[GTO]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

A middle aged gentleman I know is nearing retirement and is on the lookout for a 4 Wheeler that sits within the 10L price bracket OTR.

For 10-lakh rupees, why not buy the latest Kia Sonet? It'll be "fresh" for at least 7 years, and comfortably useable post. Since this gent isn't that keen on features, the lower variants easily fit his budget. Taller seating + nice cabin + sorted suspension will keep him happy, while the funky styling will ensure he retires in style .

If he wants to save & go for something lower, then I agree with the WagonR suggestion of so many BHPians. But only AMT please, not the MT. Also consider the Santro whose AMT is far smoother.

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by GTO

Also consider the Santro whose AMT is far smoother.

I don't know why, but I have always felt Wagon R rear ride (suspension) was better than Santro. This is because, in our first job 18 odd years back - 3 of us were sharing a flat. One of my flat mates' parents were with us for a month (Uncle had some health issues). He did not have a car then - I had my Wagon R and the 3rd friend had a Santro. Both were fairly new - bought at the same time. Uncle and Auntie used to prefer my car as it was more comfortable for them.

Later I had exactly the same feedback from an elderly relative of mine. So maybe with a limited data set, but it has always been my impression that Wagon R is better suited for the elderly than a Santro.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Originally Posted by GTO

If he wants to save & go for something lower, then I agree with the WagonR suggestion of so many BHPians. But only AMT please, not the MT.

Why the suggestion of the AMT over MT for WagonR? It is by all means a bad gearbox. Let’s leave aside the jerkiness and poor logic. Actuator and clutch replacements will burn a hole in the pocket and getting the thing ‘re-tuned’ and parts changed every now and then will be a hassle for the old man.

[chinkara]

Originally Posted by Shreyans_Jain

Why the suggestion of the AMT over MT for WagonR? It is by all means a bad gearbox. Let’s leave aside the jerkiness and poor logic. Actuator and clutch replacements will burn a hole in the pocket and getting the thing ‘re-tuned’ and parts changed every now and then will be a hassle for the old man.

Particularly if he is used to driving an MT. My dad also would prefer a MT over an AT any day. In AMT also, the lack of clutch causes some dissonance at least initially.

[chiefpk]

For someone to get their last car, I really have a great suggestion. IMHO, a car which is very easy to maintain and have spares available for the next 30 years it should have to be a Maruti but their service is also an issue of lately. Why not go for the Urban cruiser. It's a Maruti after all and with the bullet proof reliability of a Toyota. They are easily the best in terms of after sales. Also, no issues with the spares. And it surely will be worth it.

Regards

Pranav

[nagr22]

I see plenty of good suggestions. No matter how well we plan, owning the same car for 30 years is not a piece of cake. Apart from basic issues like reliability, spare part availability etc., there are many other factors which are not under our control can prevent one from using a car for that long. God forbid, what if an accident occurs after 10 years and insurance pays only peanuts for the damage? Can electric cars become so ubiquitous that petrol car becomes unaffordably expensive to run in the next 15 years? Will your uncle be able to afford the high maintenance a 15 year+ car will demand with his post retirement income?

With all the above points considered, the best bet would be to spend 5L on a safe car (e.g. Tiago) and run it till its FC expires. If good examples are not available for 5L, look for less than 2 Year driven non-accidental examples. They will be almost new and can go on for another 13-15 years.

Invest the remaining 5L in a good index fund. I know that investing in stock market is not a great idea after retirement but so is buying a car. Atleast in stock market you will most likely get good returns but a car will be worthless after 15 years. Index funds are less risky too. After 15 years, sell the current ride for whatever it is worth and use the funds invested to buy a contemporary car. You may even ask us here then

Having said that, for someone who is ~60 now, 15 years down the line he/she may or may not enjoy driving a car at all (no offence intended). So why not spend the whole 10L and go for a safe, comfortable and feature loaded car and enjoy life while one can? After all YOLO, right?
If he decides from that angle then the requirements which you have stated (reliability, spare parts, no gizmos etc) may no longer be applicable and you can rethink them and then decide the car. All the best

[antz.bin]

Originally Posted by nagr22

Having said that, for someone who is ~60 now, 15 years down the line he/she may or may not enjoy driving a car at all (no offence intended). So why not spend the whole 10L and go for a safe, comfortable and feature loaded car and enjoy life while one can? After all YOLO, right?
If he decides from that angle then the requirements which you have stated (reliability, spare parts, no gizmos etc) may no longer be applicable and you can rethink them and then decide the car. All the best

Totally Agree with this one.

My father was ~60yrs when he got a used Honda Civic AT (with a Torque Converter) for himself. It took him a grand total of 2 days to become used to driving an AT after a lifetime of driving MT. He upgraded from a Base model Logan Diesel.

The only thing that he doesn't like about his car is that the insurance is high due to the 1.8l Engine size.

He has been able to extend his driving life just because the car is so good and so easy to drive.

It hardly costs anything to service (service costs are lower than a Honda City). Parts have been available by and large and we have been lucky that there has been no major accidents in the past 8-9 years of ownership.

The Achilles heel of the car is fuel economy, but then Nashik is a small city, our house is in the city center and the car doesn't get used too much anyways.

He will be 71 next month. Faces problems with his eyesight. The body has eventually started showing signs of aging and the car usage has been going down steadily. 1x Green tax and a few services later, he will have probably stopped driving himself around altogether. But he did get to enjoy a much better car in the sunset of his driving days.

It should still be possible to get a used Corolla Altis Petrol AT within the given budget with a similar usage pattern. That should be more reliable than even the Civic.

10-11 years from now, there will be fully Autonomous Cars running all over. There probably won't be any reason to even have a car. The Corolla is all the car he would need till then.

[Bhalla]

Here in this scenario, only 2 brands which I will recommend are Maruti and Toyota. Maybe extend the budget a bit and get Toyota Yaris. I know it’s a flop in Indian market but Toyotas are famous for bullet proof reliability. If that’s not possible (extending budget), then a Breeza Vxi will be the best option.

[saisree]

I would suggest the Nexon XMA variant. Automatic, easy on ingress and egress considering the age factor. Latest & safest vehicle, no issues with the spare part availability. Tata will be here

[anthusiast]

Would suggest Maruti Brezza VXI or the Toyota Urban Cruiser of similar variant. An automatic would be better too if the budget permits. Few points to help:
* The Brezza is better built than other Maruti hatchbacks and Dzire. This makes it durable than the rest.
* Safety wise it has a 4 star rating.
* Ingress and egress is good due to taller seating position
* The overall space inside is good and the cabin feels airy
* The 1.5L petrol engine is simple and durable. Good for sedate driving. If automatic is needed the Torque Converter unit has simply mechanical and good enough to last for a long time.
* The VXI is a well priced variant for its features. Ex: The S-Cross Delta isn't well priced for its features.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

This would be his last 4 Wheeler and hence expects the vehicle to last at least 3 Decades, so simply put spare availability and service(quality and cost) are of the essence, plus this also means that fad models are out of interest as they'd be selling well now but things wouldn't be so certain in a year or two

Only Maruti Suzuki is the best contender here, no one else in India can supply the spares for such long time (hopefully AI don't storm the cars before that) + servicing is top notch compared to any other player in India (atleast for now & that is what they've proved until now)

Originally Posted by ashwinprakas

He doesn't have any inclinations towards electronics and convenience features, if he could save some bucks opting for a model without PS and with manual winders then he'd go for it without a second thought

10L is too much for Maruti; for an elderly person on account of easy ingress would suggest XL7/Ertiga/SCross/Brezza models.

[Cessna182]

Unpopular opinion- spend less than 4-5 lakh for an used Maruti with Airbags and ABS from True Value with a warranty. Run it for 10 years, use the money saved to buy an EV or Fuel Cell car when it arrives in India.

[DCEite]

I would go for a Maruti Tall boy hatchback.

But not at the cost of safety.

So the best model and variant to go for would be the IGNIS Delta MT.

You get ease of ingress and egress (most important factor), a reliable, punchy and fuel efficient motor, a more safer bet than the WagonR/Swift/DZire (its a 3 star rated car as against Swift's 2 star), the spare part availability and after sales service would not be a problem for the next decade (or two) atleast.

The Delta version comes with most basic features including all four PW, EPS, Stock stereo, Tilt steering, Dual Airbags, ABS etc.

[AZT]

Leaving aside the 3 decades part, assuming a 15 year time frame he can either buy a budget hatch now (eg Wagon R) and park the remaining money in a FD and buy another budget hatch post 7.5 years.
Or buy a Maruti Brezza / Toyota Urban Cruiser for a 15 year time frame. I like the Sonet too but for a 15 yr period Maruti would be better.

You should clarify to the gentleman that 15 years would be a good time frame for now and cars built in 2021 will probably not survive till 2051.

Edit: The Honda Jazz may also be a good long term bet. Has creature comforts, design looks good and Honda is reliable long term.

[Iyencar]

Whichever variant of the Brezza fits. The high GC will help him as he ages, the spares will never be a problem, will be cheap to maintain, while the 4 star NCAP is icing on the cake.