Team-BHP - Want to buy a 45 - 50 lakh SUV | How to get rid of the middle class guilt?

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Originally Posted by poloman (Post 5249349)

I am sure many of us who have come from modest back grounds but risen well only due to our parents focus on education will feel this. 45-50L is a huge amount. So, am I doing the right thing by spending such a huge amount on a car which may be higher than what you spend on your child education. You can do so many great things with that kind of money. Also the
huge carbon foot print of a massive diesel SUV worries me. Sadly no other current car excites me or I don't consider those upgrades worthy.

How beautifully articulated! Exactly going through the same thoughts over the last few days and on the Fortuner too. I'm on the cusp of making one such decision too - hopefully I decide to go with it.

If you understand Tamil - there is an actor by name Karan - in one of his movies, he says "I know about you middle class - you will have Rs.500 to buy a good shirt, but you will end up buying two shirts of Rs.250 each" - while it might sound harsh, that's the truth - especially of so many people that have worked so hard in their lives to get to a great level in life where they can do reasonably good things for themselves - they still think of their humble beginnings and feel that they do not 'need' or 'deserve' the good things of life. They only bequeath their hard-earned wealth to their heirs who will then fritter away their time and life cause they are already placed well and frequently not even appreciate what their parents did to get there.

As far as the carbon footprint goes - remember that it's like the Diwali cracker sermon - there are far bigger offenders round the year and you don't need to worry about it - leave it to the govt and the activists. We don't even know how much carbon footprint making an EV car battery creates or the technologies behind it (even if during running it can be called green). Remember that your car is still going to stick to the emission norms your govt is setting.

You have one life! Hope you buy that car and post a picture soon here and wish me the same!

Quote:

Originally Posted by poloman (Post 5250530)

So you could do at least 6 foreign trips with the money you spent on a 50L SUV. Was planning a Europe trip during 2020-2021 which could not materialize due to COVID.

Daughter's studies abroad with zero loans. 60-70L will be pretty much what you need for a Masters degree in US. Don't want to burden my daughter with any loans in the start of her career.

Decent charitable activities. Give something back significantly to the society.

Go for zero loan and build a bigger house which I am planning 2 years down the line.

After hearing all this, I take my advice back :) The very fact that you are thinking from this perspective implies that you will regret buying the Fortuner after some time. Take some more time to think through it before taking the plunge.

Quote:

Originally Posted by poloman (Post 5249349)

Now come, my dilemma. I will call this the 'great Indian middle class guilt or remorse' when one spent huge amounts on depreciating assets.

Sharing my experience if it helps.

I was in a similar dilemma. I wanted to buy an X5 or RR.

I enjoy driving. Any good car. Not necessarily a particular make. I realized there are several factors in the equation.

1) Enough power - I am not a racer nor driving on a racing track, so can't use all the power always.
2) Good handling - Don't want to drive a boat on a curvy road
3) Good interiors - Don't want to look at poorly designed or unwell-made interiors
4) Good sound system - My ears can't accept poor audio
5) Good roads - Satiate this hunger on road trips

I chose a Mazda CX-5. It cost half giving me 80-90% driving pleasure of an X5. Good deal I thought. No guilt.

The Fortuner is a fun to drive vehicle especially if you are crossing rivers often and doing trekking from within your car rl:

Jokes aside, I really think there is no reason for you to not buy it, however, if you are still unsure after all these positive reasons written by fellow members in this thread, then perhaps you feel its too much of a splurge of hard earned money. How about you consider an Innova Crysta! Its on the same robust and durable body on frame platform, and it is the largest selling minivan in the country, even though its the second most expensive minivan in the country (Carnival being the most expensive). Rear wheel drive means its atleast 60% capable of doing Fortuner's fun off reading (Carnival is front wheel drive and lower ground clearance), and has a far more superior ride than Fortuner. Innova Crysta gives you the peace of mind of a sound investment, and ride quality is better than Fortuner. Either way, with both of these offerings from Toyota, you can't go wrong. :thumbs up

I personally think you are stretching yourself a bit thin if you have to think soo much about plonking 50L on a vehicle, then maybe it better to buy a segment lower. (Maybe because I personally feel anything above 25L is overpriced for my mostly “city” usage)

If you feel like no other vehicle satisfies you, buy the fortuner and dont think about resale, mileage and what not. (i.e If you have sufficient savings after your splurge)

Once you take a decision stick to it dont care what the world thinks as there will always be ifs and buts.(i know this part is difficult)

Good luck polo-fortuner-man

I know of friends who have more than 1-2 crore savings and still one drives an alto, others have no cars.
But then at times, we make fun also, casual tea time fun.

I don't have that much savings but I drive better, eat better and live better. Don't think too much about money, it's like a mirage, never sufficient if you start chasing.

Use it only as a tool for better living.

Talk to your family. They would have seen you doing everything for them, they will also want that you do something for yourself. My family wanted me to buy Safari , not for themselves, but for me, even though I thought of it as a little expensive.

People in forties, no emi's , decent savings, go and spend some money on yourself. :)

I do concur with Ranjit's point of view. Once you buy and use it for a while, the novelty is gone.

I thought you did have an use case for the Fortuner, but then saw your response

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I am not at all a person who is in to offroading. Neither would I think will I do multiple solo trips to Himalayas. But for some reason Fortuner has struck chord in my heart.

Since have the money to do a cash-down purchase. May I suggest you to look at the used market, something that is < 5 years old. You might be able to get it for 30L odd. If you want to sell, you might not lose much either.

If there are other models that suits your requirements at a lower price bracket, then it’s something definitely worth considering. The amount you save can be used for other purposes as you mentioned.

There is a lot going for the Fortuner but one thing that is pretty obvious from the replies in this thread is that the overall ride and handling is not good. If this is compromised and is not upto your expectations then spending so much doesn’t make any sense in my opinion. There are vehicles under 30L that have massive road presence, good GC, well sorted ride and handling which are spacious and offers lot of practicality.

I am almost in similar stage in life, would like to understand more on the drivers for this decision.
Affordability is one factor, your need for big car/SUV is something else. Rethink about “why Fortuner”, especially when you don’t plan on any off-roading, not Leh trip types and do not have a large family (assumption based on your statement above). Using Fortuner as regular ride in narrow Blore roads is certainly not fun.

Moreover I’ve always wondered whether I am doing a reasonable buy or being fleeced in the purchase. With most cars in 50-75L bracket in Blr, I can’t seem to justify the value proposition to myself.

Unless you are totally smitten by Fortuner, I would say think hard on what can keep you smiling for next ten years.
My suggestion would be to rather wait and save up, to buy something more special than utilitarian vehicle for this kind of money or look for one- two year old X3/X5/GLE/XC60.

@poloman - If you are salaried, I would recommend that you think really hard before getting a new Fortuner. Just putting down my reasons here.

1. Your avenues to get any kind of tax benefits out of the purchase is nil. You should also know that Fortuner retails at around 35K (USD) in most countries. So you are essentially paying double the money that you would pay for this truck in most other countries because of the taxes in India.

2. Fortuner is a 2.7 Litre Fuel guzzling diesel SUV. There is a good chance that the resale for this car will be terrible ten years from now because of emission and scraping regulations.

3. I know couple of multi-car business households which have Fortuner, innova, mercedes etc. While the Fortuner was bought with a lot of enthusiasm, the family uses the innova or the germans depending on the occasion. It's not great in terms of comfort for the family and also gets you attention in a bad way.

Best of luck for your decision!. Congratulations on whatever decision you make.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mygodbole (Post 5250988)

Still trying to figure out the topic: "Want to buy a 45 - 50 lakh SUV | How to get rid of the middle class guilt?"
INR4.5mn to INR5mn? For transportation? Middle class?
Mods, if this is offensive, please remove. No intention of hurting anyone's feeling.

OP is not saying he is middle-class. More like the predicament of many people in their 40s who have done well in life but have a strong value system based on middle-class upbringing.

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Originally Posted by poloman (Post 5250017)

Is Toyota customer support and service the same it used to be? Despite the whipping boy of the forum VW support has never let me down. I had registered a Fortuner query on the Toyota India website both for new and used few days back. Received a call from a centralized number and they told nearest show room will get in touch. So far not a single call from them for 3 days. Am I expecting something unreasonable? I hate negligence and customer slight the most.

I cannot comment on the after sales part, as I do not own a Toyota, but my pre-sales experience was very similar to yours. I had too registered a query. About a month after that, I received a call from the nearest showroom. It was more of a formality call, and the person had no information about my basic queries. He said that he'd call back with my required details, but never bothered to call back again. Maybe he disqualified me as a prospect based on my voice? lol: