[padmrajravi]

I am also of the opinion that you should keep the Xcent. Spending 7 lakhs will only give you a sedan/hatchback which is a downgrade from Xcent. And trust me, there is nothing which matches the NVH and ride of Xcent in that segment at your price point. Nios is certainly a downgrade. Aura will not be in the budget. Etios/Liva does not give anything in particular over the Xcent except for space.

Unless you want to spend 7 lakhs on a used car which comes with more airbags, there is no argument for changing Xcent. If that is the case, you can think about a used Yaris.

[Thermodynamics]

I agree with GTO's and Lamborghini's suggestions. First preference should be to continue with existing car, the 4 lac additional you have to spend otherwise to buy a new car would suffice 5 more years of Xcent's maintenance.

If you really want to buy new, Etios would be a good choice for your criteria.

[Fordlover88]

Originally Posted by slango97

What car would you suggest would stand up to such abuse?

PS: we have considered replacing our chauffeur, but everything apart from his driving is fine

What is the odomoter reading of your excent? It's only 5 years old & there's no point selling it just because your driver has abused it. Moreover your new car would be driven by the same driver. Get an estimate from Hyundai A.S.S or any reputed FNG for repairing your excent. Best solution would be to change your driver.

[slango97]

Thank you for your suggestions!

Unfortunately, the Etios is out of stock in Chennai dealerships (according to toyotabharat.com).

Since we will not in any case be replacing our chauffeur, we'll look at fixing up the Xcent .

Originally Posted by Fordlover88

What is the odomoter reading of your excent?

I believe the odo reads around 50,000 kms. I think it's stood up quite well in comparison to our previous car, an Indica Vista.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

Keep the Xcent, 7lac OTR will give you a decently loaded loaded Hatchback or a base model sub 4m Sedan in the showrooms today.

Spend ₹50k on the Xcent and bring it up to speed. Spend ₹25k on the Chauffeur retraining and enjoy the car for much longer. Driving or for that matter, any other skill doesn't improve by itself beyond a point and retraining is necessary.

We will try retraining the chauffeur. That is a good suggestion, thank you!

Mod Note: Please use the EDIT or MULTI-QUOTE buttons instead of typing one post after another on the SAME THREAD!

To know how to multi-quote, click here.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by slango97

Thank you for your suggestions!

Unfortunately, the Etios is out of stock in Chennai dealerships (according to toyotabharat.com).

Since we will not in any case be replacing our chauffeur, we'll look at fixing up the Xcent .

Have a look at another dealer in a nearby town.
According to Toyotabharat.com Coimbatore has stock of the 1.5 GX.

By the way, it is a pretty nifty tool they have on their site!

[riteshritesh]

I can understand how precious a good natured driver is. If he is bad at driving, in the sense of using the clutch and gear changes, I recommend shifting to an Auto transmission vehicle to overcome that. A Jazz CVT is a good and spacious chauffer driven car. A change to Auto from Manual will give you an opportunity/reason to retrain him and his ego not getting bruised. Along with that, do tell him subtly that you were considering changing him but since he is such a good person, changed the car and that he is not allowed to drive bad henceforth.

[46TheDoctor]

Originally Posted by slango97

We continue to employ him because he is very trustworthy, is a family man, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't ask for raises or bonuses, doesn't get chummy with others to pass around gossip.


Frankly, we're okay with slightly terrible driving given his good character.

Retaining the 2014 car makes more sense here but if you are insistent on buying a new car, I will suggest you to buy a Toyota Etios Diesel which is very abuse friendly, 4 star NCAP safety rated, extremely spacious, has a great ride quality and not to mention dirt cheap operational costs and total peace of mind from Toyota. If the new one doesnt fit your budget, get a used one.

For the exact same reasons that i have mentioned above, I have bought one for my company work (multiple drivers/users, usage across the state and the resultant abuse) which has done 1 Lakh km in less than 20 months but the car is so much reliable and efficient at what it is supposed to do while giving me ultra low operational costs, that it has far exceeded all of my expectations.

[slango97]

Originally Posted by riteshritesh

I can understand how precious a good natured driver is. If he is bad at driving, in the sense of using the clutch and gear changes, I recommend shifting to an Auto transmission vehicle to overcome that. A Jazz CVT is a good and spacious chauffer driven car. A change to Auto from Manual will give you an opportunity/reason to retrain him and his ego not getting bruised. Along with that, do tell him subtly that you were considering changing him but since he is such a good person, changed the car and that he is not allowed to drive bad henceforth.

We will consider the Jazz and other automatics! Another great suggestion from TeamBHPians, thank you.


While it is commonly held that automatics are for the self driven, didn't think that it could actually benefit the chauffeur driven as well haha.


And thank you for understanding the difficulty of finding a reasonable, good-natured driver!

Originally Posted by 46TheDoctor

Retaining the 2014 car makes more sense here but if you are insistent on buying a new car, I will suggest you to buy a Toyota Etios Diesel which is very abuse friendly, 4 star NCAP safety rated, extremely spacious, has a great ride quality and not to mention dirt cheap operational costs and total peace of mind from Toyota. If the new one doesnt fit your budget, get a used one.

For the exact same reasons that i have mentioned above, I have bought one for my company work (multiple drivers/users, usage across the state and the resultant abuse) which has done 1 Lakh km in less than 20 months but the car is so much reliable and efficient at what it is supposed to do while giving me ultra low operational costs, that it has far exceeded all of my expectations.

Quality Revolution indeed, it seems! With so many backers for the Etios, this is a car we will definitely look at, provided it isn't too much of a hassle to find.

[Durango Dude]

Originally Posted by slango97

Hello everyone!

It is time to replace my mother's Hyundai Xcent (2014) petrol with a new car for ~7 lakhs OTR. Since the car will be chauffeur driven, safety and a solid build are very important, as is reasonably priced maintenance.

Our Xcent has taken quite a beating, and has issues with the clutch, steering, cabin electronics and others, apart from body damage.

What car would you suggest would stand up to such abuse?

PS: we have considered replacing our chauffeur, but everything apart from his driving is fine

Originally Posted by slango97

We continue to employ him because he is very trustworthy, is a family man, doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't ask for raises or bonuses, doesn't get chummy with others to pass around gossip.


Frankly, we're okay with slightly terrible driving given his good character.

Frankly, I wouldn't retain him even if he was a 'guardian angel'. A driver is meant to drive family around safely; looks like he's learning at your expense. I think he has designs on you by his smooth talking and getting the confidence of you and your family members to make himself "indisposable"; to the extent that you're okay with his horrible driving and abuse of your Xcent.

Originally Posted by Sreesh1009

How about a Santro AMT/Grand I10 NIOS AMT, you won't have to deal with any clutch issues.

You're absolutely mistaken, AMT's have clutch issues. You don't decide to change gears an actuator (hydraulic/electronic) does. AMT's do have a clutch!

[Storm2.0]

I suggest you spend some money (which will be fraction of 7 lakhs ) and bring the car back to top shape. Maybe save the remaining $$$ to maintain the car once your chauffeur starts abusing it again.

[ariesonu]

Your Driver, Your car, Your money, Your family (in that descending order) - it seems you have got all your priorities completely wrong.

A good driver is not one who keeps secrets but one who keeps your family safe on-road.

Regards-SS

[bhphog]

I believe that more than involving the forum members in this decision, you should look at two aspects,
1. Get a car which is the cheapest to repair and get a zero-dep policy
2. Involve your driver in this decision and take his advice into consideration as to which car he would like and enjoy to destroy the world with. (A small SUV maybe, he could use it as a battering ram)

A driver, at the end of the day is a profession. And a man shouldn’t be employed for a particular work at which he is particularly bad. It’d be similar to a situation that’s currently happening at the Union Govt, if you get my drift.
Your “good” days will only arrive when there is a change of supremo (Oh my bad! I meant driver)

[slango97]

Mods feel free to close this thread. Thanks for the useful advice, those who did give some