[d_payne]

Can the mods edit the title of this thread please?

The Accord has been bought!
End-2003, Black Accord 2.4 MT (Gen 2).

[krazydriver84]

Congrats on the purchase dude.
Happy Revving.

[x3qt0r]

I am looking for a used car with the following general requirements

• Would be driven primarily within city(Mumbai) limits and city+100km, both two to three times a month.

• Dad being a heart patient, the car should not cease functionality if needed in the case of emergency.

• The car would be driven mostly by a driver.

• Should be spacious and comfortable.

• Low on maintenance.

• Should be safe

I have not thought about the resale value as such, but seems like this car would be a keeper. Atleast for two to three years, or more.
Fiat Palio, was my first choice. But the availability of a good second hand Palio is almost impossible. Mahindra's First choice have one, but the reviews I read about them on this forum made me change the decision.
The Palio they are selling is this one:http://www.mahindrafirstchoice.com/b....aspx?id=23983

Since I am almost unknown to the world of buying/driving cars I won't be able to tell if someone is fooling me with the car's parameters.

I have as of now judged a car only by the "feel" that it gave me as I was being driven by someone else. Since I (and so does my mother) get hit by motion sickness quite easily, this is important. Out of the cars I have been in, Fiat's Petra and Toyota Etios, were the only ones that made me feel comfortable, and the cars that didn't were Wagon R, Santro, zen, alto, Indicas and indigos, Maruti 800, Logan.

I was told by a friend that Chevy's Aveo satisfied most of the conditions that I had specified. And I was surprised to find it within the specified price bracket at Broker Dalal. (Why Broker Dalal?: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/mumbai...ri-mumbai.html)

Chevy Aveo @ Broker Dalal: http://www.brokerdalal.com/stocks.as...=2&so=0&make=2

Within my price range, I couldn't find any Swifts which was one of my consideration too.

So I put my request on this forum to guide me in the right direction so that I could get a good car. Would a 2008 chevy aveo be a good buy for a second hand car? Or should I be looking elsewhere?

[honeybee]

Since your parents would be using the car check out the Nano, WagonR or the Santro. The tallboy design would make for an easier entry and exit.

WagonR and Santro are proven models with reliable operations. Nano being relatively new may not score as high. All three should be cheap to maintain - except that all are Petrols.

Since you are buying used, specially within your stated price bracket, reliability may be an issue.

[Altocumulus]

Originally Posted by x3qt0r

I am looking for a used car with the following general requirements


So I put my request on this forum to guide me in the right direction so that I could get a good car. Would a 2008 chevy aveo be a good buy for a second hand car? Or should I be looking elsewhere?

I have used pre-owned cars all my life except once. The trick is patience till a really good car comes your way. I have learnt it the hard way. All don't judge the car by the way it looks especially when you are buying it from a dealer.
Take someone with you who has a good knowledge of cars, not just someone who drives for the sake of it.

For your parents a Santro, Wagon R, Estilo or swift would be good. Estilos should come cheaper than the others of the same year. Have you tried Maruti True Value ? They even give a years warranty and 3 free services with their cars. I have used their warranty and it has worked well for me. Also keep some considerable money aside. As soon as you get the car take it to a workshop and change anything that's required. Keep the rest in case something else crops up.

[byomjeet]

Looking at the way the car is going to be used and who is going to use it, WagonR or Santro should be the best choice. These cars will also match your budget band.

These cars a reliable and serviceability is very easy. Even a local mechanic or a garage in your neighborhood can also fix the car.

[Equus]

Strongly recommmend a used Santro, especially one which has been serviced every 6 months at a Hyundai service center. The early batch of Santro's continue to march on - mine is 12.5 yrs old and close to 80K on the speedo too, but very eager to ride!!

[ghodlur]

Looking at your running requirements you will need a petrol car but looking at your budget, you may end up getting a suitably run car maybe> 50K kms which will conflict with your second requirment. If you are still OK with it, then I would suggest any car from either Maruti or Hyundai stables only because of the extensive service network. Unless you increase the budget getting a relatively safe car (with ABS as basic) will be an issue. Since you parents willbe chaffeuer driven most of the times, rear seat comfort will also be a priority.

Looking at the above I would suggest Hyundai i20 or Maruti Wagon R.

[2000rpm]

Wagon R would be the best bet....I would suggest you stay away from Palio, very low on reliability!!

[cityvic]

Buy a post 2007 Honda City ZX.
It ticks all your boxes and will be the safest bet.

You should be able to get one for 2-2.5L easily.

[phamilyman]

I am really confused. You want a reliable car for your parents, and your father is a heart patient. But you want to buy a second hand one which *may* not be reliable. TANSTAAFL and all that.

You should buy a new reliable piece that gives them uninterrupted service. The cost of failure is just too high - unless there are other vehicles for backup in the family (in which case go with any of the above comments).

That's how I would do it.

/my mother's 7 year old alto is showing its age with frequent trips required for CNG adjustment and random drops in mileage - I am pushing her for replacement though she's least interested. if tata launch a reliable nano automatic - i'd buy one in a flash for her right away!

[HammerHead]

Originally Posted by x3qt0r

I am looking for a used car with the following general requirements

• Would be driven primarily within city(Mumbai) limits and city+100km, both two to three times a month.

• Dad being a heart patient, the car should not cease functionality if needed in the case of emergency.

• The car would be driven mostly by a driver.

• Should be spacious and comfortable.

• Low on maintenance.

• Should be safe

IMO you should stick to Japanese ones or at max Korean's when it comes to used cars.

If its going to be only for your parents, why not Swift?
You should be able to get one just under 3 Lakh in Mumbai.

You would also get Logan at that price point and if you could increase your budget, you should be able to get SX4 too. I saw couple listed on carwale.com

There are lot of i10's and couple of Figo's listed as well.

Originally Posted by phamilyman

/my mother's 7 year old alto is showing its age with frequent trips required for CNG adjustment and random drops in mileage - I am pushing her for replacement though she's least interested. if tata launch a reliable nano automatic - i'd buy one in a flash for her right away!

Why don't you gift her i10/A-Star Auto. She would definitely appreciate it and would leave aside Alto for sure

[avisidhu]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

my mother's 7 year old alto is showing its age with frequent trips required for CNG adjustment and random drops in mileage - I am pushing her for replacement though she's least interested. if tata launch a reliable nano automatic - i'd buy one in a flash for her right away!

Reliable. Automatic. Tata.
I'm not sure how you ended up using these three words in a single sentence mate

X3, would also suggest the Micra active, since even I think that if reliability is paramount then probably a new vehicle makes sense.

[vvb8530]

You can look at the Chevy Optra as well since it ticks most of the boxes of your requirement. Since you mention it will be used by your father and driver driven, Optra is extremely comfortable and the rear seat is like a sofa with damn good leg space, it is built like a tank and will be safe on the highway and well if you find a maintained one it would be reliable as well.

I myself own a 2006 Chevy Optra Petrol which has done 60K kms and still runs absolutely fine with no niggles at all. It is hardly ever used maybe 2 to 3 times in a month but my father refuses to let go off it and says that it hardly costs us anything even if just parked as is then why let it go.

I recently used it for a overnight trip to Tansa Dam over my Honda City as I find it handles bad roads much better than the City even though it is now almost 8 years old and the City is just about 3 years old. It is also more comfortable than the City as we were 5 of us in the car. Although i was a little skeptical about its reliability on the long run since it is not used very frequently but i faced no hassles at all. It gave me a fuel consumption of approx 11km/ltr on the highway and for the city usage returns about 9km/ltr. And since you spoke about motion sickness, a friend of mine who accompanied me in this trip also suffers from motion sickness and get sick even in my Innova but was perfectly fine in the Optra, so there you go one more box ticked

This time last year i had temporarily convinced my father to let it go and was being offered between 1.70 to 1.80L for it. So you maybe able to find a well maintained Optra for below 2L. It will also give you the feel and comfort of a bigger sedan for your budget.

Think about it.

Regards,
VVB

[Dopamine]

Hello fellow Tbhpians,
I am a college student looking for a pre-worshipped ride in Chandigarh. The car will be used as a daily-ride within the city with a few highway runs to Himachal. Diesel cars would be preferred but petrol cars are under consideration as well.
Mileage should be under 75K and the car should be under 5 years old. I stay alone away from home so I would prefer trips to the garage to be minimal. Safety features like ABS, Airbags and EBD would be lovely.
Most of the requirements (And the budget ) are somewhat flexible and I would like to go with the best car available.
Haven't shortlisted any cars as yet so I await your inputs.
Thank you.