[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by Rameshdude

Sorry for hijacking the thread.
I have a 2011 July diesel Fluence E2. Everything has been fine. But for now, due to certain health issues, I need to have an AT car. Various options were considered. Finally Renault dealer has come with an offer. They have an unsold 2011 nov petrol AT. The deal is , for my car they would give 10lakhs and in exchange I can get the petrol Fluence for 14.75 . This seems to be their final offer after much negotiation. My driving has also come down to less than 1000 Kms. What is the opinion of the members ?

If rear passenger space is not so key, you can actually look at the Ford Fiesta DCT. A step down from the Fluence, but you should be able to get a new AT without spending much above the 10 lakhs you can get for the current E2.

[Rameshdude]

Originally Posted by vb-san

If rear passenger space is not so key, you can actually look at the Ford Fiesta DCT. A step down from the Fluence, but you should be able to get a new AT without spending much above the 10 lakhs you can get for the current E2.

Thanks Vb San and others. After reading your replies, it got me thinking. Later I called them and declined their offer. As you all suggested, it is better to go for a Fiesta or Vento AT. I need something easy on my back and left leg. I also feel Ertiga zxi might be a good option with its light clutch.
( Mods, you may please move this to any other appropriate thread)
Thanks

[Anghammarad]

Originally Posted by Rameshdude

Thanks Vb San and others. After reading your replies, it got me thinking. Later I called them and declined their offer. As you all suggested, it is better to go for a Fiesta or Vento AT. I need something easy on my back and left leg. I also feel Ertiga zxi might be a good option with its light clutch.
( Mods, you may please move this to any other appropriate thread)
Thanks

Good luck with your car choice, I still seem stuck regarding my options.
And hope your health issue resolves.

[Anghammarad]

Update:
I contacted Fluence, and they informed me that the Fluence at this time could not be CNG - Fit. This effectively took the fluence out of the running as far as a car was concerned for me.
Started looking at Civics and Toyota Corolla Altis' as recommended on the thread.
With that in mind I looked around and found a few Civics, notably one which is Feb 2011 manufactured, 13000 kms on the odometer, under warranty till March 2013 and going for 11.5. I believe I can get the dealer down to 10.5 or so, or at least I am hopeful in that regard.
I asked a friend to accompany me during the TD and will be taking a long the checklist on this website for Used cars.
The dealer would not allow me to take this to a registered service centre, he says they deliberately fail cars because they want people to buy their cars and he has had experience with that in the past.
The car comes with a non accident and non tampering of odometer guarantee as well as comprehensive service history. He claims to have no problem with me getting any mechanics/ engineers to check/test the car at the dealership itself for as long as I want and during the test drive.
Does this sound dodgy? Or should I not worry about it because the car is under warranty anyways?
Also regarding insurance, it is already insured, but he said the insurance gets over in feb 2013, so asked me to consider taking insurance from the dealer themselves at a cost of 25,000 rs and 3000 rs name transfer charges for the car.

I am, as I said earlier, heading there to checklist the car tommorow with a friend, I wanted to know if there was any way around the not being able to take the car to a service centre angle. Or if anyone knew of any engineers they could recommend to come have a look-see, I would be more than willing to reimburse them for their time.
Does the car on paper make sense? Cost wise/mileage and so on?
Thanks in advance for your replies.

[MetalBuff]

Hey, have you given a thought to a pre - owned Innova? Is Japanese, very reliable, comfortable and cheap to maintain. Most importantly, going for one with a diesel heart, will prove easy on the pocket as well.

Although,the high seating (as compared to the sedans) "might" turn out to be an impediment for your dad during ingress/ egress.

[Anghammarad]

Originally Posted by MetalBuff

Hey, have you given a thought to a pre - owned Innova? Is Japanese, very reliable, comfortable and cheap to maintain. Most importantly, going for one with a diesel heart, will prove easy on the pocket as well.

Although,the high seating (as compared to the sedans) "might" turn out to be an impediment for your dad during ingress/ egress.

A friend has an Innova, the space is to die for, but yes the height does create a problem for my father.

Re: My previous post, still concerned if the car makes sense or not? I would appreciate it if someone could advise me on the matter.

[MetalBuff]

Mileage and cost wise it does make sense. If you can get that down to 10.5 or 10.75, you land up with a great deal.

Why I say that? Coz, I myself have been checking out sep/nov 2010, 15000-25000 kms run VATs in the 8.7-9 lakhs (without negotiations) range.

The dealer refusing to get the car certified at the Honda service centre!! That's a reasonable demand from your end. Additionally, taking a mechanic along will not equal the extensive and comprehensive checks that are done at the service centers. A friend of mine bought a 06 civic and got it evaluated at Apex Honda and it's a really good thing to get a clean chit from the experts themselves - Complete peace of mind is what one would get.

Furthermore, calling up the insurance company for any claims and checking the service records would also lend us some cue. If those are clear, I guess we are good to go

[MetalBuff]

Originally Posted by MetalBuff

Mileage and cost wise it does make sense. If you can get that down to 10.5 or 10.75, you land up with a great deal.

Why I say that? Coz, I myself have been checking out sep/nov 2010, 15000-25000 kms run VATs in the 8.7-9 lakhs (without negotiations) range...

Well, apologies as I read that as a Feb ' 12 variant. Blame the cellphone view for that :(. 11.5L (as quoted by the dealer is way too high going by what is being quoted in the market). Shouldn't go beyond 10L in any case IMHO.

MODS : Couldn't edit this post within the stipulated time. Anyway possible to merge this with the previous post? Thanks.

[Anghammarad]

Originally Posted by MetalBuff

Why I say that? Coz, I myself have been checking out sep/nov 2010, 15000-25000 kms run VATs in the 8.7-9 lakhs (without negotiations) range.

The dealer refusing to get the car certified at the Honda service centre!! That's a reasonable demand from your end. Additionally, taking a mechanic along will not equal the extensive and comprehensive checks that are done at the service centers. A friend of mine bought a 06 civic and got it evaluated at Apex Honda and it's a really good thing to get a clean chit from the experts themselves - Complete peace of mind is what one would get.

Furthermore, calling up the insurance company for any claims and checking the service records would also lend us some cue. If those are clear, I guess we are good to go

Im hoping to get him down to 10, and then CNG-Fit the car.
Whereabouts are you finding these Civic VATs in the 15to 25k mileage for 8-9 lakhs, if you don't mind? I can't seem to find any =/
Yes the non willingness to get it tested there is an itchy point, but it is still is within the warranty as far as he is concerned. The service history checks out , but I will be doing more checks as and when a price is finalized.
Thanks again

[iliketurtles]

Originally Posted by Anghammarad

Re: My previous post, still concerned if the car makes sense or not? I would appreciate it if someone could advise me on the matter.

Just read this thread after a fair bit, but good to hear you've made headway!

MetalBuff got it right when he said that 10L sounds like a fair deal, but if the car is a good one then it might be worth paying that little bit extra just to be sure that you got a good deal. Value boils down to your perspective eventually. But yes, 11+ would be a no-go if I were personally buying this car.

You're well within your rights to ask for an expert check-up, but taking a trusted mechanic along will do just fine. I never got Honda to check out my City when I bought it, took it to a trusted mechanic instead and he gave it the thumbs up after checking it out.

Which area do you stay in? Do try to get hold of a good mechanic and check the service history/insurance as MetalBuff suggested.

[sumeethaldankar]

Originally Posted by Anghammarad

Im hoping to get him down to 10, and then CNG-Fit the car.
Whereabouts are you finding these Civic VATs in the 15to 25k mileage for 8-9 lakhs, if you don't mind? I can't seem to find any =/
Yes the non willingness to get it tested there is an itchy point, but it is still is within the warranty as far as he is concerned. The service history checks out , but I will be doing more checks as and when a price is finalized.
Thanks again

Hi,
also try zigwheels classified for a Civic .You might get a good deal.

[MetalBuff]

Originally Posted by Anghammarad

Im hoping to get him down to 10, and then CNG-Fit the car.
Whereabouts are you finding these Civic VATs in the 15to 25k mileage for 8-9 lakhs, if you don't mind? I can't seem to find any =/
Yes the non willingness to get it tested there is an itchy point, but it is still is within the warranty as far as he is concerned. The service history checks out , but I will be doing more checks as and when a price is finalized.
Thanks again

BrokerDalal, Carwale and the likes. There was a mint Nov 2010 15k clocked Civic VAT available with BrokerDalal for 8.75L (negotiable). I had my eyes on that but, unfortunately, has been lapped up by someone now . I would suggest, you speak to these guys (Frank.Mehta seems to have had a superb experience with these guys) and ask them to help you out with a similar instance, if possible.


Came across similar examples on Carwale as well.

To start off with, i strongly suggest going through classifieds like OLX, Quickr and Carwale (Not forgetting our very own Team-BHP classifieds) just to build up our understanding of the price expectations set forward by the owners/ dealers.

As mentioned several times in this beautiful community, a C2/ D Segment car usually loses around 30-40% of its original price in the first year itself.

On a separate note, were you successful in getting the dealer's expected price down to some extent OR came across any good examples?

If someone could advice, how the concept of warranty functions - As an example, considering, my car is within warranty, and i upgrade the tyres to a size not recommended by the manufacturer so, out goes my suspension warranty. However, does that mean i lose cover on my Engine and the electricals as well? Any help in this regards would be much appreciated. Thanks.

[iliketurtles]

In addition to the names of online used car dealers mentioned on this page, I'd throw in gaadi.com into the mix. A friend of mine used it to try and sell her car, but had a so-so experience. BrokerDalal got rave reviews from Frank Mehta, I'd hit them up too if I were you.

[Anghammarad]

Originally Posted by iliketurtles

Just read this thread after a fair bit, but good to hear you've made headway!

MetalBuff got it right when he said that 10L sounds like a fair deal, but if the car is a good one then it might be worth paying that little bit extra just to be sure that you got a good deal. Value boils down to your perspective eventually. But yes, 11+ would be a no-go if I were personally buying this car.

You're well within your rights to ask for an expert check-up, but taking a trusted mechanic along will do just fine. I never got Honda to check out my City when I bought it, took it to a trusted mechanic instead and he gave it the thumbs up after checking it out.

Which area do you stay in? Do try to get hold of a good mechanic and check the service history/insurance as MetalBuff suggested.

Call me a sucker :( I went and bargained and bargained with the guy and couldn't get it down to below 11, which is what we finally agreed on. Getting the bank stuff ready now, it's a white Honda Civic AT 2011, 14k on the odo, pristine condition.
I am working out the nitty gritties as per the Insurance, though he told me that the name transfer will take 30 days or so to get done and will show up directly at my house. (Is that so? The Smart card bit). He said I can take the car and the sale receipt to show the cops if I am stopped in the interim.

I took a long 2 mechanics who looked at the car and highly recommended I go in for it, I think that was why the guy refused to budge on his price, he realised the car was something I was interested in.
Insurance is coming to around 26,000 rupees, plus 3000 transfer fees.
Still about a lakh above what I wanted to spend, and CNG fitting will do around 60,000 more, but if the car gives me the good service I am hoping to get from it, then it will be worth it eventually

I will be taking the 'buying a used car' checklist with me during the final purchase, if there is anything else anyone can think of that I should do, please do let me know.
Thank you all for your help, advice and guidance, it has been invaluable.
I will be posting in the Initial ownership reports, a few days after taking possession of the car.

@ Turtles, I live in Mahim near the Church.

Once again thanks all.

[sumeethaldankar]

Wow, another Civic.Congrats :-).The name transfer in my case took 10 working days and i remember paying around 2.5 K something.Also for insurance try shopping around you will get a better deal.

Good Luck with the new wheels