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Old 18th March 2010, 10:17   #16
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Great writeup. Keep them coming. Glued to the thread.
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Old 18th March 2010, 12:13   #17
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Hey nice write up. I am hooked!
Congrats on your Corrolla.
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Old 18th March 2010, 13:36   #18
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Great preface and first installment.

Waiting for more. And it's high time we got some pics to drool at, at least the teasers
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Old 18th March 2010, 19:02   #19
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Congrats Ashish. Awaiting pictures
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Old 19th March 2010, 10:29   #20
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Suv..

Not real one but one which can be termed as SUVs.

At first instance when I though of owning a SUV very first thought was "Parking ??" "Where would I park it ??" "How would I park it in a busy street ??" "Why do I need such big vehicle ??" Second thought "Let every thing go to hell, it suits my personality, it is big, it is dashing !! Let's try it as well."


Safari - Thanks to Deepak, a cousin of mine who gracefully lended his Tata Safari 3.0 DICOR for few days when being requested. The very first day when I drove it from home to office in morning, I was on cloud 9, I was feeling like a BOSS of everyone on the road. Though the car was a bit old i.e. 2007 model but was taken good care off till now which shows with minimal nicks and nacks while driving. I was actually very happy and in a part mind to pick it up only due the respect and presence it commands on road is actually extraordinary. Scrumbled upon the finance options and ex-showroom prices of all variants of Tata safari. Sun settled down, evening came, I sat in BOSS's ride and cranked the engine. It didn't... I tried again... It didn't.... tried 6-7 times but it didn't. I was like "What should I do ??" "Whom should I call ??" I thought calling Deepak would be the best option, upon calling he said it is a usual thing.. try it after say 5-10 mins it will crank up. I got a bit relief upon hearing his statement, but why regular ?? Even he didn't had any answer.. anyhow after around 8-10 min. I cranked again.... and phew... it started and I was a bit relaxed and tensioned if in case this mammoth turns off in-middle of road what should I do ?? Again wait for 10 mins and crank up .. what else !!

Anyhow, It started moving and I was very caution while driving so as engine not shut down anyhow due to im-proper clutch control or any sort of mistake. While I was struck in usual traffic on India gate and Karol Bagh, the only thing in my mind was what would I do if it goes off.

By god's brace it didn't tuned off anyhow and I reached home without an further fuss. Called up deepak, asked him about the problem which he states is problem from tata only which they aren't able to rectify till date after numerous parts change and uncounted TASC visits.

Next day only I returned the Safari to him as I wasn't in mood take chances every evening.

The safari was out of my list for sure but still let's give a chance to 2.2. beast. Next day was a visit to Tata motors where I checked out new 2.2 thoroughly, found a something very good and being improved with 2.2 one. Specifically speaking the engine was too much refined, looked much more stress free rather than that of 3.0 one. But somehow confidence was not coming after last night's incidence.

Finally with a heavy heart rejected Safari.


Scorpio/Xylo - I always admire Socrpio as an overall better package then that of Safari due to more features in less price when compared with Safari.

Scorpio dealer was too a bit egoist and seems walking on sky while talking.. "Sir, you cannot even think of another SUV" "Sir, It is the best in segment without doubt." "Discounts, Sir what are they... In mahindra we don't know the word called DISCOUNT"

Looks like they are doing somehow too good in scorpio no.s Anyways, started test drive.. Car/SUV is indeed nice drive, feels punch at lower levels as well. Somehow found it better than that of Safari in overall desirability. though space-wise it felt slight bigger than my optra only which was big let down for me, where as interiors space in safari was massive. AT gearshifts were a bit messy but still very helpful while driving in Delhi Traffic. Still found interiors a bit messy and not up-to-mark for my liking. However, upon looking it as a whole package it seems to be a nice deal but still could not convince my self... may be due to I have been driving sedan always and being more comfortable driving it.

Scorpio enters at 2nd no. in my list after altis/civic.

Xylo was a true VFM product according to me, it was a complete package according to me. Without any fuss if mahindra had been able to manage the squirrel shaped front it had been at no. 1 position in the list without any second thought. Within 9 Lakh you get everything you can think of, Kudos to Mahindra for delivering such product !!

Innova - I already have Innova in family so found no point in checking out the new one, as I knew changes are mere cosmetics one only.


Till now, my list was something like of

1 - Altis/Civic - Budget 12-13 Lakh
2 - Scorpio AT - Budget 11 Lakh

While I was at Mahindra showroom, found a fanatic guy who came to exchange his 2009 Scorpio VLX with 11K on ODO for a new Scorpio AT just because of the cosmetic changes and AT box.. I was like what sort of stupidity the guy is doing, he might end up losing 3-4 lakhs for this exchange only. This was the time when owning a pre-owned car's idea struck to my mind and I started thinking the way that I can get a Altis/Civic/Scorpio with less ODO.

to be continued...
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Old 19th March 2010, 10:34   #21
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Quote:
Originally Posted by abhinav.gupta88 View Post
Congrats Ashish. Awaiting pictures
Thanks abhinav, pictures will follow very soon. Good to see you are back

Quote:
Originally Posted by esteemer View Post
Great preface and first installment.

Waiting for more. And it's high time we got some pics to drool at, at least the teasers
Thanks esteemer, waiting always reap a fruit in a better manner.

Quote:
Originally Posted by aman9393 View Post
Hey nice write up. I am hooked!
Congrats on your Corrolla.
Thanks aman.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Ramsagar View Post
Great writeup. Keep them coming. Glued to the thread.
Thanks Ramsagar.

Quote:
Originally Posted by tanwaramit View Post
I am hooked, so now enters the SUVs into the game. However was wondering how good a corolla will be on mountains like Leh, or the road to Pangong Tso !
Thanks amit, next installment is for you.

Quote:
Originally Posted by surd_biker View Post
congrats on your buy and enjoy your ride. very nicely detailed story you've written. you got me hooked on. waiting for the next update.
Well, to be frank it is my first detailed report... I may be boring people with long writeups but... hey, it's my first intiative

Thanks for your patience guys, I'll try to re-post as soon as possible.
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Old 19th March 2010, 12:41   #22
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Dude,

you dint TD the Chevy Cruze? nice detailed write up, i loved the answers you gave to those SPs
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Old 26th March 2010, 10:12   #23
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Kahan ho bhai ? Awaiting the next steps into the purchase and how did you manage to get a corolla !! I had been looking for myself, but now firmed upto Scorpio.
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Old 26th March 2010, 12:42   #24
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Congrats asthedivx for the Corolla. Nicely penned down car search. I particularly found the Comparison of Linea and Accord on the ground of motor quite hilarious. I wonder what kind of training do these people receive?
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Old 29th March 2010, 10:39   #25
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Sorry for delaying up guys, caught-up in middle of year end audit.
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Old 3rd April 2010, 12:42   #26
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Why not a used Car ??

At this point of time I was getting too much tempted for finding out a deal where I have to pay less for a bigger and better car then off my budget. I was sure I will not be spending a penny more than 12 Lakhs in any case for a new car and 10 Lakhs for an old car. But with a budget of 10 Lakhs why should I even look at an old car or used car, After thinking a lot I penned down difference between New Car and Pre-Owned Car

It's C-O-R-O-L-L-A !!-comaprison.jpg

And above all a penny saved is a penny earned.

After a very deep analysis, I fixed upon a conclusion that I will be hunting for a Pre-Owned car for the next 3 months and if in-case isn’t able to find one then I'll pick up a new car.

Now the question was which car..... I said "Any car will do!!" Suddenly it started seeming like I was on the cloud 9. Every other C+ and D segment car was in my to-buy list. But as had to settle upon for getting desired result hence settled upon a car of Optra's size but with a good brand value so as I can have a good resale value (GM Optra's clinch) at the time of reselling. Question may arise that why I was adamant on Optra’s size of car as I was very much comfortable in driving optra in city as well as on highway. Bigger cars like Accord and Sonata Embera aren't very handy while you drive it at your own for around 60-70 Kms/day. For me they sound pretty big for City driving.

Was too much lucrated toward a V6 2006 and 21K on ODO, I was getting it for near to pennies (in comparision of it's on-road price) but somehow holded up my temptation and sticked up my decision for a car which is easy to maneuver in city & easy to park.

Choices were limited but with the heavy heart & heavy brain storming had to settle upon:
a) Civic
b) Corolla
c) Laura
d) Jetta (Might need to increase budget)
d) .... No other choice

Yes, it is a hard to gulp fact but as a buyer of C+ and D segment we don't have much choices. Placed Skoda and VW into last of my list as they might cost a bomb after warranty get finished and I do not want to be in a mess where-in I have to spend a fortune on maintainence of my car.

Thanks to the friend-dealer, fast friend of a cousin, for being patient and discussing up the my requirement and availability of vehicle in detailed manner rather than getting irritated.

Jetta
Saw 2 VW Jetta, both 12 Lakhs onwards. A German vehicle at its best, though it sounds like any other vehicle after sitting inside but the beauty of German vehicle can be understood by one who drives it. Absolute pleasure to drive, very high snob value, very less availability in market.

Kept it aside due to high budget and would be considered if isn’t got something of my taste.


Laura
Laura was relatively available more than that of Jetta in used car market without doubt. Most of the car I looked at was carrying at least > 50K on ODO, since the majority of the cars were from dealer's inventory it is very unlikely that the meter hasn't been tempered. Found a very nicely maintained Laura-White Color-38K ODO-Complete Service History for around 9.5 asking.

Being a bit skeptical about Skoda's A.S.S., but heck I am getting a good deal.. I'll try to fork out a contact in Skoda and see if everything should go smoothly. But still wasn't that much confident of betting up 9.5 Lakhs on SKODA. Finally let it pass with a real heavy heart.

SKODA ARE YOU LISTENING!! IMPROVE YOUR AFTER SALES SUPPORT NETWORK!!


Civic
Pre-owned Market was actually flooded with Civics and Citys. May be due to High Sales or My fortune

I was floored to see that once I asked friend (Dealer) to arrange for some civics, around 10 Civics were waiting for me at the appointment time given by him. 8 out of 10 were scrapped badly from bottom or were repainted from bottom due to scrapping. This was for sure left a bad impression regarding poor Ground Clearance on me. Got a very sweet deal of Civic V AT-White color-13K on odo-100% service records-2006 at an asking price of 7 Lakhs. Was very happy to have such deal and felt fortunate with my decision of picking up a pre-owned car.

Friend gracefully lended the car for an hour so as I can show up the car to sibling. She was quite amused to see the car and was certainly happy to have civic in the garage but was actually disappointed at the thought of owning a 4 year old car when we can buy a new or newer car.

Paid up a token of 50K for the said civic upon a term of re-thinking the decision for 2 days. Friend again gracefully agreed for the same, however he was very sure that I may not miss the deal which is looks sweet to him as well.

But maybe I was having something different in my mind going up, I went skeptical and thought of researching more as I still have 1 month's time in my hand and I can spend another lakh or two for getting a relatively newer car. Again, with a heavy heart I requested friend to cancel the deal and return the money. He was quite amused with my decision, but was again appreciated my thought of having a relatively a newer car when I can spend more.

Corolla
I always admire Toyota as company having service standards of my type. "What needs to be done has to be done without any fuss!!" However, As we do have another toyota product in our garage and are actually very happy with service provided and overall product in every manner.

Saw quite a handful of corolla is the market, Thanks to the introduction of Altis the later Corolla were available at a real bargain price.

(Very next day of getting token money of civic back) A phone call came from my friend, he calls me up for detailing a H1 Corolla which has 30K on odo-2008 model(i.e. still in warranty)-Alloy wheels-Some accessories worth 20K. Appointment fixed, took test drive of the car, felt like a new car while driving as it was not eve 2 year old according to RC. However, upon inquiry discovered that it is HE mode not H1 i.e. without ABS and Airbags - Rejected it !!

While returning to office, got a call again from the friend to have a look at another 2008 H1 Corolla (In-warranty) with 28K on ODO-owned of some senior person in Ansal Group-with ABS, Airbags and company fitted alloys-Scratch-less condition & Immaculate interiors. Car was in pristine condition and absolute silent in every sort of condition. Upon Driving the car and price asked for I was 100% sure that this is the car I was looking for. Picked up the car for sibling approval, according to her interiors were a bit boring but still It feels overall a better preposition then that of a 4 year old car in every manner.

Gave a token money of 50K and blocked the car same day's evening only. I again thanked my stars for not picking civic last day as I got a 2008 Corolla (In-warranty) for a bit lower price than that of 2006 Civic (Out-of-warranty) and Saved (aka… earned ) a whopping 5 lakhs rupees in less than 2 months.

Next: The curtain raiser....
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Old 4th April 2010, 22:24   #27
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Sir i think you are going too slow with your review as it has been 20 since you have started this thread but you have still not reached the conclusion
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Old 5th April 2010, 07:36   #28
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This is a very tricky territory I agree. The issue is one whats to upgrade from 1.6 to 1.8 kind of vehicles in a 11-13 budget. At this range, one does not get the highest of cars like Civic/Altis/Laura etc. So ones feels whether he/she should go for a used car of the next segment.

Though its regular problem in all segments but specifically in this segment, in spite of paying 11-13L, you do not feel like getting a pre-owned car (read snob value). I would be in a similar territory some time soon. And you know what, even I thought Altis is the best solution I can get. Somehow even I lean towards Toyota instead of Honda.

Though only issue I felt is that the highest end (the one with HID lamps etc) is about 15L on road, which is 2L higher than the limits, that I was thinking of setting up. But ownership reports on this forum suggest to go in for this version, as its really worth it.
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Old 6th April 2010, 16:33   #29
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updates, updates, real quick, the next steps and the final price you got it for !!
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Old 13th April 2010, 17:40   #30
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Knock - Knock : Story pending !

Where is the Corolla?
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