[raajks]

The plot
After selling my Palio 1.6, I wanted a car that is more sportier and lot more fun to drive.
My response was to pounce on a Cedia.
With the Palio, I booked the car in 5 mts. After a couple days was contemplating on selling it.
This time I wanted a change in my buying pattern.
So I resorted to a more laid back approach of test driving most of the cars before arriving at any conclusion

Test drive cars in the radar

New ones
1) Maruti Suzuki Swift Petrol
Zippy, Fun to drive. A toy to play around

2) Maruti Suzuki Swift Diesel
With the existing fun factor of the Swift Petrol, add a Turbo to it and top with a fuel efficient diesel.

3) Mahindra Logan
It was mediocre at best at all aspects and lacked any fun on the performance level.

4) Maruti Suzuki SX4
As mentioned by Kartik (KartikKumar), the car comes alive beyond the 3500 mark. The engine note at that RPM is a sweetener. The steering does lack some feedback.

The car was good with Potholes, bumps
It was pretty steady at high speeds. I liked the braking and the turn in

One of the fun test drives I have had, as the driver’s hands were initially on the hand brake. This was BIMAL’s car which had survived a 180 KMPH crash with all the 5 occupants of the car walking out with minor issues. A good testament to SX4’s safety aspect.

It is after this incident, BIMAL decided on the indemnity note.
Driver relaxed after sometime and the car was ripped with more verve as the indemnity note was forgotten

5) Honda ANHC
I could nt extract the top speed figures as I did not find a strip to do so.
The car felt lot planted and better than the NHC. The power delivery is not instant but you can feel the vTEC kicking in. IMO I did not find the interiors to be a MAJOR let down
Liked the car but I know it does not suit my requirement.

6) Ford Fiesta 1.6 S
I was really impressed with this car agility. I felt light. It gave an impression that it can be thrown around and it corners superbly.
I liked the steering response. This car likes to be driven hard. The hardened suspension is a bonus as it improves the handling of the car very well.
It even scored better than the Cedia

7) Mitsubishi Cedia
I am biased towards this car so my opinion may not be best on this.
The view from the cockpit and the seating positing is amazing. The performance of the did not dazzle, it felt is a TAD better than the Palio 1.6 in terms of engine response and the power delivery.
I wanted to own this car as I am emotionally connected to it.

Pre-owned cars
1) Hyundai Elantra (Petrol)
After reading quite a few threads on Tadu Elantra, my respect for this car had grown. If you are the person who wants the complete package with the whistles, the sounds, the looks and the performance. This is not the car for you. The petrol still felt like a car to drive.

I had to adapt my judgment to a bigger car but it was a fun car to drive around. However, I was very clear that I would not settle for this.

2) Maruti Suzuki Baleno
One of the most respected and loved cars in the forum. Saw a Silver 2003 at Mandovi Motors, JP Nagar, Bangalore.

It was fun car to drive and throw around. My radius was restricted as the dealer was a little apprehensive. It did bring a smile to my face.
TrueValue are a major rip off. If you would like to donate a handsome sum to Maruti, please pick a true value car.

The sales person opened the discussion at 4 lacs and came down to 2.75, while I stuck at my price of 2.1. If I had pushed harder he would have come down to 2.45 for sure.
All their XXX point check, refurbishment is just a truck load of CRAP.

The plot deepens
Ever since I read the AutoCar article from Narain on the Skoda vRS, I have been lured and tempted back to the European domain.

Have been reading, searching, mining more and more articles on vRS by ajmat (Black vRS), Abinav’s LAL PARRI, Ashish’s Red beauty, redSFX. The fantasy was taking shape.

With no ride and no shotgun options, I had to bail out of the Yellagiri trip. New kid on the block…Siddartha’s red vRS was in spotlight.

Being the in relm of Tadu, MEMO & brraj is no mean feat. A PM to Sid unveiled a quick BANGY meet at Maddur Coffee day.

It’s only because of SID did my drive to pursue the vRS intensify.
I was one of the passenger’s in the vRS from JP Nagar to Maddur Coffee day. The ambience ..the feel ..and turbo was mind blowing. I did notice that all the turns were taken with caution but it was fun in spite of that. ICING on the cake was when I got the wheel of the car for the return journey. The lights were a major pain area but the drive was superb.
It sealed the deal for me. I wanted a Skoda vRS

Karthik247’s article (An owner who has experienced both the Cedia and vRS..gives it a more comprehensive look for the same) provided more clarity.

He was also kind enough to PM a more detailed and specific response to my questions.

The inEVITABLE (The details on the car are masked for SELFISH reasons, I don’t want another buyer at this time as competition)
SID informs me about a car being available in Bangalore

I check the Silver color vRS with its fancy number plate. I am taken by it. I want to finish this off.

Since I see my buying pattern emerging, I back off a little.
The dealer plays his game..takes me to some place in Banashankari and informs me that he is owner of the car.

I ask him the details on insurance..date of purchase and others..he has no clue..(I know that he is not owner of the car).

I stop all my discussions with him and walk out of the place.
Negotiations are done on the phone with the dealer. The dealer is supposed to have a very bad reputation.

As his plots are uncovered he stands more and more vulnerable to me.
After cooling him for 10 days, I got back to him on Sunday 28th Dec 2008. Asking him to show the car again.

This time I take ajmat (I can’t imagine what I would have done without him). T-BHP rocks and ajmat is a STAR for me.

Ajmat shows up at the dealers place with his uncanny bag.
He looks around the car..a nice deep look at the underbody…body work for anything that he can spot.

He picks up a Vernier Caliper starts to measure the front and rear disc brakes (23 mm is kept as a baseline, the discs were at 20 mm which means I had another 5K before I had to replace the dics)

Then the unthinkable, he opens his laptop and jacks the dongle to the Skoda’s slot found beneath the steering ( I can see the jaws of the dealers..dropping and they are totally startled)

The car appears very genuine .. in fact too genuine for us to suspect further

I then spot a stress crack on the windscreen (Another 30K down as we will have to set it with the sensors for the wiper)

While we were at discussing more intricate details on the SILVER vRS, a Red jazzy vRS (Claimed to be the fasted vRS in bangalore) drops by only to get rejected instantly.

I felt so good with the analysis done, the dealer could not look into the eye and have a conversation.

Ajmat had memorized the Name and Address of the actual owner, to translate to a phone number which I could use.

With a little help from Google, I was able to find out who he was …his profile..where he works, where he socializes and others…

I contacted him to find out that the car was driven by a young teenager. Sounds like a SPY movie for sure.

I have never had facts laid out in such details in front of my eyes.

T-BHP has been instrumental at guiding, inspiring and directing me at every step.
You guys rock.

The reason that this is charted as an experience is because the car is still not MINE yet..which I am hoping it would be sometime…

I am tempted to take ajmat, my dad and my friends advice to take a Cedia instead…but time will tell the winner!!!

[HappyWheels]

Raajks,

Can you please edit out the tags?

Please do not copy & paste from an external editor. This is what happens.

[raajks]

Thanks HappyWheeels!!!
Formatting is taken care of!!!

[phamilyman]

Straight outta a movie. I hope you took videos

[hellstar]

oh man thats really some experince ! i would have loved to see the look on the face of the dealer on seeing the vernier callipers and the laptop being hooked up ! anyways all the best for your car hunt !

[HappyWheels]

Ah, great. This is one hell of a story!

So, when do you expect closure?

Originally Posted by hellstar

... i would have loved to see the look on the face of the dealer on seeing the vernier callipers and the laptop being hooked up !...

Wow, that would have been a sight to see! Man, I can't imagine what might have run through the dealers mind when this happened!!!

[ashish22]

oh that reminds me that i have to pm ajmat for couple of questions i have.
all the best raajks for your mission vRS! i can undertand your position right now as i have been through the same phase. My advice is dont give up, just have some patience and scan the market and you will find one which suits your requirement.

[siddartha]

raaj , real spy stuff , damn good man , background checks on the owners should be added in every used car buyers guide .lol ,so whats the latest!

[brraj]

By seeing the title i thought you were dragging with a vRS in your car and here its a different story.

Anyway, Goodluck in finding vRS.

[ashish22]

even i felt the same after looking at the title and was about to share the experience of my own. Anyways in really few words it goes like this...i overtook a silver vRS while racing against it on delhi-ggn expressway on my OHC once at the speed of 160 kph. When i overtook him the feelings were mixed because i myself own a vRS so i was like how's this possible. Maybe the owner was not flooring the car enough or he had the fear of repair expenses in the back of his mind.

[manveet]

raajks, thats a very very nicely written story.

could you/ajmat please tell us more about the laptop testing. Any special cable/software required?

[Vid6639]

Originally Posted by manveet

raajks, thats a very very nicely written story.

could you/ajmat please tell us more about the laptop testing. Any special cable/software required?

VAG com cable along with software. Can be purchased for around USD $200.

VCDS License with KEY-COM Interface: Ross-Tech Store

[pawan_pullarwar]

I have bought 6 used car (M800, 3 Palios(Including mine and GTX), 1 Baleno, 1 Ascent) from myself and others for my friend. But I was impressed with the way you and amjat did research is Amazing.

[maddy42]

Amazing way of researching a car and buying one. Its worth all the effort is my belief.

[ajmat]

As I mentioned the car is a bit too clean.

Rear tyres are stock but front have yoko advan which look as if 10k has been done with heavy cornering. This car looks as if it has been used hard.

I also managed to get the print outs of the last two services and found the rear boot has had a body repair. However it has been done well so none of us figured this out. Makes a good negotiation point.

As for the red "fashtesht" VRS. Drew up - 225 tyres on cheap chrome hijoin wheels

Open bonnet- Carbonio intake etc but no evidence of mega mods lie boost gauges additonal inter coolers etc. Rear parcel shelf cheaply fixed and warped.

Horrors of horrors - the nice carbon fibre style console replaced by wood and the the HU replaced by a cheap one

Right side was resprayed

We walked