[Abhi_Automobile]

If you are going to take a loan (and outright purchase is NOT an option), forget about a used car. The 18% interest rates will kill you. I suggest you buy a brand new vehicle with an on-road price of between 5 - 7 lakhs. Unless you don't have any specific criteria in mind, check out the Etios petrol. It's fast, nice to drive, spacious and has balanced ride & handling. Soon coming in diesel. Another option is the super-comfortable Tata Manza.

Good choices in the money quoted. You can add Fiesta to it, if you are ok with petrol vehicle. The other option is to try to strike a deal for a personal loan 13 odd % and take a loan for 5 yrs. This gives you the option of buying used. You have a host of Tucsons and X Trails to choose from then. Remember, those vehicles will be expensive to maintain though.

If you are simply not inclined to take a loan for used car (which is a good decision in its own right), the above mentioned choices will suffice you well.

[TheARUN]

Originally Posted by thedreamcatcher

Are you sure you want to go in for a Figo after you have been driving this Tank around for so long. I would strongly advice you not to do it. Once you ride above the clouds, try to stay there ;-) The feeling gets miserable otherwise

wow. 12 year old Safari. That is really old, but looks to be in good shape, save for the bumpers. Any idea on what kind of trade-in value you are getting. Why not another New Safari? Or the Scorpio

You took the words out of my mouth. I've also been thinking of replacing it with another of its own kind, but there is a problem.

• Till 2005 the TCIC was in production, a 2005 model will be easy to purchase but there would not be much of a change except newer interiors and more tough metal
• The 2006 to 2008 DICOR 3.0 is considered to be a 'failure' model and I am not sure about parts being available since the front has been changed and don't know if the engine is being used in any of them TATAs
• The 2008 2.2 is the dream machine, but will be very costly to purchase. The silver lining is that it was the most successful SAFARI and sold in good numbers, so it should be easy to find a vehicle for sale
• The option I have is wait till mine is 15 years old and then go for the 2.2

About the trade-in value, the TATA guys are disgruntingly offering 2 lakhs, I think I should be able to sell it in private for 1.5 lakhs and worst case scenario, selling it at 15 years should fetch me 1 lakh

I do not like sitting low down and as you said the FIGO will be a serious compromise

[TheARUN]

Originally Posted by camchennai

He can afford only 10 K as EMI, so option of new Safari or Scorpio will be ruled out as the EMI would shoot up.

@TheARUN - Why not new bolero?? I guess it should fit in your budget and you would also have a feel of driving a SUV.

The BOLERO is right now the cheapest SUV out there.

• The cheapest BOLERO one could buy is the BOLERO SLE. Its available for Rs.7,00,483 on-road Bangalore
• There is a catch - the BOLERO SLX with heater, power windows, central locking with remote and audio system with CD/MP3 player is available for Rs.45,000 more. This should have been a sensible choice but again confusion reigns
• For another Rs.50,000 over the SLX one can buy the BOLERO which everyone should be buying with eyes closed, the fully loaded BOLERO STORM CRDe for Rs.7,95,899 on-road

That being the case, I am left with 2 choices really, the BOLERO SLE or the BOLERO STORM, but at 8,00,000 there are a lot more choices out there in the form of used INNOVAs and the like - PAJEROs, CRVs, etc. Why buy a MAHINDRA COMMANDER that got reskinned as the Steel Body MAHINDRA and then the ARMADA, ARMADA GRAND, BOLERO and the BOLERO Refresh.

The only BOLERO that makes sense is the SLE and the cheapest new SUV that one can buy eventhough it is a two decade old vehicle

[TheARUN]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Not necessarily - both Safari and Scorpio in their LX avatar would cost a tad below 9L on-road in Bangalore. Depending on how much he gets for his TCIC and assuming that some additional amount can be shelled out for the down-payment, a five year loan will not fetch an EMI of more than 10-12K.

Arun - after having driven a Safari for this many years, believe me, you would find it VERY difficult to get used to another vehicle, especially if it is a sedan/hatch!

All my enemies will be out with their knives if they see me in anything other than a SUV. Sedan/Hatch would be the really last case scenario for me.

I checked out the SAFARI. An LX 2.2 costs Rs.9,90,000 on-road and the cheapest SCORPIO is Rs.9,41,939. These vehicles would be exactly what the Doctor ordered but then I will have to change jobs to up my CTC

[ACM]

TheArun you need to relook at the budget that you can spare without a loan.

If after getting about 1.5 for the Safari you can spare another 4.5L (total 6) then a Safari 2.2 can be yours with about 1 year of warranty still to go (Am here referring to EX-VX models an LX could save you another 50K). And for that matter Scorpios too would be an option. I feel these will be much better options compared to a new Bolero

If you do need to take a loan then buying preowned is out of the question and you need to consider a Bolero / Invader / Thar / wait for mini Xylo. Pajeros in that price range would be really old and I would suggest a Safari or a Scorpio with some warranty remaining.

[TheARUN]

I did some rearch on the XYLO, just the basic models, the MDi and the E4. The E4 is more civilized but a lot more costly.

[TheARUN]

SUMO GRANDE MKII LX Turbo
Ex-showroom price 651654
Road tax 100355
Insurance 21687
Registration and Handling charges 6000
Extended Warranty 7000
On road price 786696

[lucifer1881]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

...Why buy a MAHINDRA COMMANDER that got reskinned as the Steel Body MAHINDRA and then the ARMADA, ARMADA GRAND, BOLERO and the BOLERO Refresh...

Because it is a great car for its price. And it is super tough. I have had the front wheels hit 6-inch deep potholes at nearly 90kmph and the car did not even scoff. I routinely do 780km in a single day when my wife and I are on our road trips. At the end of the drive, I still feel fresh enough to do another 780km.

And this is the best part. It is cheap when it comes to denting and painting. I have had two major denting/painting jobs (including bumper, headlight and fender replacement) on the front end of the car. In both instances, the bill came to less than 25k. Of course insurance covers it. But one still needs to shell out about 10-15% of the repair costs. The lesser the cost of repairs, the better.

[chaunfa]

As a new Storm owner, I feel that atleast in Delhi on road price 7 1/2, is a great deal. Fully loaded and the great new engine and suspension. I could not buy a Sumo for the life of me.

[MileCruncher]

Further to what lucifer and chaunfa stated, let me also tell you that the new Bolero is coming with the mDi engine and with a hell lot of features which will make it a good VFM buy. So hold on to your purchase till May/June!

Cheers

[GTO]

Arun, further to my previous post, want to think different?

How about the Mahindra Thar!

- Cheaper than the Safari & Scorpio

- Drives just like a Scorpio on the road

- Good offroading skill and long distance cruising ability, both

- Comfortable ride quality

- Airconditioner for about 40K extra

The Safari's butch looks & styling would have been one reason why you held on for so long to the beast. I have a feeling that the Thar will pull 'em same strings to your heart

Test drive one. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

[rajushank84]

Originally Posted by GTO

How about the Mahindra Thar!
...
- Airconditioner for about 40K extra

@GTO... airconditioning in the Thar? With a soft-top, does it really cool? Is this factory-fitted or aftermarket?

[sumannandy]

We visited dealerships for Scorpio, Xylo and Safari. Looks like Xylo is most refined and provides with a premium feel. Ride is also not bad. Next would be scorpio. The demo safari at Concorde, done about 9k, was in pathetic shape. Plastics came off. On top of that they did not offer any cash discounts.

With about 3 lakhs downpayment, the EMI for 7 years loan for a new Scorpio LX or Xylo E4 or Safari(LX) would be about 9k per month for SBI.

Tata Manza also provides you with a premium interior.

[sindabad.sailor]

Grande mkii would be at least worth test driving.

With safari Dicor under the hood and decent list of features, I think it could sway your mind towards her.

What you won't get is trendy dash - which your other considerations like Bolero wouldn't defeat by miles, ABS - same logic.

What you would get is lot of worries of having bought a tata product - may or may not translate into reality. Moreover having owned a Tata for over a decade you are the better judge.

I recently TDied Grande mkii, was comfortable, the captains seat version is now standard as per marvellous motors guys. However I feel the GX version is most VFM.

I was looking at cash purchase and hence sorry but can't comprehend if the deal would fit in your 10k pm limit. But there is a promo running offering some discount / loyalt bonus etc etc.

rgds.

[recker_us]

Originally Posted by TheARUN

All my enemies will be out with their knives if they see me in anything other than a SUV. Sedan/Hatch would be the really last case scenario for me.

I checked out the SAFARI. An LX 2.2 costs Rs.9,90,000 on-road and the cheapest SCORPIO is Rs.9,41,939. These vehicles would be exactly what the Doctor ordered but then I will have to change jobs to up my CTC

I got a Safari LX this month. Order was placed last month, so got the old price. It came to me at 9L OTR in bangalore. Another 40k was paid towards accessories.