[ramzsys]

Those pre-owned petrol SUVs cannot be maintained in rural areas.

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I would think it would be the perfect option!
Not very comfortable though overall.

Perfect, because farm use vehicles and Bolero have a lot in common!?

On a serious note, Bolero is more comfortable than the Tavera and durable than omni/versa.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by ramzsys

Those pre-owned petrol SUVs cannot be maintained in rural areas.
Perfect, because farm use vehicles and Bolero have a lot in common!?

On a serious note, Bolero is more comfortable than the Tavera and durable than omni/versa.

Yes. I owned a Bolero for quite a while and it is perfect for rough tracks, farm use and can take tremendous abuse.

[bigron]

I would recommend the Bolero or the sumo . We are agriculturists and need cars that can do the farm work along with transporting people with acceptable comfort. We use both these to get the job done. I would suggest you take a look at the sumo. I think its one of the better TATA cars out there and highly under rated. A more up market product would be the safari . My personal favourite these days is the TATA XENON , but its on the expensive side.

[khaleelda1]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

..The omni is definitely better than the eeco. It is more user friendly (flat back) as opposed to the eeco which has different levels in there. Additionally the omni is much easier and cheaper to fix and more robust as it is a simpler design.....

....i am sorry i dont totally understand that. Could you please elaborate.
Also in my case, this wont be a dedicated farm vehicle, it would also be serving as a family car....so could you please advise with that in consideration.

(i know this dual role is too much to ask for in this budget, somewhere down the line we will upgrade to a proper farm vehicle and a seperate family car, something like 12-18 months down the line.... God willing..)

Originally Posted by Guna

Since the primary choice was Honda city (which is petrol), how about pre-owned petrol SUVs? You may get one in your budget which is in very good condition with low mileage. Options: Old shape Honda CRV, Suzuki GV, Chevy Forester

...i am sorry you got the wrong impression, honda city is what i own here in mumbai, would be selling it off here before we move.
will be posting a classified here soon :P

Originally Posted by bigron

I would recommend the Bolero or the sumo . We are agriculturists and need cars that can do the farm work along with transporting people with acceptable comfort. We use both these to get the job done. I would suggest you take a look at the sumo. I think its one of the better TATA cars out there and highly under rated. A more up market product would be the safari . My personal favourite these days is the TATA XENON , but its on the expensive side.

...ah the xenon xt!! yes that was my fav too, but low budget for now and other restrictions forcing compromise...

PS: whats wrong with the auto merge???

Note from Support - Please read the forum rules here with reference to rule # 5b. Please avoid back-to-back posts. You need to click on multi-quote button to reply to multiple posts. There is no auto merge feature.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by khaleelda1

...i am sorry you got the wrong impression, honda city is what i own here in mumbai, would be selling it off here before we move.
will be posting a classified here soon :P

I know this is the car you currently own but you don't want to bring it here due to transfer process invloved and issues associated with low GC. That's why I thought being 'petrol' itself may not be an issue.

[HydroFuel]

Originally Posted by khaleelda1

Also in my case, this wont be a dedicated farm vehicle, it would also be serving as a family car....so could you please advise with that in consideration.

(i know this dual role is too much to ask for in this budget, somewhere down the line we will upgrade to a proper farm vehicle and a seperate family car, something like 12-18 months down the line.... God willing..)

Why not consider a Fiat Adventure in this case. (I know it is wild daring option ) Good sturdy build, high ground clearance, good ride quality, space, carlike feel. Negative point of bad resale can be used positively here and saved money can be used for petrol and one time thorough maintenance after acquiring it. Suggestion because of small time frame of 12 to 16 months. Another option Indigo Marina. Suggested the same in used car thread also before noticing this thread.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by khaleelda1

....i am sorry i dont totally understand that. Could you please elaborate.
Also in my case, this wont be a dedicated farm vehicle, it would also be serving as a family car....so could you please advise with that in consideration.

(i know this dual role is too much to ask for in this budget, somewhere down the line we will upgrade to a proper farm vehicle and a seperate family car, something like 12-18 months down the line.... God willing..)

Ok, let me put it like this. From the boot door to the back of the front seats, the omni is entirely flat and it is all one level. On the other hand, from the boot door of the eeco, it is flat and one level for maybe 3 feet. Then there is a slope downwards of maybe 2 feet and from there to the back of the front seats it is level. Thus you are looking at two different levels, kind of like two steps. This of course becomes difficult if you wish to carry long things in the back.

The omni is very bare bones and removing the back seat for example is a ten minute job for one person with a spanner. The back doors are the slide type and when you open those two and the boot door, it is a very utilitarian vehicle for loading up things.

Additionally the omni is cheaper and easier to fix at literally any mechanic.

I would not say that the omni is really comfortable for people in the back, especially on bumpy roads, but on good roads it is acceptable. It is also possible to get the 8 seat version if there are a lot of people in the household using the vehicle.

Space wise the vehicle is pretty good. You can definitely carry a lot of stuff in it.

Also in your budget you can get a new vehicle which means peace of mind for a few years as opposed to a second hand SUV/MUV. There you might well end up with a vehicle you are constantly spending on.

The other advantage of the omni is because it is light it is easy for anyone to drive, even though it lacks power steering, or come to that literally any other modcons.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Hey. Do you not think an used Bolero will do the job well?
I would think it would be the perfect option!
Not very comfortable though overall.

Hey shanks. Of course the bolero is the better vehicle off road. The catch is the price range. Any bolero available at around 3L or so will be close to a decade old and generally have done over a 100,000 km. At this point the vehicle will undoubtedly have issues and that is my problem. I have a cousin in Coorg who bought a used 80's jeep for a lakh or so. He has spent close to a lakh on it and it runs pretty well now, but every month it spends a day or so in the garage. Luckily he lives about a km from town and knows the mechanic well so it gets sorted, but my point here is does the OP want to go through that. If the budget were higher I would not recommend the omni, but at this budget a new omni is available and that peace of mind is amazing. Once the budget rises then a new or almost new bolero, or thar, will be ideal for farm work.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by pganapathy

not recommend the omni, but at this budget a new omni is available and that peace of mind is amazing. Once the budget rises then a new or almost new bolero, or thar, will be ideal for farm work.

I agree in a way. Your ancient and decrepit Omni is still alive eh?
Ideal vehicle with the rear seats removed, for golf bags, dogs, farm paraphernalia, camping gear etc...

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

I agree in a way. Your ancient and decrepit Omni is still alive eh?
Ideal vehicle with the rear seats removed, for golf bags, dogs, farm paraphernalia, camping gear etc...

Don't you know it shanks. My omni still survives and gets me to the golf course in bittangala in reasonable comfort. We still use it for all our estate work despite it being over 5 years old and having done 70,000+ km.

My view with regards to the OP is a new omni will last three to five years with very few issues and hopefully by then he will be able to get a dedicated farm vehicle.

[shiju.dba]

If you have good tieup with mechanics,old jeeps are good. You can try old versa or new eeco also. Old gypsies are also an option if low fuel efficiency not a problem for you.