[honeybee]

Originally Posted by visu03

- Since this is a second car, i will be doing no more that 5-6k kilometers a year. With this in mind, I hope no major replacements would be required (current 45k on ODO, after 4 years it will be 70k)

I hope you aren't going to use this car for carrying groceries or other stuff around. If you aren't going to use it for driving long distances in comfort, what is the point of going for a Sonata?

Also please remember that 45k is a good amount of running. Even if you plan to keep your use of the car on the lower side, there are parts which age, and at 50k or more will require replacement. Even if you manage to prolong it a little, I don't think you will completely avoid it in your ownership period. (to give you some perspective, changing all the tyres on my Ikon set me back by more than 15,000/-)

Plus there will be the periodic maintenance like changing the oil/filters and so on.

[visu03]

Originally Posted by honeybee

I hope you aren't going to use this car for carrying groceries or other stuff around. If you aren't going to use it for driving long distances in comfort, what is the point of going for a Sonata?

I am not planning on using this car for carrying groceries . I live about ~200 kms from my parents and i usually visit them once every two months. This car is for highway use.

I am only hoping for the best since I have seen the car, the way it is used and maintained. I do see your point about possible maintenance costs, i am now willing to take a plunge and take the risk as i liked the car very much.

Thanks for keeping me honest!

[honeybee]

Well, look at it this way: You are splurging four lakhs on this car (which you could have used for many different things). What positives can you bring about in your life with this car? Saving on your transportation bills would certainly not be the purpose.

If you could visit your parents once in two weeks, or even every week, it would be a big benefit as the car will now allow you to travel longer distances in comfort and speed.

To share a personal experience, when I first bought a car it was a preowned M800 and I could barely afford it. However, I felt really good after owning it for four years as I was able to take my whole family out for many trips.

[Durango Dude]

@visu03: 7-8 kmpl (city) is what I get with my Elantra GLS with a 1.8L engine. Your's is a 2.4L engine it's more like a city mileage of 6 or less and probably 10 on the highway would be a more realistic figure. I think going for an LPG kit will be a solution to offset this get it done at a reputed place. No doubt, it's very comfy car I have TDed the diesel version.

[vnabhi]

The Embera is a great car. My friend owns one---a petrol MT 2.4. He bought it for 16 lacs in 2005.

Five of us (adults) traveled to Goa from Hyd in ultimate comfort a couple of years ago. No other sedan except perhaps the Skoda Superb will give you so much space.

The positives are:-

1. Oodles of interior space
2. Nice-looking exterior
3. Fantastic driver's seat adjustment settings (all electronic)
4. Very refined engine
5. Fabulous pickup, especially in 2nd gear.

Negatives are:-

1. Poor F.E---around 6 to 8 in Hyd city, and 10 to 11 on highway
2. Not a good handler, as with all Hyundais
3. Steering is EPS---too light for highway cruises, though good in city.
4. Dashboard looks tacky, and not like a D segment car.

His car has run 74 K so far, and in the recent service, the bill was 19 K. Around 7 k was the cost of changing engine mountings, and 7 K on a new battery.


If the above looks ok to you, go grab it.

[visu03]

A big thanks to all the team who helped me in purchasing the car.

I bought the car. Before handing it over to me, current owner has agreed to get it serviced from Hyundai service station. This will be done next week.

I am fine with 6-10 KMPL owing to the mileage i plan to put on this car.

Thanks!

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by vnabhi

[*]Steering is EPS---too light for highway cruises, though good in city.

Sonata Embera/Transform never came with Electronic Power Steering, it had Hydraulic Power Steering, though vague and lifeless.

[Rovergen]

"Visu"
Congrats & happy driving , are you planning for LPG , What was the final landing price.
one of our vendor has one with LPG running in Pune done 150K . Waiting for Pictures ,

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by .anshuman

Sonata Embera/Transform never came with Electronic Power Steering, it had Hydraulic Power Steering, though vague and lifeless.

Thanks for pointing out. I stand corrected. I felt the steering lifeless like that in my WagonR and presumed it was EPS. I never expected HPS to be so dull.

[lamborghini]

I actually found the embera to handle nicely. Drove my friend's car in USA, with the same spec as what is available here. Was quite happy, and the car felt quite stable at speed.
In fact, my friend preferred to drive this over his Accord 2.4.

[Mr.Boss]

Congrats dude. Do post some snaps.
BTW what was the final deal?

[s_pphilip]

I found this amusingly interesting. We were looking out for a comfortable diesel for long highway drives in the used car market for one of my friends and I came across an interesting observation which I thought I can share and verify.
While scouting through different models one car that caught our eye is Hyundai Sonata crdi.
The interesting thing is there is close to 1.5 lakhs difference between the Sonata Transform and Sonata Embera for the same year car, assuming both cars are bought in early 2009 and both had an OTR price of about 17 L, of course not considering the discounts available, there was about 2 L discounts available on Embera. Transform replaced Embera in 2009 as a face lifted model and changes were quite appreciated.
Residual values I figured from Hyundai car dealers in Goa, these are just reference figures I was verbally told for Sonata crdi:
2009 Sonata Transform: About Rs. 8 L to 8.5 L
2009 Sonata Embera: About Rs. 6.7 L to 7.2 L
2008 Sonata Embera: About Rs. 5.5 L to 6.0 L
2007 Sonata Embera: About Rs. 4.7 L to 5.2 L
Residuals are vastly higher for Transform and the difference is the Transform had a better dashboard with USB player and white/blue dials, and better interior colors/quality etc. but the mechanicals /space /comfort are the same.
That tells me how much people’s PERCEPTION or just good feeling can influence opinions in the mass market. There may be many more such examples. Ordinary people can get confused as to what the actual value is as there are different perceptions of the same.
Though I agree the upgraded model has much better interiors, you can have an Embera at a great price provided you can live with that dashboard.
One thing, I am not sure whether that music system on Embera can be changed to something which is in sync with today and still run all those 5 speakers. Maybe we can swap with the Transform audio player at the dealer who may have stocks. BHPians your inputs please.

[flipsyde]

I think this is the case for many cars over a model change. The Germans are the first which come to mind. C-Class facelifted model will definitely be 15-20% more than the pre-facelift model of the same year.

In fact I would say the Sonata Transform is leagues ahead of the Embera with respect to NVH, interiors and exterior. I was considering them both before I fell in love with the Civic.

[s_pphilip]

Oh, Thankyou Flypsyd, maybe I haven't been in a related situation earlier to realize this, also maybe because I am mostly exposed to the inside 10 L cars. What made me wonder is the difference in value which is a pretty big percentage, as you said about 20%. If I keep the Transform/Embera dashboard argument apart, does it not make economic sense to pick a pre-face lift model as the mechanicals will mostly remain the same as most manufacturer's only accessorize the car or change headlights/tail lights. I don't think most mass manufacturers even bother to change the dashboard, they will only update the music player or something like that. For instance in the 2009 face lift Civic, the most significant mechanical change was the harder springs and increased height. Now I do not know whether the same price difference applies to the same year pre/post face lift Civic as well, but if so for that money you have a lot of aftermarket options to make you happier if you go for a pre-face lift Civic. I know this is subjective and case to case but I believe the power of economics tilts the argument in favor of pre-face lifts provided you can live with some facts.

[flipsyde]

Its always the economics! If budget permits I would always pick up the later model. If not for anything else at least for resale at a later date and possibly for the upgrades on the facelift.

Now in case of the Civic minor changes in the facelift were the octagonal headlight and tail light trims, distance to empty or mileage display, stiffer springs, newer alloys and more durable engine mount. These are the changes which immediately come to mind. But these were fairly insignificant and largely remained the same to the older model. If I had the money I would have picked up the facelifted model because I'm not into modifying my car. But I'm sure many here would argue saying its better to pick up the old car and get custom lights and coil over suspensions etc for the money saved over the facelift.

End of the day if you can love with the dated dash go ahead and pick up an embera. If not fork out the extra cash for the transform. You won't regret it.