THANK YOU Team-BHP, TO HAVE HELPED ME FIND MY RIDE... REALLY GLAD THAT I AM PART OF THIS AMAZING COMMUNITY
MODS: Would like to keep this thread here as wish to keep updating it.
It has been over 10 months now since I have been without a ride... I totaled my
Santro XG in an accident that happened in January this year
. The Santro was the first car i had bought with my own hard earned money and it hurt like crazy to see my baby being towed away to destruction. It was disastrous to say the least & at that time I wasn't even sure if I'd recover from the mental trauma. Nobody was hurt in the accident that happened (thanks to the seat belts), the whole impact was taken by the car. Santro had proved its safety! Anyways lets leave that sob story behind...
I started to look for second hand entry leven sedans in B'lore after about 6 months. I had short listed Ikon 1.6 , Opel Corsa 1.6 & Esteem, I quickly dropped the idea of picking the Corsa as I relealized that service and finding parts would be very very difficult. Let me tell you this... finding an Ikon is lot more easier than finding an Esteem in B'lore, not sure of the reason though. Most Ikons in the market are not well kept & doesn't have clean history. The few good ones are exorbitantly priced, for ex. '05 non NXT model is above 4 Lakhs!!!!
Then I stumbled on this thread...
<Esteem Sale Link> Me thinks... I should give it a shot. PMed Pradeep for price, received a response & to my delight the price is within my budget. Wifey and I go check the car & really really happy to see that the car is in excellent condition. We do a quick test drive for about 4-5 kms, do basic checks inside and outside the car... EVERYTHING SEEMS NORMAL (Me Jumping in joy now). To be honest I am yet to come across a car in such good condition for the mileage (37K). I speak to Pradeep & tell him that I will certainly pick the car up... He refused any sort of advance money & told me that he will keep the car for us till the loan is processed (Nice Guy).
Finally picked the car on 25th after a long drawn loan application process at 9 in the night after he came back from work, YES... I couldn't wait even for a day after I received the cheque.
I've driven the car for about 50 kms and here is what I've noticed so far...
PRO's... specific to this car & generic feedback on esteem as well
1) Amazing engine, really peppy & she is happy being revved around.
2) Love the driving position.
3) Easy on your pockets due to better FE & maintaince costs.
4) I personally like the looks of the latest Esteem over an Ikon, especially the front end (NXT is good looking though).
5) Tyres... Over 30% of thread left. Can be driven for another 10K atleast.
6) Interiors are well really kept. Just a bit of cleaning required.
7) I like the suspension, pretty smooth and takes care of marginally bad patches pretty well.
8) Pretty powerful Air Con... Atleast for the climate in B'lore.
9) A pleasure drive on the highways.
CONs... I was aware of it and ready to live with it or fix it based on what the issue is as the PROs is much much more than these here.
1) Low end torque is sad, need to shift gears frequently to compensate. Frankly Santro was much easier to drive in the city.
2) JK Tyres S**KS, the tyres noise is tooo much, with AC on and no music playing it gets really annoying.
3) The RHS ORVM is slightly broken... I shouldn't be opening it and closing to often, till I get it replaced.
4) The front bumper is also broken on the left end.
5) The rattles in-cabin are also annoying, again Santro was better. (Need suggestions to get rid of this please)
6) Gear box notchy (Again, Need suggestions to get rid of this as well)
Planning to get the car serviced by the next week... will keep you guys posted.
I am really excited about my purchase & looking forward to a smooth affair...
Cheers!
Goutham