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-   -   Palio 1.2 ELX makes way for a 2 year old Scorpio 2.6 DX (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-drives-initial-ownership-reports/44998-palio-1-2-elx-makes-way-2-year-old-scorpio-2-6-dx.html)

Background:

It was way back in Dec’07 when my wife, to my surprise, broached that we should probably look at moving on from our then 4.5 year-old Palio, especially since there was to be an addition to the family in mid-May’08. We agreed the budget should be around the 8 lakh-mark; regarding choice, though my wife felt the NHC would be best suited for us, I was pulling toward the Safari 2.2 LX or the Scorpio LX.

Then, life got complicated... In mid-Dec’07, I came by a nice piece of land just outside of Trivandrum and decided I shouldn’t let go. With the land deal firmed up, for the next 4-5 months the vehicle purchase got pushed on to the back-burner.

Meanwhile I had stumbled upon Team BHP (while looking out for Safari reviews) and decided to stay on. I also managed to sneak out a TD of the Safari, and later the Sumo Grande (day 1 after launch). While I enjoyed the ride quality and the assurance of the Safari, I wasn’t confident I would be able to handle it in B’lore traffic. The Grande was let down (in my opinion) by it’s fit and finish and the poorly designed tail – I couldn’t come to terms with both. Regarding Scorpio, a good friend let me take his 2-year old Scorpio SLX to Ooty for 3 days – couldn’t have asked for a better TD! That trip helped me decide the Scorpio would suit me better than the Safari.

As the days/weeks/months rolled on, matters began to get worse as first the vehicle prices went up and then the Karnataka Govt upped the road tax. With the hike in prices & tax I considered the sedans – NHC, Fiesta & Logan. However, the fire inside wasn’t strong enough to even push me to TD the vehicles (I was familiar with NHC, thanks to my dad who has been an NHC-holic for the last 4-plus years) – deep inside, I wanted a SUV.

Continued waiting; there was talk here of Bolero CRDe launching in end-Jul’08, but none knew for sure what the monster (or mouse?) would be like: will it have better suspension, is the CRDe 2.6 or 2.2, will it have tyres, etc. As I write, no sign of it yet… Then there was the Ingenio which T-BHP members kept spotting here and there, cloaked from head to toe. Since Mahindra wasn’t forthcoming about the date of launch or configuration of this vehicle either, I presumed this ‘dark-suited beast’ must have been a part of the ‘Dark Knight’ movie promo, and decided to move on…

My Palio by then completed 5 years but importantly, the resale value was dropping, just like the Sensex in Feb-March. It is then that my wife suggested we look at a used vehicle. We had replaced my M800 with a used Santro a year back and the trouble-free experience prompted her to suggest this option. I too felt it might not be a bad idea: my friend’s SLX which I had taken to Ooty had clocked 38k and yet drove beautifully – no rattling, no looseness- no issues absolutely. A quick check on Carwale gave me an idea of prices and I reconfirmed the same with some friends and used car dealers – a 2-year old Scorpio would fit into my budget of Rs.8 lac (depending on mileage, model, accessories, etc). Scoured the net and found this one’s ad on Carwale itself:



To be continued...

Within two weeks, finalised the deal, arranged for a used vehicle loan from Reliance Capital (these guys were really pro-active and made sure all the paper-work didn't take more than 5 working days) and sold off my Palio. Finally, took delivery of the vehicle on 27th Aug'08...

Details about the vehicle:

Model: Scorpio DX CRDe 2.6 (July 2006)
Colour: Ivory Grey
ODO: 26386 km

Accessories:

• HR Alloy wheels (4)
• 3M Sun film
• ICE: Panasonic head unit, Xplod Amp & Woofer, Boston speakers (4)
• Mahindra Magicure paint protection
• Fog lamps

Here are a few more pics:




Soaking in the rain, today:



Overall, I am quite happy with the purchase. The vehicle has been maintained quite well by the previous owner and except for a bit of clutch adjustment required, the ride is smooth. My first 'long' ride will materialise tomorrow, when we head out to the Devanahalli Airport; looking forward to it.

congrats jammy!
you mentioned 8 lacs for a 2yr old scorpio during your search. was that what you paid for this one? or did you manage to bargain?

congrats jammy,

nice looking ride dude... i have the exact same wheels on my safari as well - so that makes us "wheel brothers" eh??

i'm looking to ditch my (almost) 6 yr old palio as well and pick up something new - rough idea on how much to expect for my ride - oct 2002 1.2 sport?

cheers dude,

ak

Jammy looks like you landed yourself a good find.
How come no mention about your buddy Shankar in the write-up?

Congrats Jammy. That a good buy. The alloys look just great. In my opinion, 8L for a 2 yr old Scorpio might be on a little higher side. As we get a new one in 10L. Hope you have checked the vehicle thoroughly.

Looks damn good. Perfect colour, great alloys. Congratulations!

Thanks rippergeo. No, I was working with a budget of 8 lac. The price quoted for this vehicle was 7.85 and I managed to pull it down to 7.5 lacs.

I did do some homework:
First checked on carwale about used vehicle valuation and the figure thrown up at me was about 7.2 lac for a vehicle in good condition (based on age, odo and location). I figured if I were to add on the cost of the alloys, the ICE (must have costed the earlier owner at least 15 to 20k), sun-control, etc, 7.5 to 7.6 shouldn't be a bad deal.

I also asked around with used car dealers like First Choice & Classic and realised the price I was getting was fair.

Cheers

'Wheel brother'... that's a new one!cheers:

Bro, I really went around the bend trying to dispose my Palio (it was a 1.2 Elx). My suggestion is don't go to any of the used car guys as they crib like hell and quote so low, you won't be able to get a pair of underwear with that money (ok, not that low, but guess you get my drift)!

Do ask around with your local garage - I had a Maruti ASC who used to look after my Palio when Fiat was absent in India (I think around 2005) and he quoted me a much better price. But finally it was the Reliance DSA chappie, an enterprising young bloke, who got me the final price of 1.35 (Yep, it isn't much, but I needed to close the sale quickly to part-fund the Scorp purchase).

If you have time on your hands, post ads here, carwale, etc as well pass the word around. Meanwhile few things these guys look at:

• colours like my wine-red or orange Palios have an history of fading (mine suffered too) and hence are valued less; silver will get a few thou's more
• my HL units were due to be changed and hence I got hit on that front too
• but naturally, deisel Palios are preferred, esp by the used car guys
• I got suckered a bit more when I realised the mfd date on the regstn papers said '2002' though I picked up the vehicle in Mar-03 (wish I had T-BHP to guide me those days!)

I guess if your ride has been decently maintained and doesn't have any visible body-harm, you should get around 1.3 to 1.5; this is my guess, no idea of prices in Delhi. Also, do use the carwale 'used vehicle evaluation' feature- gives you a fair idea of what to expect (as per that, my Palio should have fetched 1.5).

Cheers

@benbsb29: Thanks mate. Shankar was breathing down my neck to get the deal over with - I guess he was more excited about it than me! Honestly, he was a great help (and so where the comments by many here on TBHP), most importantly to get a service history check done with Vijay Auto.

@snaronikar: Thanks for the compliments. Regarding the price, do check my reply to rippergeo and let me have your thoughts once again on the price.

@evo: thanks, pal. My two top colour preferences were black and this one. Guess I was lucky to land this one!

Cheers,

Congrats:)

Isnt 7.5L just too much for a 2 year old Scorpio Dx considering new one used to cost ~8L ex showroom

akshay, I think you are talking about rates in Chandigarh! In B'lore, 2 years back the DX used to be around 9.3L; I know for sure since a friend picked up an SLX for 10.3L in Oct'06. Also as I mentioned in my earlier post, the prices of new Scorps had shot up in B'lore over the last 3-4 months; the base version LX today is retailing at 9.2L!

Cheers