[barbar]

As the title says..

A friend of mine is going in for a car and has these choices :

1)OHC Vtec : done abt 16000 kms, in good condition etc.. Rs. 4.4 lacs
2)Skoda octavia rider 1.8 for about double the cost

Now tats a realllly good deal for the vtec but his concern is tat if he does buy that will is be too expensive to maintin it and modify it? He is gonna start modifyin watevr he buys (gradually) so will it be more expensive over time compared to the rider. The initial cost diff is huge but tats not tooo much of a prob..

I told him about the baleno but noone in the family agreeing to buy tat. Is the cost (maintainence/modification) of the vtec compared to the baleno more?? or the vtec compared to the
rider more?? Vtec got better looks also compared to the rider but the rider has a much better engine (same as the RS) although it comes in a different category..

Some help???

[Laxminarayan]

For me, I wouldn't have had second thoughts.. OHC Vtec

[RX135]

If you have the money to go for it, then 1.8 TPi all the way. No second thoughts! Both are expensive to maintain (if you need to replace any parts), but Honda dealers appear to be more responsive than Skoda. There are few stories about callous Skoda dealers.

But what is he looking for? power? performance? ride/handling? maintenance? driving pleasure? run time economy?

[GTO]

Well, what are we comparing here? Two cars of different vintages and a price difference of a 100%?

Cost no bar...of course the Octavia. With remaps and suspension upgrades, the car will be a killer.

GTO

[Boom Shiva]

8.8L for a Rider 1.8T? I always thought it was more, even for a used one.

[dr chill]

For the price of of the octy ,you could get a VTEC and modify it as you like it.....but if price is not an issue an octy 1.8 rider will be better since it won't be over 2 years old...what say you guys???

[v1p3r]

Between the two, pick the Vtec eyes closed. Much cheaper to own, mod, drive, maintain, than the Octavia. It will consistently return 13 kmpl in stock form. You'd be praying hard for the Octavia to hit 11.

Between the Baleno and the Vtec...well the Baleno will be cheaper to mod, and spares are cheaper. So the Baleno wins there.

[devarshi84]

logically speaking vtec is made specifically for city driving. Not good on highways though. The car has been discontinued and can be problematic in spares in the long term. Resale will dip further too. performance in the city and Fe are strong points. Better option if your friend is gonna drive in the city for 95% of the times and mod the car.

Skoda is a bigger car. I had test driven the skoda and found it a touch bigger for city use. But can be gotten used to. Power is the best in class and is built tank like. FE wont be bad but city will beat skoda here. excellent highway cruiser. Looks more upmarket.

I would prefer a skoda unless the car has to be modified.

[raihan]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

logically speaking vtec is made specifically for city driving. Not good on highways though.

Now how did u deduce that? there are several posts on this forum where stock vtec owners have hit a speedo indicated 190+ kmph!! is that a bad highway performance

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by raihan

Now how did u deduce that? there are several posts on this forum where stock vtec owners have hit a speedo indicated 190+ kmph!! is that a bad highway performance

point 1. Only max speed doesnt indicate whether the car is suitable for highways or not. a Safari is a better highway cruiser even though it hardly would be reaching 150( I dunno the exact max speed).

point 2. Here is a comparo between skoda and OHC vtec. Do u want to say that OHC vtec is a better highway cruiser?

[balenopower]

Originally Posted by devarshi84

. The car has been discontinued and can be problematic in spares in the long term. Resale will dip further too. .

exactly my point...the car is discontd..allthough parts still avlbl...but after sometime it is going to dry up...skoda much fresher in comparison ans not to mention much faster too..
would def advise to go for the octy....

[hellspawn]

i wud go for the skoda 1.8petrol.....i wud choose the vtec if i had a budget of 5l but since ur friend doesnt have any budget constraints..he shud go for the octavia.the car is still being manufactured,spares will be easier to find.

[GTO]

The car has been discontinued and can be problematic in spares in the long term.

Rubbish. Honda has committed that it will offer spares support for the Vtec for a minimum of 10 years since production stopped. Thats an official commitment uptil 2013.

Second - Think about it. Which business would not want to profit from so many OHCs on the road? Thats the real area where service centers make their $$$.

GTO

[naveendhyani]

Octavia anyday for me, if price is not an issue. its sturdy, big and it does pay in safety also.

[v1p3r]

Originally Posted by GTO

Rubbish. Honda has committed that it will offer spares support for the Vtec for a minimum of 10 years since production stopped. Thats an official commitment uptil 2013.

These commitments mean zero. Tomorrow Honda will say the parts are not stocked internationally etc and there is no demand or some such thing. There isn't much you can do then.

Agreed, an industry may sprout up for the business, but they won't be genuine Honda parts, will they?