[sbraj]

Originally Posted by Visaster

You don't wanna wear bell bottoms when you friends are wearing jeans. Move ahead, forget all the monetary calculations.

Cars and apparels are not the exact of comparisons. They are like chalk and cheese. Cars are expensive, and in a lifetime, a person may buy a handful of those at the maximum. Same cannot be said about dress.

Detailed monetary calculations are a wise thing to do.

[sammyboy]

I am in a big dilemma these says. I have a Ford Ikon 1.3 Flair which has done about 49K kms and is just over 5 years. The car has been performing flawlessly and I love everything about it (touchwood). The issue is that because its an older vehicle it doesnt have basic features like a rear defogger (which is sorely missed during the rainy season), better brakes,ABS, etc.
I have been lusting for a 1.6S and am not sure what to do. I know I can very well afford if but have been stopping myself as it doesnt feel right (thanks to GTOs logic).

Edit:Actually now that I come to think of it while writing this query, it doesnt make sense to change it. I have a tri-phase which I plan to install at 50K, maybe get a Free flow from Raj and move to synthetic oil. Enjoy the EMI free period for a couple of years and then look to upgrade, dont think i will get a good price for it anyways.

[GTO]

Sammyboy, what I'd recommend to you is Lateral Upgrading. The Fiesta 1.6 also suffers from poor resale value, thanks to Ford's frequent price cuts. Thus, whatever you stand to lose by selling your Ikon 2- 3 years too early, is more than made up by the depreciation gains on a Fiesta 1.6.

Go for it

[Shamsher]

Hey GTO ,

Needed some advise. I have an Optra 1.6 2004 model. It has done roughly 80,000 kms and is very well maintained. It has been serviced at authorised service centers and kept in good shape.

I recently bought an Outlander and were initially planning to dispose the optra. The price offered was around 2 lacs+. Realised thats too less to let go a good car. There are few things however which are bothering me if i keep this as a second car for my spouse to use.

1.The suspension is not as good as it used to be. When discussed with the service center , they recommended i change it altogether. Cost 35-40 K
2.The interior is fabric ( original) and the internal side trims have started looking a bid dull and not sure if it is Mumbai weather, it feels sticky . What can be done for this.
3. Had got the anti rust treatment but some place on door outers , little ballooning is happening. Would it mean it would need complete paint job or what is advisable.

I personally like cars in real good shape. Seek your/ other team members advise on what is the best way to keep this car . Would it be advisable to go the GM service center. I have never tried any outside garage but recently got a feeling that the GM service center is more on making money than really providing you value for money .

I am based out of Malad west, Mumbai.

[SafeDrive]

I've got a Swift ZXi that is over 5 years old. It's run over 52K and is still going great. I've had practically no porblem with this car so far. With my loan paid off and no outgo on this car except for fuel and regular maintenance I see no reason why I should let it go.

I normally keep my cars until they're at least 10 years old and have not faced any major problems from any of the cars that I've had so far. For now, I'm looking to keep the Swift for over 10 years and at least 1.5L km. So what if I don't have the K-series engine, I still love the car.

One advice to folks is if you are like me, always buy the top end otherwise you're going to rue not having features on your car.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by Shamsher

The suspension is not as good as it used to be.

Get hold of a good independent garage (search for references in our Directory) for this and the other items you listed. Would cost you about 1/3rd of the charges of an authorised setup.

Originally Posted by SafeDrive

With my loan paid off and no outgo on this car except for fuel and regular maintenance I see no reason why I should let it go.

God bless EMI-free times, no?

One advice to folks is if you are like me, always buy the top end otherwise you're going to rue not having features on your car.

Agreed. The better the car you drive, the longer you will retain it.

[sammyboy]

Originally Posted by GTO

Sammyboy, what I'd recommend to you is Lateral Upgrading. The Fiesta 1.6 also suffers from poor resale value, thanks to Ford's frequent price cuts. Thus, whatever you stand to lose by selling your Ikon 2- 3 years too early, is more than made up by the depreciation gains on a Fiesta 1.6.

Go for it

Thanks a lot GTO. I have been giving some serious thought to Lateral upgrades- and completely agree with your views on it.
That will be my first preference for sure.
Thanks again.

[Shamsher]

[quote=GTO;2041981]Get hold of a good independent garage (search for references in our Directory) for this and the other items you listed. Would cost you about 1/3rd of the charges of an authorised setup.


Thanks GTO , its a very useful input. I will start exploring it as rains subside... Cheers

[qqplus]

GTO, and all those who are of the opinion that old cars can and in many cases, should be retained; I was extremely pleased to see your responses. I was glad to know that there are many people out there who share the same thinking with me.

My father owns a 7 yr old Maruti 800. As someone pointed out there, there is a definite and a strong emotional bond; a sentimental value attached to the car. Until last year, I was the only one who occupied the driver seat of this car so I am more closely attached to the car than anyone else in the family. Since past few months, there have been talks about buying a new one. A bigger one; which is justifiable as 5 people cannot sit comfortably in 800.

I was resisting the idea of selling this car. Had many plans in mind to do with this car; take it to a real long drive and what not; until now. No one else was really of this opinion and wanted to let go of it. But now; I will not say I am in a dilemma as to what should I do, but I have decided to give thumbsup to the idea of selling it. I believe that is what is in everyone's interest.

But again; this post made me really glad and gave a sort of peace.

I Appreciate.

Apurva.

[harjeev]

Keeping in line with the tradition of the believers of pre-owned & pre-worshiped cars, I last week bought a Hyundai i10 with the following details

Hyundai i10
1.2 Magna
Black
Single Owner Delhi Registered
16000 kms on the ODO
July 2009
Simple SONY Music system with Pioneer Speakers and SONY Xplod Amp (I am not a audio guy so no idea about the technicalities of the music system)

Price 3,15,000
New vehicle retails for 4.55L lacs on road

I am not sure whether I paid excess or less, but saving 1.3 lacs gives me a very good feeling, especially when the vehicle still feel, drives and even has the new car fragrance.
(just kidding about the fragrance, but yes its there )
Now comes the best part, the vehicle was owned by my brother-in-law and was bought in my name a year back. So now that I have it, the ownership serial no does not change. Warranty and everything is intact.

Further after reading and experiencing for myself buying and keeping pre-owned cars, I do not think that I would every be able to buy a new car. This thread is really infectious. Please keep up the good work
Cheers

[gears2go]

Hello Everyone,

I have a Mitsubishi Lancer 2006. The car has done around 1,20,000 KMs and is still running fine. However, the car looks older now and the engine is not in a perfect condition. I am not willing to sell this car due to the sentimental factor (My first car).

I am planning to do the following upgrades.

1. Repaint the car after removing dents and scratches.
2. Change the stock interiors to G-Spot
3. Change the stock tyres and rims to something bigger
   

I have gone through many resourceful posts regarding tyre upgrades, car interios and painting but couldn't find the right information about engine woks. What are the possible options available for me?

I asked about engine overhauling in Shah Automobiles, Kolkata and they quoted me 70K for the same. What are the repairing options I have to make sure that the car will retain its original condition? Any insights will be a great help.

Thanks!

[sammyboy]

Frankly, emotions aside, I would say holding on to it doesnt make sense to me. The car has served you wonderfully and completed 1.2L kms, the resale for the car will anyways not be much. If you spend 70K more, it will last for maybe 30K kms more and then you will have to dispose it anyways. You will end up losing money.

If money is not a factor and you just dont want to sell it, I completely respect your decision to keep it with you.

[gears2go]

Hello Sammyboy,

Thanks for your reply. A reasonable amount of spending makes sense for me but are you sure that an overhauled car will run only 30K more kilometers? As I mentioned already, the car do not have any sort of mechanical problems till date. However, I am not quite sure if I should keep on driving this without working on the engine.

Can someone please quote the possible upgrade options I have (changing some parts of the engine, over hauling or transplant)?

Thanks,

[sumeethaldankar]

I have a 13 year old Maruti 800. It's kind of modded FFE,K&N etc.It's been giving a lot of problems lately and is being seeing a garage for almost every week of the month.

Last week it's front seat just broke down and fell back.Thankfully it was not the drivers's seat but the passengers seat ,so i have to get that fixed again next saturday.Also i have noticed the fuel lines from the fuel pump to the carb have small cracks in them and i will have to replace them as well.

So such small things keep creeping up which can be expected from a 13 year car.But the real problem is the car has done just about ~33,500 kms in 13 years of ownership.Though i am quite
tired of the garage visits i am not sure if i should really sell the car and get a new as the running of the car is very low. 33500 in 13 years is around ~2500 kms a year on average.

I am considering the Alto which i assume should be around ~3.8 lacs on road in Mumbai.Best part of my car is that the engines has a lot of life in it and there is no EMI and insurance is just around 1200 per year. On the other hand it's keep needing repairs of some kind all the time.The fuel lines cracks i mentioned is one such example.

So what you guys think should i sell my 800 or get a new Alto.The car's very dear to me and i have spent lots just modding it and repairing it.But the problems are slowly getting to me.After i finish the repair of the seats and the fuel lines and the seat i know the starter motor has problem and on it's way out.So the list keeps going.

thanks

[AutoIndian]

Hi Sumeet,
You will have to look at the car as a whole & not just the engine. Though the car has run just 33K kms & perhaps lot of life left in the engine, time has taken its toll on the structurals (the two examples you shared that of damaged co-driver seat & cracked fuel lines are testimony to this). You even suspect issues could crop up with the starter motor. No doubt your car is very dear to you, I believe this is the right time to bid adieu to your heartthrob. Given the low running it has done, it could fetch you a decent resale price. Moreover you can transfer the NCB on your current insurance to your new vehicle. There are wide range of options available today for you to choose from Alto, Spark, Nano, Santro etc or you can even look at used cars in the higher segment.