Team-BHP - Does it make any sense to buy a used Tata Aria?

My in laws in Coimbatore own an Aria for the last 5 yrs clocking 60K KM's without any troubles despite their abuses, my FIL is a contractor, so he carries pretty much everything in it and its a charm to drive to the farm in it!

+Ve's
spacious, plush ride, will glide over the crater filled roads of BLR, powerful motor, Hexa is still based on the same platform, fairly reliable, abuse friendly (vis-à-vis Innova), massive road presence (will scare the yellow boards away), well built and put-together for a TATA

-Ve's
clutch is very hard (lower variants came with a single mass fly wheel), larger turning radius, TATA service (though improving cannot hold a candle to Maruti), wider gear throws, will give you a 8~10 KMPL in City / 10~12 in H'way

Quote:

Originally Posted by satishv1987 (Post 4282591)

I recently sold my 6 year old Ritz and have been on the lookout for a 7 seater. I saw a few deals for the Aria on Olx. One owner quoted 6 lakhs for a 2012 model(Pure) that has clocked around 60k on the odo.

Now that the car has been discontinued, should I pick up a used Aria? Will spares availability be an issue?

Personally, I would say yes if you manage to find a good example at good price.

Recently another BHPian brought a pre worshiped Aria--this post may help you to decide: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/offici...ml#post4148677

--Anoop

I have picked up a Dec'14 Aria 4wd Pride this January.

Base your decision upon facts, investigation and experience. Online you will get lot of tips but at the end of the day you are the one checking out the car and you are the one planning to purchase it.

Hopefully the below should help you
- Single Owner/Multiple - Accident history, insurance validity
- Recency of purchase (2014 had the facelifted version)
- Service History, what has been the last 2-3 service costs like, has the previous owner serviced it regularly, was it always at the same place or multiple places. These things usually give a lot of clues especially if the owner is not willing to share or trying to hide stuff.
- Look and Feel of the car - worn out seats, quality of interiors, AC effectiveness - shows how well or badly was it kept
- Test Drive ( a very long one) - to pick up any mechanical issues that might be there. Do it with the windows open, to listen to sounds. The insulation by the way is mind blowing and should still be.
- Since its a +5yr old car, spend a good amount of time, maybe if you are keen, hire and experienced mechanic or take the car to a known service station for a thorough check-up.

It wasn't selling then, it isn't selling now, if the owner is looking for a resale, usually he would comply with your requests.
But lack of sale does not mean that there is something wrong with the product itself.

I see plenty of Arias here in Pune, quite a few with tour operators and have personally seen mileages of 4 of them (over 2lacs) and still running strong.

At the end of the day, if you are satisfied with the vehicle - go for it. The price will be mouth watering and a good Aria specimen is an awesome vehicle to live with.

Cheers and happy shopping.
Trojan

Quote:

Originally Posted by da_lowrider (Post 4288934)

I'm sorry, but isn't the Mobilio, pretty much, a discontinued, unsuccessful car as well? :D

Yes, Mobilio is a discontinued, unsuccessful car with a lot of part sharing with a lot of its siblings, and one that has reincarnated as BR-V, has an engine and a gearbox that also powers one of the most popular sedans in the country, and is from a manufacturer that is still able to support 12-13 year old models quite well.

Tata service has sketchy for their selling models, I have no confidence in their service and parts availability of their failed models.

Quote:

Originally Posted by autorahul (Post 4288951)

Similarly, Aria is a discontinued, unsuccessful car with a lot of part sharing with a lot of its siblings, and one that has reincarnated as Hexa, has an engine and a gearbox that has been around in various models for a decade now and is from a manufacturer that has never shown issues with regards to availability of spares of any sorts (based on personal experience & the long term reviews of other users).

Yep, that's your opinion & it's completely fine, can't comment on that.

I have been running the Pure LX (refreshed model) for close to 4 years now. I traded my Innova for this one. It has 40k on the ODO and i just got back from a 1200km trip in Tamilnadu. Most of my comments below are in comparison with my earlier Innova. Not to mistake, i owned the Innova for 7 years and had a trouble free ownership all along. I was in tears when i gave it away.

The Aria has never let me down and as someone has already mentioned above, it has one of the finest suspension setup. The AC can get bone chilling and is very effective even in peak summers in Tamilnadu. I have VCool films (widnscreen grade all over) and that aids in retaining the chillness and cuts off some of the additional heat from outside

I get about 11-12kmpl in the city (Bangalore) and usually get close to 16kmpl on the highways. I am not not known to floor the pedal and i usually do speeds between 90-110. I have seen much higher milages on the highways (18+) but that is when the AC is off and speeds hovering around 70-90kmpls (Hard to achieve these numbers on a sustained basis). I also have a racedynamics kit which i suspect is aiding the additional milage and smoothness.

Compared to the Innova, the seats are lot better in terms of stiffness and the overall support to the backs and underthighs. The engine is lot more refined and responsive compared to the Innova. Aria also has a service interval of 15k kms. The clutch on the refreshed model is super light and is also self adjusting as it wears and tears

I have had absolutely no issues in terms of reliability, service and availability of parts. The service advisers have been extremely cordial and i seem to get preferential treatments in KHT and Prerana motors (@Bangalore). Overall i have done several long highway runs and have had absolutely no issues so-far.

Regarding re-selling, it is inconsequential to me. I buy a car for retaining it, ofcourse i did my bit of research regarding the service and spares. Re-sale value is very subjective. You buy a car for 20l and sell it for 7-8-lacs seems similar to buying a car for 12L and selling it for 3L. I save 8 lacs upfront (This is purely my opinion).

In summary - if you get a good deal on the refreshed model, go ahead for it.

Hi just want to share my bit, I bought a Tata Aria Dec 2011 manufactured and 2012 registered. Its a 4x2 Pure Variant, I bought it at ~ 85K KM and now it is around 93K KM.
The clutch was hard and was never changed in its life and hence I got it changed from dual mass flywheel to single mass flywheel, post that the clutch became very soft and hence easy to drive. Entire cost was around 24 K Rs (part of which was borne by the seller).
Secondly the power steering pump failed, entire oil got drained, I could have tried to repaired it but chose to get a new one, shortly thereafter the new pump also malfunctioned but Tata Motors changed it free of cost, it costed around 12K.

Rest the service costs are okay. Service interval is also large i.e 15K KM.
The Aria has loads of space and is easy to drive. I bought the car because a known person was selling it, so you may call it quite impulsive.
I drive mostly in city and the FE is 11.3 KMPL. Did not get a chance to drive it for a long trip.
If you ask me honestly sometimes I regret buying this big car because of parking issues, sometimes I am happy because I don't have to worry about pothholes etc and Aria also drives pretty well and have a powerful engine.

Hi all, does buying a used 2012 Aria Pure 4x2 make sense in today's time and age, considering that parts are shared with Hexa and Storme, and Hexa is going to continue post BS6 implementation also? I am getting a single person used, 60K kilometers run vehicle for less than 4 lakhs. Any suggestions would be welcome.

I have no problems with my nearby Tata Motors Service Center. Have asked them for their suggestion also in this regard, as they will responsible for it's service and spares.

Quote:

Originally Posted by AdityaDeane (Post 4628323)

Everything depends upon spares and service availability. If you are known to dealer, it is big plus.
One of my acquaintance bought it used and traded for Hexa. He was happy albeit partially with reliability.
It makes sense to get it checked from service center on key components which have aged and need replacement in future.