[lamborghini]

Looking at the road conditions in Mumbai, and your requirement of a FTD car with the option of going the two car garage way in a few years, I'd suggest picking up something fun to drive right now (pre-owned within warranty F30 330i or similar would be my top pick) and adding a beater for the chauffeur driven days when you decide to hire one.

In my experience, fun to drive and comfort often see two very different buying criteria though the Superb does a great job at blending both. I would skip the city: the soft suspension, CVT gearbox will see you back here in 2 years when you've given this to the driver and want something more engaging. May as well buy the engaging vehicle now and buy a beater when it's time for the driver.


Single car garage: Superb.
Two car garage: pre-owned , low run, within warranty car of your choosing & something like the city / s cross for when you hire the driver.

[White Aviator]

Originally Posted by manish84

[*]Buy a Honda City ZX CVT today and I buy a pre-worshipped BMW/Audi/Merc in next 2 years. We will keep both the cars as my wife would primarily use Honda City (this is the car driver gets in future) and I will have a FTD car for myself. Honda City would cost about 17-18 lakhs and a pre-owned luxury car would cost 40 lakhs.

I think this option works the best and I would certainly go in this direction.
Doing this I would have a reliable fuel efficient car which can do the city errands and later can be used by the family.

Then it leaves me enough time to hunt for a nice pre-worshipped drivers car like the BMW 330i so I can have my own personal uncompromising fun to drive car without being bothered by space/fuel efficiency/reliability/others likes or dislikes, etc
It's the best of both worlds really

[manish84]

Originally Posted by divyadeeptsi

I would recommend you to wait a little and get the Skoda Slavia and save the money for a future used luxury car.

Agree on the FTD part. But given Kushaq's pricing I do not think Slavia with turbo and DSG would be priced as low as City. Also, AT is a must have for me (even if it is driver car for days when driver is on leave) and I do not want to get back into a DQ200 setup. I had lovely niggle free 6 years with that GB and I do not want to try my luck the second time

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Single car garage: Superb.
Two car garage: pre-owned , low run, within warranty car of your choosing & something like the city / s cross for when you hire the driver.

100% in agreement with you on single vs two cars garage logic. In fact, I was pondering in evening that if I buy Superb or A4 now, then I cannot buy a BMW for next 5-6 years and that made me realise my heart really lies in BMW (don't ask me to justify using logic, its probably just young age year impressions).

The only confusion now is the order of purchase.

1. BMW first and City later - Given chip shortage, new car discounts are not high in BMW and in my short search so far, I have not been able to locate a good pre-owned petrol 3 series. At the same time, I feel the City is underpriced relative to competition and Slavia may prompt Honda to up City's price. Which means if I buy a BMW today and City later, I may end up paying higher price for both of them.
   
   
2. City first and BMW later - Good part is that I will get a car with couple of weeks and that would solve my current car-less state quickly. Bad part is that I will have to live with the itch of buying a great car for next 2 years and that may take up my mind space every now and then. Also, there has been high car inflation in past 3 years. Is this trend going to continue or stall? If yes, then I may be better off buying the more expensive car today rather than later. I have no clue about this trend. Please suggest.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by manish84

I cannot buy a BMW for next 5-6 years and that made me realise my heart really lies in BMW (don't ask me to justify using logic, its probably just young age year impressions).

The only confusion now is the order of purchase.

1. BMW first and City later - Given chip shortage, new car discounts are not high in BMW and in my short search so far, I have not been able to locate a good pre-owned petrol 3 series.
   
   Is this trend going to continue or stall? If yes, then I may be better off buying the more expensive car today rather than later. I have no clue about this trend. Please suggest.

Can't argue about the love for BMW. It's a top favorite of mine as well thanks to its punchy engines, balanced ride and handling, and above average reliability.

That being said, I have become a recent convert on buying pre-owned well maintained, under warranty Germans as the pricing has gone out of hand.
However finding the right car means scouring used car portals regularly and maybe even making the odd compromise for a great car : prefer buying low run, within warranty cars but our pre-owned 328i was a 5 year old out of warranty example). Look for other options as well such as 5 series (2017 G30 530i, F10 530D), E Class (w212 E350), C300d, etc.
Company service history, accident history, are a must along with some funds parked aside for a rainy day. Generally on an out of warranty, less than 5 year old, low run German - I would advise keeping around 5L aside for maintenance.

Regarding price hike trend: prices will keep rising, but the discounts should also rise accordingly once the chip shortage is dealt with. Also, plan your purchase according to when a face-lift is due as stock clearance discounts are generally hefty. The X1 should see some heavy discounts next year before the new model is to be launched.

[manish84]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Can't argue about the love for BMW. It's a top favorite of mine as well thanks to its punchy engines, balanced ride and handling, and above average reliability.

That being said, I have become a recent convert on buying pre-owned well maintained, under warranty Germans as the pricing has gone out of hand.

The X1 should see some heavy discounts next year before the new model is to be launched.

So what I am preparing myself for is to buy Honda City immediately and then without any time pressure search for a good pre owned BMW.

You are right about discounts on upcoming facelifts. Read a tbpian bought outgoing 5 series instead of 3 and GTO brother bought superb at a steal price. Particularly on X1, I detisted the interiors of the current version, so that is not an option. Maybe Li facelift in 2023

[rajk15]

Might I suggest a pre-owned Honda Civic Petrol AT? It'll be better than the city at a similar price. If your need of a FTD car is still not fulfilled, maybe by '23 you'll be able to get your hands on a Tesla.

[sramanat]

Originally Posted by manish84

While the 3rd option could have been buying a Honda City and keeping my Polo GT until I find a replacement, this is off the table as I have already sold my Polo. I do not want to decide solely for financial reasons as I am comfortable in spending 40-50 lakhs today if I get the value for the money spent. Please provide your suggestions on how I should tackle this dilemma. Is there any other worthy contender that I am missing out? Am I not clear in my head on my requirements?

To sum up: you envision a 2 car garage and you have about 50 lakhs to spend on the two cars. A lot of us have been in this situation, but with different budgets.

Option 1 (which seems intuitive to a lot of us) is to spend less on the first car and keep max budget for the second car which will be bought a year or so from now. There could be more/less cars in the market then. If you are certain about the second car, Honda City is the better option now. May be consider a VX variant and keep the 2-3 lakhs saved for the second car.

Option 2 (the one favored by GTO (How a more expensive car can work out cheaper (if you hold onto it for longer))) is to buy the more expensive car now. This makes sense if you are unsure of the second car timeline. Does the superb tick all the boxes, or do you think you will get a better car in the market later?

[manish84]

Originally Posted by rajk15

Might I suggest a pre-owned Honda Civic Petrol AT? It'll be better than the city at a similar price. If your need of a FTD car is still not fulfilled, maybe by '23 you'll be able to get your hands on a Tesla.

Not comfortable with a discontinued model and availability of new Civic may be limited. Also wife is not open to pre-owned car.

Originally Posted by sramanat

Option 1 May be consider a VX variant and keep the 2-3 lakhs saved for the second car.

I am certain about ZX as leather seats is a must have (do not want to fit it later due to airbags) and sunroof & LED are good to have. Anyways 2-3 lakhs would not matter in 10 year ownership which is the intent of buying a Honda.

Originally Posted by sramanat

Option 2 (the one favored by GTO (How a more expensive car can work out cheaper (if you hold onto it for longer))) is to buy the more expensive car now. This makes sense if you are unsure of the second car timeline. Does the superb tick all the boxes, or do you think you will get a better car in the market later?

Second car timeline is roughly 2 years once my infant baby starts going to pre-school. Superb ticks all the boxes except it is not BMW
My worry is if I buy Superb today, then there is no BMW in sight for at least 6 years. I cannot buy 2 expensive cars or sell an expensive in 5 years after taking all the depreciation hit.

[NarediAni7518]

Why don’t you check out the Toyota Camry ? Do check it out once you’ll not regret it, it’s a great car one can buy in that range. Also, if you’re comfortable with spending around 40 lakhs, also check out the 330i Sport and Volvo S60, you might get some good discounts on them too. You can have your luxury car as well and get a beater a little later

[evil_grin]

The City CVT is boooring. Don't even think about it. The Superb is Skoda's equivalent of A6, not A4. The shorter length is why you liked to drive A4 more.

Since fun to drive is your top criteria, let me suggest you something that will appeal to your mind as well. Mumbai used car markets are among the cheapest to buy in the country. You should take advantage of that.

1. Buy a 3rd gen manual petrol city and upgrade the suspension to Tiens and get wider tyres. It'll be way more fun than a stock Octavia/Superb, especially within the city. Trust me, I have both. Total cost about 5 lakh.

2. Buy a low run used 3 series. You've always wanted one. You can take this on long drives and when you're getting into traffic jams. The AT and comfort will be welcome then. Cost about 30 lakh.

[GreasyCarb55]

If you can wait just a little bit I'd suggest checking out the upcoming Skoda Slavia, the Slavia seems to be one hell of a paradigm shift for not only Skoda or the Volks/Audi group but the entire sub 20 Lakh sedan category as a whole.

Yes the AT Version of the 1.5L (150hp) Slavia is paired with the DQ200 DSG but if we were to believe Skoda/VAG they've supposedly fixed the reliability or at the very least made improvements to the reliability of the DQ200.

But if you absolutely CANNOT wait and need to book the car in next couple of weeks then 100% get the Superb, the 2.0 TSI Superb is one of the best VFM cars on the market and is good FTD car. The City is good for someone like my dad aka someone who needs a comfortable, reliable, "do it all" sedan and doesn't care about performance or the driving experience.

I say from personal experience as my dad pushed for the Gen 4 City in 2017 over my recommendation the Skoda Rapid TSI and yup the Honda is more reliable but not really a FTD machine, I'd personally have a Skoda Rapid 1.0 or 1.2 TSI over the Honda City any day.

Here are the 3 solutions I see for this problem of yours:

1. Wait for a Slavia and get the 1.5 (150hp) AT, later buy a pre worshiped german car or a second fun car (Hot Hatch or Thar if you fancy off roading) and give the Slavia to your wife.

2. Buy a Superb 2.0 TSI now and then get a second hand beater as a secondary car.

3. Buy a Skoda Octavia 2.0 TSI (same 188hp engine as the Superb) as a FTD Vehicle for yourself and use the remaining 8-10L to buy your wife a Tata Altroz or Tata Punch, this solves the FTD and the Second car problem in one go, providing you're okay with stepping down from the Superb to the Octavia.

[shashi792]

After driving GT for such a long time, I don't think you will like City. The city is a very good car but is not worth considering for an upgrade from GT. You will feel the itch to upgrade again.
I would suggest investing your major chunk of money in buying Skoda Superb or a 3 Series. For the run-around/beater car, I would probably buy a pre-owned car say Tiago/Ignis/Brio which has a smaller footprint and is easier on the pocket to maintain. It's a beater car and that's about it. It has to be brought purely from the head than from the heart.

[karthikd21]

Whatever you do with the primary car(pre-owned BMW/Superb), consider the Thar Petrol AT for city as the 2nd one. It's superbly refined and very fun to drive. Test drive to beleive it.

[manish84]

Firstly an update on the car search: Dropping the Honda City from contention. My wife and myself took a 2nd long TD and it just did not feel plush enough. Engine and road noise was high and revving the engine gives the loud boom and not a sweet grunt. Also we realised that on one hand we are looking for a 10 year car and on other hand we are considering a car from 1 segment below. This means that though the car would last 10 years, surely we would not like to sit in it 3-4 years from now. This logic has given me immense clarity on dropping City from the contenders.

Originally Posted by karthikd21

Whatever you do with the primary car(pre-owned BMW/Superb), consider the Thar Petrol AT for city as the 2nd one. It's superbly refined and very fun to drive. Test drive to beleive it.

Thar for a city drive - wow I would have never thought someone would recommend this. This is too wild a suggestion. Maybe I will TD it when/if I go to check out XUV700.

Originally Posted by shashi792

The city is a very good car but is not worth considering for an upgrade from GT. You will feel the itch to upgrade again.
I would suggest investing your major chunk of money in buying Skoda Superb or a 3 Series. For the run-around/beater car, I would probably buy a pre-owned car say Tiago/Ignis/Brio which has a smaller footprint.

I agree and have dropped City as it is a clear downgrade even from Polo GT. Superb is a good choice. When I said beater car, I meant it would be the chauffeur driven car and not necessarily a small car. I cannot expect my family to use entry level hatchback with driver while myself using a luxury car unless I plan to sleep in my car .

Originally Posted by GreasyCarb55

Here are the 3 solutions I see for this problem of yours:

Octavia doesn't make any sense after Slavia unveil. I agree on Slavia instead of City - better engine/GB, lesser noise and better interiors. DQ200 is an issue but its covered under warranty for 6 years and thats a long time. Our lives would change a lot in 6 years.

Originally Posted by evil_grin

The City CVT is boooring. Don't even think about it. The Superb is Skoda's equivalent of A6, not A4. The shorter length is why you liked to drive A4 more.

Since fun to drive is your top criteria, let me suggest you something that will appeal to your mind as well. Mumbai used car markets are among the cheapest to buy in the country. You should take advantage of that.

1. Buy a 3rd gen manual petrol city and upgrade the suspension to Tiens and get wider tyres. It'll be way more fun than a stock Octavia/Superb, especially within the city. Trust me, I have both. Total cost about 5 lakh.

2. Buy a low run used 3 series. You've always wanted one. You can take this on long drives and when you're getting into traffic jams. The AT and comfort will be welcome then. Cost about 30 lakh.

Yes City is boring and out of contention. I am not into mods and hence your suggestion for used 3 series makes a lot of sense if I can manage to get one. Been checking with BMW dealers for used cars and there are hardly any in stock (zero availability of 3 series which is less than 4 year old). Going to unorganised used car dealers is very tricky esp if the budget is 40 lakhs. Waiting for some miracle to happen. I do not believe in miracles, I rely on them

Originally Posted by NarediAni7518

Why don’t you check out the Toyota Camry ? Do check it out once you’ll not regret it, it’s a great car one can buy in that range. Also, if you’re comfortable with spending around 40 lakhs, also check out the 330i Sport and Volvo S60, you might get some good discounts on them too. You can have your luxury car as well and get a beater a little later

330i sport is no longer available as BMW is not mfg it. M sport with all black interiors is there (which I do not like) and then there is 330Li which is 60+. I will try to check out Camry as many people have suggested it. Cannot get my head around paying 40-50 for a Toyota!

[Tkm]

TD the BMW X1 also
Great responsive car and fun to drive
Large sun roof
Comfortable bench and luggage space
Very reasonable 3 year maintenance package
And with some good haggling you may end up paying 40/41L to own it
Front wheei drive
Easy to get in and out
Reliable and looks good
Why not try before you decide??