[Tapish]

Originally Posted by sterlingsilver

Her EMI payments are on time and despite some bullet principal repayments, her principal outstanding amount on the loan is about Rs 3.25 lakh on date.

I am not able to understand. There are too many conflicting statements here. On another thread, you are looking to buy a BMW if I am not mistaken and here you are worried about a 3.25 lakh outstanding loan on a Baleno.

As a deal, the Corolla is pretty good. I would buy it in an instant at that price.

Looking at your situation, there could be a few ways to go about it:
1. Close the loan on the Baleno asap and sit tight with it for the next 5 years
2. Buy the Altis, if it also helps with your big car dream and you would then not need another big car

In any case, the loan is a problem, get rid of that first, then evaluate realistically your condition, and then go ahead.

Tapish

[sterlingsilver]

Originally Posted by Axe77

I think there are two key aspects in the order below which are partly interlinked.

1. Your financial status;
2. Kid on the way.

In summary, unless there is a question mark on the work / finances front - go for it.

Axe77, thanks for laying out the core issues so lucidly. Yes, what you say is making sense. I will give this some thought with your perspective. I need to figure out how big this is going to dent my savings at the end of the day.

Originally Posted by self_driven

Your Baleno is worth 5.5 lakhs. Your relative wants 4.75 lakhs for the Corolla. If you can coax them to keep a small car for local errands, both parties can simply exchange cars (without paper transfer).

How I wish my relative had agreed to this workaround! I already had proposed a straight no-cash deal exchange before I posted this on TBHP. Sadly, he is looking for an automatic for his city runs. So this was ruled out.

Originally Posted by landcruiser123

Hi Sterlingsilver,
More pros than cons in this situation, but the one big con- uncertainty due to COVID-19 can't be ignored.

If you, however, feel comfortable spending money and see the upgrade as necessary:

Hi landcruiser123, Iam not in the market for an upgrade. My 3 car garage is serving me just fine, till now. But as Petrolheads, we can seldom remain content with our wheels, can we? This offer from the altis owner came in and upset the proverbial apple cart. With this offer, I started evaluating the depreciation and stop loss on the loan as well as plug the urge / need for an automatic sedan, which would have been an eventuality 2-3 years down the line.

Originally Posted by petrolHead_1609

On a different note, may this kid bring you a whole lot of happiness, luck and fortune. God bless

Thank you petrolHead. Your blessings for our child are very very welcome and Iam grateful for those. I have still not been able to wrap my head around all the lifestyle changes we are making - The "new normal" as we say - in every sphere of our daily life. The rules made by the hospital are at another level for the delivery procedures and process. Sad.

Originally Posted by Tapish

I am not able to understand. There are too many conflicting statements here. On another thread, you are looking to buy a BMW if I am not mistaken and here you are worried about a 3.25 lakh outstanding loan on a Baleno.

Hi Tapish, thanks for taking the time to go through both my threads.

No contradictions or conflicts here. I already have a 3 car garage. The preowned BMW Iam contemplating (for which many members have given very enlightening inputs) is an addition, a specific gift to my mother for reasons already outlined there. The budget & economics for a preowned German is already set and kept ready. I have sought member inputs on the overall deal and maintenance costs / issues given my frugal nature of ways.

This thread is to trade in our Baleno with a relative's altis. Not an addition, but a replacement of one of our daily drives. This thread is to seek views with specif focus to the economics dilemma on this transaction. Being me, "A Penny saved is a Penny Earned". 3.25 Lakhs is a whole lot of pennies!

Originally Posted by Tapish

Looking at your situation, there could be a few ways to go about it:
1. Close the loan on the Baleno asap and sit tight with it for the next 5 years
2. Buy the Altis, if it also helps with your big car dream and you would then not need another big car

I am contemplating this too Tapish - Just closing the loan and sitting tight. But the baleno is losing a lot of value in the used car market, from my observation. Iam not sure if I want to pay off 3.25 lakh loan on the car and have a car which loses value faster!!!

[daredevil]

I would go for it. 4.75 L for 2014 Corolla AT is a great deal. I found OBV valuation (FAIR category) to be close to being realistic. I sold a car in Jan this year and bought another a month back. As per OBV FAIR condition, it should fetch between 8.7 to 9.25L. Not sure why your relative wants to sell this car. Please do check for any issues. You can get it thoroughly checked from Toyota dealer.

Alternatively, if you are in good terms with this relative, you can advise him not to sell his car for so less. Only saying this because he is aged/retired and would be loosing quite a lot on the deal. I will leave it to you

[sterlingsilver]

Quick Update:

Over the past 2 days, I had arranged 2-3 dealers of good standing in Chennai to have a look at the Corolla altis and give me a valuation.

The prices which I got from them was 5 lakhs tops. I had showed them some listings from OBV / Cars24 for 8+ lakhs and they mentioned that these listings have been around for some time. They mentioned that with the model being discontinued and the next model not being launched, prices have fallen sharply for the 2014 altis.

Iam told the 2017 facelifted altis in good condition commands a max price of 6-6.5 lakhs in good condition.

Just wanted to share.

[sv97]

Originally Posted by sterlingsilver

Quick Update:

Over the past 2 days, I had arranged 2-3 dealers of good standing in Chennai to have a look at the Corolla altis and give me a valuation.

The prices which I got from them was 5 lakhs tops. I had showed them some listings from OBV / Cars24 for 8+ lakhs and they mentioned that these listings have been around for some time. They mentioned that with the model being discontinued and the next model not being launched, prices have fallen sharply for the 2014 altis.

Iam told the 2017 facelifted altis in good condition commands a max price of 6-6.5 lakhs in good condition.

Just wanted to share.

Dont know the case for Chennai but I haven't seen a single listing this low for a 2014 altis or a 2017 facelifted altis in Delhi.

Its best if you can take it to Toyota UTrust because they offer the least prices to know the minimum prices you can expect and Cars 24 even they offer lesser than what you could fetch from a direct buyer.

Hope this helps.

[fiestarry]

If you are not in a financial bind I would suggest that you go for it. It is definitely a great upgrade and such deals never come twice. Besides, you know the owner.

The Corolla AT is absolutely nice to drive and own. There are other threads of much older Corollas that are doing extremely well even beyond 10 years
Go for it or regret missing out for a long time.
Otherwise, I can find you a buyer for it !

[Asish_VK]

I think you got a deal which is hard to resist . I would suggest to go for it.

Originally Posted by sterlingsilver

No contradictions or conflicts here. I already have a 3 car garage. The preowned BMW Iam contemplating (for which many members have given very enlightening inputs) is an addition, a specific gift to my mother for reasons already outlined there. The budget & economics for a preowned German is already set and kept ready. I have sought member inputs on the overall deal and maintenance costs / issues given my frugal nature of ways.

Since you have the financials set for a BMW, I suggest you to delay the purchase of this BMW and keep the money for some time more with you , to account the uncertainty of this Covid-19 situation (only if it's something bothering you).

Once the situation improves, and you are sure about the future, you can go ahead with that purchase.

Originally Posted by sterlingsilver

I am contemplating this too Tapish - Just closing the loan and sitting tight. But the baleno is losing a lot of value in the used car market, from my observation. Iam not sure if I want to pay off 3.25 lakh loan on the car and have a car which loses value faster!!!

You have to add the interest amount with 3.25 to the calculation as well. Then it will become more sweat deal according to me.

[JojyKerala]

I can see that everybody has shared some great insight on the car already.

Hope you take the right decision in an informed manner. If I was in your position, I might have gone for the Altis since the car is in pristine condition and he has quoted an absolutely fair price.

There is no need for me to reiterate how reliable Corollas are the world over. At the same time, Balenos are proven in India as well. However, I'm not sure about the sturdiness of its body after witnessing how my Uncle's Glanza reacted to a minor skirmish with a bike.

Originally Posted by sterlingsilver

Quick Update:

The prices which I got from them was 5 lakhs tops. I had showed them some listings from OBV / Cars24 for 8+ lakhs and they mentioned that these listings have been around for some time. They mentioned that with the model being discontinued and the next model not being launched, prices have fallen sharply for the 2014 altis.

Iam told the 2017 facelifted altis in good condition commands a max price of 6-6.5 lakhs in good condition.

Just wanted to share.

I shared this comment with a dealer friend and he says that even though the car is discontinued, it still commands decent resale value in the market, thanks to Toyota's bulletproof reliability.

He said your uncle can get between 5.5 to 6.5 lakhs and even higher if he approaches private buyers and not dealers.

[kamilharis]

Get the Corolla inspected at ASC , Close your eyes and go for it. Even if the Baleno is going to gift you some kind of depreciation, I would say that you are saving at least a sum of INR 2 Lakhs on corolla if you are getting it for the listed price of 4.75. I would prefer an empty bank balance with no EMIs to pay rather than have few lakhs of savings with an EMI running.

[gjnnbagal]

Originally Posted by sterlingsilver

Hi Guys,

Is 4.75 lakhs the right price for a single owner Corolla Altis 1.8L AT VL Variant 2014 model with 30k kms on the odo?


Please help!

I have one request, would you please share your relatives number to me
Just kidding

2014 top end Corolla AT that too of a relative with low running ~30k KMS ODO in 6 years, 4.7lacs!!!

This is just like buying something for huge discount from Amazon great Indian sale. A preowned car deal can't be better than this.(at the same time, this offering does create suspicion in mind, something fishy about the car)

I will suggest, you get the car checked from Toyota for any major issue and if well go ahead with the purchase, your family will enjoy it for sure

[aashishnb]

While a Corolla AT would any day be preferred over a Baleno, I would suggest you factor these additional points as well:

You have 3 cars, 2 small and 1 large. You are adding a BMW sedan and then this Corolla will also be a sedan.

Can your parking space accommodate 2 sedans (BMW, Corolla) and 1 Innova?
How long do you plan to keep the i20? I presume, the 2 smaller cars are for city use. Therefore, ideally you may want to keep at least 1 small car - helps to drive in city, get parking easily, etc.

Since you are an entrepreneur, you would be better off taking a business loan or topping up your existing business loan to pay for Corolla. Net position, you keep your savings intact, your business loan will replace Baleno EMI & loan, you get a better car, etc. If possible, this may make you even from a cash-flow perspective, making it an easier decision.

[RBalaM]

Hi,

Its a question between necessity or luxury. As far as necessity, you have already met ( your baleno ) and I assume you are quiet happy with it. The corolla, yup it offers better than baleno but I would call it a luxury.

Right now when whole world has turned upside down due to pandemic, were people are depending on their savings and struggling to survive. I would say meeting the need now is more important than opting for luxury. Luxury can be achieved later or when things get sorted out. And then corolla is a 3years old model than baleno and pre owned.

I would suggest you to stick to baleno and use savings for your need or incase of any emergency. You are also expecting your first child, so better savings will give you better confidence.

Regards,
Bala

[CEF_Beasts]

I feel Sir this is an excellent deal you are getting on a 2014 Corolla Altis VL AT considering market rates are much higher. Toyota cars have a longevity associated with them that none can match! But please do check the service history.

Naveen Soni VP sales and customer relations Toyota India had recently said in a live on Instagram that they will continue selling spares for the Altis for the next 10 years like they had done for the Qualis.

But Sir take a decision on the basis of the current pandemic prevailing.

Stay Safe

[Ferrari]

A contrarian view.. if you love driving and can keep the comfort as a second priority..

I had driven a 2015 Corolla Altis - hardly 1000 KM on the odo - on rental (Hertz) in US for a week. Totally lifeless and I hated it.

I owned the old Baleno between 2002 to 2006 before upgrading to a Honda Civic. It was a blast. It could touch 100 KMph in the second gear and you could cruise along the city in 4th gear at as low as 40KMph. Even while owning the Civic, I missed the Baleno which I had sold to a friend.

I haven't driven the new Baleno to make a true comparison, but just for these two reasons - if the new Baleno is anywhere close to the old one - I will not trade a Baleno for a Corolla.

And did someone say that Maruti has more service centers than Toyota?

[sooshan]

Guess it would not be a good idea to eat into your savings when a lot of things are looking bleak. With the family expanding, my suggestion would be to stick to the balance, pay off the monthly installments since you would have anyway planned financially considering it, and when things begin to look up, plan for a pre closure. Investing into something which ends up eating into the savings would be a big gamble.