[ronaldfurtado]

Hi guys,

not the daily poster but i do read up your posts often, have to say knowledge is running wild on this forum, and my know how has increased ten fold since i joined team bhp.

ok to the question.

I am planning on purchasing a tata sierra, running condition, with the odd bits of rust and engine horsepower shortage due to age.

I have a quote of 45 grand. I live and work in the UK but i do come back to india, i.e goa during xmas.

normally i rent a car or get my mates to take me around. but this time im gonna get a crossover and drive around.

at the moment im not looking for a offroader, well i am planning on buying the Landrover Discovery4 in the UK so i think that should solve my offroading needs.

so in india to have a sierra for 45 grand with the estimate of 10K rupees of annual maintainence as a charge a norm?

I plan on keeping this Jeep/Car or as we call them here a crossover for atleast 5 years, with a plan on overhauling or buying another engine in a year or two.

Do you guys consider the sierra a car? a jeep? am i in the wrong section.

I was looking at the gypsy or a mm540 or a cjb3, but they are well near the 1 lakh mark or over and for a person who will use the car for a month or so 45 grand is not to shabby.

Add to it the Sierra still looks cool with the added alloys and jacked up suspension along with size 205 tyres.

[jkdas]

I will be worried about rust and rattles on such an old Tata Sierra. And leaving it unused for long duration will only deteriorate the vehicle's condition.

Why not a MM; a Classic if you can find. Rent it out when you go aboard; easier to maintain too.

[sreerajunnithan]

Originally Posted by ronaldfurtado

Do you guys consider the sierra a car? a jeep? am i in the wrong section.

I am afraid you are Sierra=Jeep? no way. This should have gone to "What Car" thread, unless the Sierra in question is a 4WD.

Thanks
--Sree--

[pramodkumar]

Dear Ronald,

I was at the exact same place last week. Please refer to this thread below.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/4x4-te...lp-needed.html

Mods please merge the 2 threads

Pramod

[dyer_made]

better off renting/borrowing a vehicle... this kind of thing will be a pain to maintain. and I foresee a large amount of your vacation time slipping away in maintenance and repairing blues...

ok, do you know the epitaph on a blues singer's grave???



Didn't wake up this morning..

with the sierra most mornings will be this story.

[ronaldfurtado]

well im not looking at an offroader and renting a car in Goa during Xmas is just retarded.

last year alone i spent nearly 20 thousand rupees renting a 800 for 25 days. and add to that fuel costs on a car that i didn't own.

I understand a sierra worth 45 grand will have problems. but i plan on having the body up and engine overhauled in the span i am not in Goa for.

my neighbor is a mechanic who has promised me to take care of it, it is he who got me this deal after all.

I am looking at a span of 5 years of using the car and if i can keep overhauling the engine and doing up the body maybe even longer.

costs of 20 thousand a year doesn't matter at that point. since i will have a car when i am down. I am free to go where i want to unlike a rental which cannot be taken out of state.

and i will have friends and family who are more than willing to take it for a spin every few days.

I like the sierra for its looks, and i always wanted one. Add to the fact diesel is cheap.

I just wanted to know the common problem areas of a sierra from the current owners so that i can be aware of it inconsistencies

[dinar]

Dude, still not bought anything? Negotiate for a lil less, cause it a 95 model. Get the engine overhauled. sort out the rust problems and coat it with protective paint and your sorted.
Only problem is parts are a bit hard to, , such as ac coil, switches, power window motors,etc little stuff that we think are not needed, engine part are no problem most are compatible with sumo 2L.
As for cost of getting the vehicle to decent state, you are looking at another 45-60 grand. Rs 20,000-25,0000 per year for maintenance is ok, if the car is not taken for a SPIN much.

[GTO]

With only 68 BHP, the '95 Sierra used to puff & scream to move 'em 2000 kilos. A 15 year old example will pretty much be on its last legs. Add to that the fact that the Sierra came with its own set of issues; I wouldn't even recommend someone to buy a 15 year old Jap car, leave aside the Sierra.

Sorry, thumbs down to this one. Pointless really. You'd be better off using that 10 grand annual maintenance budget in renting a car.

[4x4addict]

Can this thread please be moved from the 4x4 section to the MUV/SUV section?

[Ricky_3007]

Originally Posted by GTO

Add to that the fact that the Sierra came with its own set of issues;
.

Hey What are those "own set of issues"? I would like to know pls...

Tarkesh

[svsantosh]

Originally Posted by Ricky_3007

Hey What are those "own set of issues"? I would like to know pls.

Over heating was one I remember on the Estate/Sierra. Suspension issues - sagging all round for no reason. Bad wheel alignment leading to BAD inner wear.

[shivshanker]

Ronald,

If you plan to come to India once in a year and celebrate xMAS with family, sincere suggestion for you is to rent a vehicle.

Since you are not in India, you might have missed the classical Ad from Naukri.com, pay peanuts for salary and you will get only monkeys to work for you

Similarly, a car for 45K will hardly be able to stand on its 4's. Let alone allow you to enjoy your vacation.

Your initial capital + Yearly expenses, and the interest that will be earning will easily coverup for a couple of yearly rentals man.

However, if you idea of a vacation is spending a month in the garage and being standed on the roads, then please go for it.

Ps. Have you read about the Critic who pissed on a painting when he was asked to critique it.?, well I am not his descendant.

Peace man, but having been a NRI and shared exactly the same sentiments as you, Though I should be speaking what's on my mind, since I had traversed the same path.

Cheers!

[jaysmokesleaves]

Its a NO-go buddy.
The only chap to benifit from this deal will be your friend & garage who will make 10k of your maintenance budget. You rather buy an old M800 for 45k, spend 10k just once at an authorised workshop doing it up and then keep it for another 10 years. It will be much cheaper.

If you do eventually decide buying the sierra, remember that parts(other than engine) are very hard to find. Stuff like rubber beadings, electricals, switches, etc.

Goodluck.

[shankar.balan]

all i can say is "dont touch it with a barge pole" - 45K seems dirt cheap but consider the chaos you will need to go through on maintenance, spares, service and general running.
not worth it in my considered opinion.

[ronaldfurtado]

Thanks for all the insight guys. I have not bought the sierra, my first preference is a gypsy. I had my dad go around and see the vehicle, happens to be that the person selling it is an old friend of his. Dad said its in good running condition and it has been serived every 8000 kms at the tata dealership which is actually just 2 miles from where i live.

anyway, its on the back burner for now and im hoping to get a gypsy for less than a lakh. Just hope someone out there's got one.

Id love to own the sierra, since my plan is to completely do it up, engine overhaul, the works. but ill do the math and see what works out.