[53BHP]

Definitely worth it. I am sure you have been given enough advise about cost of spares reliability issues etc. I have given friends both the baleno and baleno altura. Try to find an altura. It is a far more useful option for a very small additional cost. Bear in mind that careless damage to the car will lead to painfully costly repair costs. Body bits are expensive. Actually the same cost as the baleno as they are all sgp, but a lot harder to find

[me_sid]

Out of the lot, in my opinion, the most satisfying drive would be that of a Baleno, hands down. I own a 2005 January Baleno LXI ,bought second hand in 2008, and touch wood no major troubles. Yes spares are costly ( comparative to esteem & accent) and sometimes a little hard to find. However in Kolkata you won't have any issue on that. Whats more important is to assess the present condition of the car, ensure that you are not buying a Lemon and you will have permanent grin in your face, trust me on that.

[dj78]

From personal experience old used cars can be a real money pit unless of course you have luck on your side.
Two stories:
Unlucky Me
When in US in 2006 I bought a 1996 Nissan Sentra (to afford anything better had to wait longer to save up some more which was not possible). I had the car for one and half years - it ran alright and never stood me up anywhere and even resisted an attempted theft.
But I had troubles from the very start - The Check Engine light lit up in the first week. I bought a OBDII reader from the neighborhood Auto Zone and it was a P0403 code which indicated a problem with EGR. I was definite that the dealer had sold me the car after wiping the code but had no idea how he got the car to pass the emission test. I ran with the car like that for 6 mo. before I had to go in for the next emission test and I had to have it repaired for that. Took it to a Firestone and after hours of diagnostics they determined it to be a worn out rubber tube feeding into the EGR valve. What a relief!

Then the CV boots started giving out - replaced, tie rods worn out - had to replace, fan blower regulator cut out - replaced myself, replaced spark plugs and connectors myself.

But the more annoying things started after that - the leaks. First it was the coolant and then oil. You plug one leak and another one opens up - obviously the next weakest spot. Finally decided enough was enough and by that time the road trip and offroading bug had bitten me big time - it was getting hard to rent and return cars almost every other weekend. So decided to get rid of it - but by then recession had set in deep in the US and literally had to part with the car at a throwaway price.

If I factor the resell price of the car and the amount I spent on upkeep it was a major waste of hard earned money. But no regrets - I spent so much time with that car (much to the dismay of my wife) either working on it myself or with the mechanics when they worked on it that I learnt a few things about them...


Lucky Friend
One of my friends who was with me at that time bought this really old looking 1985 Honda Accord. It was really ugly - He drove it gingerly knowing its limits and it served him well during the two years there. He had actually bought the car for $1800 and offloaded it to a student when he left for $2000

So what is the morale of the story - I have no clue

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by dj78

So what is the morale of the story - I have no clue

LOL, liked this part. BTW, it should be "moral".

But yeah, you are right in saying that luck is a major factor in used-car purchases, which is why many folks (including me) stay away from buying used. We can never know what this 14-year old car has gone through, what is on the verge of breaking etc. And this is a factor for all brands/models.

[dj78]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

LOL, liked this part. BTW, it should be "moral"..

Yes sir you are quite right. Appraisal time, you know - so probably have been typing that word more than I should have.

[ksmrsm]

Hi Kumar,

Going by what you have mentioned, you are looking for a car to hone your driving skills. As a lot of fellow members have mentioned, you need buy for a very old sedan to understand its driving dynamics. Spend a year or two in a hatchback like a Wagon R or a Santro, hone your skills and then buy a new sedan. You wouldn't take too much time to master the sedan.

Better go for a newer hatchback rather than a old sedan to ensure that it spends more time with you rather than the garage.

[ak916]

I agree with cooltronics here. My upgrade from a Zen was to driving a Scorpio. I got used to the dimensions of the Scorpio in a week. There were no scratches on the car during this week either. So you are worrying too much. Instead of "wasting" the 1 lac rupees, just go ahead and buy the car (sedan) you want and take zero depreciation insurance and let the insurance company worry about the dings on the car. It really is no big deal.

Also, a Linea is a loooong car and nobody in my family has had a problem driving that car either.

[Cooltronics]

what is the update Kumar ?
Did you finalize your next car ?

[vivekgk]

I've been in the same quandary. (Un)Fortunately, I listened to my folks and bought a nearly new Nano at a very good price. The Nano is a great car and all, but when you've gotten used to things like good ride, neutral handling and a bit of torque and power (even a small bit, say 70PS/120Nm) you really miss it. My dad's happily driving it around the city nowadays. I do sometimes wish I'd gone with my first instinct and got myself a Baleno, Lancer, OHC or even that Accent Tornado GTX that I test drove. But then I look at the service costs of the Nano and they are not even worth mentioning here. Let me put it this way, the most expensive item on the last service visit was a spark plug.

Whenever you're buying something old and extinct, you have to be prepared to spend about 20k on immediate repairs/niggle fixing/freshening up/customisation expenses, and keep aside almost that much for anything on the vehicle that might choose to give up the ghost after all those years. Also, it helps if you have an alternate mode of transport as backup for emergencies.

To sum up, I think you would be better off buying something not quite so old to practice driving in. So, citizens of Team-BHP, what would be the best driver's car for under 90K (that's also reasonably easy to maintain)? I tried to come up with a suggestion, but other than the Zen, I can't think of any driver oriented small car at that price.

[NitroSRT]

You can get a 2006 Ford Fiesta for 1.3-1.4 Lakhs (Delhi Prices). A 2006 fiesta makes much more sense than a 2000 baleno and will be more reliable only if you can find a good ford mechanic because the authorized service centers are all bad.

[Kumar R]

Originally Posted by Cooltronics

what is the update Kumar ?
Did you finalize your next car ?

Well. it's become complicated. I am in New Delhi for 3 weeks and I borrowed first a Hyundai Eon and then an SX4 from a close friend to drive around. Delhi being Delhi, Ive driven around a lot (about close to 700 km in 8 days) in all kinds of traffic and am pretty comfortable with the SX4 -- I am thinking now of graduating directly to the Polo when I get back to Kolkata, and drop the used-car plan altogether

[Cooltronics]

Originally Posted by Kumar R

Well. it's become complicated. I am in New Delhi for 3 weeks and I borrowed first a Hyundai Eon and then an SX4 from a close friend to drive around. Delhi being Delhi, Ive driven around a lot (about close to 700 km in 8 days) in all kinds of traffic and am pretty comfortable with the SX4 -- I am thinking now of graduating directly to the Polo when I get back to Kolkata, and drop the used-car plan altogether

Kudos kumar
This is what makes the forum so helpful as people share their experiences and help others make wise decision.
Very happy for you and looking forward to see your "new" ride. New car experience is always special and different. Pre worshipped car might tick all the right buttons and give you that monetary, practical advantage but nothing beats the smell of brand new car and driving it out of delivery bay.

[octane1002]

Just wanted to put in my perspective here for anyone considering the Baleno on a tight budget.

While going for a baleno, try to look for the vxi models from 05 end-07 mid.These models were the ones equipped with climate control/14 inch alloy wheels..even the stepney is an alloy in addition to rear spoiler and other vxi goodies.This makes the Baleno well-specced compared to what other options offer at that price point of 1-1.4 lakhs(05-07 models).

Consider this, a 05 swift vxi which is available for not less than 1.5 lakhs (and that's a steal going by mumbai prices for a swift) will not only not have these options but will also be underpowered compared to the Baleno and not have the boot as well.

Ditto for 06-07 esteems which are available for 1-1.3 lakhs except that the esteem will probably offer you the benefits of a sedan.

Fords are really expensive to maintain.A colleague owns an ageing 1.4 LITRE Fiesta and the less said about maintenance costs the better.I'm not even going into Ikon territory here as far as maintenance is concerned

Accents..well, no offence, but hyundais and fun to drive really dont go hand in hand.

Most 80k-100k KMS. genuinely run OHCs available, quote a price of anything between 1-1.6L on an average, and it'll still be older than your 05-07 baleno by 3-5 years.

Having owned a Baleno for the last few months, I can say that other than some cosmetic parts, mechanical parts are reasonably priced and easy to source/repair in a city like Mumbai.

Also (although really difficult) look for cars that have done not more than 60-80k. A Suzuki engine at 80k will still have a lot of juice left if maintained properly.You'll be really lucky if you find a single owner car since most of these cars are onto their second/third owners now.Nonetheless, its the odo reading that really matters.So if you are looking at a reliable/fun to drive sedan at that price point look for a Baleno that meets the criteria I listed out.The AC on the car deserves special mention.Its actually one of the strong points of a Baleno.

I got a single owner doctor driven Baleno home with a genuine running of 70k for 1.3lakhs. Yes, I paid a premium, but then it is a December 06 model and single owner for a car that's 7 years old.I needed a second car at home for grocery/household duty until my wife buys a new car in a couple of months, so the Baleno has pretty much accomplished what was expected of it and then some more. Maruti A.S.S. is a boon in case you do get stuck in remote locations.

Apart from the 13k that I spent on service,clutch/brake overhaul and suspension work, there was little else needed

[arnabchak]

From the list Baleno is the obvious choice.

But bear in mind that the cost of owning and maintenance will be much higher than the 82K you put in buying the car.
Since you have a tight budget and this is your first car, why spoil the first car buying experience in putting your hard earned money in a 14 year long discontinued(cracker of a) car.

Look for good examples of Zen/Wagon R Type 1/Alto/800/Santro and they will be good on your pocket and the owning and maintaining experience will be much lesser than the Baleno.

I have owned a 2nd Hand Ikon till 2012 and believe me it is a fantastic drive.

Yet, when reality in terms of maintainance hits you, the pockets are completely ripped apart.

Best said, AVOID in capital and bold letters.

[ebonho]

I drive a January 2005 Baleno. Yet to complete 60,000 kms. It is quite simply the best car I have ever owned. Except for the ground clearance (on bad speed breakers) there is nothing I do not like about this car. Lovely car. Gem of an engine. Gem of a gearbox. Fantastic A/c. Spacious and comfortable for my family of 5 (its only recently with the kids growing big that I felt the need for something bigger and got the Storme). I am never letting this car go. And with the Bridgestone Potenza GIII upsize upgrade (though still R13) and alloys, a beautiful handler as well. Total control.

Did I say lovely car?