[musicmanaman]

After doing all sorts of Maths I have come to the conclusion that, if one really wants a cost effective solution, then one should buy a second hand car in the range of 110-150k CASH, does not matter if it's a Petrol or Diesel, if it's diesel then even better, but a good diesel won't come in that price range.

It will then purely depend on how good a car you manage to pick up at that price, as it should be a moderately driven car and generally free from issues, and should have the potential to last you 3-5 yrs with minimum maintanence.

Buying a new car has a double wammy effect, first the EMI and then the Interest, say even if you intend to go in for a 7 year loan and want to pre-pay the whole thing in 2 years, all you would have done in 2 years is pay a whole lot of Interest, and very little in Principal.

I drive a car which many say is the worst car around, but do the maths and you'll know it actually a very good deal. It's Big on space, is Big on Tourque, has got a very big Boot, gives me 7.75-8.00 KMPL on average, has very effective AC, feels solid, does not require much maintanence, and the cost of spares are pretty cheap, an bottom line is I don't have an EMI on my head, when I do the maths only a Nano can come close to the Overall ownership spend of my car, but then I would any day pick an Amby Avigo which has PS/ AC / Leather seats / 1.8 Liter engine / Huge and accessable Boot / Best back seat comfort over the Nano.

I have just completed 50k on the ODO, and the car was bought at 24.5 k on the ODO, was 3.5 years old when I bought it at less than 1/3 the price of a new one, the last 25.5 km's that I have done on the car has totally costed me close to 5 lakhs Rs, and as each year passes by my overall ownership cost reduces, but then again I'm sure most won't want to ve seen driving an Amby, but let me tell you, I have people coming up to me an asking all the time about the car, when I park it, I see people talking to each other and saying only good thing about the car, in terms of snob value this car definitely has it, even though I din't factor the same while buying it and that was not part of my desision makeing process, just say it came as a bonus, to me the cost of ownership was very important and I din't want an EMI over my head, fuel saving by then I had realised was a myth if you travel less than 800-1000 kms a month, hence the Amby made absolute sence, till date I have no regrets and still very proud of my Bull.

[hellmet]

Originally Posted by Gansan

I agree with this point. Anyone upgrading to a car from a bike would have done this math, and wold continue to keep the bike as a second vehicle for obvious reasons.

I did do the math, but I'm poor at math and this happened.

On a more serious note, I did buy this car for family trips as well, but the main purpose was for the daily commute. When looking for a car, I was confused between the Alto v/s BEAT/Figo but went for BEAT due to the immense VFM (IMO).

After reading through all of your comments, it is clear I was trying to immensely pinch my pennies (ouch) and was asking for too much (F.E) from my car.

I simply love my BEAT and I've decided it would be wise to not sell it and will also wait to get an LPG kit fitted by Chevy A.S.S. That might provide some much needed relief.

Like some have suggested, as my income increases (slowly) it shouldn't hurt my pocket as much anymore, and being single, I don't have much 'responsibilities' to take care of now so better take the bullet while you still can.

Someone suggested selling the bike, uh oh, no. Once I decide to keep something I keep it forever or until it fails by itself.

[mayankk]

thank god!
i was rooting for the beat all along!

[athalaga]

I have something to add but may be a little OT also. I had to drive from Yelahanka to Hosur arnd 55-65 kms (based on the route you take) once i moved back from the US. Had a petrol Car then which I changed to a Ford Ikon TDCI. Though the costs cut down, the drive got very stressful in the evenings. There were some people from Hebbal so we pestered our company to add a new mini bus to the transportation route. Which was working fine, but we would end up reaching late in the evening again due to the traffic. This is when someone told us about a train from Hosur to Hebbal which takes just an hour in the evenings.
So now, My driver drops me to the company Bus stop in hebbal in the mornings, in the evening, I take the train and my driver picks me up from there...the train charges 200 bucks /month and my office bus 1000/month. So I am able to cut costs and time. I think the message here is talking to a lot of people to find the various options available. I think something will work out.
Forgot to Add, I am originally from yelahanka and my farm and family business is close by so I enjoy living there.

[bblost]

@athalaga.

A very simple thing but a point most often overlooked by everyone.
The transportation means in the morning and in the evening can be different.

In our focussed and limiting outlook we just forget that the trips can be independent of each other.

[allajunaki]

Well, I do have a simple solution.
Switch jobs -> Better pay :P
Well, I did that anyway..

[aniketi]

One question for you:

How you used to travel before buying the car? Bike only? That time you didn't feel unsafe?

I have seen same happening with 2-3 of my colleagues. They used to spend 10+ K on EMI & 5 K on fuel. Costing 15+ K per month & also the maintenance costs. You should have calculated this before buying the new car.

Anyways, i will suggest you to go for second hand diesel car. It will reduce your monthly expenses a lot. I will recommend Diesel Indica or Indigo. You can get one easily around 2 Lacs. Your monthly bills will come down by around 2K and also no EMI So be happy. Also you will have car for your family needs.

If you get Diesel Indigo then its more better. You will have bigger car also

[supremeBaleno]

@hellmet, you did do the math properly. You had all the facts/constraints correct when planning the car purchase, just that you went with your heart instead of going by the mind. Or in your own words, you went with the 'other side' of you.

I remembered your 'What car?" thread and went back to it today to see where you could have gone wrong. Quoting relevant parts from that thread below.

Anyway, things happen. There has been a deluge of ideas on this thread, some of which should help you.

[alavandar]

Originally Posted by lucifer1881

1
You could use the MMTS. Park your bike at Secunderabad Station. Get a first class pass made - that costs Rs. 550 for a month. Get off at Hi-Tech station. Take a share auto or a bus - Rs. 5 upto Cyber Towers. Change auto if you need to go beyond that - another Rs. 5 for that. In all, the MMTS + auto should come around Rs. 750 for the month considering a 20 day work month.

Greatest benefit? Absolute peace of mind since you are not driving.

Very practical and economical advise. In India, if we own a car we forget the existence of public transportation. People talk bout the inconvenience part but what about the masses who use them day in and day out. In my view, car should be considered as a mode of transport and not as an extension of persona.

[Spitfire]

Originally Posted by alavandar

not as an extension of persona.

OT: Don't quite agree.

And besides that was never the point of this thread.

[GTO]

Related Article : The Real Cost of Car Ownership

Originally Posted by musicmanaman

then one should buy a second hand car in the range of 110-150k CASH

Completely & totally agreed. Lotsa Altos, Santros, Zens etc. available in that budget range. And they offer a sensible, reliable ownership too. Personally, I'm just off new cars and will (mostly) remain part of the pre-worshipped club for life.

I drive a car which many say is the worst car around, but do the maths and you'll know it actually a very good deal. It's Big on space, is Big on Tourque, has got a very big Boot, gives me 7.75-8.00 KMPL on average, has very effective AC, feels solid, does not require much maintanence, and the cost of spares are pretty cheap, an bottom line is I don't have an EMI on my head, when I do the maths only a Nano can come close to the Overall ownership spend of my car, but then I would any day pick an Amby Avigo which has PS/ AC / Leather seats / 1.8 Liter engine / Huge and accessable Boot / Best back seat comfort over the Nano.

If I had a budget of 2 - 3 lakhs for a car, a low mileage Ambassador would be TOP on my list (along with a used Jeep, Gypsy, OHC, Lancer & Baleno). As much I detest HM for continuing to flog a dead horse, I wouldn't mind owning a well-maintained example. For one, it's got character compared to mundane hatchbacks. Second, all that space, comfort, boot capacity and silky smooth 1.8 ISZ. Totally my kind of used buy on a limited budget.

[rrsteer]

@Hellmet you have done well by deciding not to sell your car.

After reading this thread I cant thank my fortunes enough for buying a M800 in Bangalore 4 years ago. It was one of those adamant decisions of mine, when I just make one and blank out all other reasoning of others.

I knew I would be based in Bangalore for short period ( its a great city, put the pull of Punjab's smell & feel was too much for me). For the 2 years I was there I needed an automobile to commute. My office round trip was 40Kms. I just went straight into the Maruti showroom picked up an M800 4 gears with AC. At that time I remmember being pulled over by friends & family alike as to why move down by buying a car no one buys now and some people in office did chuckle on my back. I used to pick up a female colleague of mine on my way to office to share costs, and I was so sure that she used to make fun of my car with her husband.

But the car fulfilled my needs beautifully, infact exquisitely. It gave me an average of 14 - 14.5 (with AC), and my EMI after a very affordable downpayment was a miserly -5500pm and my maintaineance cost were as good as negligible. The car makes so much sense to me even to this date, that I will not part with it easily.

[supremeBaleno]

@rrsteer, agree with you. If only the M800 had power-steering also, it would have been such a nice/reliable/cheap-to-own/cheap-to-maintain city compact.

[Abhi_Automobile]

I am very surpised that nobody has suggested this, but if the info about given in the search result CNG stations in hyderabad - Google Maps is true than you have quitea few CNG stations in Hyderabad. Is that true? If so, go for CNG. One stop solution.

Let's think of other options once you negate this...

[Abhi_Automobile]

For instance when I bought the Alto I had decided it would not be for daily commute, not in fair weather at least. And I would buy 25 litres of Shell super a month (10 for the bike and 15 for the car), even if fuel cost goes up to Rs 100 per litre. As I did not avail any loan, no EMI to worry about.

As much as I 'respect' money considerations, I think that not everybody can think like that at all. I believe in the principle of equality to the core, but I think there could be area based preference trend too. Having lived in Delhi all my life, and now having been in Bangalore for a few years, I can safely say that very few people in Delhi who have a car would like to drive a bike (unless a fancy one). whereas down south, people are lot more open in preferences/situations (dunno whether I support that or not!).

MODS: I wanted to post this in the prev thread but couldn't do so due to time lapsed.