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Old 25th May 2010, 15:54   #31
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Hi,

The current situation seems that you cannot have it all as of now. If you talk about new sedans, you have to compromise in some area or the other. Linea seems to appeal to you for its feature-set but here the performance parameters are compromised. In other cars, the feature set seems to be compromised.

I was in the same situation. I decided against an upgrade as of now. Fortunately for me, my current car (Corsa) doesn't rattle which your Swift does. As I can see, you have three options:

(1) Fix the swift rattle and wait till a new car which meets all your parameters come (say a Linea T-Jet). Or your budget increases so you can afford the next level of cars.

(2) Find the parameter on which you are ready to compromise and select a car accordingly.

(3) Buy a used car with good performance and decent feature set. And maybe after-market fitment for the features that you must have.

So as I can see, you choices are limited. And I have added to the post count without actually helping you

Regards,
Prasad.
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Old 25th May 2010, 16:30   #32
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prasad, firstly you have nailed the way forward properly with your post. so its a valuable post and not one that does not help me !!

secondly, fixing rattles is a never ending story. and neither can my budget increase. also, the use car loan rates are 18% which makes used car buying a waste literally as such. having said this much, I have to work on point (2) in your post now.

For a start let me expect you to help me again. I am ok with a mediocre performance at the cost of better FE and feature set, so linea fits in that scheme of things. As for VW, i found their polo to have 3 cylinder engine whereas my swift has a 4 pot engine. technically i am already at the next level of engine tech and going backwards at one lakh more makes no sense to me. so VW is getting more or less out of the way too.

The city and linea are in the game for now. hopefully they will launch T-jet sooner than later which can swing fortunes for FIAT. What do you think?
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Old 26th May 2010, 08:53   #33
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This was a year of new hatchback launches. I expect the next year to be year of new sedan launches. Linea T-Jet (around 118 bhp), New Fiesta 1.6 petrol (118 bhp), Volkswagen Polo Sedan (expect around 105-110 bhp looking at todays Jetta) are expected. Other companies may also spring surprises.

If you cannot wait for these, then my suggestions would be to proceed in the following manner:
- Test drive each car sufficiently to answer for yourself whether the performance and driveability are good enough for you. As I hear from test-drive reports (and the thread "Sedans under 12 lakhs"), the driveability of Linea is good but outright performance is limited.

- Differentiate what forms the "core car" and what are add-on features. The "core car" which includes things like engine, gear-box, steering, etc. which are the parts that cannot be upgraded. You are stuck with them for the life of the car. On the other hand, it may be possible to add the features such as blue-tooth, ACC (not so sure here), alloys, etc. later on. Give more priority to the "core car" rather than the add-on features.

- A car is just more than the sum of its parts. So a 4-pot engine may be better than a 3-pot engine, but it is not necessary that a car with 4-pot engine is better than one with 3-pot engine. I refuse to rubbish cars with 3-pot engines. From all the reports that I hear, Volkswagen Polo is really a well-engineered car for its target segment. I still think that my Opel Corsa is a case of excellent engineering which ticked the wrong boxes on two most important questions in India: "Mileage kitna hai?" and "Jagah kitni hai?".

Personally, in the current sedans, my heart goes for a "Mitsubishi Cedia Sports" (BTW, this may tick all your points, except the service network is not wide enough and might be slightly more expensive) followed by "Ford Fiesta" and "Fiat Linea". I don't like the "Honda City" due to its pricing, "Maruti SX4" due to its overall engineering (difficult to explain in words) and "Hyundai Verna" due to its handling. Of the upcoming launches, I look forward to Linea, Fiesta and Polo Sedan.

You probably can sense my affinity for European cars, exceptions being Mitsubishi and Nissan (impression due to Altima) which are nearer to European than Japanese cars.

Another rant Hopefully, it is helpful.

- Prasad.
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Old 26th May 2010, 10:36   #34
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thanks prasad for this post. I understand vw polo is a better engineered car even though with a 3-pot. Corsa was one of the best during those petrol times. its mileage was not anything to crow about, but nevertheless, it was still a stable car that handled awesome.

the mitsubishi is an issue to me because of dealer indifference. car is great, but one has to also remember I need reliability w.r.t service. reasons are simple, I have previously owned one FIAT palio and three maruti's and you know the odd one out w.r.t service. and that odd one out, still remains the odd one out. which is why the linea troubles me in the mind.

fiesta is an excellent vehicle and i am not pretty much aware of the service aspect.

over the past day, i have been mulling to think of an old 2003 model of corolla for about 5 lac-ish which seems a good proposition considering i have an assurance of spare parts for atleast 7 more years. the other options are vw sedan which i am eagerly awaiting.
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Old 26th May 2010, 11:12   #35
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Look for pre-owned under 30k kms Corolla or even a private Innova or a new Linea/Fiesta. That's it!

Nothing else will work for you from the rattle aspect. Trust me on this!
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Old 26th May 2010, 12:28   #36
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Jaggu, dont get angry da I am seriously feeling very low with the rattles. After having paid almost 6 lac, and if you get a feeling of having a rattling automobile, doesnt make me feel any good.

i will take your point though, and look for these as well.
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Old 26th May 2010, 12:50   #37
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Srikanth, take a look at used Civics. Considering the long period for which you plan on keeping the car, it certainly makes sense, IMO.

As for Fiesta, it scores somewhat lower in terms of interior space, so do check that out. The reason i mention this is because you feel the swift is cramped at the back.
Servicing is pretty much at par with the others in the segment, and with Ford taking customer complaints seriously, you should feel assured.
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Old 26th May 2010, 12:54   #38
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Apart from the Corolla which is superbly built car with a great engine ( very eager) and relatively big car with good space inside. You wont go wrong with a good pre-owned one.

If you have the confidence and access to a good private garage, then i would also suggest a Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDI. If you go for this car,then you have enjoy the same fun to drive factor that you enjoy in your Swift D.
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Old 26th May 2010, 13:32   #39
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If you really want a fun car to drive which will meet all of the criteria in your first post except Diesel Engine, MID,Space in door panels and rear wiper(in a seadn??) then it is the Cedia.

Looking at the numbers per your first post then at @9.9L ex showroom it is pretty close to your target price and if you can find a used unit well you will have a enough left with you to take several driving holidays. Also given the distances that you drive even if you double that you still don't need an oil burner.

Edit : We are looking at a fun car and he is not looking selling the car anytime soon. Besides this high resale value thing is a hogwash. All it means is that the second hand car dealer will take certain car models off your hands quickly but not necessarily at the price that you may deem correct.

As for the A.S.S. I am speaking from personal experience as an owner and if you read Cedia or Mitsubishi threads on the forum uou will find that thee concerns are just hotair. HM Mitsubishi runs a network of excellent service stations.

Last edited by khoj : 26th May 2010 at 13:48.
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Old 26th May 2010, 13:36   #40
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Mitsubishi Cedia would be a depreciation disaster. I am not too sure of A$$ too.

If Cedia is what you like, going for a used one makes much more sense.
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Old 26th May 2010, 13:51   #41
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There is one accord at 9.25 lac 2004 model but only 27000km driven, and another civic 43000 km done, 2007 model at 8 lac. I wanted to know whether parts for accord would be very expensive? how about civic? ground clearance for accord is much better than civic needless to say
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Old 26th May 2010, 14:03   #42
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9+ lacs for an 04 accord is rubbish. it should be around 6.5.
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Old 26th May 2010, 14:18   #43
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Suggestions

Here will be my list of vehicles for you:

1) FIAT LINEA: Suits you down to the 'T'. Go for the top end version- E Pack. Top build from outside. Decentish interiors now after some minor tweaks for the 2010 version. All the bells and whistles.
As far as 'underpowered' thing goes: Get it Pete'd to raise the power to 105ish bhp (after the new raise to 93ps) OR Get it done from Race Dynamics. They are very confident about their 'post tuned' lineas.
Service: You have to live with it. It is not that bad as people make it sound. A lot of it has to do with 'perception'. We have Hondas in family and didn't find their attitude great either.

2) VW VENTO: This should be out max by around September (ACI claims July). Great build, top interiors, high quality should be a given. 105 bhp 1.6 TDI (ACI claimed; could turn out be a 90bhp version as well.) too. This should be your TOP DOG. VW prestige as well. A.S.S may be okayish (Not SKODA bad at all) and it may be slightly costlier to maintain than the Japs/Koreans. Also, no matter what any magzine or source say, it will not come cheap. Expect ANHC type prices or just below it.

3) USED HONDA CIVIC: What a car this is! IHMO, the best HONDA on road even today. You get everything you want and more. Bteer in 'quality' than Corolla anyday.

Since you are looking to upgrade to a better 'quality' car, I don't recommend Verna or SX4 (no offence to anyone).

PS: By the way, with your running, why are you insisting on diesel. IMHO, you don't need it!
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Old 26th May 2010, 14:36   #44
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i am checking Welcome to Toyota U Trust and find the cars in their inventory on webpage is not what they have there, it just moves fast.
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Old 27th May 2010, 10:46   #45
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Quote:
Originally Posted by GeekSrik View Post
There is one accord at 9.25 lac 2004 model but only 27000km driven, and another civic 43000 km done, 2007 model at 8 lac. I wanted to know whether parts for accord would be very expensive? how about civic? ground clearance for accord is much better than civic needless to say

Both these are very high quotes, I wouldn't pay more than 6 for the Accord. I personally don't know if I would touch the Civic, but I'd not pay more than 6 for the Civic either (But steer clear of this particular civic, you ought to be able to find one with a lot less mileage). The Beauty of the Acccord is that most parts are on par with the Civic in terms of cost !
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