[Ashar]

It's a NO from my side as well. TATAs have come a long way in terms of reliability, but even now they can't hold a candle to the Marutis / Hyundai. We have a TATA Punch and within just an year of purchase, we have seen niggles cropping up and is nowhere as tension-free as that of a Maruti/Hyundai. If this is the case with a new TATA, then one can only imagine the condition of old TATAs. Parts falling off brand new TATA cars of that time (Indica, Indigo, etc) were pretty common those days.

Having said that, they come with a very strong body structure compared to Marutis/Hyundai - even the old ones. My sister met with an accident in a Tata Indigo where the car hit a divider (front right side) at around 80 km/hr and the car overturned thrice before coming to a halt. There was no airbags in the car but everyone walked out of the car with minor injuries. I am sure she would not have survived had it been a Maruti.

[Sam800]

I do have Indigo cs 2009 Tdi and Indigo CR4 2012 both at home. Tdi was bought pre owned in 2013 (1,12,000kms on odo) while CR4 was bought new (company leased) in 2012. Cr4 has been quite reliable throughout years and currently its odo stands at 90k kms. Tdi's odo is at 1,70,000 kms of now.
Initially during the first 3 years, CR4 gave couple of surprises like oil pump failure. But after those 3 years the ownership and reliability has been smooth. Indica and indigo are proper work horse with acceptable reliability (better than european cars) but their reliability can't be compared to Maruti or toyota. One can buy a old maruti or toyota without much thought but can't do the same with tata. Tata cars also have major servicing every 3 years which includes timing belt and pulley change every 3 years.

My advise- increase your budget by 15-20% and buy a car from Maruti/toyota stable or maybe a Hyundai. The amount of 50-60k you're investing to buy the indigo, you might need another 15-20k sooner than expected to keep the car running. Tata's spares don't cost a bomb but they don't last long like japanese do.

Also, not to forget that all the cabs/commercial vehicles are maintained at bare minimum levels. They use cheapest oil, cheapest coolant and lower costing spares to keep their budget in check. I hope you take an informed decision.

-saket

[UD17]

Originally Posted by wheelspinner

What to check in the Indigo engine/mechanical aspects?

Please avoid these higher runs Tata Diesel. You can take a route for low run privately owned Marutis like: WagonR, Alto, Celerio, Swift etc. for the low budget. They would be better than Tata Indigo in terms of ownership[ cost, reliability and servicing.

[SuperGirl_Dad]

Originally Posted by wheelspinner

Hi team,

I'm getting 2010-2012 Tata Indigos eCS/CS with CR4 engine for dirt cheap like Rs. 50,000 - Rs. 70,000.

I am willing to take a gamble (I have a high risk tolerance and quite used to huge financial losses in my investments ).

My goal is to use it for a couple years. Is it worth going for this car in 2023 as a first car if on a tight budget?

If budget is tight and you are open to learning, why dont you consider Tata Nano / one from MS stable. You can get a better car for this budget.

[sarav100]

Trust me when I say this: Indica/Indigo is the worst car you could have to have driving experience. Instead, you’ll gain workmanship experience since you’re guaranteed to get a few new issues each time you take it for drive.

Secondly, 50K seems a bit more than market value for Indica/Indigo. Scrap iron Indigo market rate should be 25-30K. You shouldn’t pay more than than 35K for it. I sold my Indica V2 for INR 26550(yes, the negotiation did come to last 50 rupees as well).

I would say get any non-accidental Maruti model that you could get your hands on. Maruti will make you a far better driver than Indica ever can.

[arjab]

Originally Posted by wheelspinner

Hi team,

I'm getting 2010-2012 Tata Indigos eCS/CS with CR4 engine for dirt cheap like Rs. 50,000 - Rs. 70,000.

Please don't. The CR4 series is notorious for a plethora of reasons and the worst performing component is its common rail system. It fails at a drop of a hat and its expensive to repair or replace. And this is just one of the problem areas.
Believe me, I have seen CR4 failures very close upfront and it is with all good intentions, I'm requesting you to desist from buying one.

If you are hung up on buying a Tata, look towards the FIAT powered diesel Indica Vista's or Indigo Manza's. 2008-2009 vehicles should be available at under 80,000 rupees. At least with scheduled maintenance, the FIAT powertrains are reliable.
Used Zen's, 1st Gen Wagon-R's, 1st gen Santro's - all should be available below a lakh of rupees.

[wheelspinner]

Originally Posted by Ashar

Having said that, they come with a very strong body structure compared to Marutis/Hyundai - even the old ones. My sister met with an accident in a Tata Indigo where the car hit a divider (front right side) at around 80 km/hr and the car overturned thrice before coming to a halt. There was no airbags in the car but everyone walked out of the car with minor injuries. I am sure she would not have survived had it been a Maruti.

Exactly why I was so keen on giving it a shot but I have dropped the idea after I mulled over the feedback shared in this thread. I know Indigos that have been driven 300,000 Km without any fuss. But obviously, not everyone maintain their cars so well.

But they look decent in my eyes, it is subjective. Personally, I was fond of the white Indigo during childhood. There was a simple elegance to it. Besides, the body structure is quite solid, and the diesel engine feels quite torquey. No diesel sedans around that are so cheap. In an Alto, I don't feel confident. Not even as confident as in my commuter bike

[greenhorn]

Hey look - I don't want to give this up just yet. One thing you have are mechanic friends, which the rest of us telling you not to buy don't have, and the biggest pain with the indica is the labour cost. When the car was designed 25 years ago, labor was peanuts, and tata vehicles were popular because despite frequent parts replacements, cheap parts and cheap labor meant cheap ownership. Today labour costs have spiked and now its worth spending on expensive parts if they save on labour in the long run.

Now the important question - how much of a 'Friends and family" discount are your friends willing to give you - You can check out a lot of my service bills uploaded in my ownership thread here
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...-km-up-27.html (Tata Indica DLG Turbo. EDIT: 15 years & 114k km up)
Almost half of the cost is labour. If you cut that down, then you are getting close to a reasonable ownership cost. Now you have to figure out how much of that cost your friends are willing to bear and see if you are saving money over 3 years.
If you are willing to look beyond the one workshop visit every 3 montsh, Indigos do have redeeming virtues ( People respect you on the road, the sheet metal feels like cast iron - even the plastic bumpers can inflict life threatening injuries on maruti cars, and it drives like a proper big car (though some would say too big, like a truck) The TDI engine gives it nice ish driveability - other options at this price point are 1.2 litre petrols and NA diesels - the cheapest CRDI will cost at least 2x and have unobtanium parts ( accent/getz/palio diesels). At least Thats what keeps me hooked on it (despite also owning an etios)

[VwRabbit]

Don’t buy old TATA’s please, you would have to source the parts on your own and find a good FNG who is willing to work on these cars, from my personal experience many workshops will say no to old TATA’s because when rectifying one issue another related to it will crop up and though some may think they can make money from all this it will soon turn out to be a headache for both parties.

But all said and done i have seen immaculately maintained Tata Safari Dicor’s but those kind of cars do hold aspirational value and sometimes the time and effort spend to it can be justified.

Personally from the Indigo range of that era i prefer Manza, it is a good option with the Quadrajet 90 engine, has good ride quality and adequate performance.But then again won’t be as cheap as an Indigo CS.

[John316_WRC]

Get an old Santro/Alto/WagonR. A well maintained Santro around 80-90k will serve you well.

Avoid the Indigo.

[wheelspinner]

Originally Posted by VwRabbit

But all said and done i have seen immaculately maintained Tata Safari Dicor’s but those kind of cars do hold aspirational value and sometimes the time and effort spend to it can be justified.

The asking prices for Safaris have shot up by 2 times these days. I was looking for one within a 4L budget and low odo, but only managed to gain more disappointment

[IshaanIan]

I’m sure you can get an esteem for similar money. Perhaps the petrol won’t give you as much mileage but that would be offset by whatever maintenance costs you would incur buying a cheap used diesel.

[wheelspinner]

Will the newer gen Indica Vista with Quadrajet/TDI engine be a better choice? They are cheaper than Altos and come with AC (with a good amount of torque).

Getting those for 65-70k.

[greenhorn]

QJD, yes TDI not so much (TDI has the same mechanicals as old Indica/ Indigo and the same issues. Only benefit is that it's a modern platform so ride, handling, interior space are better). QJD will add a modern engine and make it a car entirely from this millennium. But getting a good QJD under 80 is tough. Also if you're looking at a nice QJD, you are looking at 1+ lakh cars and now you are also in beat and potentially Ritz territory.

[vivekgk]

Hey, that's my old car on the front page, So that's all three of my rides that made it to the front page!!!

I owned a 2010 Indigo CS for 7 years and 70K kms. It was the old IDI turbo diesel. The eCS with the 2nd gen common rail diesel was just launched in 2010, and I was very impressed by its performance and driveability, and owners have reported great mileage.

I have also met a cabbie in 2019 who had an eCS Diesel CR4 model that had run 2 lac kms without issues in Palakkad, Kerala. It was an office cab for one of our branches, AFAIK. He's still driving the same car, but owns other cabs too I think.

The CR4 is much better than the old DiCOR model that was the first common rail version of Tata's 1.4L, but ut does share a lot of the same issues. I think that the fuel filter is a bit expensive, and some reports of oil consumption were also there.

In case of the Indigo/Indica, the only models I would consider now are the last models which came with cable shift gearbox, revised suspension and improved plastics, which came in 2013.

In your case, you have a cab that was abused, probably wasn't serviced properly and regularly, has likely never been in an ASC, and has been kept running at the lowest cost possible. If you're keen on an Indigo or Indica, get a well maintained one from a private owner. Else, you're going to end up with a lot of issues. Please give this one a pass.