Team-BHP - Can i buy a 1lac km old City

Hi All My name is Rishi and I am from New Delhi. This is my first post to the board ever, and excuse me for taking the liberty to use this forum to introduce myself.

I have come across this Honda City 1.5 Exi, owned by a senior exectuive of a company who is retiring and therefore company is selling this car. Further, car is being sold on 'as is where is' basis so i need to put my best bid for it.

The car looks immaculately maintained and a contact in company has confirmed it. Leather seats, alloy wheels, clean form inside and good exteriors, no dents and minor scratches...Overall a good looking and feeling car.

Now to my biggest worry. The car has done 1,01,683 kms as indicated on meter. I started the car and engine felt responsive, but 1L is 1L after all ;-)

Here I need some urgent help from you people, well experienced in matters of Hondas and cars. Let's keep the assumptions that car is really well maintained without fail (it's been driven by a chauffer for a 55+ gentleman), and money has been spent on it as much and whenever needed:

1. What is a reasonable estimate of engine condition of this car? In other wrods, how long will it last without requiring any work on it? Can i expect the engine to whack like a typical City 1.5 or it'll be gone thanda a little?

2. How about other things? Suspension, gearbox, clutch plate, crank, axle, all major/minor things that can cost me big? Please remember to assume that all problems in the past have been fixed/taken care of...

3. Any other areas/concerns about the vehicle?

Please bear in mind that I am only concerned with that 1Lac reading on the engine. Had it been lesser say 50-60k i'd have not asked a question.

Finally, what'd be a good price range to bid for the car (min-max), remembering I'm in Delhi, 'as is where is' car...blah blah blah

Thanks much in advance for all the help,

Cheers!

Rishi

What is the model of the car? (which year)
What about the ownership? (Is he the first owner)
Is it Annual tax or life time tax?

Being HONDA it will run for atleast 2 L on the odometer, if maintained properly. But there would be price impact on the mileage done ( not to the extent of model of the car).

Please answer the above question to get the approximate price for the car

Thank you both indeed. But my doubts remain.

Vulkan, assuming arwe is slang for money, it is one of my questions mate :) I need to bid for this car and am asking what's the min. and max. i need to bid. I've 1.5 and 2.10 L in mind. What do you say? It's a Delhi car.

Surprise, you have answered one of my question, in part :)

>> Being HONDA it will run for atleast 2 L on the odometer, if maintained properly

My concern is with regard to curent mileage done, exactly how far does this car qualify to be trouble-free, maintenance-free and engine-work-free?

To answer your questions, this is 2000 model Honda 1.5 Exi, and the car is in company's name (first owner). I am not sure of annual or lifetime tax.

If the car has been properly maintained and will be maintained properly in the future, then you can expect the engine and the gearbox another 1L km without any major problems. Takeing into account the roads, the same cannot be said for the axles, suspension. Check the history of the car because i doubt that the suspension will last even 1L km without a replacement. The clutch box should also have been changed by now.

Another thing is that it was chauffeur driven. Its all good when the boss is sitting in the back seat but when the driver is on his own then his driving style is bound to change. I can't help you on the price. But do post some pics, if you can.

well 1000000 gently is better than 25000 in a roughshod manner. If the person does a lot of highway driving, or a long daily commute - all the more better, the engine will have warmed up and be working at optimum temperature so less wear. Only incremental costs will be tyres, wheel bearings, suspension and brakes

How old is the car ? Worth buying if you are prepared to run into the ground or sell for peanuts later on

Fully agree with you Deeps on the chaffeur's style thing...I already plan to take guy's chauffeur in a corner and talk about the car (like, as you said, suspension/clutch replacement). You said no major problems till 2L.. But will the engine have the full whack, compression and stuff at 1L+?

Ajmat the car is approx. 5 years old. My idea is to buy it, run for around 2 years/25000km and then move to a new car. But I am not prepared to sell it for peanuts in 2007!

Anyway, thank you guys for speedy help. I'm still hungry for more :-)

Ok let me put the question this way: knowing the car as I have described and keeping all assumptions that I've mentioned, how far reasonable is it for me to expect that:

a) I'll enjoy driving the car, with a good whack from the engine.
b) I'll not spend any big money on the car... apart from regular fuel, regular maintenance and stuff
c) I'll be able to sell it after 2-3 years without a huge loss? (This is the trick question coz it assumes the car will still demand no *major* *major* expense at the end of the this period.)

Cheers! Rishi

Quote:

Originally Posted by greenh0rn

ya 1.25 lakhs --- i like it more (replace with a powerful engine)dont bother much aabt engine stuff

1.5 ok

1.75 yak ok grrrrrrrrrrrr

2.0 nonono

for me dude

Two weeks back i was with one of my friends for some car shopping. Though checking the NHC, i saw an old honda city 1.5 with 88000 kms on odo with Ring Road honda, Delhi. The price dealer quoted was Rs3,85000/-. I asked the guy what are the chances that this car will be purchased ?
Smiles, and politely said ," Sir, the deal is already stuck at 3.70 lac and has just being taken by the new owner. I turn back and the car was already at the gates of the showroom.

Tarun

I read an ad a week ago in the Indiatimes (Delhi) where a dealer wanted 3.95L for a 2001 Vtec. Don't think the ad mentioned the mileage though. based on this info, you should be able to get the 1Lkm city for abt 1.7L. Anything higher than that is not reasonable,IMO. Since you only plan to keep it for 2 years (25000km), you shouldn't have to spend much on the engine or gearbox even if the car has been abused a little. But you really should find out what maintenance/repair work has been carried out on the car in the past and post it here. Then we should be able to give you a better idea. If you were to buy the car, it definitely wouldn't feel as good as it did when new but it would still feel just as good as, say, a 2-3 year old Baleno - again depending on how it has been maintained. BTW, what price is the seller asking for?