Team-BHP (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/)

-   Luxury, Imports & Niche (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/luxury-imports-niche/)

-   -   Pre-owned car dilemma with a budget of Rs 20 lacs (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/luxury-imports-niche/116740-pre-owned-car-dilemma-budget-rs-20-lacs.html)

Dear friends,

I am a new member of this community and am really thrilled to post my first thread and seek opinions from the brain power of this group to help resolve a particular dilemma I am facing!

I have a July 2010 Honda city which has run 11000kms till date. I want to exchange this for one of the following models (all are available round about within my budget):

1) BMW 3 series (pre owned)
2) BMW 5 series(pre owned)
3) Audi A4(pre owned)
4) VW Passat (new)
5) Skoda Superb (new)
6) Mercedes C class

Which one will you recommend? If I am buying a pre owned car, what are the things should be looking at in terms of max no of kms run and service warranty?

My requirements are not that long. All I need is a good looking car (preferably
long!), sun roof, spacious rear seat (where 3 full sized people can sit very comfortably) and with a mileage of at least 10kmpl. And yes, only petrol version!

Can you please give your valued feedback?

Another question:

How much can I expect for my used Honda city

Thanks,
Krish

PS: I stay in Mumbai and I drive not more than 20kms in a day which may stretch to 60kms on weekends.

Buying a second-hand car with such a high budget would be stupidity, hence I suggest you to knock off the used option's from this list. The Skoda Superb would be a brilliant buy in this segment as it comes with all the bell's and whistle's that you would have got in any of those high-end cars. It even comes with the same engine as the Audi A4, so in this case buying the A4 strictly depends on its badge's value.

Other than that, you can even consider the new Volvo S60 or the BMW X1. Both are great cars and are ideal for your limited run. The Passat is also great, but it costs as much as a new BMW 3 series. Also, the 3 series will soon be getting a facelift and hence the current one will be available on huge discounts, so stay away from a used car.

If you are comfortable with a petrol sedan, then straightaway go for the Nissan Teana. It comes with a panoramic sunroof, a V6 and a very comfortable rear-seat. It's even available at discounts and hence it will easily fit in your budget. :)

Have you tried BMW used car outlets, i am not sure if they are different from the normal ones. Other then that i would not recommend a used car unless you get it from a reliable source. Most of these so called used car dealers are pure cheats and it does not make sense buying from them.

We briefly looked at used cars and each one we saw had some problems or the other.

Thanks Abhinav

I have heard Skoda superb service levels are not upto the mark and few people have had problems from week one itself. Also believe their service network is poor. Isn't it?

Amongst superb, passat and teana, which one has the best resale value after say 4-5 yrs?

I am getting BMW 5 series for around 22L with an ODO reading of 60k and around 4 yrs old. Is it a good deal?

What's wrong with a merc for 20lacs which is around 5 yrs old?

Thanks

I did check those but they are very expensive , almost close to the price of a new car although they look as good as new.


Note from the Team-BHP Support Team: Please use the "edit" button if posting within 30 minutes of the first post, instead of creating another back-to-back post. Also use "Multi Quote" option for quoting Multiple posts.

You can get many 3 series with below 20k kms odo readings, but then the back seat might be small for you.

If you want a 5 then raise your budget a bit, and you will get some good deals. Take for example this -
http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy-...5-Series.html/
This too can be bargained a bit, 15k kms and a pristine looking 530i. There are also 530Ds around 30k kms for 25l, a few of them. Look around.

As for the A4, look at this -
Used 2010 Audi A4 2.0 TFSI (D319944) for sale in Mumbai - CarWale

Oh and do understand, you will get 10kmpl in Mumbai with NONE of these cars with petrol engines.

Thank you akshay. One question:

What is the main difference (feature -wise) between the 5 series of 2008/9 and what is being sold now?

Suggest you visit the bmw website or even better hit the showroom.

Any reason why the accord is not being considered? Also heard the camry is going to be assembled here so that should knock a huge chunk form the current OTR.

Amongst the cars you have mentioned, you may have to decide whether you want the snob value of the German trio or the comparatively cheaper maintenance of the rest of the lot. But yes, skoda or VW were never cheap to maintain.

>>>

My two pennies (or should it be renmimbi now?) :

Before shortlisting the brand/model, I think it is important to understand what the car is to be used for- that is most important.

Buying a premium brand could be due to a. driving pleasure, b. comfortable cruising, c. showing the world that one has arrived and so on. There will be some trade-offs as there will be no "one ideal blend of strengths".

A BMW's characteristics are different from that of a Merc, which are slightly different from that of an Audi- that is the second aspect.

A sunroof, comfortable seating for three adults at the rear excludes drivers' cars such as the 3 Series and even the A4 and the C Class. It is the E Class, possibly the 5 and the A6 which present themselves; the Teana is an excellent choice for a 'comfortable cruiser'. All premium cars depreciate quickly and I think (and I may be wrong here) that the only cars which depreciate slowly are cars at least one level lower, which sell well.

For the budgets required here, the pre-owned outlets of the manufacturers is the risk free option because they certify the car after thorough checks. It comes at a price though.

Regards

Well the 2008 and maybe 2009s had the old iDrive. The new one is significantly better. Secondly I assume you know that the 5 sold now is the all new f10 as compared to the E60s which you are looking at. Another big thing is the 8 speed gearbox on the new ones compared to the 6 speed on the old.

The new 5s also have rear seat entertainment, and even suspension control now, to adjust the stiffness by a bit whereas the old 5 felt like the suspension was in sport mode all the time. Also the new 530d has navigation, and a heads up display. Bluetooth and voice control too may be missing on the 08 5s.

From the options you have considered, except the superb, i dont think you will get the other cars wich aren't older than 2-3 years in the under 20l budget.

Considering this, they must be out on the verge of their company warranty and if lucky in the case of a beemer, you might get a ride with the 5 year plan.

So now taking a leap ahead from the honda city to a segment higher, the upkeep cost wont be on a similar range. If upkeep cost is not a deal breaker, go for it ! My choice would be a pre owned 5 !

Otherwise a new ride such as the superb would be a good option to consider.:D

Thanks everyone for your valuable inputs. Let me look around and come back to you with specific details before finalizing a deal.

Regards,

Ok having gone through all your comments, I am sort of getting inclined towards purchasing a 'new' car as opposed to a pre-owned one. I am willing to stretch my budget a bit to purchase the cheapest car which has the following 'must have' features .

A Looong car!
Spacious rear seats
Petrol version
Good resale value after 4-5 yrs
Extremely good safety features
Panoramic sun roof
Hill stop/start assist
Attention assist
Boot opens through a switch located under the driver's seat!
Programmable memory for driver seats
Gps with clear display
Tyre pressure loss warning system
Spare wheel
Good ground clearance

I know the Merc E class is the only one which as all the above features. Can you recommend any other 'cheaper' car which has all or most of the above features?

Many thanks

Krish considering you wishlist as above, the Superb AT TSi is a great value buy and comes with all the bells and whistles, youre looking for, barring a few.
The Teana, is also a great buy with full panoramic roof, though unsure what she will fetch you over the years in the re-sale market..

Out of the given set of requirements this one caught my attention, are you sure of this as a requirement, if yes then i think you are knocking at the wrong door in my opinion. European cars loose value faster then their Japanese counterparts. I am talking only premium cars here (OTR > 20L), although its true even otherwise as well.

Skoda/Audi/VW loose their value faster, although i am not too sure about BMW/Merc as i have neither owned or researched them in the past.

Hardly. I'd buy used at any price point, be it 10 / 20 / 30 / 40 / 50 lakhs. 12 lakhs can get me a reliable 2.xx year old Accord, 20 a 5 series, 30 - 40 an S Class and 50 lakhs a <2 year old Landcruiser or Porsche Cayman S.

You are effectively getting a luxury car with 80% of its useable life left at 50% of the cost. That's hardly stupidity IMHO. Nothing beats the pre-owned market for maximum bang for the buck.

Agreed. BMW's certified used cars could make sense.

Sorry to say, but the used car dealer has NOTHING to do with the condition of the car. It's the PREVIOUS OWNER that gets all the credit / discredit. You can find some great cars at small-time dealers, and bad cars at the reputable lot. Again, the condition of the car is entirely dependent on the guy who owned it previously, and not the dealer (who holds a car for 1 month tops).

A pre-worshipped E Class or 5 series come closest to your requirement list. You could easily get a pristine example for between 20 - 25 lakhs.

Do note however that any car costing over 10 lakhs is a depreciation disaster. However, as you are buying used, that works in your favour. The original owner has taken the maximum depreciation hit and you stand to lose lesser after 5 years (though still a substantial amount in terms of number of lakhs).