[kdp]

Hi Rock75,

your reasons for rejecting the ikon 1.6 are sound.. it's a delightful car; but not great for long distance and the worst part of the ownership experience is the Authorised service centres.. my ikon would always develop some new (And expensive) problem within 2 days of my sending it for routine service with the ASCs. stopped going to the ASCs (Service it with a local mech) and the problems also stopped. (this has been my experience in both Delhi and mumbai)

My experience with fiat has surprisingly been much better - esp in mumbai; but of course chandigarh may be a different story; and the quality of the ASC should be an important determinant in your decision to buy a fiat.

though I've never owned a Baleno, my limited experience with it tells me it should be a great Highway car as well; with the added reassurance of maruti service & spares. you pay for what you get and this, of course; should make it much more expensive than an equivalently well maintained Petra/ siena. I'd be very careful in checking any really "bargain" baleno. Having said that; it may make sense to go a little above budget for a good "piece" for the peace of mind it'll offer you

coming back to the siena / petra again; negative perceptions about fiat have pushed down resale values of the car; and that's exactly why buying one second hand makes so much sense. a well maintained siena/ petra.. does not require much additional TLC.. at least my car only gave me trouble only once in all the 50k km that I drove it. also, the old fiat tagline "secure in a siena" really holds true..

all the best in your search, and drive safe when you do get your zippy(ier) wheels..

Kdp

[rock75]

Tell me a few things about petra, does it have any regular issues like petra/palio D like fuel pump failure? Are regular parts easily available? Is it the same engine as in palio stile 1.6 which is still in production? The model that is up for sale has a jammed left power window and silencer needs to be changed. Is it easily available and reasonably priced, if you have any experience of that.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by rock75

Tell me a few things about petra, does it have any regular issues like petra/palio D like fuel pump failure? Are regular parts easily available? Is it the same engine as in palio stile 1.6 which is still in production? The model that is up for sale has a jammed left power window and silencer needs to be changed. Is it easily available and reasonably priced, if you have any experience of that.

Availability of Petra spares strictly depends on your local Fiat service centre, Please do visit the service centre and check the status before buying a Petra.

[govigov]

agreed with kdp. stay away from the ikon. esteem seems a good bet, and you always have the freedom to go for reliable performance upgrades in the esteem

[nairrk]

Esteem or Accent will be a good buy
I owned both these cars in the past
Accent is very solid car and probably 2004 models you will get with ABS (on GLS variant).
Performance wise Accent may score better than esteem, ofcourse it is my opinion only.

[rock75]

As suggested by .anshuman I called up the service advisor of Hind motors and asked for silensor of petra he said it would have to be ordered and even then it would be difficult to source! Then I told him that I am intending to purchase one and he disuaded saying spares are a problem and non routine one are not available off the shelf. I have dropped the idea of buying a petra so finally it is Esteem or accent.

Please help me in deciding. With Esteem I get :

Maruti reliability and A.S.S.
Good performance and FE.
Little lower asking price.
Cheap and easily available spares.

What I want to know: Ride quality, handling, rattles after a few years ( is it too bad?) and average one is getting espl on highways.

With Accent I get

Better build quality
better interiors and looks.
Good aftersales service and spares availability

What I want to know:

doubtful about FE and peformance
Spares cost, Is Accent costly to maintain like Ikon etc?

I request esteem and Accent owners to share their experience on above points and if I have missed out any point please share that also.

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by rock75

Please help me in deciding. With Esteem I get :

Maruti reliability and A.S.S.
Good performance and FE.
Little lower asking price.
Cheap and easily available spares.

What I want to know: Ride quality, handling, rattles after a few years ( is it too bad?) and average one is getting espl on highways.

With Accent I get

Better build quality
better interiors and looks.
Good aftersales service and spares availability

What I want to know:

doubtful about FE and peformance
Spares cost, Is Accent costly to maintain like Ikon etc?

I request esteem and Accent owners to share their experience on above points and if I have missed out any point please share that also.

I have owned a Accent for years and have had many Esteems in the friend circle.

What makes Esteem better than Accent?
1.Better FE
2.Better Engine and Performance.
3.Cheaper to buy

What makes Accent better than Esteem?
1.Better build, means rattle car.
2.Soft Absorbent Ride quality.
3.Better interiors, more spacious and comfortable as well.
3.Better driveability.
4.Still in production largely unchanged since year 2000 so every service center has ready stock of spares.

Both cars have very good Service support. Accent not a very good handler but serves as a family car very well. Accent's performance is adequate with very good driveablity.

Esteem has very good performance, though the driveability suffers a bit due to tall gearing.

Accent is a not hard to maintain at all, spares are not too expensive and car is trouble free. I drove one for 150k kms.

FE- Accent City 9-11kpl Highway 12-15kpl
Esteem City 11-12kpl Highway 14-17kpl

[Car&me]

I have owned esteem and have driven my brother's accent extensively. Esteem is still close to my heart. But today if i am asked to choose between accent and Esteem I will choose accent.
The accent interiors are far better than Esteem's. Back seat is much better than esteem.
Its much better built (and being built even today). Esteem is lighter and you feel the lightness.
Esteem is good to drive and gives a better FE.
But Accent will be good in terms of ownership due to its current production status and build quality.

[akas_chauhan]

I think accent or esteem which one you go for you will not regret. Now it's your decision which one to buy.

If i were you i would have chosen Accent over esteem though.

[rock75]

what about accent vs baleno? as baleno will be available in same price range as esteem(except for the fact that it is discontinued)does accent score over baleno too in build quality, ride and handling?

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by rock75

what about accent vs baleno? as baleno will be available in same price range as esteem(except for the fact that it is discontinued)does accent score over baleno too in build quality, ride and handling?

Baleno is a better car than Accent, It easily beats it in most counts. But Spare parts are told to be much more expensive than Accent.

Baleno is a better car than Accent and Esteem. Its only looks and interiors where Accent beats it.

[kdp]

Rock75,

from your original post --You want a car for the highway and it will run about 500km a month.

taking petrol @ 50/- per litre; the running cost difference between a car that give 12 on the highway and 17 on the highway is 612/- a month. You can decide if for your particular needs mileage is that critical..(and also balance that against the higher price paid for a more fuel efficient car)

to my mind; three more critical things to consider are

1. Safety both active and passive --> active would include brakes and the ability to accelerate out of situation; passive would include the structural integrity of the car
2. High speed Ride comfort - on a 4-5 hour drive-- you'll really appreciate the difference between a comfortable and bouncy car
3. reliability - your don't want a car that has a propensity to fail on the highway.;-)

consequently my personal charts would be

1. Petra (siena) - though you have rejected it
2. Baleno
3. Optra 1.6 max/ls (dunno if this will fit your budget)
4. Fiesta 1.4 / 1.6 (dunno if this will fit your budget)
5. Accent (if it has ABS i'd move it upto #4)
6. Lancer 1.5
7. Ikon
8. Indigo petrol (?) - you can see that I don't think the esteem is a highway car..
9. esteem

all the best!

Kdp

ps - i'd have thought that a damaged silencer is a great opportunity to fit a free flow
pps - check out the palio user group on yahoogroups for more dope from actual fiat owners -- if you have not completely dropped the idea of a petra

[.anshuman]

Originally Posted by kdp

Rock75,

[*]reliability - your don't want a car that has a propensity to fail on the highway.;-)[/list]consequently my personal charts would be

1. Petra (siena) - though you have rejected it
2. Baleno
3. Optra 1.6 max/ls (dunno if this will fit your budget)
4. Fiesta 1.4 / 1.6 (dunno if this will fit your budget)
5. Accent (if it has ABS i'd move it upto #4)
6. Lancer 1.5
7. Ikon
8. Indigo petrol (?) - you can see that I don't think the esteem is a highway car..
9. esteem

all the best!

All the cars he has shortlisted ie Accent, Esteem and Baleno are very reliable, Modern cars if maintained well have very rare chances of failing on highways.

He has rejected Petra due to the fear of unavailablity of spares, he even called up the local service center to confirm it and they agreed sourcing spares for Petra will be a concern.

Optra for this price range(if he manages to find one) will be very old and not in good condition, Also the Optra belongs to segments above so the maintainance costs and running costs will be much higher.

[alpha1]

Why is OHC written off in this thread?

IMO, only Baleno out all the others mentioned here, come close to it (but not ahead!)

[rock75]

optra 1.6 is available around Rs 3.5 lac and fiesta 1.6 (rarely available) around 4 lac. Optra i've heard has very bad fuel economy. I donot want to go that higher for a used car. The difference in fuel bill for my running is negligible but as I've mentioned I've been spoilt by alto ! (getting 18-19 kmpl regularly, therefore I want atleast 15 on highway, my driving being very sedate mostly around steady 80-85 in fifth gear)

@ alpha, only 1999-2001 models are available in Rs 2-3 lac range and I would prefer more recent models just for sake of caution.

The used car prices are higher in chandigarh than say Delhi and the choice is also less compared to say Delhi. ( I couldn't find a single good baleno for last 2 months here though Delhi has so many on certified ones on offer too between Rs 2.5 to 3 lac)

I would go for accent if it is available at the same rate for same year/mileage model as esteem even though it has less FE but 2005 models are costing atleast Rs 3 lac vs around Rs 2.5 lac for esteem.