[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Hold on a sec. As a fresh architectural graduate if you do lotta runnning around in all kinda places and won't have great salaries (not as far as I know) - aren't you taking a too expensive car? A 10L waali car bought few years old will still require maintenance and the occasional damage at 10L prices.

And a new car is a new car is a new car.

your right. usually payscale for an architecture graduate in chennai ranges from 15k to 18k a month. but i have been fortunate enough to make much more than that. other than that i have some investments which have been giving me constant returns every month till now. besides fuel bills would be footed by the company. so all i have to worry about is maintenance which i can split with my dad if the need arises.

the biggest problem with a new car is that it comes with a new car price tag. which unfortunately i can't afford right now.

i can go upto paying 15k a month as my EMI. and i can muster up about 1.5L upfront. maybe more. so i guess i should be alright.

[esteem_lover]

I'd still say the Corolla is a far better option from the choices made by you. There were 3 corollas listed in the Hindu yesterday. Did you check them out ? Please do. The 3rd one was an owner selling direct. Pray leave the NHC out of your list. When you can have a car which is a segment higher why consider the NHC ?

[aaggoswami]

Originally Posted by flipsyde

hey everyone

its FINALLY time to replace my 8 year old M-1000. with some cash in the bank and some pre-approved loans i started my hunt for a worthy replacement.

assuming i get 85k - 1L for my existing car..... i can take a loan for 4 - 4.15L and pay the bank back in the next 36 months. it works out to under 15k a month which as a fresh architecture graduate i can manage.

now to some details about what i am looking for. i don't think i would be doing more than 30-40 kms a day on an average so i kind of ruled out diesel. i need a boot. i carry lot of materials, drawings, samples etc so boot is a must. this would be a replacement for my family car hence i'd like it to be comfortable with easier entry/exit compared to the m-1000.

my options obviously ruled out brand new cars so i went around searching in the used car market. there were quite a few interesting choices and i worked out pros and cons for each one of them.

1)Skoda Octavia Petrol - 2002-2003 model - pros: big car, snob value, well built, german, good resale value. cons:expensive to maintain, thirsty, poor rear legroom.

2)Chevrolet Optra 1.6 - 2004-2006 model - pros: big car, amazing rear legroom. cons: american, expensive maintenance, thirsty and poor resale value.

3)Hyundai Elantra CRDi - 2004-2005 model - pros: diesel, torquey engine, good interior space, cheap to maintain, good mileage cons: problems crop up after 70k kms(i've heard), poor build quality

4)Toyota Corolla - 2003-2004 model - pros: fast, toyota reliability, cheaper parts can be sourced from other asian markets, good mileage, abs and airbags. cons: harsh ride, soon to be replaced

5)Honda City - 2004-2005 model pros: honda, good mileage, good resale. cons: soon to be replaced, no abs or airbags, slow.

in the last 2 weeks i have come across 2 corollas and 1 honda city.

03/2003 corolla h2 - white colour - 55k kms run - good condition. - 4.75L final
06/2004 corolla h2 - black colour - 67k kms run - good condition. - 5.5L final

03/2005 city - gold colour - 50k kms run - good condition. - 4.75L final

i will be looking at a few more cars but right now the 2003 corolla h2 seems interesting. the 2004 is out of budget and besides doesnt make much sense paying 75k more for a car which has run more.

i am looking to buy one by the end of the week. what are the common problems which one can expect in a 5 year old corolla which has run 55k kms?? the tyres have been replaces 15k kms before.

please let me know what you people think.

IMO:
1)
Avoid Skoda.


2) Elantra CRDi fits the bill, but now discontinued, so sourcing the spare parts will be a trouble after some time. If you are going to keep the car for a short time, then its good, but not otherwise

3)
Optra 1.6 is a good car, but watch out for A.S.S. quality. Still in production, so parts wont be an issue.

4)
Corolla. The best deal. The build is not like Skoda and the suspension ( consequently ride quality ) is not the best, but generally it is reliable and good for a option. Spacious and good preforming along with Fuel Efficiency.

[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I'd still say the Corolla is a far better option from the choices made by you. There were 3 corollas listed in the Hindu yesterday. Did you check them out ? Please do. The 3rd one was an owner selling direct. Pray leave the NHC out of your list. When you can have a car which is a segment higher why consider the NHC ?

i did!! i've been trying to call the 3rd advertiser since then. he either doesn't answer the phone or his phone is switched off!! i don't understand why people would advertise and then not respond to calls. maybe he sold the car. anyway the car i was looking at was the 1st ad in the corolla column. the dealers are MPS car zone. they quoted the lowest at 4.75L. almost everyone else wants above 5L for a 2003 single owner corolla.

interestingly prices of a 2003 corolla in bombay are around 4L for the H2 model run 50k kms or thereabouts. can't believe we pay such premiums down south.

[tsk1979]

Wait a minute, you can pay 15K EMI/month, right? That can get you a new 6-7 lakh sedan. Remember new cars come with lesser interest rates and warranty.
So a corolla may seem like a big car with less money, I suggest you check the following
spare parts : I doubt you will be calling up dealers in Thailand for spare parts, so its better to find out parts like oil filter, air filter etc., cost, as well as cost of replacing brake pads, timing belt etc., Read up the service manual, check what change is required when, and calculate the money you would need to maintain it. Add 30% for incidental expenses

Scheduled maintenance done: Does the car have a big service coming up which requires a 15K expense?

After all this make your choice

[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

Wait a minute, you can pay 15K EMI/month, right? That can get you a new 6-7 lakh sedan. Remember new cars come with lesser interest rates and warranty.
So a corolla may seem like a big car with less money, I suggest you check the following
spare parts : I doubt you will be calling up dealers in Thailand for spare parts, so its better to find out parts like oil filter, air filter etc., cost, as well as cost of replacing brake pads, timing belt etc., Read up the service manual, check what change is required when, and calculate the money you would need to maintain it. Add 30% for incidental expenses

Scheduled maintenance done: Does the car have a big service coming up which requires a 15K expense?

After all this make your choice

i went thru the indiacar.com used car review about the corolla. they have mentioned part prices and labour charges. it seems reasonable for a 10L car. and the cars i am looking at have done 55k. and one has had service done at 49k and the other one at 46k and they have promised to get one service done with basic oil and filters replaced before i take delivery of the car.

i didn't trust the magazine write up so i called toyota A S S up and asked them for the spares list pricing. they said they can't e-mail or fax so i have to pick it up in person. but i am told general service doesnt cost more than 6k.

i can get a new car for around 6-7L but as i want a sedan that leaves me with very little interesting choices. i somehow think i'd be happier with a used corolla. its a wierd way to look at it.... but well..... it somehow suits me.

[abhinav.gupta88]

Well i think you already have made your decision
It's now that you need to put your money on the corolla and enjoy each and every moment of it.

[bharanidharang]

confusing you further, why not the logan petrol (if not the diesel). you will be able to manage the emi.

the space is amazing and the boot is BIG and its a new car.

[flipsyde]

Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88

Well i think you already have made your decision
It's now that you need to put your money on the corolla and enjoy each and every moment of it.

looks like it abhinav!! i really like the corolla. just want to make sure i pick up a good example. just wish i get a 2004 model which has run under 40k for 5L. i might be asking for too much but hey.... which buyer isnt!!

Originally Posted by bharanidharang

confusing you further, why not the logan petrol (if not the diesel). you will be able to manage the emi.

the space is amazing and the boot is BIG and its a new car.

i refrained from posting this before but this suggestion was given to me by my dad and i even went to the extent of test driving a petrol. and i must be honest......i would rather go in for an esteem then the petrol logan. looks maybe subjective but that petrol engine really needs work. once yours used to a jap engine its kinda hard to digest anything else.

the diesel is good. but petrol is quite a let down.

[bharanidharang]

Ok. Why not the diesel then ? If you read romanian forums for logan, you can find vehicles done more than a lakh kms and going good.

[speedzak]

My god! What has world come to?
A logan in place of a Corolla?

Man! Your choice is reasonable. Go for the Toyota. You'll be happy. Within 5L, that's probably the best choice you've made.

[muneemmk]

What Could Go wrong with a car which other 30 million people around the world are using ? i have seen corollas which have done more than 1.2 Lakh kilometers in kerala but u will have to look at the speedo to tell that it's done that much. that the build quality i doubt anything other than a Honda would hold up against a Toyota Corolla. Fuel Efficency of around 10 to 13.5 can be expected from this car and it's the cheapest of the lot to maintain.Some Part Prices.

Brake Pads(R/F) - 2600/3200
Oil+Filter - 860+220
Spark Plugs(4nos) - 650

Periodic Services can be done in one hour if booked early.
Services Required only between 10,000 Kms.
Average Labour Per Service is just Around 700 Bucks

Just Check out weather there is any other car which can match a corolla in economy and maintenance front.

[vasudeva]

I do not know how my Corolla will drive after 2-3 years (presently 26K) but so far it has been a dream. You can get the approximate service costs for Corolla on toyota's website and the prices mentioned here. Oil is around 600, labour is 275/hr. Brake pad prices as noted.

I did drive a 65K Corolla in 2/2007 and it still drove without a rattle and noise.

[esteem_lover]

Even Suzukis run for 2.5L Kms without major problems. Why wouldn't a toyota do better ?

[vasudeva]

Originally Posted by tsk1979

spare parts : I doubt you will be calling up dealers in Thailand for spare parts,

That seems to be a negative with the present one being phased out, but let us hope that spare parts are not an issue.

What has been the experience of say Qualis/Old City owners.