which car- baleno, Ford, NHC>........???

[Buffetfan]

I have a Baleno Lxi my answers to your questions below
1. Is Baleno is best buy for me at this moment or should I go for some other vehicle?
I believe that Baleno is a very competent car but is not built to be driven in a pothole littered area.....and for that matter none of the cars are. You should buy a mahindra scorpio
2. Whether Baleno has these problems identified by me or these are only rumors?
1. Rattling sound in steering column : No Sound generally...you may get some if you hit a pothole at high speed..that too from suspension and not steering..
2. Less headroom and boot space : It is more than accent and less than NHC...sufficient for me (abt 356 litres...)
3. Stiff suspension : Decent suspension..this is incorrect.
4. Poor braking and unsafe tyre size. : Excellant Brakes...no issues on this count. Tyre size is bad and you can go for 185/70 R 13 as in a bad road situation it will give you a better ride compared to 185/65 R 14. In any case Dont buy any lower profile than 185/65 R 14..ride will become very harsh. Please eschange the tyrs of teh new car..you may need to spend 900-1400 extra per tyre for the new tyres in exchange.
5. Low safety standards. Only 2 star rating...but the car tested did not have Airbags and ABS and the car was compared to cars that had these...so given the fact that other cars in India do not come with them either...and no crash test data is avaialble....it is really a very subjective decision..
6. Costly spares : Incorrect...they used to be costly but many thigns are localised now...
7. Less popular and no resale value : I was told that the local dealer repurchased a 5 year old Baleno for Rs 3 lakhs..so resale does not look so bad...but may be marginally lower than accent and NHC.
8. maruti has decided to phase out this car and hence offering rebate for stock clearance. : I have no answers for this one.. IMHO it will take at least another year or so before the car is phased out. I bought mine 3 months ago. Sales are now close to 1000 cars/month+ which is probably 10 times what it was 2 years ago.


3. Is Baleno really having very poor resale value in comparison to its competitors? Answered earlier
4. Whether sale of Baleno is increasing after current discounts?
Answered earlier
5. If new Baleno comes recently with new features resale value of current model will dip?
maybe marginally but not much
6. Is it good time to purchase or I should wait upto dipawali for more discounts?
No clue
7. Is there any other tyre option other than 185/65 R14 and 185/70 R13 for baleno that increases the ground clearance of the vehicle along with better grip. What will be approximate cost of tyre change?

cost 900-1500/tyre depending on what you buy. you can try 175/80 R 13 (Lancer tyres). It will increase GC by 8 mm or so. It may touch the fenders but try it anyway...In general the GC is sufficient and I have not scraped any breakers till now.

8. Whether stone-guard will help me in overcoming the low ground clearance?
you can try it..
9. Any other suggestion.
Buy a scorpio..as I suggested earlier...it is strong, rugged, cheap to run and will weather bad roads very well with easy after sales service. (Just wondering if you have mahindra dealers available??)

[sahuajeet]

Thanks for lot of suggetions.
i'm going to purchase Baleno. my further queries are;

1. in various forums i've seen people suggesting for LXi. in VXi i'm getting tubless tyre+ alloy wheels+seat hight adjuster+ power antene+ spoiler+Strereo. don't it's worth to spend 70k more.

2. dealers are now telling that new Baleno is arriving within a month but they are not sure about the changes. what are ur suggetions-- should i go for currunt model or wait for newer one. but i'll not spent more amount than the present price.

3. i'll also go for tyre upgradation. plz advise me correct size. my preferences are FE, Ground Clearance, Comfort and grip. i'll not be driving my car at more that 100 km/hr. i'm not a fast mover and cutting corner type.

plz advise.

regards

[Buffetfan]

1. in various forums i've seen people suggesting for LXi. in VXi i'm getting tubless tyre+ alloy wheels+seat hight adjuster+ power antene+ spoiler+Strereo. don't it's worth to spend 70k more.

Alloy wheels you can get for 13k...a better looking design than suzuki and also have the option of 14" and 15" (if you spend more) that you dont have if you buy VXi. VXI does not come with tubeless tyres to the best of my knowledge but comes with bridgeSTONEs 168/80 r 13. tube type. Stereo will cost you rs 8-9k (of the type that comes in Baleno). Spoiler available for Rs 3 k aftermarket
I dont much care for the height adjustible seat.....so there you are for around 22 k more you can convert your lxi to an almost vxi.

2. dealers are now telling that new Baleno is arriving within a month but they are not sure about the changes. what are ur suggetions-- should i go for currunt model or wait for newer one. but i'll not spent more amount than the present price.

If you can wait one year..you will get a Swift based sedan in market...

3. i'll also go for tyre upgradation. plz advise me correct size. my preferences are FE, Ground Clearance, Comfort and grip. i'll not be driving my car at more that 100 km/hr. i'm not a fast mover and cutting corner type.

plz advise.

185/70 R 13....these will fit of existing rims (whether lxi or vxi). Go for tubelessss tyres
regards