[sandeepmohan]

Originally Posted by sandeepmohan

325nm of torque

^^This is incorrect. It is 440nm of torque.

[navin]

Originally Posted by ajmat

Nissan Teana

For

• Lots of comfort for the money
• That front Ottoman chair in the top versions
• Smooth engine
• Reliability

Against

• Dealer might not know how to service it
• Parts might be difficult to come by especially when it comes to accident repir
• Not exactly a car for those who love driving
• The opposite sex will not notice you, neither will the same sex!

Watchout – Make sure you have a capable dealer

Verdict – A sofa for your parents

Against: the CVT which somehow absorbs a good portion of the V6's power. When I test drove one it's acceleration was soggy aka "you press the accelerator, wait,...wait...hmm then the CVT catches up".

Originally Posted by GTO

- BMW E60 525d / 530d. Plenty of them around. Seen many with merely 30000 - 40000 kms, single owner.

- Toyota Fortuner: Lots of choices for 15 - 17 lakhs. Bulletproof reliability is a big, big plus.

- For being chauffeur-driven, the Nissan Teana. It's more comfortable than an E-Class! Soft seats, soft ride, refined engine.

Volvo S80 V8: Posted on the same earlier. IIRC, someone picked one up for 7 - 8 lakhs? That's i20 money. What a seriously great car in exchange for a small cheque.

Why not the Mercedes E class w211 - 2nd Gen listed by ajmat?

I looked at a 530d and a 530i and found both to have more wear and tear than the owner had advertised.

The S80 is one is available for under 10L is a steal. Yes spare parts will be a problem but as an occasional drive (weekends maybe) it can be super.

[hondabuster]

Originally Posted by vivriti

Having owned and driven two generations of Honda Accords in the US, will certainly recommend them. Found it comfortable driving them through the narrow streets of New Jersey as well as Californian highways, sun, rain and snow alike.

Personally, I won't describe the Accord as boring. The right words according to me would be safe, dependable and no drama. Just driving my Accord around the Bay Area streets relaxedly, felt meditative for me.

Now that petrol prices have come down significantly, Accords don't seem so much a fuel guzzlers.

completely agree with you. In India specially I see this tendency of putting Hondas against VW/Skodas and narrating only one side story while exaggerating how boring these Japanese cars on roads when compared to Germans. While everyone will agree that germans are better built (actually built like tanks) and slightly better driving dynamics, but are very costly to maintain. I see my friends owning these skodas are frustated because of bad service and maintenance bills for accidental repairs. Also, looks are subjective but I will pick up accord over superb any day. Dont really understand why vw and skoda still carrying 90s car design around !

[tazmaan]

Bought a Honda CRV Baloon shape for 7.5 Lacs 2008 Dec model with 50k on odo.

Spent around 1.5 lac on it mainly for suspension overall and new tires. Tires alone are 55000

Done 8000 kms with it and am very happy.

For

• Power
• Awd / 4wd and ground clearance
• Ride qaullity
• Safety 6 Airbags etc

Against

• Milage
• No gizmos like bluetooth. auto wipers etc

I use CRV as a beater car and haul a lot of material in it, Airport trips, donor car. I plan to keep it for 3 years and later replace it with another car from this thread.

[Mtv]

Bought a November 2013 Octavia Ambition 1.8 TSI with only 3.4K on the ODO for a not too shabby 14 lacs.
Probably the ultimate barge this side of 15 lacs

[Nucliomaniac]

This is one useful thread.

Helping all of us dream one wee bit more.

I have been doing some research on my own, for a second hand convertible.

The deal with most convertibles is that the wind in your hair, sticky heat feeling, takes centre stage, and the car is relegated to the background. Hence, might make sense to buy a cheeeeeppp convertible, from users who have had heard their fair share of blow drys.

The market is filled with many bmw z4s, porsche caymans, and even a couple of merecedes e-class cabriolets, at quite attractive unnegotiated prices of starting at 30 lakhs.

might be an interesting place to start. Many of these, are very sparingly driven.

I for one, have my eye on a sparingly driven M3 convertible.

- Yash

[suneet_ag]

Do you really get a Diesel Superb for 9 lakhs down south? At least in Bangy the dealers quote anywhere between 11-14 lakhs depending on what is on the ODO, and that too for a petrol one. Diesel ones are north of 14.

I have been pursuing a Passat/Superb for sometime, but invariably the dealers try and make more than a couple of lakhs on these cars.

In fact I found a C200 CGI with just 30K on the ODO for about 17.5 lakhs. (Didn't end up buying ). This same car is with a Bangalore luxury car dealer for 20.5 lakhs!!

[rosh_aveo1.4]

It's funny we discussing this now, I am currently eyeing one 2007 CRV for 7 lakhs. Honda commands a premium here down in Kerala. Will go check it and decide. Have other cars at home so it won't be the daily driver and thus I think it's the safe bet. Although I was tempted to trade in my Sunny for a Duster but dad drives only automatic, thus the option back to CRV.

[drsingh]

Originally Posted by smsrini

Does it make sense to buy these cars on loan or using cash down / private funding..

I was looking for ways to finance a used car purchase after i realised I had made a mistake by liquidating a portion of my stock holdings to buy one.

In a rising market like this , it would make more sense to take a gold loan or loan against shares.

[V.Narayan]

Ajmat, thank you for a crisp and lucid article hitting all the key notes with a dash of wit. While I am not in the market for a pre-owned car the comments were a valuable surrogate for what works or doesn't work so well after a few years of initial ownership. Maybe when time permits you could cover the SUVs too and more on Volvo & Hyundai if possible. Kudos once again. V.Narayan

[lamborghini]

Great thread!

Have been actively looking at this price range, and keeping reliability topmost in mind, here are some of my picks (from what I've seen on the market)

1) Used Jetta TDi / Laura TSi- as GTO said, its a fantastic all rounded self driven sedan. The TSi a little more so. Some under warranty cars, and some just out of warranty can be had for 9L plus. While they may lack space, they make up for it in every other regard

2) New Hyundai Sonata - my pick over the Accord and Camry any day!

3) Skoda Superb 1.8TSi M/T - available sub 10L, with a stinker of an engine. The M/T gearbox takes care of the weakest link in the package - the DSG. If the Sonata is too boring!

4) BMW E90 320D / E60 525i / E60 525d - amongst the bigger german brothers, I have noticed that BMW owners seem to be the most content lot in terms of reliability. It helps that these cars are simply the best to drive. RWD Power on a budget!

5) Honda CR-V

[civic-sense]

Nice thread

I would like the Fluence stricken off the list. It doesn't command the respect the other cars in the list do.

Would like to see CR-V and Outlander instead.

[imp!]

Originally Posted by civic-sense

Nice thread

I would like the Fluence stricken off the list. It doesn't command the respect the other cars in the list do.

Would like to see CR-V and Outlander instead.

Well, everything is not about other peoples perception and road presence. Whatever the cars quirks and I'm not its biggest fan by any means, I still feel that the petrol automatic is a very well rounded, extremely comfortable package for the mostly chauffeur driven. It flies under the radar and isn't very expensive to maintain. I can certainly see why some people would buy it.

Certainly CRV and Outlander are good automobiles which can be great value pre-owned.

[tazmaan]

Originally Posted by rosh_aveo1.4

It's funny we discussing this now, I am currently eyeing one 2007 CRV for 7 lakhs. Honda commands a premium here down in Kerala. Will go check it and decide. Have other cars at home so it won't be the daily driver and thus I think it's the safe bet. Although I was tempted to trade in my Sunny for a Duster but dad drives only automatic, thus the option back to CRV.

Go for CRV its an awesome car with good road presence and is highly reliable.

[aniketi]

Can we consider Toyota Corolla Altis in this gang of barges? It is a very good, very reliable, have sufficient grunt in it for petrol model, good FE, good brand value etc. It also carries a nice status along with it. I know its not big to call it as a barge but we can certainly consider it IMO.

BTW, any idea on what are the current prices of Altis in used market?