[topaz2011]

Originally Posted by self_driven

^^+1 to the idea of renting as Suresh sir has suggested.

Few questions:

1) Which segment are you planning to upgrade to? What are the cars in consideration?

2) What is your estimated annual running?

I want to upgrade to compact SUV segment (10 - 15 lakhs). Don't want to again go for a hatch. Primary requirements are safety (5 star rating), space and a peppy engine (thats the best thing i still like about my old alto k10) along with the usual gizmos these days.

Annual running would be max 6 to 7 k.

Renting is a good idea and I have tried it in the past. Somehow not a big fan of it but yes, if i decide to keep the alto - this seems to be the most feasible and practical approach.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by topaz2011

I want to upgrade to compact SUV segment (10 - 15 lakhs).

That's a decent budget for an upgrade. If you have the dough, I think you should take the plunge and go for Nexon, XUV300 or something of that sort. 10 years is a long enough time to stick to one car (which is too basic to begin with). Make sure you find a direct buyer for your K10 before moving on.

[topaz2011]

Originally Posted by self_driven

That's a decent budget for an upgrade. If you have the dough, I think you should take the plunge and go for Nexon, XUV300 or something of that sort. 10 years is a long enough time to stick to one car (which is too basic to begin with). Make sure you find a direct buyer for your K10 before moving on.

Since you mentioned, there is another story to selling the car to a direct buyer. I bought the car in pune so its got a MH registration and within couple of years shifted to Bangalore. I closed the loan soon but was too lazy to contact bank and remove hypothecation etc. Now if i want to sell it, not sure whether it would be easy to sell directly to a buyer in Bangalore, the car having MH registration and RC still mentions hypothecated to sbi

[keen.to.know]

Hi All - I have a similar dilemma as shared by many others on this thread.

I bought my E90 BMW 320d in Sep 2010 & it has clocked 64,000 km to date. I recently spent 95k replacing the front suspension, EGR valve & got the annual service done. The car is therefore in great condition (externally & internally too). This is the highest spend in a single instance even after all these years. The car has very low usage within the city now (<3000 km every month), as most meetings are held online.

I am happy with my current car as of now, but the newer cars have many more features. I also had the benefit of a zero-dep policy for the last 11 years, which was not available when I renewed my insurance recently. Lastly, I am concerned that the price which I might get for my car (hopefully 8~9 lacs) might plummet even further as it is already 11+ years old.

Saw some BMW 520d's (2017/2018) with dealers in Mumbai who are quoting 38~43 lacs. This will be a big jump in terms of outflow as I would need to dish out another 30~34 lacs from my pocket now.

An alternate option is to look at a new sedan/SUV in the 30~35 lac bracket. Considering the Jeep Compass or Skoda Octavia (or maybe stretch to the Superb)

Is it worth upgrading to a newer car OR is it better to keep my current car, which still looks very good (from every angle)?

Please advise :-)

[carthick1000]

Originally Posted by keen.to.know

Is it worth upgrading to a newer car OR is it better to keep my current car, which still looks very good (from every angle)?

Please advise :-)

I think you should keep your 11 year old car. I presume you bought it new (or almost new in 2010). Since you have made all the necessary maintenance for a 11 year old car, being a diesel BMW which has run only 64000km is only 1/3rd or even 1/4th of it's useful life. I shared my experience of buying and owning a used 2006 e90 318d here (Used Luxury Cars might be cheap to buy, but they are expensive to maintain! Any solutions?) which might come in handy for you as you can expect what things might need change over the longer period/higher kms.

Btw, drive your BMW a bit more on highways for longer distances to keep the DPF happy as your current usage seems far less than a typical diesel car. I have wrote about the conditions when a diesel BMW e90 regenerates here (Diesel DPF clogging due to short city commutes)

And 11 year old e90 is still a fun and fantastic car to drive. Why bother spending too much on cars? Invest the money you are willing to shell out and you will thank me later

[sharkashwa]

Hi everyone, not sure if this is the right thread for my query (since my car's age is 3x compared to the thread title ).

Anyways, we own a 2005 Maruti Suzuki Baleno which has been with us since 2009 but run only 64000 kilometers. Peach of a vehicle, always taken care of and mostly used for highway trips since the last 6 years (headlights were upgraded to HIDs for this sole reason) and in the city whenever I am back home for the holidays.
This year has been different, he turned 15 and needed re-registration which we got done without much hassle but we have lost out on the comprehensive insurance chosen till now. As such, the family is worried that this is a sign that the Baleno's time has come to be let go.

I am in two minds now whether to let go of him or keep him for the foreseeable future. A couple of points to note:

1. Sister uses the car in my absence, but is wary of the car's low stance till date and prefers a taller vehicle
2. Due to the WFH conditions we are living in, almost everyone in the street has a car which is parked outside and taking out the car is a major PITA (This the primary reason my mom wants to let go of him)

I am not worried about resale value but am worried about safety (mind, this is a car from the 2000s without airbags or even ABS).
If I want to replace him, my choices as of now are either a 2014-16 VW Jetta (just for the Independent Rear Suspension) or a similar vintage Maruti Suzuki S-Cross (DDiS 320 only ).
But due to the parking condition, not even sure if we can even enjoy our replacement steed.

TBHPians please chime in.

[AJ56]

Originally Posted by sharkashwa

Hi everyone, not sure if this is the right thread for my query (since my car's age is 3x compared to the thread title ).

Anyways, we own a 2005 Maruti Suzuki Baleno which has been with us since 2009 but run only 64000 kilometers. Peach of a vehicle, always taken care of and mostly used for highway trips since the last 6 years (headlights were upgraded to HIDs for this sole reason) and in the city whenever I am back home for the holidays.
This year has been different, he turned 15 and needed re-registration which we got done without much hassle but we have lost out on the comprehensive insurance chosen till now. As such, the family is worried that this is a sign that the Baleno's time has come to be let go.

I am in two minds now whether to let go of him or keep him for the foreseeable future. A couple of points to note:

1. Sister uses the car in my absence, but is wary of the car's low stance till date and prefers a taller vehicle
2. Due to the WFH conditions we are living in, almost everyone in the street has a car which is parked outside and taking out the car is a major PITA (This the primary reason my mom wants to let go of him)

I am not worried about resale value but am worried about safety (mind, this is a car from the 2000s without airbags or even ABS).
If I want to replace him, my choices as of now are either a 2014-16 VW Jetta (just for the Independent Rear Suspension) or a similar vintage Maruti Suzuki S-Cross (DDiS 320 only ).
But due to the parking condition, not even sure if we can even enjoy our replacement steed.

TBHPians please chime in.

It’s a no brainer honestly, sell it for the best price you get and pick up a ‘14-‘16 Jetta if that’s what you want, it’s a competent vehicle and much safer than the old Baleno sedan as you have rightly mentioned. Jetta being a compact car won’t cause issues be it tight parking or other family members driving it. Do have it thoroughly checked out by a VW dealer and your trusted mechanic before you put the money down. Cheers.

[gopikb]

Hi All, I am in a dilemma as to sell my very well maintained Linea Tjet or just have it as a spare car for family. We are a family of 4 and three of us can drive cars. But I have parking space for only two cars inside my house. I dont have any issue in parking my 3rd car on the road in front of my independent house.

My first car is a 2009 Fiat Punto MJD, 105000kms on the odo, still drives like gem. No complaints and it is my wife's daily ride to work. So I am not disturbing that one. I am the first owner of this car.

The second car is a 2011 Fiat Linea Tjet. I am the third owner of this car. However, I had spent close to Rs.60000 when I bought it four years ago, upgraded all suspension to High GC kit, new clutch, all 4 tyres changed to Michelin and this car drives like new and have not let us down even one in 30K kms of ownership of this car. Last week I had taken it on a 1200 round trip to Tuticorin and the driving pleasure of this car remains unparalleled among any car I have driven. Car is currently at 96500kms and I did put an ad in team bhp to sell the car. The highest bid I got is 1.65 lakhs and as I see it, market is down in the dumps for FIATs and the price of the vehicle is driven by market rather than worthiness of the car.

I had booked a VW Taigun assuming that I will get the car 6 months later. But the SA sold me a car which was available earlier and I bought the new vehicle home. The VW Taigun is an extremely fun to drive car and within city I have seen the maneuverability is excellent. However, for highway drives, I have been spoilt by the nicely weighted steering of my FIATs for the last 13 years and I would like the steering to be a little harder at triple digit speeds. But I dont see it to be a major concern and it is a matter of getting used to it.

My wife does not want to see the 3rd car standing outside home and hence pushing me to sell the Linea. But my daughter is keen on driving to college with the Linea once she gains more confidence with her recently learnt skill. My heart says I should not sell the Linea and keep it as long as it drives trouble free. It gives flexibility for our drives. My brother in law deals with scrap iron and he asked me to drop the car anytime and valued the scrap cost close to Rs.45000~50000. If I sell the car at 1.65 lakhs, I am essentially selling it just for 1.15 lakhs as the scrap recovery itself is Rs.50000. My son who is 14 also likes the Linea very much and is against selling it. My wife is the only hinderance right now to keep the vehicle with us.

Just want to hear the views from the members of this forum on what you would have done if presented with a similar dilemma.

[sassid]

Originally Posted by gopikb

My heart says I should not sell the Linea and keep it as long as it drives trouble free. It gives flexibility for our drives. My brother in law deals with scrap iron and he asked me to drop the car anytime and valued the scrap cost close to Rs.45000~50000. If I sell the car at 1.65 lakhs, I am essentially selling it just for 1.15 lakhs as the scrap recovery itself is Rs.50000. My son who is 14 also likes the Linea very much and is against selling it. My wife is the only hinderance right now to keep the vehicle with us.

Just want to hear the views from the members of this forum on what you would have done if presented with a similar dilemma.

Attachment 2271490

Hi Gopi. Although its easier said than done, I would recommend selling the T-jet.

I’ve had the pleasure of owning and running a T-jet for 60k odd KM over a 5 year stretch. It’s the one vehicle that I regret selling the most.

I sold the vehicle for much the same reasons as yours. Soon after I took delivery, the Fiat operations with TATA closed down and I went through a period where getting the vehicle serviced and having spare parts was a constant source of anxiety. Despite this the sheer joy of the vehicle was such that I continued to drive it till such time that Fiat decided to re-enter operations and started marketing products such as the Abarth.

I decided to sell the vehicle while there was at least the semblance of resale and wound up selling the car for 3 lakhs odd against a buying price of nearly 10 Lakhs. Since then I have looked for vehicles that offer a less stressful ownership.

None of the above is really the reason why you should consider selling. These are in order,

1. Cars of the ilk of Linea are extinct in India (at least in the non BMW+ market). The mix of confidence inspiring chassis, steering heft and tank like build will only make any other car that you own look deficient - as with the Taigun! Why carry this burden?
2. Pleasing the wife is a can’t miss strategy. You can bank the credit of having fallen in line against a future replacement of the Punto

[Kosfactor]

Originally Posted by gopikb

My wife does not want to see the 3rd car standing outside home and hence pushing me to sell the Linea. But my daughter is keen on driving to college with the Linea once she gains more confidence with her recently learnt skill. My heart says I should not sell the Linea and keep it as long as it drives trouble free. It gives flexibility for our drives. My brother in law deals with scrap iron and he asked me to drop the car anytime and valued the scrap cost close to Rs.45000~50000. If I sell the car at 1.65 lakhs, I am essentially selling it just for 1.15 lakhs as the scrap recovery itself is Rs.50000. My son who is 14 also likes the Linea very much and is against selling it. My wife is the only hinderance right now to keep the vehicle with us.

Just want to hear the views from the members of this forum on what you would have done if presented with a similar dilemma.

Right now it is still driving without any issues, perfect time for you to sell it. Why wait till it's value goes even less? Imagine if something expensive is to fail on that vehicle, it would be nearly impossible to dispose it off afterwards. All my Fiat owning friends did not take this advise and the inevitable happened.

[prasannak]

Fantastic threads on keep vs upgrade - thank you all for the enlightening views & also the ₹₹ for spends - very helpful.

We have a 2009 i10 Sportz AT, 1,01,000km, which we bought brand new and have self driven.

Have had near zero issues with car so far. (Except one Learner driver who crashed into the rear and did 45K worth of damage). Some suspension bits replaced at 80K due to potholes. Tyres replaced at 40K. Battery replaced last year after covid drained the previous one. Never had water damage, so rust is unlikely (service tech did not mention).

For 100,000 Km service ASC (Trident Koramangala) is quoting parts for one lakh (1L).
And was heavily promoting selling it instead for Rs 1.3L, saying that more repairs may be down the road. He mentioned silencer hole, steering noise, etc.

Parts:
- Timing chain - Rs 18K
- AC Compressor - Rs. 25K (cooling well, but making significant whining noise in last week)
- Drive Shaft x2 - Rs 19K
- Transmission Oil change - Rs. 12K
- Tires - Rs. 16K
Labour cost additional.

Additional info
1. Booked Carens P+ 7DCT since we now have kids, parents, & planned intercity rides will be on Carens. ETA early April.
2. Wife wants to keep i10 since it's compact & we go on narrow roads with scratches highly likely from bikes, cycles
3. i10 will be likely used for intracity rides (school runs), mostly sub-20km in blr traffic . Between 5K-10K per year MAX.


From the thread so far, my conclusion is:
1. All of these look like normal wear and tear on Blr roads for 100K.
2. Check a nearby non ASC garage for whether all these repairs are necessary and cheaper there.
3. Get these repairs done and stay happy with i10 for 5 yrs more

My queries for the experts here:
Q1: Anything else that I am missing?

Q2: Is this a fair conclusion to keep i10 AT for 5yrs, 50K more km?

Q3: For these repairs is it better to continue with ASC or look for new garage? I have done 100% of servicing in Trident so far.

Q4: For non ASC - should I check GoMechanic.in or Carsmith Motors, Koramangala (saw a reco on service center thread)? Any other recos for FMG Hyundai in HSR, Sarjapur, Bellandur areas?

Thanks in advance!

[meetraghav]

Interesting thread...seeing as I am about to hit the 5th year of my Verna SX(O) Auto Petrol in Dec this year. It has just 46000+ on the odo, is single driven all my life, zero modifications, has almost new Maxis tyres and has been serviced well on time throughout (though it has a couple of dents here and there ).

I agree with the original idea of this thread that it doesn't make sense to sell a car at this stage but I have 2 concerns:

A. What about any possible, large costs once the extended 5 year warranty comes to an end? I heard the gearbox alone on this, costs a couple of lakhs. And then...what about those Volkswagons for which maintenance is scary even during warranty?

B. Wouldn't the resale value be best before end of warranty (I.e. before 5 years complete)? Wouldn't it go drastically down after that?

Plz share your views...

[4wheeldrive]

I have a classic "head vs heart" problem on a similar topic. Having come to no conclusion for a week now, figured I'd get some external input, so here goes:

I have a late 2018 VW Polo 1.2 GT TSI with 36,000 kms under its belt. It's been my daily driver these past 3-odd years and I've probably accounted for 35 of the 36. Barring a fender bender that my wife's (former) chauffeur put in it a few weeks back, the car has no problems whatsoever.

- Revo stage 1 ECU tune
- K&N 9505 airbox with a Euro spec straight air inlet
- Continental Maxcontact MC5 205 section tyres
- Black faux leather seats ('original' from the dealership)
- The car was ceramic coated when new and the paint has aged well.
- Being a Nov 2018 model, it has rain sensing wipers, cruise control and Apple Carplay
- Philips Ultinon LED headlights (how I managed to fit these is a story in itself)
- Garmin 55W dashcam with parking surveillance
- I picked up a VCDS cable from the US just before lockdown, so it does nice things like a teardrop wipe, 5 blink lane change and shows litres-to-full but stayed away from getting aggressive with the coding
- Courtesy a post on team-bhp, tossed in a Golf style rear logo pop-out camera. Some bugs though - only works for 10 seconds after startup
- Suspension is fine and there are no squeaks and rattles from the dash.

I drive 60 kms daily, opposite to rush hour traffic in Mumbai; and with a light foot (well, relatively) so get between 14 and 15 kmpl. The car is fast enough in D to almost never need S mode. Equally, its fast enough at half throttle to never need full bore traffic light launches and still stay ahead of the madding crowd - no apparent transmission issues except the customary odd jerk in stop and go traffic.

Last year I upgraded my wife's 7 year old Honda City (VMT, Petrol) for a Toyota Fortuner (4x2 Diesel AT). The City was rusting to the point I had to change a door and we needed a 7 seater to fit the kids, dog, and occasionally grandparents. The missus would use it for her daily 50 km roundtrip commute (she's a backseat driver) and we'd do weekend trips and the odd run to Goa, etc. When the car was bought she was WFH so the purchase timing was driven more by getting rid of the Honda than a burning need for a new car.

The problems started a couple of months back when the wife began going to the office regularly. She'd complain the car bounced all over bumps, swayed and rolled on turns and the ride in the back was giving her a pain the neck. A sack of sand in the back helped with the bouncing. Somewhat. But when she got diagnosed with spondylosis, I gave up. Enter Magic Carpet v2.0 - a 5th gen Honda City CVT Petrol. Probably the best back seat this side of a Skoda Superb and there is now harmony on the home front

So here's the problem!

- I am happy to drive the Fortuner to work every day. No problem, it's pretty much brand new, drives very well and size has its advantages (!).
- I am stoked to drive the Polo to work every day. Its downright therapeutic and even saves me some 10-12 minutes each way over the bigger bus.
- No other use case for the Polo. I drive it or it stays parked.
- Parking is not a constraint
- The heart says keep it, drive it a couple of times a week
- The head says hand it over to someone who will love it as much (or more)

Admittedly, not a bad problem to have. If the resale value was 4-5 lakhs, this was a no-brainer. But some portals seem to indicate high 7's low 8's and for a stock car. Hence the dilemma.

Thoughts?

[Adi_k]

I own a 10 year old Dzire ZDI. The first batch of Dzire with a smaller boot. The car has 88K on odo. The car still runs well has had no clutch replacement, never stalled anywhere. The car has been maintained well.

The only worry now is how diesel will be treated going ahead. Should i sell it or keep it for next 5 years?

[abhi_tjet]

Originally Posted by Adi_k

The only worry now is how diesel will be treated going ahead. Should i sell it or keep it for next 5 years?

Diesel isn’t going anywhere. You should definitely keep it for couple of years more if happy with the car and it isn’t giving any headache.