[kamal.sn]

Dear Experts,

I was going thru the team-bhp classifieds and found a swb prado listed :

http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy-...er-Prado.html/

My dilemma as always :

1) Is it worth paying 9 Lakhs for the TLC or shoud i negotiate more, the car is in a good condition going by the pics.

2) How difficult is the process of getting this car transferred and getting it registered in Delhi ( a 1996 make car ) and can someone provide some information on the costs involved.

3) Availability of spares over the counter, cost of maintenence ?

Or, it is not worth the effort as it is 14 year old car and i should go for the 2011 4wd Scorpio as i am looking for a easy to maintain 4wd SUV / family car and have almost decided on the scorpio.

[2500cc]

Toyotas will outlast the owners. But if you are buying it then you must have a good mech to support and good resource to source the parts. The parts you may replace are going to be very expensive IMO. If you are looking for a hardcore off-roading this is your best buy.

Scropio on the other hand is home bred. It is best seller in its segment. You will not have any issues with the maintenance and is light on pockets.

Originally Posted by kamal.sn

Dear Experts,

I was going thru the team-bhp classifieds and found a swb prado listed :

http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/buy-...er-Prado.html/

My dilemma as always :

1) Is it worth paying 9 Lakhs for the TLC or shoud i negotiate more, the car is in a good condition going by the pics.

2) How difficult is the process of getting this car transferred and getting it registered in Delhi ( a 1996 make car ) and can someone provide some information on the costs involved.

3) Availability of spares over the counter, cost of maintenence ?

Or, it is not worth the effort as it is 14 year old car and i should go for the 2011 4wd Scorpio as i am looking for a easy to maintain 4wd SUV / family car and have almost decided on the scorpio.

For the highlighted point: Scorpio it is. No doubt Toyota is reliable, but what if ?

Cheers,
rajesh

[raj_5004]

did you say easy to maintain?

for sure, a new scorpio will be far easier than a 14 yr old toyota.

[gshanky]

TLC is no doubt a good vehicle. It may prove to be a reliable car. But when there is a problem you should be ready to open your wallet to maintain it properly. All expensive cars have expensive parts so the expenses will be proportional.

Get TLC if you want to own a TLC - for its comfort and fun. If you are getting it for 9 Lakhs it seems like a good bargain as in the savings(about 2.5 Lakhs) you could keep for any potential repair expenses in the future. But make sure you test the vehicle well before making a decision.

Otherwise Scorpio seems a safe decision.

[camchennai]

I would suggest you to stay off from TLC and go for Scorpio.

Reason:-
1. Spares will be very expensive and availability in India would be scarce
2. TLC is almost 14 years old now and while registering in Delhi it should be 15 years. I guess while registering in Delhi they would ask for fitness certificate as the vehicle is 15 years old. I am pretty sure for yellow board vehicle we need fitness certificate however not sure about own board, may be some one could throw some light. I remember Pavan Kadam was talking about getting Fitness certificate for his restored VW.
3. As per dealer, car has done 85K KM which is very less for a 14 year old vehicle. How come it has run only this much KM in 14 years??
4. 9L for 2 door version is absolutely not worth paying.

[4x4addict]

@kamal:

The TLC is far superior to the Scorpio. But the problem is that in India, most imports have gone through various owners and various mechanics resulting in a very unreliable vehicle. The odometer/miles run is also modified by dealers so you never know the true condition of the vehicle. Most people that I know who have old bought old grey market imports have ended up having to spend huge amounts of money and still end up with an unreliable vehicle and a money pit.

Parts can be sourced locally in the major metros. However, the mark up is huge and you have no guarantee where the parts are original or fake. Cheapest option is to have someone in middle east buy and ship to India. This takes time though.

Also, if you are using it predominantly in a metro, you will be okay with service. If you are planning to go for a long trip and have an issue in a rural area, your family is pretty much stuck unless you can get an alternate mode of transport. With a Indian vehicle the nearest big town will have a dealer/parts/service.

Bottom line is that TLC is much more capable than the Scorpio, but the ones available in India are generally very suspect. Not worth the risk. If you get it for something like 5 Lakhs it is worth the risk, but not at 10 Lakhs.

[Aroy]

Get a new 4x4 Scorpio.
Though the Prado is an excellent vehicle, I would stay away from a 14 year old one. Further transferring to Delhi would entail a lot of hassles as well as costs - fitness, road tax for next 15 years and so on. Please note if it is not BS-IV you can not even register the vehicle in a Metro! Forget about a BS-III or lower.

You can get the Scorpio with middle row captain seats, leave the last row at home and you have an excellent tourer with loads of space coupled with excellent service network. I would always be apprehensive of a 14 year old vehicle (with doubtful service history) when I am traveling in the mountains.

As noted at 5L you can take the risk and spend another 5L to make it perfect mechanically, beyond that it is not financially viable. Yes if it is a second (or third) vehicle meant for your personal recreation and pleasure then go ahead, else resist the temptation.

As far as maintenance goes the parts would cost in proportion to its 40L price compared to 13L price of a Scorpio.

[kamal.sn]

Thanks a ton 2500cc, raj_5004, gshanky, camchennai, 4x4addict and Aroy for all your valuable advice and suggestions.

I just found out that the car is with Delhi registration but sans the registration costs, the car will be expensive to maintain and since i want to use the car as my primary car, it will not be a good option to buy this one.

BTW, is there any news of a Scorpio 2011 refresh version ?

I am planning to book a VLX 4WD in the first week of February.

Thanks again for all the valuable information.

Ciao and wish all bhpians a very happy and mile crunching 2011.

[4x4addict]

Scorpio was refreshed middle of last year when the *Mightly Muscular* scorpio came out so i doubt any major refresh is planned. The platform is getting old and the new W201 softroader from Mahindra is being launched in 2011 so I doubt Mahindra will invest in any significant upgrade of the scorpio.

[thedreamcatcher]

My bet would be to go in for the Scorpio as opposed to a Prado going through its teens.

Dont just go by the looks. I have seen a battered and horrible indica go through a transformation in front of my eyes, while i was getting one of my earlier cars repaired. The car could have sold for new. I was shocked

So, looks can be deceptive. And the Scorpio of this age will be better than a car that is 14 years old in terms of performance etc and that can never be beaten

Most of these imports would have gone through abuse and local mechs to service them at some point.

I dont think a new refreshed Scorpio is in the making for this year, But you never know. But what I have heard is that they are planning to launch a mini-scorpio and mini-xylo. Not sure what the outcome would be like, but apparently this is slated for 2011.

[Ricky_63]

TLC would be expensive to maintain, let that be the start point. The car you are looking at is Delhi registered. That is one part taken care of. The quality of ride & performance between the TLC & a Scorpio is a no-brainer.

What is the 4X4 Scorpio costing you on road ? You can consider a Pajero, instead of the TLC. As you are aware, there are enough used examples available. The ride quality of Scorpio has always left a lot to be desired, I can say that as I have owned one in 2004, though the newer one is supposed to be better. The body roll can be handled with upgraded suspension.

Your call.





Cheers

[shankar.balan]

Forget the old car though it is very tempting.
You might face issues on after sales servicing and cost + availability of spares.
1996 is 15 years ago!!! You will probably have to go through the fitness certification and re-registration and a whole lot of other headaches if you buy it.

[Ricky_63]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Forget the old car though it is very tempting.
You might face issues on after sales servicing and cost + availability of spares.
1996 is 15 years ago!!! You will probably have to go through the fitness certification and re-registration and a whole lot of other headaches if you buy it.

In Delhi there is no "re-registration". The car is inspected at the RTO (which can also be avoided) & the car is certified as road worthy for another 5 years. Total cost is around 5k. You are given a smartcard on which it states the date till which the certification is valid.

[ACM]

The Prado could have been considered but for 9L it seems to be a bad deal, 6-7L would be the max that one should pay for it.

It would be expensive to maintain but should be reliable overall. But stuff like AC failure can set you back by 1L at a single go.

A newer version of the pardo for about 9-10L would be a better bet.

[shankar.balan]

interesting - this certification for 5 years roadworthiness accompanied by a Smart Card
wonder whether the same system applies here in Bangalore as well.

Originally Posted by Ricky_63

In Delhi there is no "re-registration". The car is inspected at the RTO (which can also be avoided) & the car is certified as road worthy for another 5 years. Total cost is around 5k. You are given a smartcard on which it states the date till which the certification is valid.