[naveendhyani]

hi guys!

i m getting more and more confused regarding buying a used car. if u go thru my previous posts u will see that i have considered baleno & accent CRDi.

i friend of mine bought a purple lancer 2001 (37k) for 2.45 lacs with minor paintjob requirements. this has sent my calculations into tizzy.

i have gone thru threads some of which state that the lancer maintanence is expensive whereas others say its become much cheaper than the baleno.

so starting fresh let me give u all what my requirements are

Cost : 3.75 max
Monthly Travel : 700-800 kms
Easy on maintanence (its really weird as some say its too much for a lancer and others say its almost nothing)
pls also consider the FE in posting ur suggestions.

also do u think for the same year model the lancer wud b cheaper? i was amazed when this friend told me that since its a luxury car the reselling cost is not too much. i have checked the net for prices and i guess the prices in delhi are almost 50k less than the prices down south, is this true?

[typeOnegative]

Naveen, do you erally require a big car?

[naveendhyani]

Originally Posted by typeOnegative

Naveen, do you erally require a big car?

thanx for the reply. very honestly i dont like cars without the boot. its not that i m trying 2 show of 2 somebody but i m a little choosy for things in life. thanx again.

[typeOnegative]

Hi Naveen. the reason I asked was that you may get a new hatch for that amount.

If you have decided to go in for a sedan, then there is only one way to go about it. Shortlist all the cars within your specifications - age, mileage (kms travelled) and price. Try to go directly to the owners as dealerships may charge too much for too less. Once that is done try to determine which car(s) is in the best condition. After that I think people will be able to tell you the pros and cons.

For a monthly run of 700-800 kms a petrol should suffice imho.

Regarding your question about the Lancer, I think it would be cheaper. Whether it is cheaper to run however will be a function of how it was looked after in the first place.

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by naveendhyani

hi guys!

i m getting more and more confused regarding buying a used car. if u go thru my previous posts u will see that i have considered baleno & accent CRDi.

i friend of mine bought a purple lancer 2001 (37k) for 2.45 lacs with minor paintjob requirements. this has sent my calculations into tizzy.

i have gone thru threads some of which state that the lancer maintanence is expensive whereas others say its become much cheaper than the baleno.

so starting fresh let me give u all what my requirements are

Cost : 3.75 max
Monthly Travel : 700-800 kms
Easy on maintanence (its really weird as some say its too much for a lancer and others say its almost nothing)
pls also consider the FE in posting ur suggestions.

also do u think for the same year model the lancer wud b cheaper? i was amazed when this friend told me that since its a luxury car the reselling cost is not too much. i have checked the net for prices and i guess the prices in delhi are almost 50k less than the prices down south, is this true?

I have a 2003 model sfxi with me and my friend's family runs kataria maruti showroom which is one of the biggest in the west. he himself used to drive a baleno vxi which is close to 2003 but I am not sure.

Maintainence wise lancer is hassle free. I have not paid anything yet on my car for maintainence. Baleno used to be expensive but with the price redutions spares have been pretty cheap. service network for maruti is an advantage though.

Both give equal FE figures so mileage shouldnt be a problem within 1000K per month.

resalewise lancer's prices are usually higher than Baleno's but its is possible than you get a cheaper car as a good deal. Down south lancers are expensive coz diesel lancers have been good sellers there.

Older Baleno's lack new baleno's features like 13" alloys, auto a/c, better interiors etc while Older lancers are axually better than new ones.

looks wise and handling wise again lancers trump over baleno

I would rate lancer better than the baleno but most of the t-bhpians here may think otherwise. The ball will be ultimately in your court as you are the one who has to decide.

[naveendhyani]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

Both give equal FE figures so mileage shouldnt be a problem within 1000K per month.

friends, i still m in dilemma over these two cars. i checked with a couple of dealers and was told that a 2002-3 lancer wud b in the range of 2.75-3 whereas the baleno wud b 3.25-3.5

considering both the EMI of the loan amount and the fuel used they will b more or less the same value for me. now the ultimate question boils down to their cost per kilometer (maintanence). pls help me with this cause in my known circle nobody owns ny of these cars. pls keep in mind i will b goin in for a 3 year old car so this cud b a big issue.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by naveendhyani

i checked with a couple of dealers and was told that a 2002-3 lancer wud b in the range of 2.75-3 whereas the baleno wud b 3.25-3.5

A Baleno with better resale value than a Lancer of the same vintage ? That's quite surprising (and if true, quite reassuring also).

[naveendhyani]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

A Baleno with better resale value than a Lancer of the same vintage ? That's quite surprising (and if true, quite reassuring also).

for some readon yes its true. but the key question still remains, which has the least troubled life and which costs less in per km scenario.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by naveendhyani

for some readon yes its true. but the key question still remains, which has the least troubled life and which costs less in per km scenario.

Well, you could tackle that Q from the other side.
What is your per/km cost for your Maruti ?
How much per/km cost can you afford ?

For my 3 month old baleno it's around Rs. 4.25/km .. including fuel.

Assume a (high ?) value of say Rs. 7/km (for an old Lancer/Baleno with FE around 10kmpl, including fuel and excluding accident costs). Your annual mileage would be appox 9000 kms.
So at most a total annual outlay of Rs. 63,000.

I wonder if the difference in per/km cost between a Lancer and a Baleno would be more than 1 or 2 rupees (either way). Regarding your Q on 'least troubled life' .. I would think there is not much difference between these 2 cars. So you are looking at an approximate variance of 9000*2 = Rs. 18,000 annually.

The Q you would need to ask yourself. Can you live with this variance if need be ? If so, IMO concentrate on other aspects of the cars and choose one which you like and that which is in better condition.

[naveendhyani]

@shuvc : cud u pls tell me how did u reach this figure of 4.25/km. and also i m sure that a variation or Rs 2/km is a gr8 deal no matter what somebody might say. no offence as i clearly understand that u r trying ur best 2 make me understand the math.

look wise : very slightly inclined to lancer (as long as they cost the same per km)
performance wise : no choice since i m not looking for a stonker, decent speed.
stability wise : i hope both of them rock with 14"

so i m trying 2 find a balance of all of them. my total EMI + running expense wud b almost the same for both cars considering the forum figures (lancer 10-12 city/hway and baleno 12-14). its boiling down to the maintanence cost/km. pls correct me in the figures that i have calculated or my interpretations.

[naveendhyani]

also since i m in delhi i m sure i can get these figures easily, not many traffic jams etc.

[shuvc]

Originally Posted by naveendhyani

@shuvc : cud u pls tell me how did u reach this figure of 4.25/km.

so i m trying 2 find a balance of all of them. my total EMI + running expense wud b almost the same for both cars considering the forum figures (lancer 10-12 city/hway and baleno 12-14). its boiling down to the maintanence cost/km.

Oh, I just keep tabs of all expenses for the car viz, fuel, washing, service (of course only 1 till date), etc .. and divide by no of kms logged. Primary contributor to the figure is obviously fuel @ approximately 11kmpl.

If you want just maintenance costs/km (excluding fuel) the best would be to look up Nov '05 issue of ACI where they have listed all spare part prices and calculate the difference approximately. The most commonly consumed ones are also categorised.

However, I would say since these cars are pretty close on the per/km factor, spend more time on getting a trouble free car.
I had bought a 2 yr used Indica petrol in v good condition which gave me trouble free service for 3 years (for e.g. not 1 fused bulb even), but then there are also instances where people have had problems.

After all for a used car you never know. For arguments sake, say a Baleno has a 2kmpl advantage on the Lancer, but you end up buying one which develops problems - your advantage is negated. A Lancer in a better condition may have saved you that money. Which is why I indicated that overall maintenance wise these 2 cars should be pretty close to each other and it will be very difficult for you to get the data to gauge the 'winner'.

If you would feel more proud standing beside a Lancer , go for it, but find a good specimen.

[devarshi84]

My lancer is a 2003 model as I said before. I have not had a single maintainence cost until now.

even the new lancers are made pretty tough.

I will stand by the lancer.

[prince85]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

I have a 2003 model sfxi with me and my friend's family runs kataria maruti showroom which is one of the biggest in the west. he himself used to drive a baleno vxi which is close to 2003 but I am not sure.

Maintainence wise lancer is hassle free. I have not paid anything yet on my car for maintainence. Baleno used to be expensive but with the price redutions spares have been pretty cheap. service network for maruti is an advantage though.

Both give equal FE figures so mileage shouldnt be a problem within 1000K per month.

resalewise lancer's prices are usually higher than Baleno's but its is possible than you get a cheaper car as a good deal. Down south lancers are expensive coz diesel lancers have been good sellers there.

Older Baleno's lack new baleno's features like 13" alloys, auto a/c, better interiors etc while Older lancers are axually better than new ones.

looks wise and handling wise again lancers trump over baleno

I would rate lancer better than the baleno but most of the t-bhpians here may think otherwise. The ball will be ultimately in your court as you are the one who has to decide.

Great write-up dude. BTw, i am happy for you that your car has served you very well as regards to maintenence costs, but I haven't heard of any major maintenance problem with the Baleno either, i don't feel it has any reliabilty problems whatsoever. Well, you say that the Baleno and the Lancer give similar FE!, i don't know about the FE of a Lancer soo i cannot comment. Handling wise, i have driven both cars and didn't get a chance to check the handling prowess of the Lancer at decent speeds soo i cannot comment on that too. But my dear friend what you forgot to mention is the performance of these 2 cars! The Baleno just kills the Lancer in that regard . I am not putting the Lancer down but then this point was not compared soo i would like to add that.

But, boy the Lancer does stand out in the looks department. Its such a stunner! i just love the look of a red SFXI, by the way devarshi, whats the colour of your car bro???.

Cheers

[zulfikar]

If i was in your place i would have gone for Lancer.
well FE is little lower then Baleno but the looks are better then Baleno(thats what i think)