[aastiksaluja]

Note: Admins, I wanted to post this under buying a new car to get some advice but it says I don't have the rights. This is my very first post on Team BHP, so pardon the errors and your help is much appreciated.

Quick Intro:
I have lived about cars since my conscience made me like the sound of the engine. Then why so late on Team BHP? Well. I'm a silent reader who spent hundreds of hours hogging on all the brilliant reviews, videos and experiences primarily on Team BHP, and then YouTube and other blogs/vlogs. I used to read Autocar since class 7th, and when I returned from my boarding school, the heaviest bag I had was of my auto magazines. I stopped buying them when I was introduced to the world of internet & Team BHP. My family and friends have christened me with the tag of Go-to person for advice on cars, which I'm very proud of. (Well, then why waste everyone's time here if you're such a self proclaimed expert on cars? :P)

Current Scenario:
We have two cars in family.
Nissan Terrano, XV(O)-110 HP- October 2013-68K Kms, with Dad, in Pithoragarh (Uttarakhand).

Its primarily used to travel in shown roads till Rudrapur( a treacherous hilly route with road construction currently, and year long bad patched with no roads at many places); and onward to Delhi on NH 24, which again has multiple patches of flyover construction and bad road manners with tractor truck traffic.
Inter city commute is negligible due to traffic congestion. Dad rides his bike/scooter

Second , Hyundai I20 Magna-Petrol- October 2009- 76K Kms.
It was replaced by Terrano at 58K kms ODO, and is in Delhi with me, and since now I have to travel sometimes in city and to Dehradun/Rudrapur Highway, I think it needs to be replaced.
It has shown its age and is asking for some rework, but no point selling it at giveaway price, and will keep it for sister to learn driving. Drives well though.

Options:

1: Fulfill long time dream of buying a Vtec(Thus, Honda City)
Not a fan of depreciated VFM ratio in City considering the way price has hiked and build quality has deteriorated; along with few ergonomics and feature to feature comparison with competition, but well, for a petrohead, iVtec is next best thing to True Love! 13lakhs OTR for VX petrol seemed steep but could be afforded.

Downside, Dad's vehicle will show it's age in a year or two(depending on trips and continual condition of roads. THEY'RE BAD!) and I want to get him a better vehicle and thus buying CITY might (hope I save some more!) hamper my ability to stretch my budget for his car. Don't want to drive in fancy new car before Dad gets his.

Because of our roads, Dad was adamant at first that I get a compact SUV (Ecosport, I would consider Nexon as well!) instead of City, and probably get City after a couple of years when roads are done.I didn't want to have that cramped rear space after paying 12-13 Lakhs.
(Practically this is a better plan I agree, but I left it for Option 2)



2: Buy Dad a full size SUV, Use Terrano for couple of years, then change to CITY.
What we want:
-Good engine
-Non truck like drive-ability
-5 comfortable seats( parents travel with half the home, so the last two seats will be permanently folded)
- FEATURES!! Gimme all You can! :P

Terrano was necessity at that time. Avoided nosediving XUV(sorry owners, personal experience I'd say) and spent premium on Duster to get a better looking and slightly(very very slight) better interior because I knew about ride handling but in no way the spartan interior and feature list justifies 14 lakh price. Hence, me being picky and difficult as we don't change cars every year or so.

-My mom likes sunroof(window on roof she says!) so it's most welcome

- Automatic , not a deal-breaker though (I want it for my Dad. For me, it's out of his health and age concern and ease of driving, since he's not comfortable with drivers even if he brings one along). It'll rob some fun off, but his sugar & uric acid issues trumps that; to which he still won't agree.


Options:
i. ALTURAS - Dad saw it, liked it.I love it. But the stupid dealer in Mahindra Haldwani told my Dad that why am I buying an automatic in hilly tough terrain. What if the vehicle gets stuck! there's no first Gear!
He's got some doubts(not because of that stupid salesman) because there aren't many automatics (single digit ownership) in city, and he's concerned about local help in case of a breakdown as nearest center is 220 kms -7 hours treacherous drive away. It's over our budget and will probably get us a notice from I-Tax office considering we got one for terrano last time (small town), but I believe that sweet thing is worth all the risk. I'm avoiding major expenses for it.

BTW I know endeavour is a better driving car, but Dad said if he'll spend that much money, it'll be on Alturas, as ENDY is couple of lakhs more(for 2.2!) and we're already stretching our budget.
Fortuner is not in race again for VFM, price and I personally find it offensive that amongst all other things, they're selling fake leather in the centre console with a bland touchscreen and no one's complaining!

ii. XUV W11(O)
Hypocrite enuff! Well, the genius who badmouthed automatics to my Dad very nicely presented XUV with a good offer, about 19l OTR (Stock clearance!). Now I know XUV has evolved and the electronics are no more just gimmick, and I might start liking it and get over that horrendous test drive I had in July 2013 (before Terrano's hunt) where brakes felt so wooden I wished I was Fred flinstone and use my feet to stop the car.
One thing, always a fan of mHAWK and the power and drive-ability of that engine. Added bonus of recent power bump!
This is more of a choice of practicality, but deep down I know I won't have full contentment after the purchase and that bugs me.

iii. Compass
TD'd it. Love the engine, VFM on lower end for Limited plus, but I know Dad will go for top end only since he doesn't like to get aftermarket fitments.
Space in rear seat's Less than Terrano, & boot is not equally spaced out despite being similar in volumetric comparison. Will buy only if other options do not settle well, as it's not really a size upgrade.

iv. TATA HARRIER
Waiting for it! Although I will prefer waiting a month or two to get those ownership review. Plus, the few missing features in it at the price point bug me. More than that, I'll be really pissed if there's an update within a year with all the missing items.

A general trend I have seen among car-makers is them deliberately missing on few equipment, because how else can they market an UPGRADE after a year to keep product fresh. Such low level of creativity disappoints me.

I apologize to everyone who are still reading this. Thanks for bearing it, and I hope to get some expert opinion to help me decide.

I promise to overcome my introvert self who formed sentences in head but didn't write them online before, and contribute more to the page,... :P
Fun fact: I once applied for an entry level job in Team BHP as well, and got a reply that I'm over Qualified for the job, and probably the pay! :P
Well, I'll be happy to volunteer and it would be my honor to help in any way possible.

[porsche_guy]

Originally Posted by aastiksaluja

Note: Admins, I wanted to post this under buying a new car to get some advice but it says I don't have the rights. This is my very first post on Team BHP, so pardon the errors and your help is much appreciated.

Hello!

I feel that the Harrier sums up your requirements the best due to the fact that it has the underpinnings of Land Rover and therefore will be much better in the treacherous and rugged terrain. Tata dealer network is also quite a lot bigger than Jeep and that will definitely help too! It will be a major upgrade from the Terrano and with disc brakes all around, will be quite safe as well!

Cheers!

[aastiksaluja]

Thanks for the suggestion. Even I'm keen to wait for Harrier and see the pricing.
I would say it would be an irresistible offer if it's priced at 20 Lakhs OTR (Delhi, Uttarakhand). This is a personal opinion with suitability to my case as I can then upgrade the other vehicle in a year or so, with something of my choice (City maybe!)
BTW yesterday was spent with Alturas. My friend has already bought 4*2 model . In fact he waited for my approval before giving the booking, and thus I took the test drive in a dramatic series of events , hours before I had to board a flight (Gaadi ke liye kuch bhi :P )
My dad was pushing forward that if we have to buy, there's no point wasting time and thus it became almost finalised. I got final figures as well, and since I drove the vehicle and rode it, one thing is certain is that it gives you a premium feel which no other car in this category gives (Endy or Fortuner).
Now I read the whole post on Rexton/ALturas last night and the hate speech was as strong as BJP pravaktas fighting anti nationalists(Why so negative! if not positive).
Not to go off topic, as I'll post on that thread soon, but I think it all gels down to dependability on Mahindra for After sales service of a vehicle which is CKD, hence following concerns:
1. All spares and consumables must be imported with a lot of lag time (if proper inventory isn't maintained).
2. Technical knowhow of vehicle in our nearest service centre so we don't spend days figuring out minor rectification. A person not knowing some stuff is totally normal and understandable, but the zeal and effort to overcome that is what counts. I haven't had any Mahindra experience before this, so can't comment.
3. I have asked sales guy to get me following things:
i. Details of insurance cover, with all that is NOT covered, and the extra premium for whatever is available (Engine, hydro, key etc)
ii. List of spare part price and consumables which are commonly changed, as well as commonly replaced items in case of minor accidents, e.g- windscreen, wipers, headlight assembly, fenders, orvms etc
iii. AMC package details- especially with what is NOT covered.

Please drop in more suggestions if I missed anything.