[shancz]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

I am now thinking if I should stop reading/researching about the cars and just go with my heart?

That's what happens when everything you like has some unavoidable issues and you realise ignorance is bliss.
I experience the same a lot in a lot of spheres too.

After the exhaustive research take a break, have a nice cup of tea and hammer out the basics, exclude the ones not fulfilling your necessities and then look at your wants.

Ask yourself this, would you have been better off buying the Kushaq/Slavia with the initial EPC errors or the insufficient air conditioning?

The answer answers your question

[Revvman]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

I am now thinking if I should stop reading/researching about the cars and just go with my heart?

I think it's always a good idea to do some basic research about car companies and models that interest one as every once in a while car companies do tend to make blunders or smaller mistakes which become a headache for car buyers at least in the short term, take for example the Skoda Kushaq initial problems.

Further, he/she can weed out the negotiable and non-negotiable aspects based on individual likes and preferences, test drive the cars and finally make an informed decision rather than going by that impulse and leaving the possibility for a regret later. As they say, there's no perfect car for everyone and you'll have to make peace with something or the other and an informed decision will just help one better in living with it.

[karanddd]

Too much analysis can be paralysing no doubt but there is something particular about the Indian car market that exacerbates this. No matter what a person's budget is, options are limited. There are only 2-3 Japanese sedans on sale under Rs. 50 lakhs for instance, whereas in any other market there would be 20 or more. In such a situation, one starts digging very deep into each particular option and ends up running out of options.

[narayans80]

Monetarily cars are probably your second biggest purchase. So any amount of research is better than learning from financial loss.

I spent a good 3-4 years casually researching. Would have read the Hexa and S-Cross entire official thread and ownership threads that were posted. When the decision point came in October 2018, it took me less than 3 days to make a decision and 16 days to take delivery.

This was possible because I knew what I wanted and spent enough time understanding what was on offer. Bank balance and EMI calculator decided how much I could spend without becoming a pauper.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by Mumbaiker

1. Honda city - read the news/rumour about Honda shutting India ops.
2. Skoda launches Slavia - Oh its a Skoda. What about the after sales.
What about DSG issues and niggles.
AC / EPC issues in Taigun.
3. Volkswagen launches Virtus -
AC issues, DSG problems in long term.
4. Tata Harrier - I read and I find so many issues including engine replacements, steering wobbles, idle vibrations and other niggles with the infotainment.

1. Not sure about the hybrid but if you like the City the time to buy it would be now. Worst case if they shut shop tomorrow you get to own the magnificent 1.5 iVTEC, the last of the true blue petrols if you're into such stuff. And you shouldn't have an issue with maintaining it for the next 8-10 years. You will lose out on the resale though which could be mitigated to a great extent by keeping it as long as feasible.
A guess but IMO Honda isn't going anywhere for the next 3 years at least.

2./3. Like mentioned earlier would you rather have bought them instead ?

4. That's a good thing in my books that you are aware of issues you might encounter and more importantly these issues show that it isn't something which will give you a fuss-free experience.
That being said it still sells well and that means you won't have to worry about its future or resale.

The crux of the points is to get what you like driving and owning but be aware(not scared) of potential(not definite) issues. If any of the reported issues are a deal breaker for you then walk away however good the car is, like you already seem to have.

Reason for this seemingly unnecessary post is its sad to see folks putting in their hard earned money and expectations getting disappointed and sharing their ordeals like vinitbhavi (My brand-new Jeep Compass breaks down twice in a week after delivery | EDIT: Now back home) here and many more of the ICB (The Indian Car Buyer | Struggling with problems in brand new cars).

[GTO]

No such thing as a perfect car. Nor a perfect person / house / anything. Analyse the pros & cons, take detailed test-drives and pull the trigger.

Not good to over-analyze and get stuck at the decision-making stage. I usually make decisions really fast - overnight at the most. The last 4 personal cars I bought were either the only ones on the shortlist, or at max had a 2nd option (Classic 4x4, City Vtec, Civic, 530d). On the other hand, my brother dropped the Seltos after its GNCAP rating and test-drove each & every option in the 30 - 50 lakh segment. Even for him, I knew it'll eventually come down to the Superb or C-Class at the end. And it did.

Important to prioritize your wants (yes, wants because "desire" is a big part of car ownership) as well as your needs. Don't keep the shortlist too long. Don't get stuck in the rut of analysis-paralysis. And if you do, create a What Car thread on Team-BHP and go with any of the Top 3 choices in the poll.

[Ferruccio]

To the over thinkers, here's my suggestion. Look at the Top 20 sold vehicles list for the last 6 months. Sort by what fits your budget, need and fancy and buy it. Very unlikely you'll go wrong!

[Mumbaiker]

Originally Posted by karanddd

In such a situation, one starts digging very deep into each particular option and ends up running out of options.

Yes, exactly.

Originally Posted by shancz

The crux of the points is to get what you like driving and owning but be aware(not scared) of potential(not definite) issues. If any of the reported issues are a deal breaker for you then walk away however good the car is, like you already seem to have.

Reason for this seemingly unnecessary post is its sad to see folks putting in their hard earned money and expectations getting disappointed and sharing their ordeals .

Originally Posted by GTO

No such thing as a perfect car. Nor a perfect person / house / anything. Analyse the pros & cons, take detailed test-drives and pull the trigger.

Not good to over-analyze and get stuck at the decision-making stage.

Important to prioritize your wants (yes, wants because "desire" is a big part of car ownership) as well as your needs. Don't keep the shortlist too long. Don't get stuck in the rut of analysis-paralysis. And if you do, create a What Car thread on Team-BHP and go with any of the Top 3 choices in the poll.

Thanks for your inputs. To be very honest I wasnt trying to get inputs on which car I should go with. Like I have said, I am in the process and have nearly finalized what I like (eHev). Its just that the process has been long drawn and loaded with confusions, so the question.

[KL42]

The Golden rule *BUYERS BEWARE*

It is very important to know what you buying and the risks associated with that purchase. A car purchase spending lakhs of hard earned money, it is always in your interest to know what you are getting into.

One should be aware of the need for the car, how it will suit your family's needs and your needs, features you are going to use on daily basis, the must have safety features, acknowledging the fact that you are going to live with the car for next 5/10 years and hence future proofing the car and the expenses related while that car is under your ownership.

After noting these down, you definitely needs to weigh the good vs bad yourself and decide if you are ready to live with the bad. You should take advice from others only to get clarity on the bad to help you to take a decision while decision itself should not be taken by others.

This process really helps raise the satisfaction with your car and also when something goes wrong, you will be able to deal with that situation in a better manner as you had already anticipated and weighed in that risk while purchasing the car.

[Livnletcarsliv]

This is a very common situation (especially with me). Not just when buying a car, but also many more things like Mobile, watch, TV, Furniture, etc. (This vs That).

It is almost always impossible to justify and take sides in a MIND vs HEART situation. It's only the circumstances and external factors that influence/push to take sides.
Yes, this tech-enabled social world has a humungous amount of information about anything with the click/touch of a button.

Now coming to your question, list down your wants, needs, and good-to-have(s). For eg- reliability is a want, low maintenance is a need, panoramic roof is good to have. Similarly, ASS experience is a want, performance is a need, and an air-purifier is good to have. When we list down like this, we arrive at a place, where we understand what can we compromise and what we cannot.

For eg - Honda is highly reliable, low on maintenance, and just adequate in performance. Skoda (Slavia) is high in performance, just adequate in maintenance, and moderate in reliability. Tata is adequate in performance, moderate in maintenance, and poor in reliability.

[steadfast]

Over analysis only complicates things. Add 2 factors to your list :

A. proximity of service centre to your place. Visit the SC and you can visualise your future as a customer.

B. Warranty timeline: Any machine can breakdown as soon as after delivery. So cars with a longer warranty timeline really helps. VW/Skoda offer 7 year extended warranty and that is a peace of mind and money.

This will help you in taking a decision.

[RavSam]

This is how I purchased my car on December 2020.

Thought of buying an automatic AMT car. Wanted an Ignis but had fixed a budget of Rs. 6 lakhs.

Shortlisted Celerio and Spresso because MS dealership is at stone's throw away from my residence.

Went to an MS Arena which also sold Nexa cars via their sister dealership.

The SA gave me a test drive of Ignis because I said that I wished to buy an Ignis and that was that!

I could not even bring myself to TD the Spresso and Celerio and went over the budget by Rs. 1.6+ lakhs and booked Ignis Zeta AMT in Nexa Blue

So yes, I did a little research but Ignis seemed like an impulsive buy. I do a LOT more research when buying a phone, washing machine, TV, AC or even a shoe!

[krishnakumar]

Excessive research? Yes, it can definitely derail your purchase process.

But it's a fine line between being thorough and being excessive. And even that line is quite subjective.

For being thorough, it is imperative to distill down exactly what you need - preferably in a 1 or 2 line statement. That should be the only mantra to go with and support with a few non-negotiable requirements, good-to-haves and don't cares.

With the above, the idea is to shortlist the cars and then go through as much reviews, ownership logs, test drives as possible. To get my fair share of test drives, I even shuttled between two cities (my hometown and where I live) and called up multiple dealerships to check prices, set expectations, do test drives etc.

I'd call my research to be thorough because I exactly knew what I wanted and I spent a good amount of time researching for those needs and wants. Nothing more.

Even then, as I said, that fine line between thorough and excessive is subjective. Most of my friends mocked me for the amount of research I was doing and when I finalized the XUV300 they mocked me by saying "big day for Mahindra".

Also, on the subject of "Mind vs. Heart", after going through the process I believe there should be a fair balance. Your heart should take the final call but the mind should've done the background work. In my process, the final fight was between Nexon and XUV300, after the distillation that my mind did. And then the heart picked XUV300 even though between these two options, the Nexon is clearly the more practical one! If I were to purely go with my heart, boy I'd have brought home a Compass. Despite so many horror stories on the Compass in this forum, I still drool at one.

[satish.gawai]

According to me, doing research and analysis for any purchase (not just cars) will help us a better understanding of our own requirements, narrow down the options available, and select the best of all those options.
Every automobile on sale today has its pros and cons (including the three Germans). we need to understand, which pros or cons are for me and take decisions accordingly. Believe me, research and analysis make this very easy, and whatever decision we are taking post-analysis we know where we are risking (if at all) our hard earn money, so we will not feel guilty if we came across the problem later on.

So it is always better to do some analysis than to go for a blind purchase.

[PRS7]

Here below a thought process that I had before zeroing in on my choice.
1. SUV or Sedan
2. Power of the engine 1 ltr or 1.5 ltr.
3. Automatic or manual. Points 2 and 3 should also more or less freeze the budget.
4. Purpose of use. Daily office commute plus occasional long drive. Or a pure bred highway stallion.
5. Desire for feeling of ownership pride of a premium and exclusive offering, driving dynamics, safety with a trade off on higher maintenance and lesser fuel efficiency (VAG, Jeep) over having a work horse that demands less on fuel and maintenance, however also the one which will soon turn ordinary(1-2 years) in terms of look, feel, drive (Maruti, KIA, Hyundai, Honda).

My personal view is that going for a harrier or xuv700 in a way is a balance of premium feel and reliability, however it is very easy to fall into the other category of badly finished cars with service issues. I feel that these cars can go either way.

I went for the taigun dsg as at the current stage of my life, I wanted an SUVish car with a premium feel that I can feel happy driving around town and long drives. It gives me joy on the daily grind which I am sure other cars can't. However at the same time I feel the pinch of lower mileage, DSG anxiety, which I try to soothe away since the primary objective is fulfilled.

Hope it helps.