[Brat]

Bangaloreans always get hit the most each time there is fuel hike. Really makes me wonder if buying an i20 was worth it. Might have been better off buying a car with better FE. In anycase, I've now resorted to travelling by a hybrid ;-) Part petrol, part diesel...

I drop mom off at school by the car. Park it there and then take the bus to my office. Saves me on the fuel expenses and the bother of having to drive through horrendous city traffic! I am quite sure that with each further increase in fuel prices, there will be a lot more uptake of public transport. Leaving cars only for special family outings to restaurants, etc...

[Dr.Suraj]

Originally Posted by suhaas307

Not to mention a permanent place in the 'Weird & wacky mod-jobs thread'!

Modifying an Accord into a convertible will ensure that the car loses it's strength and integrity, no matter how much you beef up the chassis and pillars. You are basically toying with a great car, and destroying it by ripping it to shreds. Modifying an Accord into a convertible will prove to be a very bad move, in no time. The car will squeal and rattle since the original structural integrity of the car has been tampered with. The driving-dynamics of the car will be affected, thus giving you a horrible ride/drive.

And no maintenance!? Apart from maybe visiting the workshop every other day in order to get the squeaks and rattles to stop, continuously making alterations and changes, till one day you get fed up and dump it in a yard. At which point, a keen BHPian will take pictures of it and put it up on one of our threads and make an absolute mockery out of it.

Don't. Do. It. Please.

P.S. I hope Akshay1234 isn't reading this.

Thank you for that.

But like I mentioned - it was just a WILD IDEA.

Just a thought spinning in my head about 8 months ago.

I never even took concrete action or steps in that direction, apart from finding the cost of a 2nd hand Accord and cost of chopping.

It did not even get to the drawing board stage.

So be rest assured, nothing happening.
&
Definitely not in the near future either.

I already booked my celebration edition Manza Elan quadrajet.

But ... It still does visualize into a beautiful concept.

[antz.bin]

The government has been constantly terming petrol as a 'Rich Man's Fuel'. I think us people need to take a cue from this. It means, you must buy diesel cars if you don't think you are rich enough to pay the extra 'Entertainment Charges' which come with having fun while using a Petrol Car. If you cannot afford this 'Entertainment Charge' in terms of Fuel Pricing difference, kindly switch fuel preferences to the more fuel efficient and equally powerful modern Diesel.

[theMAG]

I personally would not buy a petrol car now. Being salaried, it is more predictable to incur a known fixed expense in the extra cost of a diesel car, than having to contend with wildly upswinging variable petrol running costs.

Also, comparing fuel costs in India with more expensive fuel costs in come countries may not cushion the pinching reality, since fuel is more expensive in India than most countries despite the Indian rupee being a weak currency - which translates to additional burden for the Indian consumer.

[lohithrao]

I browsed through the classified section(Hatch) and 4to5pages just had 1 diesel car and the rest all were of petrol cars, i guess we know where is it going now..

Diesel usage is going to increase further...

[Cooltronics]

I still feel, one needs to get his MATH right before opting for Diesel or Petrol car. Just check out your yearly usage and divide it with your FE to get the average petrol/diesel consumption and add the annual maintenance cost. You shall now have a rough idea on how much you spend extra on fuel every year.
Now, compare this value with the additional amount that you pay for a Diesel car (along with the interest, if mortgaged) and the opportunity cost lost by not investing that money in risk free asset (e.g FD, KVP etc.), if you would have bought a petrol car.
You need to now calculate, how many km's you can drive your Petrol car on the saved money from above equation.Tentatively this figure would come to 40k-44k km (which was 55k-60k before petrol was deregulated) depending upon the model that you're looking and the difference between petrol & diesel siblings. This is your threshold value. How fast you clock 40k-44k determines your choice for Diesel or Petrol.
I have seen most of people just seeing the price difference for a tank full and blindly opt for Diesel when in actual their average run is not more than 6000 km per year
Personally, I still find Petrol more beneficial for me but further price rise is a concern. Flip side, Diesel might/can also get deregulated ( bleak chance though) once the UID card's are created.

Happy Investing !!

[Cooltronics]

Originally Posted by bullboy

I'm also in the same situation but i still prefer to use my bike than my diesel car.Reasons
1) To travel a 40 kms a day through heavy traffic i need to spend 30-40 mins more in my car somedays it may become 2+ hrs. (ya true with heavy traffics accidents are unavoidable and often creates long queues)
2)i hate Lugging my car in 1st and 2nd as there is a big gap between first and second ratios which force me to use 2nd only and is not good for the car.
3) Risk of scratchs, dents ,dings in the car is way too high due to reckless two wheelers and cabbies.

I was thinking to replace my bike with a more FE one , but it wont have the power to do a quick overtake which my pulsar can and the small tires and suspension is not good for the back :( and also i'm confused on downgrading the bhp.

Earlier i used to travel early and leave late in car but now i cant sit around when my work is finished.

I share a little conservative view (health perspective) when I come across such situations. Medicos might agree to me but most people don't until they witness a tragedy.
If the cost of running a diesel car is tentatively equal to my bike, or let me say, it doesn't hurt my pocket. I would any day prefer a car to drive than bike.. why ?
i) I save myself from pollution
ii) I save my body from teenage traffic sense on Indian roads
iii) Car accident might lead to a dent/scratch in car as compared to broken bones, severe ailments of body
Of course, I understand that I spend more time in traffic and car accidents can also be extreme but low traffic speed, chances are very less and at least I remain fit to earn, sustain my family and live a normal life.
I would typically prefer a car pool to save further and give back to environment or use public transport if possible but if I only have a choice between my car and bike, I personally prefer the former.

[sajo]

Both the cars we own are petrol. And its pinching like never before.
I had become lazy and almost always took the car for a majority of my errands etc. However lately, I have restarted using my Pulsar if I have to go anywhere alone, irrespective of the distance. Earlier its role was restricted to distances<1km.

[Chetan_Rao]

Let's not digress from the original question. It wasn't whether it makes sense to buy a Diesel, but whether it makes sense to hold onto the Petrol-burners we already have.

1. Does it make sense to buy a diesel car in the present economic context? Absolutely.

2. Does it make sense to dump a few-years old petrol car to switch to diesel? No, unless one's usage falls in above average-to-heavy category. Even then, only if one can afford the extra cash outlay.


3. Will the situation remain the same (even in the medium term)? I believe not. Given how skewed the Petrol Vs. Diesel scene is becoming, the Govt. will have no choice but to step in at some point and correct the situation. Political compulsions can't justify inaction forever. There will be a point where economics will take precedence over politics, and there's nothing the Govt. can do about that. IMO, it's already happening, and the scene will change significantly in 3-5 years.

[JustCause]

With my kind of running (12km daily), my monthly expense on petrol is ~2000Rs. A back of the envelope calculation reveals that my expenditure on fuel since the day I bought my car is ~ Rs.35000 odd. Even if I retain it for 3 more years, my running costs may not increase substantially. CNG is not an option for me as boot space will be gone & I will get even lesser FE on petrol due to the mods+ the extra weight at the back.

So, all in all, it makes immense sense to retain a petrol car now, provided your running is <500 km per month. More than that, look for a CNG kit rather than bearing a huge loss on account of depreciation & then buying a diesel car.

Diesels offer great economy, but the catch really is, the refinement & the lopsided torque/rev characteristics. Mass market CRDi diesels still suffer from turbo lag & the 'clatter'.

[lohithrao]

Thanks for putting it up, even i forgot for a moment what was the idea behind creating this thread

A person who owns a petrol car what will he/she would do? as per the classifieds i think the lates tread is many would want to get rid of thier petrol cars but in this scenario am sure the resal value will take a huge plunge + the additional amount in getting a diesel car, so even before one starts saving on fuel one would have blown quit a lot on the transition...

So for the people who are deciding on a new car, option is pretty clear.

Originally Posted by Chetan_Rao

Let's not digress from the original question. It wasn't whether it makes sense to buy a Diesel, but whether it makes sense to hold onto the Petrol-burners we already have.

1. Does it make sense to buy a diesel car in the present economic context? Absolutely.

2. Does it make sense to dump a few-years old petrol car to switch to diesel? No, unless one's usage falls in above average-to-heavy category. Even then, only if one can afford the extra cash outlay.


3. Will the situation remain the same (even in the medium term)? I believe not. Given how skewed the Petrol Vs. Diesel scene is becoming, the Govt. will have no choice but to step in at some point and correct the situation. Political compulsions can't justify inaction forever. There will be a point where economics will take precedence over politics, and there's nothing the Govt. can do about that. IMO, it's already happening, and the scene will change significantly in 3-5 years.

[shashank.nk]

I don't think it makes financial sense to REPLACE an existing petrol car for a diesel car unless its the only car a household has, and consistently clocks 1000km plus. In that case too one may have to invest quite a bit if he doesn't want to downgrade to a lower segment.

However, for those buying a new car in the present scenario diesel makes sense despite that fact that its more expensive than the petrol models in the same range.

But there is no certainty as to when this huge disparity will end.

[RGK]

My advice is new car buyers can opt for diesel ones whereas existing petrol car owners can continue with the same. The resale of petrol cars have gone down drastically now.
For eg:- 2007 WagonR VXi, 24k kms done is available for 2L nowadays in Chennai and still lower in rural Tamilnadu.

Heard that even diesel prices are going to be revisited shortly.

[Vijayraj1890]

In my opinion, and this is just my personal opinion (no implications here), if we rationally look at the issue of petrol prices, we all know it will rise, its inevitable, but how we take it is what matters. The common assumption people tend to make is that their economic position will be the same in future, which is an assumption one cannot afford to make. Lets just take the fact that by gods grace (and your own efforts obviously) you would be economically stronger in future, even if you stagnate, then economic powers will push you forward.

We are Lucky we are in one of the fastest developing economies. In the next few years our purchasing power will rise as well. This Saving Grace is not there for people in Developed/Underdeveloped countries. To understand my point, think of how you would feel spending Rs.1,500 today and then compare the same to..say..10 or even 5 years ago. You will notice a difference.

The rate at which we have grown from 2001 to 2011 is astounding. Corruption has always been there, but the fact that its making headlines says something. We are growing more intolerant as we grow into a stronger country.

Petrol prices will go up, it will not stop people from purchasing vehicles, some will go for diesel, but remember that the subsidy is not going to be here for long. In a few years, Diesel will be as expensive or even more expensive than petrol.

To look at it from a positive point of view, which i will agree is very hard but cannot be ignored, Petrol is not the future, we are just sticking with it because nothing else is AS CHEAP, everything else which is not petroleum based costs a bomb (Hydrogen, Solar). We are slowly crawling towards an era of change, where technology both in our country as well as the world will advance, and these new fuels will become cheaper.

The reason i am saying this is because i got annoyed when a few friends of mine tried to explain to me that the Government is plotting against its people. Now, even when they had no logical theories to prove this, they stand convinced. Which in my opinion is unwise. I tried to solve this, but trust me, nobody listens to a lawyer outside the courtroom. Its downright funny as well as annoying, even though i am still a law student.

We must read between the lines, the Opposition will want you to believe that the Govt has been robbing its people. I would love to be present at one of those press conferences and ask them straight away "All right, lets say we vote you into the Govt tomorrow, will you reduce the prices the next day?"

I am no advocate of any side, not do i claim that this present Govt has done wonders for this country. I say that the people, who take this country forward cannot afford to get polarized by these forces. Vested interests will always make it look as if the world is going to end, remember their motive when you listen to them. Had they done enough to earn the trust of the people, they would have been in Government.

[vinay_ss]

This is a classic debate and what seems a clear winner initially - the diesel option - eventually turns out to be a not so good idea.

We have a fiat adventure and a linea tjet. both fabulous cars and both cars that my wife and me drool over.

I sold my multijet palio a little less than a year ago when the tjet was launched, since by then i had driven about 35k of the multijet and had switched to the adventure. My wife used the multijet. even then, i was just itching to get back to a petrol engine and didnt like a diesel in my garage.

The tjet was a stunner in all sense of the word and it fitted my requirements like a glove. absolutely no feature redundant in the car and very very desirable..and so we sold the diesel and bought home the tjet.

Life has changed now. my wife's daily commute is almost 70 kms, i do a daily commute of less than 30 km but compensate it by lot of highway drives. So the facts for me -

2 petrol cars
Monthly fuel bill (on an average) - Rs 25k
Monthly EMI on the Tjet - 18k (i dont have an EMi on the adventure)
Average age of cars - Tjet - less than 12 months, Adventure - owned for 2.5 years
Kilometers logged - Adventure - 50k in 2.5 years (including a fabulous ladakh trip) and tjet - 20k in 10 months

With the above facts, a diesel replacement sounds so logical. But we love our cars way too much to part with.

I calculated that if i sell my adventure, i wont get anything more than 3L (some my laugh at 3L as well) as an upper limit. So lets say 2.5lacs. Then i buy a cheap small diesel - the Beat lets say at 5.5 lacs (which is way to small, but lets say we are ok). The EMI on the new car would be about 8-9k for 5 years (i think) and the diesel cost per month would be another 8k. In all about 16k odd per month as cash outlow. My cash outflow today is 18k.

That sums up the story. I dont think it makes sense to sell a EMI free big petrol car with no complaints and well loved, with a less loveable new diesel car, because my fuel cost is high.

So we drive and enjoy or petrol cars and may soon be a rare breed petrolheads but we are enjoying it.