[jkrishnakj]

Hi All,

The loan for my M800 is over 4 months back. The Lease for my Safari is getting over in a few months now. (5 more )

The 800 is largely used by Wifey. Now, here's the dilemma / struggle.

I clearly want to change the 800 into something better for my wife.

We did the test drive of the Brio, the Ford Classic and the Liva. Wifey is currently swinging between the Classic and the Brio.

As for me, i test drove both the Thar and the Xuv. I can buy only either of them. But buying one of these will have to wait till my Safari lease is over and i am able to sell my Safari. ( 5 more months ).

The Ask from people in this forum :
1. Would the Classic be a good one for my wife ? Is there any other alternates that you think we have missed ? (City, Chevy Magnum are out of budget )
2. Thar Vs XUV - i am clearly in love with the Thar, much more than the XUV. Secondly, i haven't driven a jeep earlier and would be a first timer. Wife says that i will look funny driving a Thar to office on a daily basis. ( i ain't that young you see ). The idea clearly is to participate and enjoy the off roading events ( at an amateur level first ).

Please help with your comments, suggestions. Thanks in advance.

Regards,
KJ

[hellmet]

First, please let us know, if possible, why you plan on replacing two (assumption) perfectly running machines just when you're about to go free of loans? Do you not like the current set of wheels, or are they unable to fulfill a need around the house and of transporting people from A to B ?

Also, you've clubbed a sedan (Fiesta Classic) and two hatchbacks (Brio and Liva) as choices for your wife. Are you having a hard time deciding if it'll be a hatch or a sedan?
With that decided and a budget in mind, members here would be able to guide you to your purchase.

Is your current Safari unable to perform satisfactorily in off roading events? How often do you take your current Safari out for participating in such events? Can your current vehicle be modified to perform better in such events (I've no idea, just asking), and thus help save that new car money? And btw, I think it is a ridiculous waste of energy driving any of these UVs to office. Are you currently driving your Safari to office, all alone? How long is your commute?

Finally, will you be buying new, or used? If buying new, will your finances allow you to take two fresh vehicle loans while still staying afloat (i.e with a buffer fund in place).

I know I've asked a lot of questions, but the answers to these might help understand your needs better.

[NPV]

Not sure why you want to upgrade both cars but here are some thoughts (I've been thinking on these lines myself for our cars, Dzire which I drive and M800 used by wifey).
1. If there are really no issues with the cars, try retaining one or both of them (delayed purchases are savings ultimately!). Moreover since the lease/loan periods are typically under 5 yrs I think you will not get good return of investment if you sell them now. I think the TBHP thread on buy/keep your car will be on the same lines as well. Of course if the monetary aspect is not a constraint at all then go for new cars or if there are problems with one or both cars warranting replacement.

2. If your wife's daily commute is less, why not consider an automatic small car ? In addition to Brio, do try the A-Star, i10 automatic variants as well. This way the city drives can be taken care of by the hatch and for your highway drives you can retain the Safari or look to replace it with another SUV instead of the Thar (if you need a vehicle that can carry more people plus luggage for longer trips).

If you can provide more details of why you're considering both cars for the upgrade, I guess folks can give you better suggestions.

[swarnava.m]

You have not mentioned what your wife's requirement criteria is. That will initially help you decide between a sedan and a hatch. After that, you can concentrate on taking test drives and deciding which one to go for.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by hellmet

First, please let us know, if possible, why you plan on replacing two (assumption) perfectly running machines just when you're about to go free of loans? Do you not like the current set of wheels, or are they unable to fulfill a need around the house and of transporting people from A to B ?

Also, you've clubbed a sedan (Fiesta Classic) and two hatchbacks (Brio and Liva) as choices for your wife. Are you having a hard time deciding if it'll be a hatch or a sedan?
With that decided and a budget in mind, members here would be able to guide you to your purchase.

Is your current Safari unable to perform satisfactorily in off roading events? How often do you take your current Safari out for participating in such events? Can your current vehicle be modified to perform better in such events (I've no idea, just asking), and thus help save that new car money? And btw, I think it is a ridiculous waste of energy driving any of these UVs to office. Are you currently driving your Safari to office, all alone? How long is your commute?

Finally, will you be buying new, or used? If buying new, will your finances allow you to take two fresh vehicle loans while still staying afloat (i.e with a buffer fund in place).

I know I've asked a lot of questions, but the answers to these might help understand your needs better.

Very valid questions indeed. I could have been more clear in the first post.
1. The Safari is largely a Home-Office-Home commute, cover about 1000 KM per month like this. Also do ~ 1000 KM a month when i go visit my parents at Coimbatore.
Have never ever tried this Safari on Off road. Again, i have a huge interest on off roading, but have to start from the basics.

2. Hatch / Sedan decision : The idea was always to upgrade only the M800. With the loan just over for that, and with my finances slightly better this year, i recommended that we buy a Hatch. Since my interest was in a Thar and if we need to continue with our Highway drives, the interest moved slightly upwards towards a Sedan.

3. I always prefer buying a new one. For some reasons, have never been comfortable with a used one.

Originally Posted by NPV

Not sure why you want to upgrade both cars but here are some thoughts (I've been thinking on these lines myself for our cars, Dzire which I drive and M800 used by wifey).
1. If there are really no issues with the cars, try retaining one or both of them (delayed purchases are savings ultimately!). Moreover since the lease/loan periods are typically under 5 yrs I think you will not get good return of investment if you sell them now. I think the TBHP thread on buy/keep your car will be on the same lines as well. Of course if the monetary aspect is not a constraint at all then go for new cars or if there are problems with one or both cars warranting replacement.

2. If your wife's daily commute is less, why not consider an automatic small car ? In addition to Brio, do try the A-Star, i10 automatic variants as well. This way the city drives can be taken care of by the hatch and for your highway drives you can retain the Safari or look to replace it with another SUV instead of the Thar (if you need a vehicle that can carry more people plus luggage for longer trips).

If you can provide more details of why you're considering both cars for the upgrade, I guess folks can give you better suggestions.

1. Honestly, the one real reason is due to my desire to own a Thar If i get the Thar then we need another car ( Sedan ) which can take care of our long drives and holidays. My wife's commute is about 20 KM's per day and about 20 KM's over the weekends for small errands / shopping etc..

2. Reason to upgrade the M800 - to move to something better.

3. In a few months, my company lease on the Safari will get over. For me to save some Income tax, getting another new car on the lease makes perfect sense.

Originally Posted by swarnava.m

You have not mentioned what your wife's requirement criteria is. That will initially help you decide between a sedan and a hatch. After that, you can concentrate on taking test drives and deciding which one to go for.

Easy to handle, comfortable in cities, a few good features - besides these, no real criteria actually. Like i said earlier, if i push back my desire for the Thar, i can continue with my Safari for one more year and get a good hatch for my wife.

[swarnava.m]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Easy to handle, comfortable in cities, a few good features - besides these, no real criteria actually. Like i said earlier, if i push back my desire for the Thar, i can continue with my Safari for one more year and get a good hatch for my wife.

In that case, I would recommend that you continue with your Safari for another year at least and get a Classic in the meanwhile. It is relatively easy to chuck around (provided you and your wife are comfortable with the size of a sedan in the city as opposed to an M800) while it will take suitable care of your highway driver if and when you get a Thar.

[NPV]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

1. Honestly, the one real reason is due to my desire to own a Thar If i get the Thar then we need another car ( Sedan ) which can take care of our long drives and holidays. My wife's commute is about 20 KM's per day and about 20 KM's over the weekends for small errands / shopping etc..

2. Reason to upgrade the M800 - to move to something better.
...
Easy to handle, comfortable in cities, a few good features - besides these, no real criteria actually.

Based on the above, I would still think the automatic hatch is good choice to take care of this requirement. Only other reason(s) to consider a sedan is if any others (adults/kids) will accompany you on your long drives, if not this will suffice (you can read @Samurai's recent ownership experience thread on his family's new i10 automatic).

3. In a few months, my company lease on the Safari will get over. For me to save some Income tax, getting another new car on the lease makes perfect sense.
Like i said earlier, if i push back my desire for the Thar, i can continue with my Safari for one more year and get a good hatch for my wife.

But remember that a large portion of the amount saved on tax actually gets paid to the leasing company during the lease period but lets save that discussion for another thread
So, I would suggest doing this in 2 phases - first upgrade the M800, give it some time, some more thought and then make a call on the Thar, till then enjoy the Safari just like you mentioned! Taking baby steps is always better than one big leap

[GTO]

Firstly, I highly recommend that you read this article of mine : Link. Don't get into the habit of selling cars off once their loan / lease period is over. You should enjoy an EMI-free life

That said, I'd highly recommend upgrading the Maruti 800. It's too unsafe & crude by current standards. Get rid of it and get your wife a Honda Brio or Hyundai i10 1.2; both are outstanding city hatchbacks that you can't go wrong with.

Your Safari is a little over 2 years old. Keep it for another 5 at the minimum (unless the reliability goes for a toss).

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Very valid questions indeed. I could have been more clear in the first post.
1. The Safari is largely a Home-Office-Home commute, cover about 1000 KM per month like this. Also do ~ 1000 KM a month when i go visit my parents at Coimbatore.

Have never ever tried this Safari on Off road. Again, i have a huge interest on off roading, but have to start from the basics.

If you haven't used your Safari enough, I'd suggest you do that first before selling it. Not hard core off-roading may be, but atleast go visit places with no roads or do some trail driving. Except for deep slush, the 2WD will go over most things that you'd see on Indian roads or the lack thereof. I have a very deep appreciation for the Safari after using it for 60k+ kms, 90% of which has been on highways or bad roads.

The Thar isn't a Safari replacement by any means, you'd regret if you bought a jeep in exchange for it. I'm not sure on how much of highway runs you do, but the Thar isn't even close to giving you the comfort and the confidence like the Safari. The jeep can practically be taken anywhere, but it can't handle bad roads as the Safari does. You can choose to act tough and use the jeep as a daily drive, but if you aren't used to jeeps and you like having your cars clean, tidy, noise free etc, then the jeep fever will start wearing off soon. Add to that the time and money you'll need to invest to get the Thar to be off-road ready, believe me, it's not easy to spend the whole weekend at the mechanic workshop and managing your family priorities.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

2. Hatch / Sedan decision : The idea was always to upgrade only the M800. With the loan just over for that, and with my finances slightly better this year, i recommended that we buy a Hatch. Since my interest was in a Thar and if we need to continue with our Highway drives, the interest moved slightly upwards towards a Sedan.

1. Honestly, the one real reason is due to my desire to own a Thar If i get the Thar then we need another car ( Sedan ) which can take care of our long drives and holidays. My wife's commute is about 20 KM's per day and about 20 KM's over the weekends for small errands / shopping etc..

If you do swing towards the Thar, get her a sedan else you'll be royally stuck to go anywhere outside of the city. The Thar isn't a vacation vehicle, you can use it for regular city drives and may be bash it around in the OTRs (where it does good), but don't rely on it to be a inter-city express.

You could even offer her the Safari and get the Thar for yourself like I did. My wife's pretty happy doing a Whitefield-EC commute everyday with the big elephant even though I never liked driving it in the city myself.

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

3. In a few months, my company lease on the Safari will get over. For me to save some Income tax, getting another new car on the lease makes perfect sense.

Same here buddy, I'm also in two minds whether to keep the Safari after the lease period gets over later this year or replace it with the Storme or put some crazy money and get the other T badged monster. BTW, how much has your Safari done by now?

[sridhar-v]

Originally Posted by GTO

Firstly, I highly recommend that you read this article of mine : Link. Don't get into the habit of selling cars off once their loan / lease period is over. You should enjoy an EMI-free life

That said, I'd highly recommend upgrading the Maruti 800. It's too unsafe & crude by current standards. Get rid of it and get your wife a Honda Brio or Hyundai i10 1.2; both are outstanding city hatchbacks that you can't go wrong with.

Your Safari is a little over 2 years old. Keep it for another 5 at the minimum (unless the reliability goes for a toss).

I second GTO's views. Go in for a Hyundai I10-AT ASTA (Highest end with the Airbags & ABS). Excellent for city drive. Keep ur Safari - it is a beautiful highway & long distance tourer. And you can take it on roads where sedans will be stranded. A lot of interesting SUVs & Sedans will be coming our way by 2015. The Suzuki S-cross, Grand Vitara and possibly the Hyundai IX35 look likely.

So enjoy EMI Free period for 1 car atleast.

[jkrishnakj]

Originally Posted by GTO

Firstly, I highly recommend that you read this article of mine : Link. Don't get into the habit of selling cars off once their loan / lease period is over. You should enjoy an EMI-free life

Completely agree and thanks GTO for this link. Not sure how i didnt chance across this earlier.

That said, I'd highly recommend upgrading the Maruti 800. It's too unsafe & crude by current standards. Get rid of it and get your wife a Honda Brio or Hyundai i10 1.2; both are outstanding city hatchbacks that you can't go wrong with.

When i came home from office today, my wife was telling me that i get over the Thar fetish and its making no sense. She is happy with the Brio and she was asking why i cant use my Safari for atleast two more years. No, she doesnt read TBHP and i can confirm she has not read your post.

Your Safari is a little over 2 years old. Keep it for another 5 at the minimum (unless the reliability goes for a toss).

5 more - Let me see. But, the decision is to keep this for atleast 2 more years. And ofcourse, i love my Safari. Has always kept me happy. Just came off the 4th Service and i am loving it each bit.

Originally Posted by sridhar-v

I second GTO's views. Go in for a Hyundai I10-AT ASTA (Highest end with the Airbags & ABS). Excellent for city drive. Keep ur Safari - it is a beautiful highway & long distance tourer. And you can take it on roads where sedans will be stranded. A lot of interesting SUVs & Sedans will be coming our way by 2015. The Suzuki S-cross, Grand Vitara and possibly the Hyundai IX35 look likely.

So enjoy EMI Free period for 1 car atleast.

Thanks Sridhar. Exactly the kind of conversation that hapenned with my wife earlier this evening.
So, the BRIO it will be. I dont blame her for choosing the Brio. She isnt ready for the i10/i20 at all. Dont ask me why.

Originally Posted by amolpol

If you haven't used your Safari enough, I'd suggest you do that first before selling it. Not hard core off-roading may be, but atleast go visit places with no roads or do some trail driving. Except for deep slush, the 2WD will go over most things that you'd see on Indian roads or the lack thereof. I have a very deep appreciation for the Safari after using it for 60k+ kms, 90% of which has been on highways or bad roads.


Have done 31K on the Safari so far. Ofcourse, i have taken this to some really bad roads/non-existent roads etc..Just that i havent had the true off road experience. I think i will use this for another 30K easily now.

The Thar isn't a Safari replacement by any means, you'd regret if you bought a jeep in exchange for it. I'm not sure on how much of highway runs you do, but the Thar isn't even close to giving you the comfort and the confidence like the Safari. The jeep can practically be taken anywhere, but it can't handle bad roads as the Safari does. You can choose to act tough and use the jeep as a daily drive, but if you aren't used to jeeps and you like having your cars clean, tidy, noise free etc, then the jeep fever will start wearing off soon. Add to that the time and money you'll need to invest to get the Thar to be off-road ready, believe me, it's not easy to spend the whole weekend at the mechanic workshop and managing your family priorities.

I am already moving away from my Thar fever.




If you do swing towards the Thar, get her a sedan else you'll be royally stuck to go anywhere outside of the city. The Thar isn't a vacation vehicle, you can use it for regular city drives and may be bash it around in the OTRs (where it does good), but don't rely on it to be a inter-city express.

Exactly where the Sedan came into picture now. But with the latest "gyan" and realisation, i guess it will be a M800 upgrade to a Brio, and my Safari giving me company for 2 more years minimum.

You could even offer her the Safari and get the Thar for yourself like I did. My wife's pretty happy doing a Whitefield-EC commute everyday with the big elephant even though I never liked driving it in the city myself.

I read your ownership reports and actually thought about this as an option, but didnt want to push my wife to it. She isnt comfortable on the Bangalore roads. Ofcourse, she does take some load off me on our several long highway drives.



Same here buddy, I'm also in two minds whether to keep the Safari after the lease period gets over later this year or replace it with the Storme or put some crazy money and get the other T badged monster. BTW, how much has your Safari done by now?

Safari is running 31 K now, 2 years and 2 months so far.

[amolpol]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

Thanks Sridhar. Exactly the kind of conversation that hapenned with my wife earlier this evening.
So, the BRIO it will be. I dont blame her for choosing the Brio. She isnt ready for the i10/i20 at all. Dont ask me why.

Good choice, a small car is always good. I badly miss our i10 on weekends, but am glad that it's with my friend now so it's not long gone and forgotten. At 31k, your safari is just in its teens and the engine hasn't seen too much yet. Keep her atleast till you finish 80k or so, don't know how it'll be beyond that with a Tata but there are people who've pushed it to 150k and beyond. I'm probably going to finish 75k by the end of the lease and promptly return it after that, but the question on what next is what's not getting answered yet!

[jkrishnakj]

An update, and perhaps my last post to this thread.
Booked the BRIO, S(O) MT trim, RED colour ( missus loved the red ). Hope to get delivery end of this week. Will start a separate ownership on this later.

The Safari Stays for a couple more years, and actually, i am feeling happy about it now.

[anup7649]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

An update, and perhaps my last post to this thread.
Booked the BRIO, S(O) MT trim, RED colour ( missus loved the red ). Hope to get delivery end of this week. Will start a separate ownership on this later.

Congrats for your Brio.
I was informed by Magnum Honda that S(Opt) was discontinued from Feb 1st onwards. Is that true.

[pganapathy]

Originally Posted by jkrishnakj

An update, and perhaps my last post to this thread.
Booked the BRIO, S(O) MT trim, RED colour ( missus loved the red ). Hope to get delivery end of this week. Will start a separate ownership on this later.

The Safari Stays for a couple more years, and actually, i am feeling happy about it now.

Hope you have been able to sell the 800 and get a decent price for it. How is the brio treating you.

Good to see that you decided to keep the safari. Makes more sense than investing in a new car, especially since you have done 30k odd km's on it. At least you now have a safe vehicle for wifey in town. The brio is a brilliant run about.