[vivek.ks]

Corolla, especially Altis, Till 2013 was a really well-built and reliable car. Here is my example, perhaps the only Black VL AT in Bangalore and serving me for the last 3 years. 8 years old, 49k driven, and still in top shape.

Frankly, when I drive cars of today I hardly miss anything because no sedan below 15L comes close to the comfort and assurance that this car provides. I recently upsized the car tires also and post this the ride is super comfortable.

For long drives, the car does 90-100 in Cruise Control comfortably, Fully Loaded, AC 100% on, and returns 14-15 km/l. With the bulletproof reliability that the Toyota badge brings, what else do you need from a new car?

[sagarpadaki]

Hold on to Altis, it is a VERY reliable car. Considering your running, it does not make sense to put money on a big car. Keep the Altis and maintain it well. It will run as long as you want it to run! From the pics, it looks very well maintained cosmetically. If it is well maintained mechanically as well then it is no brainer to hold on to it!

[DieselAddikt]

I just bought a 9yr old Altis 2 weeks back and you are planning on selling one. I have a City back in my native and I should tell you that the 9yr old Altis feels built to last compared to the 2017 City. Also, the cabin is more silent and seats are more comfortable. If you discount the fact that the dashboard looks dated and the car is not exactly a sharp handler, the Altis feels more premium in every way. I have no experience with the latest gen City though. Like many have already said, keep the Altis for some more time and do a "proper" upgrade. And let me tell you, upgrade from Altis is going to be difficult.

[Durango Dude]

She's a keeper! I'd say keep her if she's trouble free. I'd have kept my Elantra and not bought the City if she was sound and if traffic hadn't gotten worse for me to require an automatic. Since she's just been 3 years with you. That said it's so easy to loose touch with a manual after driving an automatic, that manual get's relegated to entertainment and just to "keep in touch" and automatic becomes the 'automatic' default choice as a daily driver, given the traffic conditions these days.

[pareekvirendra]

Originally Posted by Axe77

PS: Just saw the pics again. Your car looks immaculate!! Kudos to the first owner as well as you in keeping it in top shape over the course of a decade. It looks the part of a true enthusiast’s car.

Thank you, the car is as neat inside as it is on the outside, including the mechanicals.

Originally Posted by condor

Toyota's dont break down. Remember this ?

Ads such as these are one of the reasons I bought the car. And driving this car for three years has reinforced those advertisements for me.

Originally Posted by car_guy1998

BTW, is your Altis Petrol version or Diesel?

It is a Diesel Model.

Originally Posted by Sushil Pingua

I also agree that even a bit of more maintenance budget on you altis would be beneficial than getting another sedan when you already have a tough built Toyota.
If you want a new car I would advise to go for a cross-SUV with decent ground clearance and retain the altis.

I agree, The maintenance for this car is likely to be lesser than the EMI for a new car. Also, I don't think I can get a S Cross after driving this car for three years.

Originally Posted by asit.kulkarni93

It's better to retain the Altis. It's a much better product. Get it remapped and change the seat covers. That will give you the much required change. 2-3 EMIs of a new city per year can take care of the insurance and maintenance of your Altis.

This was my line of thinking too and one of the reasons I decided to invest in a used car for my first car.

Originally Posted by GTO

Of course, there will be repairs as the car ages, simply because every part has a finite life. At 100,000 km, you should expect the usual replacements. But remember, repairing the car is significantly cheaper than selling it. Please do read my detailed article (Want to sell your car because of repairs? Think again!) on the topic.

I totally agree, It does make much more sense to keep the car, and that's why I was hesitant to sell it and get a new one.

Originally Posted by Axe77

Of course you need to also strike a balance between how much you would want to spend on a fully written down car but I would treat the spend from an active engagement lens and not what value it would deliver on ultimate resale.

This makes a lot of sense. Thank you.

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Since you are open to pre-owned, you could even consider an upgrade to a pre-worshipped new Gen Corolla Altis which would be around Rs. 10L for a low run good condition vehicle, offering many advantages of the city (performance, lower downtime, etc.); and the advantages of the Corolla (seat comfort, ground clearance for touring, build quality etc.). However, even in this case, you would have to live with fewer features and a boring dash compared to the City + city is more nimble.

I was open to preowned at the time of buying this car, however, right now the prices of preowned cars are extremely high and hence it makes a lot more sense to buy a new car. So I was planning to get a new car. But not any more.

Originally Posted by nirmaljusdoit

Do get the mechanicals checked, suspension, brakes etc which are the normal wearable parts. You should have a trouble free ownership !

I did get everything checked at its 140000 kilometers service a few days ago and she has no issues as of now. I hope to keep her that way.

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

The Honda has distinct advantage of being the more modern car with much better performance and looks, but dont know if those are things you need.

I don't particularly care for looks, but I do want reliability and good performance, and the Altis scores well on both of these.

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

She's a keeper! I'd say keep her if she's trouble free.

She is quire trouble free right now.

Wow, so many replies and every single person has recommended that I keep my car. Well, what can I say, I agree and I will hold onto the car till she is allowed to run by the government.

One of the reasons I was thinking of selling the car was the cost of its spares. It has some of the most expensive spare parts that I have ever seen, which scares me. However, I guess I will take good care of the car and hope for the best.

[snallagatla]

You can definitely keep Altis for another 3 to 4 years for sure. Altis is a superior car compared to Honda City. As long you maintain the car well with regular services and checks, It is unlikely that car gets break down.

[IshaanIan]

I am going to go against the tide here and recommend selling your car purely on the basis that it is a diesel. Diesels tend to wear out bits like mounts and bushes faster, the weight on the nose inhibits one from having fun piloting the thing and the overall character of a diesel leaves a lot to be desired in terms of refinement, power and torque delivery etc. Also, even though the car is made here, Toyota charges near import prices for parts so I'd say quit worrying about turbo hose pipes and worn bushes and simply get rid of it for a modern petrol. Exchanging it for a used petrol Altis might even be a nice option. And while we're bashing the the new City for not being as well made as one expects a Honda to be, why not check out the used market for the new but discontinued Civic? The car has been in the market only a few years and it shouldn't be hard to find pristine examples considering more than half of their ownership life would have seen scarce usage during the pandemic.

[condor]

Originally Posted by pareekvirendra

I did get everything checked at its 140000 kilometers service a few days ago and she has no issues as of now. I hope to keep her that way.

One of the reasons I was thinking of selling the car was the cost of its spares. It has some of the most expensive spare parts that I have ever seen, which scares me. .

Good call to retain. I would say that unless you abuse it, you should not really have any problems in it. If parts are on the expensive side, just give a thought about how much premium a new car insurance costs each year

Your car has done 1.4L, of which you have done 40k. I have crossed the lakh with my Storme, and now looking to the next lakh. Some cars cant be replaced. Altis too is a good one to keep.

[mohitchalla]

Keep the Corolla. It is one of the most reliable cars ever built. Since you are maintaining it regularly, there is no reason for the car to give you problems or breakdown regardless of it's age.

Also, the City will be a downgrade is you are coming from a Corolla. The Corolla is a superior vehicle in every category.

Save and invest your money into an asset rather than acquiring a depreciating liability (car) when you already have a pretty good car.

[vikramvicky1984]

I would suggest you to take a long test drive of the city, especially on bad roads. It would clear the heart part of the decision.

Logically, it is very clear from all the posts that retaining the altis makes more sense- you'll lose equivalent of altis's resale in one year of city's depreciation. Insurance and other costs have already been mentioned.
Adding one more point- do keep in mind the running costs as well, fuel prices do matter.

Also think do think what spending merely a lakh on the altis can get - tyres, seat covers, steering wrap, ICE, projector fog lamps, dash cam, mats.

[46TheDoctor]

If Corolla is in good health, retain it instead of buying City for the following reasons:

1. Its a Toyota's global product and City is for developing markets. Corolla is definitely superior if you measure it on quality and engineering parameters instead of just comparing the features.

2. Its a Toyota, so the product life in itself is long (upto 20 years) and you have excellent service in India.

3. Buying a City after Corolla is a downgrade, if you were buying something better engineered, it would have been justified.

4. If the itch to upgrade is due to touch screens and infotainment features in newer cars, you can change the head unit in your car to an android unit and you will get almost all these newer functionalities.

5. There is simply no point in taking new auto loans, taking depreciation hits, paying higher insurance premiums, etc. for newer cars just for some new gimmicky features. Its better to spend whatever little is needed to maintain the current reliable Toyota unless you are buying a significant mechanical upgrade to the existing car and the increased costs are not a burden for you.

[pta320]

I would suggest you to retain the Corolla Altis. The latest gen City is nowhere as well built as the Altis. The Honda City lost its quality and durability after 3rd generation.

And I drive a 2003 Toyota Corolla petrol and it's my daily driver. I just overhauled the suspension completely and the car feels rock solid now. No issues in the car till date and I hope it stays the same. Toyotas are built to very high standards and it's very rare to see any critical failures in Toyotas unlike European cars.

[pareekvirendra]

Originally Posted by mohitchalla

Also, the City will be a downgrade is you are coming from a Corolla. The Corolla is a superior vehicle in every category.

Save and invest your money into an asset rather than acquiring a depreciating liability (car) when you already have a pretty good car.

The way I looked at it, a 5th Gen City would have been an upgrade in terms of peace of mind over a 2011 Corolla Altis. However, I assumed that the Altis would be less reliable than the 5th gen City. Plus it would have lots of new features like 6 air bags, new ICE and so on. I don't have the budget to get a more expensive car and the City is as far as I can stretch.

But now I was thinking of doing exactly what you suggested. I will invest the amount of proposed EMIs for City. If the Altis gives me a surprise, this fund can be used for that, and if she doesn't, then the fund can be used as seen fit a few years down the line. Either way, it is going to cost me less than what the City will cost me now.

Originally Posted by vikramvicky1984

I would suggest you to take a long test drive of the city, especially on bad roads. It would clear the heart part of the decision.

Logically, it is very clear from all the posts that retaining the altis makes more sense- you'll lose equivalent of altis's resale in one year of city's depreciation. Insurance and other costs have already been mentioned.
Adding one more point- do keep in mind the running costs as well, fuel prices do matter.

Also think do think what spending merely a lakh on the altis can get - tyres, seat covers, steering wrap, ICE, projector fog lamps, dash cam, mats.

i did take test drive of the 4th and 5th Gen City and the ride is nowhere near my Altis. I drive a ten years old car and she drives better than a New 4th and 5th Gen City. Think about that. I might be biased, but that's how I felt. As for the head over heart the heart is with the Altis, and the Head was going for the city, simply because that's the best I could get right now.

And that lakh was exactly what got me thinking, because its parts are so very expensive.

Originally Posted by 46TheDoctor

5. There is simply no point in taking new auto loans, taking depreciation hits, paying higher insurance premiums, etc. for newer cars just for some new gimmicky features. Its better to spend whatever little is needed to maintain the current reliable Toyota unless you are buying a significant mechanical upgrade to the existing car and the increased costs are not a burden for you.

I completely agree. There is simply no point right now. So I have decided to retain the Altis, and I look forward to several more long trips.

[rajshenoy]

If I look at your car pics, only one thought that comes to my mind is "Hang on buddy". The car looks solid. Since the Toyotas are known for their mechanical reliability, I feel you will be better off as compared to Honda(especially their service)

Obviously the features and tech used in 5th gen City will be superior compared to 10 year old Corolla but it is a call you need to take.

Since you are keen on a Sedan category, do checkout the Skoda Slavia as well.

[R_Gowardhan]

Either keep the existing car and take on the maintenances / part replacements (as and when due) or go for a used Altis (next generation) if the itch to change the car is strong .

Buying a new City will feel like a downgrade in every aspect and at the current prices will not be a money-'wise' option.