[modisan]

Disclaimer: I promise to read each and every post on TBHP one day! (But reading 33 pages before making your first comment on a thread is too restrictive to follow )

Going through first few pages here, I feel that 22 lakhs just might be an error in calculation or assumption. Was it contested in later pages?

As for myself, I have bought four cars (WagonR, Swift VDI, Spark n Punto 1.3 MJD (with upgrade lottery) in last 7 years and retain 2 now. Feel stupid about having sold Swift because of alignment issues and attitude of Maruti workshops (besides my travel dropped drastcially from 2k p.m. to 200 p.m. and I actually bought a bicycle (FFX) for commuting to Office 4 km away; bought Punto MJD as new job (yes 4 jobs too in the 7 years) sent me back to 2k p.m. driving)

Found the discussions on pg 16 and then again on pg 20-21. Would agree that it doesn't take away the fact that retaining a car after 5 yers too makes a lot of sense on account of it being EMI-free thereby making it ready to go for makeovers/2nd life with expertise from TBHP

My Punto is about to go debt-free at the end of year 1, thanks to no pre-payment penalty from SBI. It is indeed an amazing experience. Would love to keep it for eons (no thanks to Hyundai)

[vasanthn21]

I need suggestions from everyone. I am in a dilemma for some time now. I am not able to decide if I should sell my car and upgrade or not!

I am the 2nd owner of a 2005 Zen Lxi. I bought it from a known person in 2008 when robo-car (as my wife likes to call it) had 19K on the odo. I have driven it for approximately 40K kms and the odo now reads 59K.

I mainly use the robo-car to commute to office, with occasional highway drives. I am very happy with its performance and the ownership has been absolutely hassle free (touch-wood)! My daily commute was about 24 kms and robo-car served its purpose very well.

Recently I moved-in to my own house and also changed my job. Now, my daily commute is about 70 kms!, but now I get a mileage of 17.5 kmpl in city and I am still happy with the car.

Everyone says the commute warrants a diesel car. I have given it some thought, but I am still not sure if I should go for a new car or not.

Regarding the financial points in GTO's opening post, I did not take a loan in this car as it was a pre-owned one. So, I have been driving EMI free for the past 4.5 years.

But if I sell this car, I might approximately get 2L in the used car market. And, a diesel sedan (yeah, hatch ruled out by wifey!) will cost between 8.5-10L. A deficit of 6.5-8L will never be made up with the diesel fuel advantage. So, even if I buy a new car, the savings in fuel expense is not a driving factor.

On the other hand - My commute now has a stretch of signal free fast traffic on the new airport road with all kind of crazy cab drivers whizzing past me; cutting me from both sides (I try to stick to 60kmph as this is the permissible legal speed limit in Bangalore city now ,but the airport cabs and other private owners are usually between 70-100 kmph on this stretch of road). I feel, it is better to get some safety options like ABS and airbags rather than driving in robo-car.
Note: I have also observed that the braking is much better in the newer cars that I have test driven (not that it is bad in my zen, I know its capabilities/limitations and drive accordingly).

I am not sure if I should buy a newer vehicle to be safer or should this wait for some time as I am usually a very careful driver and drive mostly in city limits at reasonable speeds + the vehicle has/is not given/giving any problems.

So, what would you suggest guys?

[Balaji31582]

Hi Vasanth
I was about to suggest that better to retain your good old zen. But after reading the last two paragraphs which talks about your safety, if your real concern and priority is for that, then no doubts please move on to a new car. Yes you will have to pay a hefty emi every month apart from a high insurance coverage amount per year. But this will give you a safe ride which is more significant. If I were you and if diesel sedan is a must, would go for an etios diesel with SP pack which will give me the airbags and ABS and the good reliable toyota engine provides hassle free ownership and good mileage(atleast thats what i hear from other etios owners).

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by Balaji31582

Hi Vasanth
I was about to suggest that better to retain your good old zen. But after reading the last two paragraphs which talks about your safety, if your real concern and priority is for that, then no doubts please move on to a new car. Yes you will have to pay a hefty emi every month apart from a high insurance coverage amount per year. But this will give you a safe ride which is more significant. If I were you and if diesel sedan is a must, would go for an etios diesel with SP pack which will give me the airbags and ABS and the good reliable toyota engine provides hassle free ownership and good mileage(atleast thats what i hear from other etios owners).

Thanks for responding Balaji.
You are speaking my thoughts when you suggest Etios GD-SP.

I test drove Etios Diesel a few days back, and since ABS is a mandatory requirement, I had narrowed down on GD-SP. In fact, the second priority after security is "ride comfort" for me, and a friend suggested to upgrade to R15 on GD-SP. When I checked with the showroom about the same, they said it would cost around 45K! Now, I am considering the VD option as it is only 60K more than GD-SP and I get alloy wheels with R15 tyres, the music system, tacho and front fog lamps.

But, I want to be extremely sure before finalizing on this. Actually heart says - go with Etios D; mind asks - are you sure? do you need it? I would say a typical middle class mentality's internal struggle before spending a significant amount!

[Balaji31582]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

Thanks for responding Balaji.
You are speaking my thoughts when you suggest Etios GD-SP.

I test drove Etios Diesel a few days back, and since ABS is a mandatory requirement, I had narrowed down on GD-SP. In fact, the second priority after security is "ride comfort" for me, and a friend suggested to upgrade to R15 on GD-SP. When I checked with the showroom about the same, they said it would cost around 45K! Now, I am considering the VD option as it is only 60K more than GD-SP and I get alloy wheels with R15 tyres, the music system, tacho and front fog lamps.

But, I want to be extremely sure before finalizing on this. Actually heart says - go with Etios D; mind asks - are you sure? do you need it? I would say a typical middle class mentality's internal struggle before spending a significant amount!

Nice to hear that you have a thought for etios. I am not aware of the price difference between GD-SP and VD. Thanks for the info. Based on your info I see that even if you go after market for tyre upgrades (if you are sure for upgrading tyres with alloys), then yes VD becomes a good package. Because if you just add up the other features like music system and front fog lamps it might add upto 15K for a normal ones. Then tyres and alloys should be anywhere to 40K. You wont get a tacho outside, so by all means you are not going to get that even if you go for GD-SP. Since your budget is good enough, I think considering that you will anyway upgrade the tyres with alloys its VD the right choice atleast for me

[vasanthn21]

Originally Posted by vasanthn21

But, I want to be extremely sure before finalizing on this. Actually heart says - go with Etios D; mind asks - are you sure? do you need it? I would say a typical middle class mentality's internal struggle before spending a significant amount!

Finally, with a heavy heart I decided not to go for a new car right now (but somehow I am feeling proud of myself for having done so).

My Zen is in a good shape, will use it for some more time; and now that I saved 9.2 L (not having bought Etios), I can splurge on blinging my Zen up

[RedSkin]

I've had my Chevy Aveo since 2008 and it has clocked 53,000 kms till date. While the car has been trouble-free for the most part, 4 years with the same car is quite a while. Moreover, I have been eying the Honda City for some time now. The decision was made: a new Honda City!

However, I chanced upon this very article by GTO where the math made so much sense that it forced me to rethink my decision.

Since then, I've gotten new tyres, compressor, and battery at a cost of Rs 46,000, and will be retaining this car for the next couple years!

[nomadabhi]

Zen Estilo, 2008 Dec model @ 65k on ODO.

Bought initially for my Dad but eventually ended up with me on drivers seat.

With new job, the car is used within city limits for shopping and long drives that happen once in couple of months. Average monthly drive since new job is less than 1000km/month

No second thought on its condition being a BHPian.

Is it wise enough to go for an upgrade to new/used?

A used SX4 VVT is what I initially have in mind.

Suggestions?

[aabidansari]

Hey all,

Some advice needed.

I have a 7yr old Esteem VXi that I absolutely love. But wifey wants to go in for an SUV.

Just to give you all an insight into my requirements which haven't changed at all - My daily commute is the Nano. The Esteem is my other car, the one that is used on Weekends, long drives (especially the out of town ones), the family car.

She has done only about 22k, the interior beige upholstery is still new under the covers. But the rear fender is dented slightly and cracked on one side, a few scratches shallow and deep and a general old car stale smell and feeling.

One should move on, wifey says. I am sometimes inclined to agree. However, there are plenty Esteems on the roads even today - in my society alone there are four identical Silver VXi's.

But the temptations are galore. The Mrs. has shortlisted the Duster, Safari, Quanto as suitable replacements.

The Duster - because it is simply amazing to drive and its the new kid on the block,
The Safari - because no matter what it still has devastating appeal and presence,
The Quanto - simply put, Value for Money.

I am holding on doggedly, even thinking of getting some 3M treatment. But I know that I am fighting a losing battle.

Help me fellow tbhpians. Give me reasons why I should give up on her (I mean the Esteem, of course!), cause I can't think of any.

And which SUV should replace her?

.....Perplexed!

[bluevolt]

^^^

Your running is too low to go for a diesel SUV. You can keep Esteem for at least 3 more years.

If you still can't resist yourself from buying a new car then go for Duster's petrol variant but still it will be good if you keep the esteem for at least 3 more years if the car is from any mechanical defects.

[suhaas307]

We, as a family, are heading towards this dilemma.

We have three cars at home. A Civic, a Jazz and a Santro. The Santro is the beater car that is used to take to the shops and on bad roads, or if we know that parking is going to be an issue. The Jazz is driven by my mum during the day and I drive it occasionally and during the night. The Civic is driven by my dad - to and from office.

- Honda Civic - November 2006 - 37,000 km on the ODO.

- Honda Jazz - May 2010 - 9000 km on the ODO

- Hyundai Santro Xing - December 2003 - 48,500 km on the ODO

Our plan next year is to keep the Jazz for several years and the Santro for a few more.

We might want to sell the Civic next year, but we're wondering if it's worth doing that. Reasons:

- Value of petrol cars has taken a royal hiding. For someone looking to buy used, it's a brilliant option. Not so much for the person selling it.

- Civic will be considered a discontinued model and value will drop further still.

If we keep the Civic, we might consider some suspension mods and other miscellaneous alterations that would aid convenience. However, if we decide to sell it, our options are vast.

We're looking at a huge bracket (10 lakhs - 20 lakhs) So everything from the EcoSport to the Duster to the Jetta 1.4 TSI to the Laura vRS could be considered.

A 4th car cannot be ruled out. But I'm dead against it given the lack of adequate parking.

[manim]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

- Honda Civic - November 2006 - 37,000 km on the ODO.

Originally Posted by suhaas307

We might want to sell the Civic next year, but we're wondering if it's worth doing that.

As a 2007 Civic owner with odo at 1,21,000 kms, I say keep the Civic!
It still has a lot of life left in it.

I am planning for a trouble-free ten years with it.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-t...-must-dos.html

[aabidansari]

Originally Posted by bluevolt

^^^

Your running is too low to go for a diesel SUV. You can keep Esteem for at least 3 more years.

Advice well taken BlueVolt. That is what I have decided to do now. 3 more years on the road. But with a small change. I am going in for a redo, that includes some 3M treatment outside and inside, etc. Shall try to post fotos with the new look.

[bluevolt]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

We, as a family, are heading towards this dilemma.

If the fuel expenses are burning a hole in your pocket then you should take the selling decision otherwise I see no reason you should be selling your Civic.

[ampere]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

- Value of petrol cars has taken a royal hiding. For someone looking to buy used, it's a brilliant option. Not so much for the person selling it.

- Civic will be considered a discontinued model and value will drop further still.

Keep the Civic. Nothing comes close to it on the smooth 4-laners !
Agreed fuel bills are high, but given that you dont do much with it; It does not make sense to give it away.

Maybe replace the Santro with an Ecosport, which can work as a beater car thanks to its ruggedness and high GC.
But yes you will have to address the parking woes when you take it out for shopping. But overall I dont think its
should be a problem. Also I would suggest take the mid variant diesel and not the Ecoboost. Because with so many
petrols at home a diesel would make sense and add to a perfect balance esp. if its a beater car.