[shatrughna]

Thank you very much EVO, Nitonium, Akshay & Indra- thanks a lot to all of you. You have suggested everything that I oughta consider. Well I had gone for a long test drive ( worth Rs 500 of Fuel that I offered to the dealer to let me test drive it). Definitely , the car pulls very well and at least it didnt disappoint me despite being an AT. However, the way, the fuel indicator was dropping to left was unforeseen of course, the rush of rpm meter and sound -was as like that I see/ hear in PSP2 games! Stopped as nice and quick in many trials that I had.

the carpets were dirty, smelling wet & foul as if not cleaned in months but once I started I forgot everything. I checked the engine bay too - there were lose plastic things and battery was old.

I have finally offered the dealer 7.4 lakhs + 2% commision + Insurance & RTO transfer & inspection, servicing & necessary repairs including front bumper is falling off from right side ( cosmetic- e.g. sunglass holder wouldn't open, the arm rest , electric adjustments for seat etc. making strange noise as if cogs are slipping I expect minimum bill to run in 30K to 40K and overall on road car in aesthetically ok and technically excellent shape - approx. 8 Lakhs on road. Please, suggest if thats OK in your opinion.
Will wait for your opinions and then take it to Honda workshop for inspection & estimate of work required before buying if there are no accidents/ major problems.

The used Laura I will rule out since its 2nd owner simply because of uncertainty in maintenance costs. I wish I can get a single owner 2 year used clean Laura AT in the 9.5 to 11 lakhs range as EVO has mentioned but I havenot found any.

Well I drive approx. 80 kms a day on an average on weekdays and approx 100 kms on Sat & Sun , so my annual mileage is about 24K kms approx including long trips outstation. Now I am fed up of keeping many cars including getting it washed as the watchman often skips one or the other as he knows my schedule , their periodic maintenance, reminder, warranty cards etc and now ideally I want to keep just two cars. One a Sedan and other a SUV but both AT only and thats why currently I am looking fro a replacement of Santro AT & Verna. Once this is settled then I ll wait for Captiva AT or Fortuner AT or Scorpio AT whichever comes first with 4* 4 option will be exchanged for Mhawk.

@Akshay- could you please, refer me a good honda workshop in Mumbai , if you know or a real good mechanic who you trust - for an honest inspection and opinion on the car. I would like to take this Accord for inspection there or call the mechanic for inspection here. Since the used car dealer is in Navi Mumbai - in case you can offer me a mechanic , I can get it to the Hallmark Honda for inspection and estimate if its worth it. Please.

If its not worth, then I ll go for a new Laura if there is nothing better available.

[Akshay1234]

i think if the accord is in that shape then forget about it. god only knows what else could go along with it. try searching for another v6. im sure there are plenty more that will be much better treated. i shall try and find out about a good workshop but the best place to get it checked would be a dealership.

the laura well, incase you do pick it up and it decides to give you trouble you could end up spending a lot more than the extra youd spend on fuel for the v6.

[shatrughna]

@ Akshay- Thanks but why what do you think is wrong with that Accord? to me it seemed like a rich guy who once bought it , played with it and then didnt care for it- I only found the cosmetics in bad shape as if no one cared for it/ post warranty as if no one might have taken it for shampoo et al. To me the eagle shaped bonnet and those lights - exuded beauty. well just kidding - I am overawed actually - its a dream machine kind for me- I wouldnt eevr buy a new Accord V6 - its only on the used ( at the price mentioned) that I am giving it a thought.

Laura as I mentioned, based on all the advices here, if at all, I ll buy only new one.

[Akshay1234]

well even if a person didnt care for the mechanicals of a car and it was being used the interior would have been kept well. in this case the interiors are in crappy condition and im pretty sure the engine and other mechanicals wouldnt be in great condition either.

if you really cant find another used v6, im sure you will even check cawale.com , then take this car to a honda dealership and let them have a look at it and tell you the condition.

[xtremeshock]

Why have you ruled out the superb TDI, i think its the perfect balance between daily driving and weekend performance. The maintenance costs are nearly as same as the laura (but still considerably higher than the accord)
Anyways good luck in your purchase no matter what your decision is, hope you get a car which is in good condition.

[lurker]

If you can afford it, I still say Superb TDI. Yes Honda's are more cheaper to maintain .. but a Superb is a class apart.

think about 2.5 TDI with Pete's .. droool

[shatrughna]

Thanks Akshay , Xtremeshock & Lurker for your inputs.
@xtremeshock & lurker- Superb TDI well its definitely a very good car in terms of performance but the opinions and suggestions from many on TBHP suggest it otherwise and that's why I dropped the idea. Even the initial purchase price is 7 Laksh higher than the Accord V6 which I was comparing apart from the potentially very high maintenance cost. Today is the last day of my search as patience is almost over more because of fear of buying a lemon from the used car market.
I am getting exhausted in my search for a good 6 cylinder engine car in the limited budget. Slowly I find myself drifting towards a new Laura AT. Perhaps the Petes suggested for Superb will be useful here too.

[evo]

Originally Posted by shatrughna

Well I had gone for a long test drive ( worth Rs 500 of Fuel that I offered to the dealer to let me test drive it).

Definitely , the car pulls very well and at least it didnt disappoint me despite being an AT. However, the way, the fuel indicator was dropping to left was unforeseen of course, the rush of rpm meter and sound -was as like that I see/ hear in PSP2 games! Stopped as nice and quick in many trials that I had.

the carpets were dirty, smelling wet & foul as if not cleaned in months but once I started I forgot everything. I checked the engine bay too - there were lose plastic things and battery was old.

I have finally offered the dealer 7.4 lakhs + 2% commision + Insurance & RTO transfer & inspection, servicing & necessary repairs including front bumper is falling off from right side ( cosmetic- e.g. sunglass holder wouldn't open, the arm rest , electric adjustments for seat etc. making strange noise as if cogs are slipping I expect minimum bill to run in 30K to 40K and overall on road car in aesthetically ok and technically excellent shape - approx. 8 Lakhs on road. Please, suggest if thats OK in your opinion.
Will wait for your opinions and then take it to Honda workshop for inspection & estimate of work required before buying if there are no accidents/ major problems.

new laura

@Shatrughna

• Very good idea to have offered the Rs500 for the test drive, pls consider that money well spent and walk away from the car
• If an owner keeps his car like that, then there is no point in even thinking of buying it, this is not some decrepit jeep that you plan to buy and restore
• If you really are considering a new Laura then you should definitely wait till April when the redesign is coming out
• As per your driving your annual mileage comes to 30,000 odd kilometres. At an assumed mileage of 10kmpl you require 3000 litres and at a price difference of Rs.10 would mean 30,000 annualy. double the difference considering that a Laura would give much better mileage than an Accord. So its Rs. 60,000 per year.
• On a totally different tangent, why not buy a 4x4 Grand Vitara Auto to replace the Mhawk? Or do you want diesel?
  
  
• DO NOTget discouraged if you dont find other cars, there are many many options available, we are so used to the eagerness of new car dealers when they sell to us that we get very easily irritated when we cant get a used car that easily. Carwale has about 7 Accord V6`s in Mumbai, but I`m sure you`ve already checked them out.
  
• Once again, dont rush into a hurried decision, you already have cars for transport and as such my personal advice would be to wait till you find the right car.

[shatrughna]

@ Evo-Very well summarised and gave absolutely the right perspective as to what has actually triggered my haste - I didnt even think on those lines as to why was I getting so frustrated.As rightly pointed out by you - the used car dealer's attitude had a big contribution.

As far as new Laura is concerned- let me put it this way. I have been visiting showroom since Dec 2005 and have been blown away- kind of love at first sight feeling. That time I didnt have money. In July 2006 when I had saved sufficient money for the down payment- all my family members pushed me to invest in property instead of a car at this price.

Today the value of properties are dropping or stagnant but nevertheless anyday better than what the 2006 Laura would have fetched. However, considering the fact that in these months, so far I have bought and sold - a used Palio, Accent CRDi, Verna SX , a santro AT and a scorpio Mhawk and ask me if I am happy at all. I am not satisfied. I feel had I bought a Laura that time, I would have perhaps saved money on Palio that I lost, Verna SX & Santro AT that I will lose when I sell , (Accent CRDi in any case I would have sold so not included for loss figures )and perhaps could have patiently waited for Fortuner/ Captiva/Scorpio AT. Incidentally after the endless wait for Scorpio AT- I bought it in June this year and Scorpio AT is launched Aug/Sept. Though I am not regretting this decision as much I regret my decision of not having bought a Laura in 2006.

As far as new Laura launched is concerned, I am afraid if they will to launch it cheaper if at all, remove DSG and put simple AT as I learnt that its manufacturing cost is high. On other hand perhaps they may put in CRDi instead of PD which I'd love if its having better power/torque than 104 bhp/25 kgm as of now. ( you see I am so confused, can wait but dont want to wait any longer as the enthusiasm for a new car is fading away).

For a new Laura -today's best quote is 23K discount in Insurance & 75K towards corporate discount. It may get offset by depreciation in a month after the scheduled delivery. But my endless wait for price reduction/ better discount has yileded no results so far.

GV - have seen and been rejected -for many reasons- mainly, lack of power and petrol engine. my preferred SUV will be a 4*4 , 7 seater , diesel with AT - and if possible tiptronic/ paddles- performance & economy which I find that Captiva & Fortuner may fit the bill- till then I ll keep Mhawk.

Thanks for your patience and practical inputs. Thats why I love TBHP!.

[Akshay1234]

man just keep looking for a v6. im sure youll find another one that would be maintained well.

[evo]

I agree with akshay. V6 or Laura, you should buy used, not new. Just be patient and I`m sure a car will come by. Just be regular in checking the classifieds, I dont what papers are good for auto classifieds in Mumbai,TOI?

So many v6`s were sold, in Kolkata, you find one in the classifieds almost every other week, there is a delicious one with only 5k on the odo! And its black!

Cheers

[Swifty2008]

@shatrughna

Did you finalize anything? Sorry, I got lost after reading your last post. Do let us know your decision.

Thanks

[shatrughna]

@ Swifty -Not yet . Till now called up all the used car dealers who had Accord in stock. Hardly any Superb V6 less than 16Lakhs available. In any case, will go for a Accord V6 used or New Laura. Got the quote. Getting a max discount of 90K which is good considering the year ending.

[shatrughna]

Dear Friends - just an update here.
After much discussions, brainstorming, visits and revisits- have decided to go for a new Laura AT which by no means is scorcher in any sense, but overall does everything rightly and ticks all the boxes on the wish list except - power and perforamance as of now.

Thanks again.

[Akshay1234]

Originally Posted by shatrughna

Dear Friends - just an update here.
After much discussions, brainstorming, visits and revisits- have decided to go for a new Laura AT which by no means is scorcher in any sense, but overall does everything rightly and ticks all the boxes on the wish list except - power and perforamance as of now.

Thanks again.

good choice. your going for the elegance im guessing and not the l&k? a petes box will solve your problem.