[JLN]

I got a call from a sales rep at Magnum Honda. One of his customers had a Dec 2008, ANHC SMT, upgraded with Aura alloy wheels and Stanley leather seats, run just 5000 odd kms and the asking price was 8.5 lakhs negotiable. I was interested, but it took about 2 weeks before I could see the car. The car body was excellent, interiors were clean and well maintained and the owner was a good friendly guy. We went on a drive - The owner mentioned that most of the 5000 kms on the car were from highway drives to Tirupati, Chennai and someplace in AP. Lights on: Had the owner run in the car properly, or did he just accelerate and work the engine hard too early in the game. Another fact: The insurance on the car had expired. I quickly checked the service records with the Magnum Honda fellow and he confirmed that the car was good and the milage was genuine. I made an offer for 8 lakhs on the car. The owner wanted 8.25 final. My total cost would be 8.25 + 15K (insurance) + 10K (brokerage to the Magnum Honda guy) + 3K for transfer = 8.53 lakhs. I felt this was high and did not do the deal. In hindsight, this was probably an OK deal for the car in Bangalore and I should have pushed forward with the deal. I was away on work for a few weeks and came back in mid May.

A few days after I got back into town, called the Honda owner to check if the car was available – the owner had sold it for 8 lakhs 2 weeks earlier. He tried reaching me to offer the car at 8 lakhs, but I was unreachable (was abroad and had not stored his number – so probably didn’t realise who had called and did not pick up the phone).

I intensified the search once again – determined to try and buy a car directly from a owner rather than through a broker. Saw a 2008 H1 Corolla on Carwale - just 12000 kms, leather seats, asking price 8.5 lakhs. Saw the car – this was actually the HE variant (no airbags, no alloy wheels), but the condition was immaculate (basement parked and covered). The owner was a hotshot corporate executive who also owned a BMW and an Accord. He wanted to sell the Corolla as he was not using it. I checked Carwale valuation (6.5 lakhs) and made an offer for 7 lakhs for the car. After haggling and negotiating for a long time, the owner came down to 7.5 lakhs (final). Was tempted to do the deal.

On the same day, at a used car showroom in Koramangala (The Car House), I saw a 2007 Black Toyota Corolla, 20000 kms, H4 automatic - asking price 8.75 lakhs. The guy who owned the place seemed a reasonable guy – professional and mentioned that the car was owned by a high court judge and the milage is genuine and I could get it checked at the Toyota dealership. This car had everything I wanted – immaculate interiors with leather, ABS & Airbags, 6 CD Changer – fully loaded. When I test drove the car, the brakes were squealing. Clearly the pads were worn out. Upon further research on TBHP (Vausdeva’s thread on Corolla AT), I realized that the disc brakes had probably worn out and may need replacement. Got my wife and son to see the car and they too liked it.

Now came the negotiations. I started at 6.75 (carwale valuation was 6.77 lakhs) and went upto 7 lakhs. At this point, the dealer called the owner and brought the price down to 7.8 lakhs. My total cost would be 8.3 lakhs - 7.8 lakhs + 16 K (brokerage) + 15 K (insurance – this had just expired 3 days ago) + 4 K (transfer charges) + 15K (estimated servicing costs & brake work). Felt this was too high (after some conversations with fellow TBHPians and using the price check thread on TBHP). Went back and negotiated the price down to 7.3 lakhs after speaking directly with the owner (My Onroad cost would now be 7.65 lakhs). The dealer pushed for a deposit – I told him that I will give it after getting the car checked at Nandi Toyota in the next 2-3 days.

The day after I negotiated the deal for the Corolla AT, a personal and work related situation emerged, which could require me to relocate to Chennai. So I put the car buying process on hold till the situation was clearer – I definitely did not want to spend an additional 50-60K on TN road tax to get the vehicle transferred. I appraised the dealer of the situation and told him that if the owner was willing to bring the price down to 7 lakhs, I would do the deal. The dealer obviously was upset with the renegotiation after all the negotiations that had happended and refused. I also felt bad doing this renegotiation, as I had negotiated directly with the owner and agreed on the price – bad move from me. I then decided to put the car buying process on hold.

]In mid June, it was confirmed that I would continue living in Bangalore, but would commute to Chennai once/twice a month – a lot of these trips with family. So the economy of a diesel suddenly became critical in the process. So now my search began for a Diesel Sedan.

[JLN]

Back to ground zero and did the same routine again – websites, calls to brokers etc.

The Automart guy in Koramangala called me and told me about a Mar 2010 Dzire diesel – Ldi, but with added power windows, central locking, music system with speakers and wheel caps. Run just 7000 kms, asking price 6.2 lakhs. Saw the car, was OK (interiors were bad for a 3 month old, 7000 kms run car). Final all inclusive price offered was 5.85 lakhs – showed the car to my wife – was vetoed immediately – she mentioned that the Indica was more spacious and the interiors were better than the Dzire. So passed on this one.

He called me a few days later and told me about a 2009 ANHC, Grey colour, run 10800 kms, price 8.75 lakhs all inclusive. Saw the car, interiors were being cleaned at that time – so could not drive. This was a tough one – though it was a petrol, it was a Honda and I started thinking about it inspite of the economy factor. Finally passed on this, in favour of a economic diesel. This car has probably gone to a TBHPian (based on a post I saw).

Then I found a 2009 Verna CRDI SX AT (Times of India ad on a Sunday), 12500 kms, price 8.25 lakhs. This was at Trident Hyundai’s used cars division. Checked the car, was in great shape, drive was excellent, very little turbo-lag. Negotiated the price down to 7.9 lakhs (all inclusive). Before signing on the dotted line, I got last minute jitters – a lot of folks told me that 7.9 was too high for a Verna, that too an AT. To me, this looked like a good deal – the new car price on road was 10.6 lakhs (after all the discounts and offers). I blinked for a day and the car was gone. I definitely felt I had missed out on this one – Disappointing.

In end June, I saw a posting on Sulekha for a 2005 Corolla H1, 27000 kms run at 5 lakhs – direct from owner, immaculate condition (mentioned in the ad). Though it was a petrol, I decided to look at it because of the value it offered. Checked out the car – It was Dec 2005 H1 model with ABS and airbags, 10 spoke alloy wheel, well loaded (no climate control), but was in poor condition (dirty interiors and upholstery), had scratches and cuts on the bumpers and one of the left doors. When I drove the car, the engine was begging to be serviced. The owner was the MD of a reputed company and I was dealing with the admin manager (the car was in the company’s name). I called Ravindu Toyota and found that the car was last serviced about 18 months back – big red flag for me and I decided to pass on this one inspite of the great pricing (Carwale valuation was 5.25 lakhs).
The next weekend, frustrated at not being able to find a car, I messaged the guy to see if the car was still available. He told me that they had given the car for servicing and claimed insurance for taking care of all the scratches. He was willing to give the car at the same price of 5 lakhs and urged me to come and take a look at it once it comes back from the workshop. I called him the next day to fix a time and was told that the car was already sold to a contact of the MD. No regrets missing this one though, because of the poor maintenance.

July 2010: I was getting frustrated and felt that I was spending too much time and effort on finding a great used car – literally like searching for a needle in a haystack. Bangalore seems to be a tough place for this – based on deals folks are getting in Mumbai/Delhi. I decided to then check out new diesel cars – Linea Epack, Fiesta TDCi Sxi, Verna SX CRDI. Pricing for all was in the 10L range. The Ford dealer called me and told me about a limited edition they had launched for an on-road price of 8.2 lakhs (base model with power windows, central locking, fabric interiors, in-dash CD/MP3 player, body coloured handles and mirrors). This was somewhat of a compromise but given my frustration levels, great feedback on the Fiesta drivability and the frugal TDCi, this seemed to something I could live with.

July 11, 2010: There was an ad in the Sunday Times of India for a Nov 2008, Verna SX ABS, just 3000 kms, with 1 lakh worth fittings. Called the guy and realized that this was a broker (was the same Car House place, I had seen the Corolla H4 AT in and almost did a deal with) – asking price was 8.6 lakhs (steep in my opinion). Nevertheless, went and saw the car – looked very good – mint condition, scratchless body (clearly the car had been garage kept), just 3462 kms – had rear disc brakes too.

Accessories the owner had added: Lenso Samurai 15” alloys & Bridgestone Potenza GIII 195/60/R15 tyres (including stepney), Filmpro mirror finish sun film, autocop with automatic power window closing upon locking, Voyager 9” roof mounted LCD screen, good quality soft fabric seat covers, premium music system.

Asked for a test drive – the dealer was reluctant saying that I needed to place a deposit before doing a test drive – what a joke. I insisted that nothing will happen without a test drive. Reluctantly gave the key and took it for a very short spin (the dealer had sent a boy who kept asking me to turn the car back as diesel was low – really irritating). Anyway, the car still had the new car smell when I entered it, some of the polythene covers were still on (dash) and the vehicle was smooth and definitely felt new and virtually unused in my assessment. I instantly liked the car – price was steep. But given that I had negotiated the Corolla from 8.75 to 7.3 earlier with the same guy, I was hopeful. Did some quick calculations – felt that 7.5 would be a good price (given that the new car on-road price was 10 lacs+). Was willing to pay a little more for the virtually unused accessories – I knew that the value of accessories is generally close to zero in a used car, but in this case, given that the car was virtually new and had a premium A/V system, I was willing to pay about 25K-50K more.

Spoke to the dealer on the price and he sounded like 8.6 was fixed and kept talking about the accessories and an imported Bose a/v system worth more than a lakh etc. After a lot of haggling, I gave in for 8 lakhs (more under pressure rather than after a well thought through number). The dealer was really smart and the minute he heard the figure of 8 from me, conferenced the owner rightaway – the owner sounded like a mature individual and told me that the car was new, well maintained, all services done and he had spent a lot of money on the accessories and would not come down below 8.5. The broker intervened and said that we would do the deal midway at 8.25 and the call ended. I did not like the negotiation at all as I just didn’t feel in control of the situation. What had happened effectively was that I had agreed on a price of 8.25 lakhs – my loaded cost would be 8.4 lakhs (8.25 lakhs + 15K for brokerage and transfer – I had negotiated this during the first haggling process with the broker). Quite a high price for the car, but the low milage, condition of the car and of course the Bose system made me give in.

The broker pushed for a deposit, and I told the broker that my wife had to see the car before committing and I would come back in about an hour. He told me that he would not be able to hold the car if someone else gave a deposit. I was OK with this. I quickly checked for pricing on Carwale and T-BHP and knew that I was overpaying for the car and 7.75-8 would be a good price for the car with all the accessories. But I had kind of committed and in about an hour, I came back with my wife and son – they loved the car, my son was crazy about the TV in the car. My wife noticed that the so called premium audio system was not in the car and wanted to see & hear it. I asked the broker about this – he told me that the owner had taken it out and kept it with him since it was an expensive system). I told him that it would cost me 10-15K to get a premium A/V system such as this fixed. He told me that he would get it done locally for about 5K. I told him to talk to the owner and get the price reduced by 10K to enable me to get the system fitted by a good professional. He called a few minutes later and told me that the owner had agreed. I immediately laid down a deposit of 10K in cash, collected the receipt and told him that I will come back tomorrow with a draft for the remaining amount.

[JLN]

July 12, 2010: I managed to squeeze some time out from work, called Advaith Hyundai and verified the service history and the genuineness of the milage. They initially refused to give any details on the phones, but after talking to the service manager directly, he told me that he will call me back after checking with the owner. He promptly called in about an hour and confirmed that the car was good and the milage was genuine and that I would be happy with the car.

I quickly got a draft for the remaining amount and went to the showroom in the afternoon. The broker I had dealt with earlier was not there, but his brother was there. I gave him the draft and asked about the system – the guy asked me what system? I realized that this guy was not briefed about the conversations and called the broker I had negotiated with. The broker refuted the fact that the owner had agreed to give me the system and apparently he had meant that for 5K, he would get me a premium head unit, premium speakers – used stuff from SP Road in Bangalore. I threw a fit and immediately cancelled the deal and asked for the deposit back – 8.3 lakhs without the Bose system was not happening. The guy had the audocity to tell me that I had to forfeit the deposit amount as he had turned away a number of other potential buyers. I was really upset and walked out telling the broker to just give the 10K to charity and forget this whole thing. The broker’s brother who had witnessed all this called me in the evening and told me that this entire thing was a misunderstanding and their intentions were pure. He told me that he would hold the car for another day for me. I said “whatever” and left it at that.

[JLN]

July 13/14, 2010: I was really upset by this whole episode and made up my mind to go in for a new car – Trident Hyundai had a older model Verna SX CRDi available and were willing to give it to me for 9.8 lakhs onroad. The Fiesta TDCi special edition was available at 8.2 lakhs onroad. I decided to take my wife to see the 2 cars over the weekend and book one of them – I was tending towards the Fiesta TDCi for the better drivability, positive reviews and the economy it offered, plus the lower sticker price which was also closer to my earlier budget.

[JLN]

July 15, 2010: In the afternoon, the broker’s brother called and told me that there was someone else who wanted to negotiate for the Verna and he wanted to check with me one last time before moving onto the other guy. I thought about it for a few minutes, felt in the gut that the system issue could have probably been a misunderstanding. I told him that the earlier price I had agreed was based on the system being included and the only way I would buy the car now was to renegotiate the price – If this was not possible, I told him that I was OK with leaving the 10K deposit behind and forgeting the whole thing.

I then quickly did some research and felt that 7.75 would be the best price I could offer for the car without the Bose system - given my frustration level, the quality of the car, very low milage and good virtually unused accessories (especially the eye candy Lenso Samurai alloys), I came up with the figure of 7.75 lakhs.

So with this figure in mind, I decided to bite the bullet and make a visit to the showroom. The broker’s brother was there and apologized for the confusion and told me that he would like to sell the car to me. I told him that my price for the car would be 7.75 lakhs – no negotiations. He told me that this will not work and I told him that I was fine with it.

He then called the owner and had a long discussion (I was not privy to the conversation) and came back and told me that Advaith Hyundai used cars had offered the owner 7.9 lakhs instant price for buying the car from the owner and the owner would not budge below 8 lakhs. I told him that I was fine with not doing the deal. The broker then told me that he would forgo his 2% commission from me, as he would get the commission from the owner and asked me to up the offer by 10K so that he could offer the owner 8 lakhs. I refused. He then called the owner again and told me that the owner has asked him to return the car to him so that he can sell it to the Advaith guys.

He began requesting me to do this deal in a way that he could offer the owner 8 lakhs (7.85 + 15K of his commission from me). I thought about it for a few minutes, checked out the car again and agreed for 7.85 lakhs with the following condition – I would get the car checked at a Hyundai service center and validate the milage and the condition of the car and confirm that I would not have to incur any significant expenses immediately.

[JLN]

July 16, 2010:

Due Diligence: Since I had already called the insurance company and the Hyundai service centre, the only thing pending was a thorough PDI. Instead of trying to be knowledgable and doing this myself, I took the car to the Trident Hyundai service centre in Jakkasandra (I knew these guys well since I have been servicing my Santro AT there for over 2 years now). Also this was a small unit with just 3-4 service advisors - I knew all of them and the service manager there. I told my requirement to one of the service advisors and he promptly said that he would get a thorough check done and also show the service records on their system. But this would take about 45 minutes and would cost me around 300 bucks. "YES - DO IT" was my obvious reply to him.

The Hyundai Check: Two service guys promptly took the car in and began the check - Lights Check, Fog Lights Check, Brake Light check, Reverse light and sound check. Was thoroughly impressed with the way these guys were going about the job.

The car was then mounted on the thing that lifts the car up (pardon my ignorance) and they did a number of checks on the chassis, the tyres, the suspension etc.

The car was brought down again and the guy connected a device (G-Scan) to check all the electrical stuff in the car. Positive Report. They then opened the bonnet and checked the battery, the valves etc. etc. - topped up all the fluids - battery water, windshield wiper, coolant etc.. Oil level was good.

The car was then taken for a very short test drive and then parked outside. The report was positive and the service guy told me that the car is in excellent shape.

The service advisor then came back and told me that he had checked the service records and the milage was genuine and no problems/claims were reported in the system. I asked him if I could get a printout - he said no, but was willing to show me the history on the system. I went him to a system and he pulled the records: For each of the 4 instances on the system there was a date (I don;t remember them)

1) Ist Free service done
2) Gear Shifting hard - Fixed
3) 2nd Free service done - Dec 2009
4) General Checkup - July 2010 (this was today's event already captured in the system)

The service advisor told me that the vehicle was due for service and I should get it done in a few days. I was anyway planning to get a service done, so this was Ok with me.

I then wanted to see the owner details - saw the owner's name in the system - the name was already updated to mine - because of the service check I had initiated today - WOW. But I could see the previous owner and the user - Validated.

The service advisor asked me for the price I was paying - I threw the ball back at him and asked him what I should pay - he told me 9 lakhs - I was shocked and told him that this was a 2008 model. "Oh OK" he said and said that 8-8.5 should be OK as the car was virtually new.

I took the car to the dealer, collected the documents/keys etc., filled in the transfer forms and completed the deal formalities.

[JLN]

I was thoroughly impressed with the way the Hyundai service centre went about the checking of the car - I was not expecting this to be such a thorough job. For 276 bucks, I would strongly recommend anybody buying a used Hyundai to get this check done at the Hyundai service centre. I have posted some pics of the check - the level of detail was fantastic.

[shuvadips]

You briefed the entire episode very well, thank you and congrats.

I am too looking for a 2nd hand sedan, so this would be very helpful to me.

[JLN]

I followed the ICE advice in the "Ask the Gurus" section of Team BHP, took a printout of the post - "ICE systems at various budgets" by Navin (Thanks Navin for this great information - I am a ICE newbie, so this was fantastic). I decided to go for RESOLUTION and picked the JBL components and Co-ax speakers with a Pioneer HU as my preferred option.

Looked up the TBHP directory for shop recommendations and picked Sachin's Auto Shop.

Called Sachin's Auto shop - the guy on the phone sounded very professional and gave me the following quotes: JBL Components: 4500, JBL rear speakers: 3200 (280 W) and 4500 (400 W); Pioneer DVD HU with USB and Aux: 9500.

For comparison called Carnation and Final Touch (got the number from Just Dial) and got quotes for the same set-up: The Carnation guy was amazing - told me that they give a flat 10% discount on MRP for all speakers and HUs and the installation is free. He also gave me the MRPs of the stuff I was looking at - Sachin's prices were about 25% off MRP. The Final Touch guy was also OK - gave me prices similar to Sachin's and urged me to visit his shop and he recommended that I go for higher end speakers such as Hertz.

I chose Sachin's as it was close - called and confirmed that he could get the system fixed in my car ASAP and went there. The guy there "Manoj" was very friendly and showed me the stuff I wanted. I noticed Infinity speakers on the shelf (remembered Navin's recommendation of Infinity over the JBLs) and asked for the prices - 6500 for the components and 5500 for rear co-ax: 3000 bucks more than the JBL set. Manoj told me that he would highly recommend Infinity, especially since I was not going in for a amp and sub-woofer. So the quality of the speakers would make a big difference. He had a demo system where I could actually hear the same music played on the JBL speakers and the Infinity speakers. Noticed a big difference and told him to install the Infinity speakers.

On the HU, he showed the 9.5K Pioneer one and a 11K Pioneer one (flip down model with IPOD control and charging). He also showed me a Kenwood for 12K. I picked the Pioneer one for 11K as my wife was a big IPOD user.

The boys immediately pounced on my car and began the install - I was a little worried with the lack of care - no polythene covers etc. Manoj assured that he would get the car cleaned as good as it was brought in after the install. About an hour later, the install was done and I checked the sound quality - excellent, especially for someone upgrading from Blaupunkt basic speakers on my Indica. During the 1 hour, Manoj and I chatted about the car accessories business - he showed me a lot of cool stuff - e.g. a rear view mirror with speakers and a microphone that can act as a Bluetooth device for my phone.

I picked up a few small things - an air freshner, armor all cleaning wipes, paid the bill - 23,350 in all and drove home.

[rock18]

Congrats on your purchase buddy. Car looks to be in excellent shape and the accessories that comes attached with this car made me drooling.....
I am searching for an used baleno with atleast a decent seat cover and alloy wheel but could not find anything close to decent.
All i can say is, yours is an excellent purchase. I was kinda feeling restless about not getting good cars. Now after reading your post,i will better wait and watch for some good offers to fall on my side..
Wish you a lot of mile munching..

[JLN]

Originally Posted by shuvadips

You briefed the entire episode very well, thank you and congrats.

I am too looking for a 2nd hand sedan, so this would be very helpful to me.

I have tried to capture below the summary of my learnings over the last 4 months with trying to buy a great used car (2/3 year old, low milage, mint condition car) specifically in Bangalore. I have also attached an excel sheet of the best cars I found - almost none of these will qualify as a really great deal, so this is more of a "Best of What is out there" kind of list.

These learnings are all from first hand experience and I have no links with any of the vendors mentioned. I have tried not to repeat the stuff mentioned in other threads, except for this first one:

1) Look for the top end variants in whichever car model you are interested in. The price difference in the used car market between the low end and the top end variants is small. Also look for cars where the owner has added expensive and useful accessories - e.g. leather seats, premium music system, VKool sunfilm etc.

2) Getting a great deal on a great used car will be very frustrating - exactly like searching for a needle in a haystack. If you find a great car, be willing to give in on the price and be ready to pay about 25-50K more than what everyone advises you to pay for the car. As a guideline, if you get a car at the Carwale recommended individual pricing for a good condition car, you can consider the deal to be great.

3) If you find a great deal, be prepared to move quickly, but don't compromise on any of the steps in the TBHP thread "How to buy a used car".

4) Unless you are looking for a D segment car or above - Civic, Corolla etc., you may be better off buying a new car. The discounting in the price you get is not worth the risk, effort and time you will spend. A few cars you may find great deals in the used car market: SX4, Optra Petrol, Verna Petrol, GETZ petrol.

5) carwale.com and sulekha.com are your best bets for searching online. Owners who list cars directly here generally expect ridiculous prices for their cars and seem very unwilling to negotiate significantly. So do a lot of pre-negotiation on the phone and take the effort to visit only if the chances of a deal happening are high.

6) Dealers are not worth the effort except for the following:
a) Mahindra First Choice Koramangala - Limited selection of cars, but the guys seem very professional, customer focused, non pushy and give an all-inclusive price.
b) Nandi Toyota UTrust Hosur Road & Popular Automatch in Yeswantpur - Good cars, but prices seemed high for every car I saw there.
c) Classic Jayanagar/BTM - If you are looking for a good deal, you probably will not be able to buy a car here because of the atrocious prices they quote, but this is a good place to browse for cars non intrusively - i.e. they have a large selection of cars with a sticker on each of them with all the info on the car including pricing. So you can get a good idea of the used car market here.
d) Trident Hyundai Used Cars, Indiranagar - They seem to have good Hyundai cars at good prices. In contrast Advaith Hyundai used cars are more like Classic's - highly priced.
e) Any of the Maruti True Values - If you are looking for a Maruti, don't waste your time going anywhere else. These guys are professional, have a large car selection at reasonable all inclusive prices and give a 1 year warranty on almost all Maruti cars they sell. I epecially like the unit on the Outer Ring Road (between Martahalli and KR Puram).

5) About the dealer I bought my car from: The Car House Koramangala.
These guys have some great cars - they seem to have a network of rich & famous guys who have multiple cars and change them frequently. But the guys are a bit too pushy and arrogant for my liking. If you are dealing with them, tread with caution, cover every small angle and do not do the deal unless you feel really good about the car and the price. Push them to let you deal with the owner directly and be prepared to walk out if you are uncomfortable (even slightly) at any time.

[Mr_Bean]

Originally Posted by kpzen

Congratulations. Looks like you got a clean car..

Unbelievable !!

What is the reason for that ?

If it is bangalore, it definitely has to be like " I am going on long term onsite & I am looking for an urgent sale of my verna, brokers please excuse :-)"

Originally Posted by JLN

Guys, My search for a pre-owned hardly used car finally came to an end. The process was long (4 months) and was much more painful than I had initially expected. I will be posting a detailed report of the search experience shortly. But for now, have posted a few pics. I really owe T-BHP and T-BHPians for the wealth of knowledge they have shared in making the research process so much better and easier. Thanks a ton.

Thats a gr8 deal you have got, all the best , at the right place at the right moment, all the best drive safe!!!

[JLN]

I have uploaded some more pics.

Originally Posted by rock18

Congrats on your purchase buddy. Car looks to be in excellent shape and the accessories that comes attached with this car made me drooling.....
I am searching for an used baleno with atleast a decent seat cover and alloy wheel but could not find anything close to decent.
All i can say is, yours is an excellent purchase. I was kinda feeling restless about not getting good cars. Now after reading your post,i will better wait and watch for some good offers to fall on my side..
Wish you a lot of mile munching..

do check out Maruti True Value - you may get lucky.

[JLN]

Having driven the Verna for 2 days over 200 kms, I can say that this is a powerful car and needs to be driven carefully. The rap Verna has got for poor handling is more than well deserved. At times, I felt that my Indica Turbo handled better.

It is a breeze on highways and speeds of 110-120 are effortless (I haven't pushed her yet). The turbo lag is very minimal compared to my Indica - so drivability seems pretty good. The Bridgestone Potenza GIII tyres seem to like wet roads a lot - It was raining and the grip the tyres offered was fantastic. In contrast, in dry roads (especially the concrete ones) noise levels seemed higher than expected. Overall it has been exciting to drive the car over the last 2 days.

A note on the Infinity speakers: The quality of the speakers are fantastic and I am glad I paid the 3K premium over the JBLs.

[tanwaramit]

congrats on the car, thats a good buy. search ending after 4 months. Man, this needs a lot of patience.

It seems you were okay with all the cars earlier, good that it increased the options you have.