[Dry Ice]

Confused!

06' MS Alto - sell or upgrade?

- No outstanding loan.
- No mechanical problems ever
- Regularly serviced (10k or a year) at an FNG
- Poor NVH
- Feels under powered at times
- Rather beaten up - lot of dings (scratches etc)
- To bring it back to top spec will need at least a lakh or so (including a complete paint job).
- I feel sale price will be 75-80k tops, does it make sense to spend almost an equivalent amount on it? If I need to sell it after a year or 2, I would hardly get anything back for this lakh invested now.

[Storme_on_d_way]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Confused!

06' MS Alto - sell or upgrade?

- No outstanding loan.
- No mechanical problems ever
- Regularly serviced (10k or a year) at an FNG
- Poor NVH
- Feels under powered at times
- Rather beaten up - lot of dings (scratches etc)
- To bring it back to top spec will need at least a lakh or so (including a complete paint job).
- I feel sale price will be 75-80k tops, does it make sense to spend almost an equivalent amount on it? If I need to sell it after a year or 2, I would hardly get anything back for this lakh invested now.

IMHO Instead of putting in 1 lac now and getting virtually nothing a few years down the line , it does make sense to put in a cpl of lacs and buy a new i10, spark, ritz,brio or swift or anything that suits your budget and requirement, enjoy stress free drive for 5 years and reap in a reasonable resale.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Confused!

06' MS Alto - sell or upgrade?

- I feel sale price will be 75-80k tops, does it make sense to spend almost an equivalent amount on it? If I need to sell it after a year or 2, I would hardly get anything back for this lakh invested now.

No point in spending a lakh and getting none after 2 years when you sell.

Rather buy a new one by saving the moolah and palming the Alto off. The works that are mentioned by you to get it in shape is equivalent in getting a new Alto!

Anurag.

[V.Narayan]

Dear BHPians, since this thread was started by GTO 6 years have sailed by; hence many cars of that year (2008) may be ready for a change! I belong to the pre-EMI generation before banks and finance companies started doling out loans for car purchases. Haven't taken a loan yet! The vehicle I self drive for my daily work schedule has always stayed for 10 years - 1980 Lambretta (2nd hand - all I could afford), 1990 Padmini (also second hand - struggling up the curve in life, you see), 2000 Opel Corsa, 2010 Honda Jazz. The second and later third cars of my family have, over the last 20 years, changed every 4 to 5 years because Dilli mein status matters and I notice after 1 lakh kms the maintenance bill starts to get bothersome. Decisions are always with the heart with no economics in it.

[D4D]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Confused!

06' MS Alto - sell or upgrade?

- No outstanding loan.
- No mechanical problems ever
- Regularly serviced (10k or a year) at an FNG
- Poor NVH
- Feels under powered at times
- Rather beaten up - lot of dings (scratches etc)
- To bring it back to top spec will need at least a lakh or so (including a complete paint job).
- I feel sale price will be 75-80k tops, does it make sense to spend almost an equivalent amount on it? If I need to sell it after a year or 2, I would hardly get anything back for this lakh invested now.

Depends on how much it is used.

Just use for a couple of years and sell unless it has some major problems. Can't you just drive it around in the condition it in?(Hard, I know )

Prioritize what needs to be fixed and spend as little as possible.

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by Storme_on_d_way

IMHO Instead of putting in 1 lac now and getting virtually nothing a few years down the line , it does make sense to put in a cpl of lacs and buy a new i10, spark, ritz,brio or swift or anything that suits your budget and requirement, enjoy stress free drive for 5 years and reap in a reasonable resale.

Originally Posted by a4anurag

No point in spending a lakh and getting none after 2 years when you sell.

Rather buy a new one by saving the moolah and palming the Alto off. The works that are mentioned by you to get it in shape is equivalent in getting a new Alto!

Anurag.

Originally Posted by D4D

Depends on how much it is used.

Just use for a couple of years and sell unless it has some major problems. Can't you just drive it around in the condition it in?(Hard, I know )

Prioritize what needs to be fixed and spend as little as possible.

Thanks guys for pitching in!

The way I see it is, since the car has been trouble free so far, a little bit of preventive maintenance might see it cross the 10 year mark easily. I might delay the cosmetic changes or spread them over a few months to decrease the one time payout and might even rule out some!

Getting a new decently spec'd hatch today will not cost me less than 6 lakhs. The use for this car is declining and will go down further come next year - maybe 800 - 1000 kms a month.

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

I might delay the cosmetic changes or spread them over a few months to decrease the one time payout and might even rule out some!

The use for this car is declining and will go down further come next year - maybe 800 - 1000 kms a month.

Seeing these lines, then I feel you should retain the car and give it a mechanical upgrade and after it batters further then look at cosmetic upgrade.

Anurag.

[ariesonu]

I have a 2000 Hyundai Accent (Top-end) which is close to clocking 1,50,000 kms on ODO shortly
She still drives beautifully but now has funny smell that amplifies in monsoons. I had bought her silver but down the line got her painted (NOT RE-PAINTED) in Maroon.
I'll not get more than 80-85k for her. And I dont know what kind of EXCHANGE bargain I'll get from Hyundai.

What will be forum's opinion, if I go for RESTORING her with mild mods, like new paint, engine redone and alloy wheels et all.
OR should I let her go.

Raab rakha.

[bluevolt]

Cars and smartphones have one thing in common. They depreciate very badly, every six month there is a new model or variant out in the market and to top it all, your neighbor/friend buys that new model(both phones and cars) and we start to feel the itch to replace our vehicles/gadgets etc also.

I see no point in this. Status, show off etc, no body hardly cares except us only.

So if unless someone has enough moolah to spend I see no point replacing a car every 3-4-5 years. Best is to utilize any car for 7-10 years of time frame and as one of your car is 7+ year old get a new car for highway/long drives keeping safety in mind and use the other car for short grocery/school/college runs.

[filcord]

Originally Posted by ariesonu

..She still drives beautifully but now has funny smell that amplifies in monsoons. .......

Well if you can stand to be close to her even though she smells, you must be in love!
But seriously, it appears you may need to wash/dry or replace the carpets. They are tough to wash, and if you can find a new OE carpet, that should do the trick. Also the get the a/c coils cleaned and deodorised. She'll smell like the young fresh girl you once knew!

[ariesonu]

Originally Posted by filcord

Well if you can stand to be close to her even though she smells, you must be in love! But seriously, it appears you may need to wash/dry or replace the carpets. She'll smell like the young fresh girl you once knew!

Hi,
I had got the carpets done before last monsoons but the smell never went away. So much so that I had even removed the leather seat covers and reverted to original seats. AC work was also done by a well known a/c workshop (CORREA). This monsoon I have also noted that the retracted part fo seat belts (sdhen poulled out) is WET. Is it condensation or otherwise, but being on both sides its hard to guess if its a leakage.

Raab rakha.

[filcord]

Originally Posted by ariesonu

Hi,
I had got the carpets done before last monsoons but the smell never went away. So much so that I had even removed the leather seat covers and reverted to original seats. AC work was also done by a well known a/c workshop (CORREA). This monsoon I have also noted that the retracted part fo seat belts (sdhen poulled out) is WET. Is it condensation or otherwise, but being on both sides its hard to guess if its a leakage.

Raab rakha.

If the seat belts are wet, you have a leakage issue. This is wetting your carpets and/or seats and leading to growth of fungus, which is the source of the smell.
SO first thing, trace the leak and get it stopped asap.
Then, if it's the seats, you may have to replace the entire sponge which may be riddled with fungus spores. Replacing just the covers won't be enough.
If its the carpets, you'll need to wash them in a dilute bleaching liquid solution to kill the spores of the fungus, or replace them.
All the best buddy!

[roadtrip]

Hello all,
Looking for opinions here, so feel free to put in your two cents.
I have a three-year-old Optra Magnum 2.0LT in black, a car I dearly love, but I'm considering trading it in for a new automatic sedan, with a budget of Rs 12-13 lakh. I need opinions on whether this is a good idea - I tend to get carried away by shiny new things so other voices would be good to hear!

My reasons FOR swapping:
1) The Optra is great to drive on the highways, but a bit of a struggle in the city, so an automatic would be a lot more convenient. I'm also looking for a bit more refinement, so a petrol car would be fine. I bought the Optra hoping to have lots of long drives in it, but life has dictated that 95% of my driving is in Mumbai's awful traffic, so perhaps I should get a car that works for the life I actually have, rather than for the life I want. Also, I've had shoulder surgery this year, so changing gears is fairly exhausting after an hour or so of driving in the city.
2) I'm not sure about resale values for this car. A quick online search shows people are asking for about Rs 6-7 lakh for a similar 2011 2.0LT (which sounds good if it's true), and I don't want things to get to a point where it's not worth selling the car on. If anyone has experience with selling an Optra Magnum, please let me know.

My reasons AGAINST swapping:
1) It's a damn fine car. I really don't have the Rs 18-20 lakh for a Corolla/Jetta that might give me the level of performance and luxury I've got used to in the Optra. It's still in good shape, so with a bit of work (see below), it could go on happily for at least another couple of years. And when I do get it out on the open road, it's a joy.

So, the options:
1) Get an automatic sedan (I've narrowed it down to the Honda City VX CVT and the Maruti Ciaz ZXi automatic, for reasons I'll explain in a later post), and live with greater convenience but lower performance. If anyone has been able to compare (I'm still waiting to be given test drives on these two), could you tell me how they'll compare to the Optra, especially in terms of ride comfort, interior comfort and performance? The upside is a new car to use once again, the comfort of an automatic. The downside is having to pay once again for a new car, and possibly having a somewhat inferior car.
2) Keep the Optra. Get new tyres (I'm looking at Michelin Primacy LC) to bump up the ride comfort further, a new paint job to make the car sparkle, and hang on for a few more years. The upside is keeping my money in the bank. The downside is more trouble driving, and possibly a false saving, where I might end up paying more for maintenance later, and get very little in resale.

Opinions, please? Don't pull your punches - tell me what you think. Thank you!

[D4D]

Originally Posted by roadtrip

trading it in for a new automatic sedan, with a budget of Rs 12-13 lakh.

With new launches, it's a good segment to put your money in!
City, Vento, Rapid are good cars and I just hope Hyundai couples their 6 speed AT to the facelifted Verna. (Not a difficult job as they have both the AT box and the engine combo used in the Elantra)

VAG cars don't have the best ASS.

I'm also looking for a bit more refinement, so a petrol car would be fine.

Most turbodiesels today are very refined. Please sit in a Hyundai Verna.

1) The Optra is great to drive on the highways

life has dictated that 95% of my driving is in Mumbai's awful traffic...Also, I've had shoulder surgery this year, so changing gears is fairly exhausting after an hour or so of driving in the city.

With your shoulder, a long term solution is an AT. With traffic added to the equation, consider an AT hatch.


If you can maintain two cars and would use them, only then buy a Hatch and keep the Optra for highways.

A hatch will like grand i10 or brio will cost around INR 7 lakh. A pre-owned will cost you lesser.

An ideal compromise will be the Jazz, which is supposed to be launched in 2015, should have an AT box and will have a generous boot.

2) I'm not sure about resale values for this car. A quick online search shows people are asking for about Rs 6-7 lakh for a similar 2011 2.0LT

If you want convenience, you have to ignore the resale value and sell it.

[roadtrip]

Hi D4D,
Yes, I should have another look at the Vento - we bought a Polo TSI for my mom a little while ago, and it's an excellent car. No issues with VAG service so far, but that car is in Goa, with very few customers for the TSI, so we get fairly special treatment. My only gripe is with the very dull interior, which carries over into the Vento. Still, worth looking at again. Same with the Rapid, but even more questions over the interior and ASS there, sadly.
I've checked out the Verna diesel (not the auto though), and it's a nice car apart from the claustrophobic rear seat, and the handling. Nice car, but not for me.
The Jazz sounds like a good idea - but it's likely to be launched with the 1.2 petrol, correct? The old Jazz was a good car, but underpowered (and that was before I got my Optra!).
Definitely just one car for me, and a new one - peace of mind is important
Thanks again!