Team-BHP - ARTICLE: YOUR 5 year old car : Keep, Upgrade or Swap?

Yesterday, I faced the moment of truth. My close-to-heart 2018 VW Vento DSG - 79000 KM run and in mint condition has met with an accident.

Not even a scratch on us. No airbags deployed. The poor biker who was out of his senses suffered a few stitches on his foot and that's it..

Now, the car is at the Police station, and from the look of it, the bumper, wind shield washer tank, RH headlamp, RH Fender, Bonnet (dents) and RH door (jammed but minor tweaks) would easily make me cough up 2 Lakhs. The car is near Thuraiyur, TN and already spent 5 K for towing to Police station etc. The insurance, being in 5th year, is not bumper to bumper and will not cover the plastics, headlamps, windshield etc. I am from Coimbatore/Chennai and expect to close the Police formalities and RTO ordeal by next two days. After that the towing to VW Trichy and the endless wait to get the car repaired begins, Insurance tantrums etc..

So, here is the dilemma. In another 20000 KMs, the car will ask me for a lakh rupees for clutch overhaul (?) and timing chain replacement. This is my hunch.
So, I am looking a 3 L restoration expense for Vento

I have option for lease car in my company, along with tax benefits.

Suggest me if I can sell this off as is, and go for a new lease car from my company. I am depressed as I love this car so much, and very sure that I can not find a similar one with the engine+gearbox+economy+handling+comfort below 60L.

Please help me to clear my dilemma. Thanks folks.

Also, which Diesel car can match Vento's ride, handling and economy now? Breaking my head over now.

Hi,

This is my first post. Very grateful to all other members for incredibly educational content.

I have a Honda City (2015, VX). Happy with the fuss free ownership. It has done almost 60K kilometers.

We are a family of 2 middle aged adults, a teenager, and a senior citizen who travels rarely (has an unstable stride). My parents (also senior citizens and also not fit) visit us 2-3 times a year for a few days.

The city currently mostly does school trips in chennai. We have a driver. I work from home but I might just start to go back to office.

Now on to the questions:

1. I am planning to get a 6 or 7 seater budget MUV (XL6 or Carens prestige plus) so that my teenage kid doesn’t have to sit on someone’s lap even if it’s 4-5 times a year. Smaller car and not big MUV considering her school is in a land where an Innova will be a trouble. Worried that XL6 could be a tin can and Carens also doesn’t care about safety much. But I don’t plan to take it out of the city.

So does safety matter?
Also should I get an automatic or manual?
My city is CVT and I can’t drive manual. But if the driver is going to drive mostly should I care?

2. Now onto the second car. I want a personal car so that I don’t have to plan my day around my kid’s schedule. I am eyeing Skoda Superb (new). Few folks are suggesting “almost new” German cars (E class under 10K kms at 45L). With no shade to the badge owners, I am worried that I would be seen as “that guy who comes in that car.” With the growing economic imbalance I don’t want to be standing out.

Am I overthinking this?
I like Ioniq5. It’s fun. But battery tech will greatly improve. US is showing that resale value of EVS are very bad. I will use a car for 8 years. Should I factor in resale value?
I also love Volvos. B it used car dealer is not enthu and states resale value as an issue.
I want adaptive cruise and Adas features because this is the car I will take once or twice for holidays. I don’t want to regret not investing in this. For long drives too I plan to use a driver. Should I worry about this at all?
I have tailbone pain and I am in long term rehab. So SUV or Sedan? If it’s SUV I love Kodiaq and XC series. I like that both of them have ventilated seats.

Now on to the Honda city I have:

I like it and I like the fact that it has very little electronics. Should is sell it or keep it? It will fetch 6L but I am not constrained to sell it.

My total budget for both cars is 70L.

Thank you for patiently reading thus far.

Dear Team BHP,

At the outset, being a silent follower of Team BHP since past 10 years, I thank this forum for imparting wisdom and knowledge about car modifications and reviews through the detailed discussions between members.

Infact, it was Team BHP which helped me review and finalise my pre-owned 2013 Honda City iVTec.

Now, coming to the point.

The current Dilemma:
My daily runner is a 2018 Dzire Vxi with daily commute of 30 kms. Having clocked 90k+ kms in 5 years on Petrol + CNG (aftermarket BRC installed at 2k kms), she has started to show signs of ageing.

The problem:
I have a habit of driving with a heavy foot and Dzire responds to my commands enthusiastically. But, from the past few kms, my car is struggling to go past 80 kmph. She will zoom quickly to 80 kmph but any further from that, she doesn't just want to speed up. However, after struggling between 80-110, she starts zooming again and will go upto 140 kmph (On NHs only).

Rectifications done:
I have replaced the air filter, got the car serviced, replaced the CNG injector rails, got the CNG system tuned, got the throttle body cleaned. But, the 80-100 pickup issue got resolved temporarily after rectifications and has come back to haunt me.

Dilemma:
With the above situation, I am a dilemma with my viable options being:
1. Retain Dzire and get it fixed. However, my trusted mechanic from the past 12 years (Ankita Automobiles, Gurgaon is unable to identify the issue.

2. Sell off Dzire and replace it with a pre-owned C-segment sedan (2018-20) in the following order of preference. Honda City > Hyundai Verna > Toyota Corolla (old models can also work out).

My budget is around 2-3 lakhs excluding the proceedings of Dzire (I am hopeful for 3-4 lakhs selling price.)

Fear:
The exorbitant prices being quoted on pre-owned car sites are setting me off from finalising things. If anyone has a pre-loved car for sale or knows someone who wishes to sell his car, you may contact me directly on msgs. I would be helpful for any leads.

Concluding, I request you all to advise about what would be a better proposition.

Also, if you know any good tuners in Gurgaon, please share their contact details on msgs.

Ciao!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentWraith94 (Post 5711675)

...after struggling between 80-110, she starts zooming again and will go upto 140 kmph (On NHs only).

Rectifications done:
I have replaced the air filter, got the car serviced, replaced the CNG injector rails, got the CNG system tuned, got the throttle body cleaned. But, the 80-100 pickup issue got resolved temporarily...

Is this issue only with CNG or petrol too? Does shifting to a lower/higher gear help in this situation?

I would suggest you to check whether the VVT is working correctly. It can affect performance at specific rpm ranges.

In my personal opinion, this issue alone does not seem to be something that warrants selling off the car. There is no assurance that a used C2 sedan will be trouble-free. I would go ahead with the upgrade if the need is to get a higher segment car for comfort, power and safety. If you travel on NHs often, it surely makes a lot of sense for a better built sedan irrespective of the issue at hand.

With that said, for a low maintenance, fuss-free daily driver/beater car, few cars come close to these Marutis.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentWraith94 (Post 5711675)

I have a habit of driving with a heavy foot and Dzire responds to my commands enthusiastically. But, from the past few kms, my car is struggling to go past 80 kmph. She will zoom quickly to 80 kmph but any further from that, she doesn't just want to speed up. However, after struggling between 80-110, she starts zooming again and will go upto 140 kmph (On NHs only).

140 kmphr is very unsafe for Indian Highways and definitely not in a Maruti, which are rated as most unsafe cars. Please considering selling and buying a tougher car.

Quote:

Originally Posted by SilentWraith94 (Post 5711675)

The problem:
I have a habit of driving with a heavy foot and Dzire responds to my commands enthusiastically. But, from the past few kms, my car is struggling to go past 80 kmph. She will zoom quickly to 80 kmph but any further from that, she doesn't just want to speed up. However, after struggling between 80-110, she starts zooming again and will go upto 140 kmph (On NHs only).

Get the SPARK PLUGS checked at Maruti Authorised Service Center.

The issues you have mentioned are very minimal, I suggest you to spend few thousand bucks more and getting it repaired at ASS.

You can easily keep Dzire for 3 years more till 1.50 lac kms. And your car has depreciated to its limit i.e after 2 years of more usage it will fetch you 3 to 3.5 lacs.

I will not recommend going for other pre-owned car because it may come with more problems in comparison to your known Dzire.:thumbs up

Quote:

Originally Posted by --gKrish-- (Post 5712303)

Hi buddy,

Thanks for your input :), I will get the VVT checked this weekend..

It used to be my daily driver. However, with my office getting relocated to Udyog Vihar, I have been commuting by my bike (Pulsar NS 160) due to traffic issues.

Now, my dZire just goes on short weekend drives to keep all systems happily running.. Highway runs have become scarce nowadays with long journeys being done between every 5-6 months.

Also, I got a pre-loved Honda City 2013 iVtec last year for my dad. Driving the City was a pleasure and thus originated the itch to get a similar line of car for myself by replacing the dZire.

Sayonara!!

Quote:

Originally Posted by VWAllstar (Post 5613261)

More than a year to this post. I am interested to know what option did you finally chose and what is your current garage looking like. Its an interesting mix of cars you have, so it makes a lot interesting to know your decision. If you havent sold any, then I suggest to stick to it. Owning a Polo GT 1.2 TSI is a priviledge now and there will not be any car which could replace it.

Somehow missed reading and responding to this. The garage is unchanged.

Decided to hang on to the GT and dont regret that decision one bit. It's my 60km daily driver, 4-5 days a week. While I feel the throttle+turbo takes half a second longer to respond to gentle right foot input, no other cause for complaint at all. Since the retention decision, new rear shocks and Continental UCC boots have gone in and all is well with the world.

I have found myself leaning more towards the GT for the commute than the Fortuner so the latter finds itself car pooling the kids to soccer and doing weekend runs with the family & dog - both tasks it accomplishes with the usual matter-of-factness. Ride quality isnt as good as the older PajeroSport, except in the front where its acceptable. Remains a beast to drive and i even manage 15kpl on highway runs with a full load.

The Honda City takes the missus to and from work. It's incapable of accommodating my 6' without head bumps so i avoid it.

The Pajero Sport - 9 years and nearly 200k kms down, is my father's daily driver and part time farm truck, carrying fertilizer, produce, fuel cans and sometimes even cement. The paint shows its age (and Mumbai's traffic conditions) but mechanicals are fairly good. Replacement / overhaul is an ongoing debate. The Fortuner is not 4x4 and that is a necessary feature for this use case.

UPDATE:

Got the VVT and Spark plugs checked. No problems found. The problem seems to go away after dropping a gear and pushing past the 90 kph mark on 4th gear.

Further, I have found a Honda City 2017 S facelift model having run 92k kms from Honda Auto Terrace. The asking price is 4.65 lakhs but after preliminary discussions, they have reduced the price to 4.5 lakhs. I will be going for a test drive tomorrow and I think the price can be further reduced.

Please advice about the things I should check for before finalizing anything.

I plan on selling the dZire and buy the City if things go well.

Thanks!!