[R4m4kr15hn4n]

Originally Posted by gopaneel

I've been waiting a long time to buy my first car. This year I finally think I can afford one and I've more or less decided on the Swift.
===========
Or if it makes sense to go for the Swift now, save 30k and get my first car ASAP
.

I was in a similar dilemma. As already suggested about buying the car now and registering it in 2021, I did the same yesterday. Booked Dzire with temporary number registration and then in 2021, going to do the complete registration as the temporary number has 28 days validity. Hope this helps.

[1.2TSI7DSG]

Or better still, buy a December car in January. You will be able to negotiate better discounts/accessories in January for a December car. Unless there is a model changeover, I would vet on a older car.

[Nav-i-gator]

Originally Posted by gopaneel

I've been waiting a long time to buy my first car. This year I finally think I can afford one and I've more or less decided on the Swift.

This is going to be your first car Brother. Stop bothering about the production year and possible facelift launch, price hikes or resale value.

First car is like first love, listen to your heart and go full on into it - buy now!

[MotoBlip]

Originally Posted by gopaneel

Or if it makes sense to go for the Swift now, save 30k and get my first car ASAP.

Did the exact same thing as suggested by a few others. Bought our Baleno in the fourth week of December '17, and got it registered in the third week of January '18.
Saved some money on year end discounts and since I plan to keep it for long, any losses that I might incur on resale would be compensated by the discounts I was offered.

And if you're waiting for validation on a decision you've already made, go buy it already!!

[InsaneSpeed]

We experienced this situation when we sold off our Indica Vista last month. Our's was a October'08 registered vehicle. We used it for well over 10 yrs. However while selling the vehicle the depreciated price we got was way too low. The main reasons for that were
1) TATA cars had low resale value.
2) It was a 2008 model
3) It was a mid variant (Aqua Safire). Hence less features as compared to the top end. The customers in the used car market generally go for top end models.
4) It was a petrol vehicle.
5) It was nearing its life cycle.

As per the sales executive had it been a Jan'09 model the price would have been marginally better although we had no regrets on the price we got. As others have pointed out the registration date/year would not really matter if you intend to keep the vehicle for a longer duration. However if you would be swapping the car in the next 4 - 5 yrs then would suggest to go for the newer model. The bottom line here would be if you are getting a better year end deal then go for it and enjoy the vehicle rather than waiting for the new model and paying a premium later.

[klgiridhar]

I for one will definitely take advantage of the huge offers that will be rolled out by manufacturers in December. Almost all automobiles in our family are run for at least 10-15 years and we pamper our machines a lot that they look and perform well. My dad's Alto still feels almost new even after 9 years. So, resale value is and will be thrown out while making our purchase decisions.

But, as some BHPians pointed, I will be wary of any upcoming facelifts or generational upgrades. Every model gets a facelift when it is in its 3rd or early 4th year and a generational upgrade in its 6th or 7th year. So, better to look out for leaks and news about upcoming launches as well.

[Chinmay]

Go for it now. I bought my Brezza in December 2019 and got massive discounts, free extended warranty, and a lot of goodies. Also, Maruti discontinuing diesels helped, I think. Anyway, the new Brezza just has an engine change and other cosmetic upgrades, and I wanted the diesel engine.I got it registered in January 2020. Since I keep my cars for at least 5 years, the decision was easier. There is no guarantee that you will like an upcoming model of the Swift you are eying. Also, there will always be feature additions and deletions in cars. One can never get over it! Therefore, take the plunge now! Drive safe and happy motoring!

[gopaneel]

Thanks everybody, for all the information and your opinions. Was busy the last 2 days. Based on most of the opinions and the encouragement, I decided to go with my heart I've been working for 10+ years now and it's been a long wait for my first car, so decided I can't wait anymore. It will be a car loan of 5 years. So the car will be with me for at least that long.

While not exactly related to the original question, I wanted to share the updates/excitement with all of you. So, for a long time now, I had decided on the Swift ZXi. Went to the showroom on Saturday, got the prices and deals. Also, asked for a test drive on Sunday, when my wife would be available. I was a little bothered by the black blinders on the back seat and the lack of a touchscreen ICE. I rely on Google Maps quite a lot. So it was not exactly the lack of a touchscreen, but having to look at phone for directions that was bothering me.

After getting back home, I was going through the CarWale app for other options in the same range. It was showing the Baleno Zeta at 15k over the Swift ZXi. It had a more comfortable back seat and had a large screen ICE with Android Auto. So went over to a Nexa. But they mentioned the Zeta was not in stock, it had to be the Delta or Alpha and the price on CarWale was not correct. In reality, the Zeta was priced 45k more than the Swift ZXi. So more or less made up my mind on the Swift and decided to book after the test drive.

Told wife about the test drive on Sunday morning and got ready on Sunday. There's a Toyota showroom, 5 minutes from my place. I thought, I'll just check out the Glanza before heading to the Maruti showroom. I was pleasantly surprised with the pricing of the Glanza G variant, which is almost exactly identical to the Baleno Zeta, but was 30k cheaper. Took a test drive, liked the interiors, the smooth free-revving engine and wife liked the back seat - nice and airy. The suspension/handling being soft was a disadvantage felt with regard to the Swift. But it seemed like a good deal and I more or less made up my mind. But still took the Swift test drive. I enjoyed driving the Swift more. But wife wasn't happy with the back seat and was feeling car sick. So, in all, the Glanza felt a more practical choice. I was also a little concerned if the Swift upgrade would be launched in a few months and if that would make we wonder if I had not waited enough. No updates expected for Glanza, made it more comforting.

So headed back to the Toyota showroom, asked for a good deal. What was offered seemed fair. So went ahead and booked it. I'm all excited now and waiting for the loan approval.

Once again, thanks for all your support. Please expect more questions and write-ups from my side.

EDIT: I see that the thread has gone to the Hot Threads section. As you might have noticed, I've joined in 2012 but I'm still a newbie. So excited about this as well.

[igemini]

Originally Posted by gopaneel

I've been working for 10+ years now and it's been a long wait for my first car, so decided I can't wait anymore. It will be a car loan of 5 years. So the car will be with me for at least that long.

So headed back to the Toyota showroom, asked for a good deal. What was offered seemed fair. So went ahead and booked it. I'm all excited now and waiting for the loan approval.

Once again, thanks for all your support. Please expect more questions and write-ups from my side.

After going through your posts, I was wondering why you were not considering the Glanza. Toyota service may be less crowded compared to than that of Maruti and probably have a slight advantage on the quality of work too. That might not be the case all the time though.

Though you have concluded, it will still good to know that the DEC/JAN purchases won't make that much of a difference, unless in certain conditions.

- Normally, there would be a price hike of 2-3% in January by most manufacturers. So buying in Dec might save you some bucks

- Normally in Dec, the manufacturers will offer some good cash discounts to clear off all their stocks. That's an added advantage

- Even if you purchase a car in Jan/Feb 2021 it is not necessary that you'll get a car newly manufactured in 2021. You may get a 2021 car probably after the end of Feb only.

- But if a new model is coming, then it's worth the wait! 2 reasons for that. One, you may get a brand model. Two. You'll get fatter discounts on the older model that is going get a facelift/replacing with an all-new model.

- Again, in that case, your booking period will be longer. Normally when a new car is launched there will be a lot of bookings than normal.

Finally, if you plan to keep the car for at least 5 years then just don't bother about all these non-sense. I do not think a Jan Registered Car will get more than 1-2% of resale value than that of a Dec registered car. It's definitely not worth the wait. As long as you are happy with the price, Just get the car you like and enjoy the car when you have it. Rest, think when you really want to sell the car.

[na_agrawal]

Originally Posted by gopaneel

So headed back to the Toyota showroom, asked for a good deal. What was offered seemed fair. So went ahead and booked it. I'm all excited now and waiting for the loan approval.

Hello Gopaneel, Cheers to your new T-Glanza!!

I want to share something with you. I was under the same umbrella of dilemmas as you were until you settled with your First-wheeled-love.
Back in 2016-2017, we wanted to add a new hatchback in our garage. We were looking to buy the 2016 Elite i20 Asta (o) model, as the first-gen i20 Asta which we already had in our garage was serving us pretty well as a city car. It was almost the end of 2016 and we almost booked one, BUT, I somehow got hold of a rather great piece of news that Hyundai was planning to launch the 2017 I20 active SX in petrol with 6 airbags. (Back then Active had 6 airbags only in Diesel). So I waited for them to launch, it was supposed to be a Jan 2017 first week launch, and indeed they did. But for a car to complete its journey from the launch to the keys in the customer's hand took almost 1.5 months. I ended up having that 2017 i20 Active 6 airbag petrol model in Feb 2017, a good 2.5 months of wait from Elite in December 2016 to here.

SO, what I meant to imply is, until and unless you're getting some benefit as I got on the safety front, or any other upgrade for that matter, WHY WAIT!?

Happy motoring in your new steed.
-NA

[Altocumulus]

Congratulations on the Glanza. Go for it. No need to wait.

Btw did you consider the Ignis. I found it to be a much much better product that the Swift or Baleno and VFM. At the price of Swift Zxi and Baleno Zeta you will get the Ignis Alpha with all the bells and whistles. Fantastic in the City and pretty good on the highway too.

[CarBot]

I am getting my new Vw polo high line plus AT tomorrow. I was in same situation/ mindset, then decided to pull the trigger this month due to following reasons
1. Price hike by 20 to 40k on polo depending on variant
2. Multiple dealers were not ready to take booking for high line plus AT for TSI version for next month
3. Family was going Crazy with me always spending time on Team BHP reading the same posts over and over again

[Sanjunair5]

@gopaneel, I see you have made up your mind. Still sharing my experience.

We bought a Wagon R VXi AMT for mom in 2016 Dec. We knew we are going to keep this car for a long time and we also wanted to exchange our existing Santro (in a very bad condition). Maruti had some juicy offers at that time, if I remember correctly, some 35K off, 35K exchange bonus, some other discounts and some freebees. We went ahead and bought it and saved a handsome amount I believe.

Now, I just looked up the resale value of the car on the cars24 tool and there is a 30-40K difference between a 2016 vs 2017 car. Ours is very passionately maintained, regularly run, but low mileage car. So I believe the real difference will be known only at the time of sale and I would bet on it being lesser than the 30-40K difference shown by the tool. Even otherwise we have saved more than that amount, had the car atleast a month early, we were happier a month earlier too!!

But everything aside, I personally don't believe in the year of manufacture dimension of buying a car. You want to buy, you buy. You want to sell, you sell. Make sure you get the best deal you can in both the cases!

[NiInJa]

I see the decision is already made so congratulations !!
To be honest, it really doesn't make much of a difference once you get the car and start driving her ! And, given market conditions since last two years, most of these discounts continue to be there till Jan end for not-so-hot cars.

Originally Posted by aargee

If you don't mind hearing something from a non-
wise BHPian...

First of all you cannot get a Jan 2021 manufactured car in Jan 2021, you might've to wait until Feb end or even Mar 2021. Yes, it takes usually that much time, it's not possible to get a hot baked car right out of the oven!!

Actually its quite the opposite sometimes ! I got my car delivered on 21st March 2019, some component's have their date of manufacture as late as 10th March 2019 ! The transit time was 7 days. Same case with my brother's i20 which he pre-booked. The manufacturing date was just 19 days earlier than the delivery date.

[lamborghini]

It depends on the discount to be honest.
Given we keep our cars for 5-10 years, the difference in pricing has to outweigh the difference in resale.
Also, on slower selling models there could be excess stock so discounts in January could be better.