:09.
giri1.8 is offline   (17) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 14:17   #19
Distinguished - BHPian
 
saket77's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Ranchi
Posts: 4,343
Thanked: 11,745 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

What got my eye is Leoshashi’s 800 is a beater!
I think the insane amount of money he spends on his 20 year old Maruti for top notch maintenance can shame many euro car owners

Though agree with the Crux of this thread. Good to have the luxury of a beater car for everyday use but the increasing expenses even for keeping a beater is increasing day by day in form of taxes and insurance. If someone is not doing highway runs, I suppose only one car would suffice (of beater image)

Regards.
saket77 is offline   (11) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 14:25   #20
Senior - BHPian
 
PrideRed's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: BLR/PTR
Posts: 3,278
Thanked: 9,635 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Almost all the beater cars in opening post are Japanese . Concept of beater car is relative though! My primary car/prized possession can be someone else beater! Cheap maintenance, comfort and strong reliability seem to be the common theme for beater cars.
PrideRed is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 14:50   #21
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 492
Thanked: 1,276 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

I dont think I can justify having a beater car unless I have some luxury car as a primary. Lack of parking space, time constraints to maintain yet another car are just a couple of cons I can think of.

As others have mentioned at least in Bangalore a bike is sufficient as a beater while taxis are there for those trips you dont want to take your car to for lack of parking space or not so good roads.
anandhsub is offline  
Old 17th November 2020, 15:11   #22
BHPian
 
tacho9000's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Kolkata
Posts: 210
Thanked: 406 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

It is quite rude to classify Leoshashi's GG and Parag Sir's Waggy as beaters. The amount of tender love and care these two vehicles get is something beater will never get. They are emotions. Please don't be rude to these two beauties by calling them beater. The car god's may wreak havoc on you for derogating these two. Requesting you to remove the GG and Waggy from the list.

Regards,
Subhra Mallick
tacho9000 is offline   (4) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 15:56   #23
BHPian
 
sachin_cs's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2019
Location: Raipur C.G.
Posts: 505
Thanked: 2,815 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

One amazing thread. Its so relatable buddy, I mean, we bought Rapid DSG last year in February and Sold our beloved Estilo due to parking constraints. However in the next month we realised that its not possible to live with just one car when you love the paintwork so much but you also need to take care of city chores, till the time we realised, our Estilo was already gone and we needed a beater car at the earliest. Then came our humble Nano, since we were not in a position to add another depreciating asset, we decided to get a used Nano as a beater car. This little Tata is an interesting proposition and getting it serviced is as cheap as Cost of brake pads for the Rapid.

Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car-e309bde7b1f74676a6701f7996d5d26c.jpeg
Our 2L kms done well maintained Estilo

Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car-e43808dfee404eddbf267086f897b9f2.jpeg
New member of the family

Last edited by sachin_cs : 17th November 2020 at 15:58.
sachin_cs is offline   (7) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 16:07   #24
BHPian
 
hummer's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jun 2006
Location: B'LORE-SHIMOGA
Posts: 338
Thanked: 1,254 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Ohh yaaaaaaaaah, I always had a beater car, it's so much convenient and fun also without spending much.

If I had more parking space, I would have one more car for off-beaten track

In the city like Bengaluru, I can't take Duster everywhere and there is no place where a Nano cannot go (relatively). It's so much fun driving a Nano on weekends to Jayanagar where getting a parking is herculean task, but Nano can squeeze in unimaginable spaces.

Wify doesn’t want to maneuver Duster in the ruthless traffic madness, if I didn’t have Nano, I had to run in emergency for milk, bread etc in a Duster, now I can chillax coz Nano (AMT) gives her company. I don't even have to worry whether she locked the car or not, there is nothing to steal from Nano, still it has automatic transmission, AC, power windows, blue-tooth, openable boot and whatnot for a beater

Generally we won’t get parking space during parent-teacher meetings at school, but we park our Nano in a place where parking space doesn’t seem to exist.

Most of the time, Nano is parked outside (ours is a gated community), so just ignite & drive.

See the sheer size difference of Duster and Nano:
Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car-carz1.jpg

I just love the glittering RED Nano:
Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car-carz2.jpg
hummer is offline   (17) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 16:09   #25
BHPian
 
jigar1791@gmail's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Mumbai
Posts: 173
Thanked: 800 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Voted NO.

Economics of an average car owning Indian household will favour using alternate public transport options than owning a beater car/2nd car in the garage.

Had worked the Maths out sometime during the lockdown (as a means to kill time )

Case 1 - Family having 1 car + Uber/Ola when necessary :
Monthly running of an average Indian private car - 1000 Kms
Running cost/km - 7/- (petrol @ 80/12 kmpl)
Total running cost/month - 1000*7 = 7,000/-
EMIs + Other expenses - 8,000/-
Total cost of car ownership/month = 15,000/- A
Ola/Uber being used 5 times/month @ 1000/- a ride (to and fro) = 5,000/- (assuming rides at 8/- a km, total travel will be about 600 kms)
Total ownership + rent-a-cab costs - INR 20,000/- a month B

Case 2- Family having 1 regular car + 1 beater car (same usage pattern) :
For 2nd car, monthly running - 1000 kms
Running cost/km - 6/- (petrol @ 80/13 kmpl) assumption : a fuel efficient small hatch
Total running cost/month - 1000*6 = 6,000/-
EMIs + Other expenses - 6,000/- assumption : a fuel efficient small hatch
Total cost of beater/2nd car ownership/month = INR 12,000/- C

Combined ownership cost/month for 2 cars (A+C) = INR 27,000/- D

Net savings of INR 7,000/- a month, yet, traveling in the comfort of a cab when needed, will be in every middle class Indian's budget when deciding on the purchase + ownership of having a 2nd car in the house.

Open to suggestions in the calculations above.

Regards,
Jigar Shah

Mod note: Please avoid typing with excessive dots. Thanks

Last edited by moralfibre : 18th November 2020 at 06:49.
jigar1791@gmail is offline   (8) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 16:15   #26
BHPian
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 552
Thanked: 1,544 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Couple of points:
1. Request to mods to take off Shashi's 800 and Parag's Waggy from this thread's opening post. Half of the comments are towards this point.

2. Beater car is a conceptual thing. A person having Merc might have a roomy sedan as a beater while a person having a City may think of an i10 or swift as a beater. The same hatch may be someone else's only car with a scoot as a beater.

3. In my view, parking plays a huge role in keeping any kind of beater. In big cities with limited parking, beaters cannot be practical and Uber has just incentivesed this aspect. For folks having ample parking, beaters do make sense to save the other prized possession.
headbanger is offline   (2) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 16:21   #27
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2019
Location: Dehradun
Posts: 70
Thanked: 368 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Yes!

They are so easy to maintain and yet so practical to maneuver in the city. I have a 2007 WagonR which always wins my heart due to these reasons only.
vtecblast is offline   (1) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 16:24   #28
BHPian
 
car_guy1998's Avatar
 
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: HYD/FMT/SEA
Posts: 638
Thanked: 1,218 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Voted a resounding "YES".

A beater car is important in the garage whenever we can't take out the expensive cars.Till 2013,we used to have couple of Maruti 800's as a beater,which later sold off due to its age.Now,we are having an Innova and Honda City in the garage while myself looking to replace my Aprilia SR150 with a beater car like Swift or i10 soon as I'm getting scared riding two wheeler in Hyderabad traffic these days.
car_guy1998 is online now   (1) Thanks
Old 17th November 2020, 16:28   #29
BHPian
 
Join Date: Oct 2020
Location: Bangalore
Posts: 25
Thanked: 36 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

Beater cars are a must given the multiple purposes they serve - ferrying visitors/ guests, carrying material for personal errands and last but not the least, serving as a car that family and friends can borrow. A well maintained Maruti/ Hyundai/ Honda will last for well over 150k kms. Our beater is the trusty Santro Xing that is a lot of fun to drive as well. Nips into small gaps on the road and parking is a breeze. Was the main family car back in 2004 when purchase, but now serves as a reliable beater. Have thought of selling it multiple times, but would prefer the convenience of an additional car compared to the 50-60k re-sale price and 8-10k annual maintenance cost.

Last edited by BlackPearl : 17th November 2020 at 16:36. Reason: Minor typo. Thanks.
govindasrani is offline  
Old 17th November 2020, 16:28   #30
BHPian
 
Rocketscience's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2014
Location: Gurgaon
Posts: 507
Thanked: 1,367 Times
Re: Pre-worshipped car of the week : The cheap beater car

I feel so depressed reading this thread because my Honda City (D) was turning out to be a perfect beater car, it is in top notch mechanical condition, physical condition from outside is fine and the interiors are totally pristine, it returns great mileage too, it has done only around 60,000 kms and will be 7 years old in a couple months time, makes sense to keep it for a very long time, hell it is not even a beater today it is practically just like a new car that is just deprecated and old on paper.

The depressing part is i will have to get rid of it in an year or two at max if i want even remotely reasonable money, which will still be too low and if not i would have to scrap it in 3 years when it reaches the 10 year mark (since it is a Diesel car in Delhi ), this part really gets me, the car can easily serve another 5-7 years trouble free and maybe even a decade with minimum investment, it will be so useful in that time and i can go anywhere do anything with this car without thinking twice, you'll never get that freedom with new cars but government policies are blanket and not one off, so even a great condition car will reach its end of life in just 10 years!

Last edited by Rocketscience : 17th November 2020 at 16:30.
Rocketscience is offline   (3) Thanks
Reply

Most Viewed
Thread Tools Search this Thread
Search this Thread:

Advanced Search

Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Team-BHP.com
Proudly powered by E2E Networks