[Unknownsatan]

Even i faced the same situation and finally went for Baleno. Baleno was my last preference but it became the best option for me cos good OHCs are difficult to find and whoever is selling it will quote ridiculous prices in Bangalore. Another reason is you will get a newer car for the same price, well almost. When i was checking in the market 2002 OHC 1.5 and 2006 Baleno Lxi was there in almost the same price bracket.

Originally Posted by octane1002

Over Hyped Car-That's what the OHC is in todays day and age.The OHC was good for the times it was produced in India and to an extent it bacame more popular after they introduced they underpowered NHC.But seriously in today's day and age it just does not make the cut.Theres more to a car than just outright acceleration.Its a combination of braking/handling and ride.And trust me the OHC is just average in all these departments.Handling at high speeds over 100 is just not confidence inspiring.Build quality too is just a lil better than tinny, no offence to current OHC owners.

But if ya thnk about it, there is no car even in todays market that can beat OHC in terms of looks, atleast for me. And also the mods which can be done and the availability of mods are plenty unlike other cars. Its more like a complete package esp for youngsters to have fun than to be used as a family car (safety and all)

Originally Posted by octane1002

Be prepared to lose some serious money in depreciation too unless you manage to find a real enthusiast at the time of resale for a car that old.I dont know about the market conditions in chennai but clean 02-03 OhC VTECs are available for prices from 1.7-2 lakhs here in kolkata and they do take some time to move in the used car market.

Ya wont lose any money in depreciation for this car, atleast in bangalore-thats what my "research" shows.

Originally Posted by octane1002

A Baleno vxi is a much more sensible buy and is a better all-rounder.Maintaineance and Maruti A.S.S are comparitively hassle free.Ride/Handling/Braking/Performance/Better AC all in a single package.And the difference between 106 bhp and 91 bhp in real world driving conditions(unless you're a looking for straight line drag-machine) is not as much as it is made out to be.Torque figures of the Baleno are up there with the OHC VTEC.Just make sure the car is clean.

I agree.

Originally Posted by octane1002

P.S.:If you thought that the OHC VTEC is an iconic machine, it was here in India, but anywhere else in the world-Google and you'll know what they think of the Indian VTEC engine(Its a mix and match different parts from the Honda parts bin and thats putting it politely).I am not indulging in OHC VTEC-bashing in case you think so.I owned this car for a short period of 2 months before reselling it.I was seriously disappointed.

There is no point in comparing cars here with other countries. That will be just a waste of time.

[octane1002]

@unknownsatan:No one's comparing with cars of other countries.Just that this block isn't really all that great as its made out to be.There's so much lack of knowledge on this block, it seems it was a one-off for sale in India.Hard to locate it even on the Honda Forums.Even in terms of mod-friendliness, the Baleno is right up there with the OHC, if not better off.

[nithin_86]

I have been really wanting to get a Baleno or the OHC for quite sometime and I have been bugging a lot of people on this thread regarding the same. Considering everyone's opinion and the availability of the cars, I have finally given in to the Baleno and have booked one at the Maruti True Value outlet here in Chennai. The car will be on the road within a week at the most. Just waiting for the car to get serviced and the papers to go through.

I was really on the lookout for an OHC but after driving the ones that were available for sale I decided not to. Every single I test drove here was bad. And I mean really really bad. I may have gone in for 1.3 as well if any came that was in a fair condition at least. So finally found this Baleno which was in an excellent condition and though Maruti quoted a little more for it for my liking I went for it.

The car is a 2006/9 Lxi. Silver in color. Another strange thing here is that the Black and the White ones which look really really good is not to be found. Guess everyone went for the silver ones. Anyways when you go for a second hand car you don't have that many options in color. Hopefully I will put up some pics here as soon as it gets delivered.

[supremeBaleno]

@nithin, congrats on the Baleno. What price did you pay for it ? And is it stock or has after-market stuff like alloys etc ?

[nithin_86]

The car is stock Lxi model with Aura alloys that come with the Vxi. The car has done around 50k. The tires are relatively new. Maybe run somewhere between 5-10k. The price is 2.8 lakhs which includes the one year warranty and the three free services.