help on 2nd hand sedan !!!

Surprise · 11th February 2006, 18:52

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsreekaranrao

Early 2000 black baleno top end 83k on odo decent sound system(pioneer mp3 head,JBL component speakers at the back and pioneer speakers up front, pioneer 4 way amp and 800W pioneer woofer),alloys etc... Price 2.80L good service history from dealer and accident free(it is my friend's car so no issues of rough use). How much can i bargain on the price.
My friend claims a mileage of 12 in city (can it be true) with a/c(i.e with petrol) i forgot to mention he also has an RTO approved gas kit installed from the dealer itself...
What are the performance mods i can get for the baleno. I found the power more than enough but my son is insisting on getting a K&N filter atleast. Is it advisable.
There is no way i am buying a lancer because my neighbour has one and he finds A.S.S. pathetic !!!

Dont miss this deal. I dont have an idea of used car prices in Hydreabad. Anyhow, mcclaren 1885 indicated you a price point of Rs.2.5L, even if its slightly higher go ahead and close this deal.

If you dont have luck, you will have a very tough time in getting good one (I learnt it in a hard way). It takes off your peace and time. Hence if you feel everthing is fine, even dont hesitate to pay a slight premium & get it closed.

prince85 · 11th February 2006, 19:07

Tsreekaranrao, the esteem is a gem of car only if you can accept the dated part of it. Its very efficient, not all that slower than the baleno either. Especially if u going in for a second hand car, there are bound to be more problems compared to a new car and this is where a esteem is a better bet. The spare parts are much much cheaper than the baleno. Just make sure u buy decent mpfi car and not the carb one.

V1P3R, I think you need to correct yourself coz according to u the esteem vx is always a carb whereas mpfi cars are differntiated by the vxi badge?.
I dont think so. Me thinks the esteem vxi came into the picture only in the last part of 2002 or early 2003 whereas the mpfi esteem was launched in early 2000. My gf has a 2002 esteem vx which is an mpfi and IMHO, from the drivers point of view the esteem is not soo slow compared to the baleno, its just a very marginal power difference atleast when you drive it. I recently bought myself a new esteem vxi a month back and i had test driven the baleno as well, i did not find such a big difference atleast in the porformance of the 2 cars. Incidently i had an esteem lx from 1997 till december last year when i sold it for my new car. So IMHO, esteem all the way for me guys.

Cheers

v1p3r · 11th February 2006, 23:38

Prince, as far as I can remember, the i series started in 2000, when MPFI became mandatory.

I have owned carbed Esteems, and while some of them are pretty quick, and the Esteem is quick to 100, I would still pick the Baleno any day. Much easier in traffic, and also it eats the competition alive after 100 on the speedo.

Sreekaran, I hope your son has a valid DL atleast now. I would suggest a dead stock Baleno to start off with. Not a good idea to start driving with mods on the car.

prince85 · 12th February 2006, 00:33

Oh thats good v1p3r, So u said you have owned a carb esteem? well, i too have owned one(1997) and currently have a 2006 mpfi esteem (bsIII). Let me be the first to tell you that there is a vast performance difference between the carb and the mpfi esteem in terms of performance(65bhp vs 85bhp). The surge in power especially in the 2 and 3 gears in an mpfi esteem is not matched by the carb esteem.

Well, i agree that the baleno is indeed faster than the mpfi esteem after 100, but not by much. I have hit a speedo 185 in my gfs esteem vx (2002) in goa in early 2005 and it would have gone faster but a slow moving hyundai accent spoilt it forcing me to lift up from the gas pedal.

And V1p3r, i have been following your posts a lot and respect you as a senior in this forum because of which i checked out with spectra motors in mumbai who are maruti authorised dealers regarding the esteem vx and vxi factor. To cut a long story short, maruti introduced esteem vx limited edition in late 2001 which did in well in the market since it came with defogger, spoiler, automatic antenna, fog lamps, body coloured door handles and OVRM cowels which were not present in the esteem vx till that time. After the limited edition series was over, all these same features were added to the esteem vx in late 2002-2003 and the car was rebadged as the esteem vxi. and even later when the "all new esteem" was launched in late 2004, the badge remained the same. Infact, there is a way to even differentiate a esteem vxi which is bsII or bsIII, the difference is in the spoiler, BsIII has a much higher rear spoiler compared to the BSII. Hope it helps.
I am sorry if my post was boring

.
cheers

tsreekaranrao · 12th February 2006, 08:11

Yes my son does have a valid driving license and the final rate for the esteem is 2L and the baleno is 2.6L. Shall i take the baleno ???

gr8guzzler · 12th February 2006, 08:15

How about a Ford Ikon??? You'll get a good 2000/2001 1.6 ZXI for 2-2.5L...

Godfather · 12th February 2006, 08:29

Quote:

Originally Posted by prince85

Tsreekaranrao, the esteem is a gem of car only if you can accept the dated part of it. Its very efficient, not all that slower than the baleno either. Especially if u going in for a second hand car, there are bound to be more problems compared to a new car and this is where a esteem is a better bet. The spare parts are much much cheaper than the baleno. Just make sure u buy decent mpfi car and not the carb one.

esteem all the way for me guys.

Cheers

its a nice car but Go for the Baleno... Even though i own a 2003 mpfi esteem and looking at the posts it looks like your son needs a fast car and only a k&N on the esteem wont help much.. The baleno is faster and safer compared to STOCK esteems... No offence prince but lots os difference between 85bhp and 90+ bhp baleno....

prince85 · 12th February 2006, 08:35

tsreekaranrao,
It all depends on what you are looking for? If you plan to buy a second hand baleno, be ready to shell out some good amounts of money coz its one expensive car to maintain compared to the esteem. And secondly the fuel efficiency of the baleno is slightly lower than the esteem. On the other hand, baleno is a much safer vehicle than the esteem and has a much better rear seat too. So you need to wiegh in all these factors and then make a decision.

Cheers

prince85 · 12th February 2006, 08:37

Fair enough godfather

tsreekaranrao · 12th February 2006, 08:37

I heard baleno has a more powerful and fuel efficient engine than the ikon. is it true??? Ford spares are also pretty expensive...
This will be the 1st second hand car in our family we never used cars for more than 3years so i don want any maintainance problems.
I dont think i will look beyond maruti or maybe hyundai

prince85 · 12th February 2006, 08:41

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsreekaranrao

I heard baleno has a more powerful and fuel efficient engine than the ikon. is it true??? Ford spares are also pretty expensive...
This will be the 1st second hand car in our family we never used cars for more than 3years so i don want any maintainance problems.
I dont think i will look beyond maruti or maybe hyundai

Yea, its true that the baleno is more powerul than the ikon 1.6, IMHO Baleno is a much better car than the ikon anyday.

tsreekaranrao · 12th February 2006, 08:43

My advantage with maruti is that i can get labour free service(The dealer is a very close friend of mine).FE is not a major concern as the car will not be used for more 1000kms a month(so my might spend a little over 5k a month).<My diesel cars do close to 15k a month

>

Godfather · 12th February 2006, 08:57

I dont think the Baleno is expensive to maintain at all.. hardly any diff when getting the esteem serviced and the baleno... i have both the cars.. 2003 esteem and 2005 baleno... Both the cars are good in their segments.. The cost of maintainence of maruti as a whole is less compared to hyundai.. My viva was expensive to maintain..compared to the baleno.. if you are getting a good deal on the baleno.. close your eyes and go for it..

tsreekaranrao · 12th February 2006, 10:46

thanks everyone i am buying the baleno...

Hope i wasnt too much of a trouble

Godfather · 12th February 2006, 10:50

Quote:

Originally Posted by tsreekaranrao

thanks everyone i am buying the baleno...

Hope i wasnt too much of a trouble

No problem at all bro... good luck with the Baleno and drive safe...

11th February 2006, 19:07	#17
prince85 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 971 Thanked: 123 Times	Tsreekaranrao, the esteem is a gem of car only if you can accept the dated part of it. Its very efficient, not all that slower than the baleno either. Especially if u going in for a second hand car, there are bound to be more problems compared to a new car and this is where a esteem is a better bet. The spare parts are much much cheaper than the baleno. Just make sure u buy decent mpfi car and not the carb one. V1P3R, I think you need to correct yourself coz according to u the esteem vx is always a carb whereas mpfi cars are differntiated by the vxi badge?. I dont think so. Me thinks the esteem vxi came into the picture only in the last part of 2002 or early 2003 whereas the mpfi esteem was launched in early 2000. My gf has a 2002 esteem vx which is an mpfi and IMHO, from the drivers point of view the esteem is not soo slow compared to the baleno, its just a very marginal power difference atleast when you drive it. I recently bought myself a new esteem vxi a month back and i had test driven the baleno as well, i did not find such a big difference atleast in the porformance of the 2 cars. Incidently i had an esteem lx from 1997 till december last year when i sold it for my new car. So IMHO, esteem all the way for me guys. Cheers Last edited by prince85 : 11th February 2006 at 19:16.
	() Thanks

11th February 2006, 23:38	#18
v1p3r Senior - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: BLR / DXB / LON Posts: 5,363 Thanked: 7,504 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/1 (7)	Prince, as far as I can remember, the i series started in 2000, when MPFI became mandatory. I have owned carbed Esteems, and while some of them are pretty quick, and the Esteem is quick to 100, I would still pick the Baleno any day. Much easier in traffic, and also it eats the competition alive after 100 on the speedo. Sreekaran, I hope your son has a valid DL atleast now. I would suggest a dead stock Baleno to start off with. Not a good idea to start driving with mods on the car.
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 00:33	#19
prince85 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 971 Thanked: 123 Times	Oh thats good v1p3r, So u said you have owned a carb esteem? well, i too have owned one(1997) and currently have a 2006 mpfi esteem (bsIII). Let me be the first to tell you that there is a vast performance difference between the carb and the mpfi esteem in terms of performance(65bhp vs 85bhp). The surge in power especially in the 2 and 3 gears in an mpfi esteem is not matched by the carb esteem. Well, i agree that the baleno is indeed faster than the mpfi esteem after 100, but not by much. I have hit a speedo 185 in my gfs esteem vx (2002) in goa in early 2005 and it would have gone faster but a slow moving hyundai accent spoilt it forcing me to lift up from the gas pedal. And V1p3r, i have been following your posts a lot and respect you as a senior in this forum because of which i checked out with spectra motors in mumbai who are maruti authorised dealers regarding the esteem vx and vxi factor. To cut a long story short, maruti introduced esteem vx limited edition in late 2001 which did in well in the market since it came with defogger, spoiler, automatic antenna, fog lamps, body coloured door handles and OVRM cowels which were not present in the esteem vx till that time. After the limited edition series was over, all these same features were added to the esteem vx in late 2002-2003 and the car was rebadged as the esteem vxi. and even later when the "all new esteem" was launched in late 2004, the badge remained the same. Infact, there is a way to even differentiate a esteem vxi which is bsII or bsIII, the difference is in the spoiler, BsIII has a much higher rear spoiler compared to the BSII. Hope it helps. I am sorry if my post was boring . cheers
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 08:11	#20
tsreekaranrao BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: hyderabad Posts: 115 Thanked: 2 Times	Yes my son does have a valid driving license and the final rate for the esteem is 2L and the baleno is 2.6L. Shall i take the baleno ???
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 08:15	#21
gr8guzzler BHPian Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 653 Thanked: 87 Times View My Garage	How about a Ford Ikon??? You'll get a good 2000/2001 1.6 ZXI for 2-2.5L...
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 08:35	#23
prince85 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 971 Thanked: 123 Times	tsreekaranrao, It all depends on what you are looking for? If you plan to buy a second hand baleno, be ready to shell out some good amounts of money coz its one expensive car to maintain compared to the esteem. And secondly the fuel efficiency of the baleno is slightly lower than the esteem. On the other hand, baleno is a much safer vehicle than the esteem and has a much better rear seat too. So you need to wiegh in all these factors and then make a decision. Cheers
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 08:37	#24
prince85 BHPian Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Mumbai Posts: 971 Thanked: 123 Times	Fair enough godfather
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 08:43	#27
tsreekaranrao BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: hyderabad Posts: 115 Thanked: 2 Times	My advantage with maruti is that i can get labour free service(The dealer is a very close friend of mine).FE is not a major concern as the car will not be used for more 1000kms a month(so my might spend a little over 5k a month).<My diesel cars do close to 15k a month >
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 08:57	#28
Godfather Senior - BHPian Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bangalore / Atlanta Posts: 1,387 Thanked: 71 Times View My Garage	I dont think the Baleno is expensive to maintain at all.. hardly any diff when getting the esteem serviced and the baleno... i have both the cars.. 2003 esteem and 2005 baleno... Both the cars are good in their segments.. The cost of maintainence of maruti as a whole is less compared to hyundai.. My viva was expensive to maintain..compared to the baleno.. if you are getting a good deal on the baleno.. close your eyes and go for it..
	() Thanks

12th February 2006, 10:46	#29
tsreekaranrao BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: hyderabad Posts: 115 Thanked: 2 Times	thanks everyone i am buying the baleno... Hope i wasnt too much of a trouble
	() Thanks