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I stay 21km away from work which is 42km round trip commute daily, in the most dense urban traffic (Hyderabad, Tarnaka->Madhapur). A few months ago, I went ahead and bought a new BEAT, petrol prices hovering around 57 (?). In the winter, I was juggling between bike and car to keep a check on expenses.

But now, summer is full on (AC always on), and petrol at 65.18/- it's going to become extremely expensive to feed my car. At an average of 12kmpl which is optimistic for the kind of traffic I drive in, I will be spending this summer, close to 5000 per month just for commute. The fact is, I've this car on EMI for the next few years at about 7100 pm. All this is adding close to 12K per month, which is unbearable.

I can ride my bike and survive my commute with about Rs1100 per month, but it is highly inconvenient in the summer heat and seems to be getting increasingly dangerous riding one in this city

Maybe I shouldn't have hurried to get the car, maybe I should sell it away (for a huge huge loss due to depreciation). Maybe I should buy a better/safer bike (with disc brakes). Maybe I should have bought a diesel.

What would you do in my situation? I'm starting to consider selling the car away and buying a decent bike. What use is paying EMIs for a car you can't afford to drive?:Frustrati

I was in a similar fix and what I did was moved closer to the office . Now my office is just 2 Kms from home . So i can go by my bike too and then on the weekends you take out your car for fun . You dont have to sell it off .

Are you married? If you have a family then having a car helps. Best advice is of course to stay close to office. I always make sure that I am in 6 kms radius of my office.

Tarnaka to Madhapur! Daily! You are a brave man. :)

Search for a LPG (Used OR New) car and exchange this new car for that... 1) Will save a lot on EMI's 2) Save a lot on fuel - other than that you dont have much choice. Last but best avoided is convert your current Beat to LPG - but will damage a lot of things in long run - best to do 1 or 2... Check with showroom/bank for exchange your current beat to a spark-LPG. I am sure bank will take care of ALL paperwork and you will end up with a similar new but more econimical car.

I'm single and live with parents in an owned apartment. I don't think they'd appreciate me living elsewhere in the same city. If I started renting just to be closer, that'd atleast be 5-7K per month for rent, negating any savings on fuel.

Indeed. My colleagues ask me if I'm going out on a war with all the safety gear on. It is just too dangerous these days.

Hyderabad is getting quite HOT.
But this will last for another 3 months. After that its back to normal temperatures.

Till then use the car daily as the AC really makes life easy. Mess up your monthly budget.

Over the rest of the year use the bike more so you can balance your yearly budget. :)

Try car-pooling with colleagues who live en-route - savings for all and AC comfort! :)

Besides, more the merrier!

12kmpl is on the low side, isn't it? The car has a small engine. I used to get 13kmpl on my 1991 Premier Padmini. No air-conditioning, yes. But ac or no ac should make a difference of 1kmpl in a car as small as this. Correct me if I am wrong on this.

I would advise you to get your fuel lines checked for leaks. My brand new Bolero was not averaging over 10kmpl. I took it to my mechanic, switched the engine on and had him crawl under the car. Lo behold! There was a small leak in the fuel line. It took a small screw driver to tighten the screw. My mileage went up to 12kmpl.

Other than that, I don't think I can advise you much. 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.

A bunch of my colleagues in your situation sold their petrols ranging from 6 months to 3 years old, went in for Diesel cars. If moving closer is not an option, I suggest you do the same - there is only one way Petrol prices would go...

car pool. It would be foolish to assume that the government would keep diesel prices depressed forever - it has freed petrol prices and with so much diesel consumption in the metros over and above the transportation sector, its only a matter of time before diesel prices become intolerable for the government to manage.

Hold out for a season and then see. Don't rush into a diesel.

Hi Hellmet,

Iam in the same state, Iam working from client location which is 60km two way, what I do is

> Few days commute by Bus (Volvo AC)
> Few days by my car ( I would leave early 7.00 AM in the morning and 4:45PM back, this saves a lot of time and fuel as I hardly get any B2B traffic thus ensuring a better mileage)
> Few days pooling

Now due to project re-location I would be relocating to Hyd this April (heat starts on) and my parents and own house are in A.S.Rao Nagar.

I have decided to stay near to office and rent out our own place.

I didn't understand you saying renting out negates the fuel saving, if you are close to office you save on fuel only thing would be what ever you get as a rent needs to be paid as a rent (same or might be higher)

Firstly, doesn't your company offer transport?

My wife used to drive from Somajiguda to Hitec as it provided here flexibility but with the increasing traffic, she has moved to company pick and drop service.

If pick and drop is not available then I suggest the following:

1. Take a place closer toMadhapur and move in with your parents provided they are retired. But keep in mind the rent for your Tarnaka flat will be lower than the one you pay in Madhapur.
   
2. If that is not possible, work out a system to take the MMTS.Or even the AC bus service if its passes through your place.

As already reiterated by phamilyman, don't rush into buying a diesel as its will be decontrolled soon. Also anything lower than 1500 Kms wouldn't make sense on a diesel.

Cheers

P.S: Have you thought about buying the Nano ? Highly suitable for a city car that doesn't burn a hole in the pocket.

Hellmet ,

I saw a Chevy ad yesterday which said Beat now comes with factory fitted LPG kit. Check with your dealer if you could get it installed. It would cut your fuel expenses by more than 50 % and wont void your car's warranty as well :). Selling your relatively new car doesnt make sense , depreciation hit would be huge.

What I understand is that you being a T-BHPian might have considered alot before buying what you have. So why to spoil it for only 2-3 months. If possible do car pulling.

I drive the Old Estilo (4-POT) to my office with daily running of 80kms + weekend trips. So I ended up into car pool for work.

Its your hard earned money so dont let it go for depreciation

I completely understand your situation mate. I am almost in a similar state.
But only I dont have to worry about car EMIs, since I stretched myself well beyond my means and bought something I couldnt afford without a loan.
I have a 40km round trip daily, which needs about 4k worth (approx figure) or two tankfuls of fuel every month. Ofcourse, that includes some non-work driving too.
Do I let that worry me ? No. Since I was fully aware what I was getting into, and infact that was exactly what I wanted.