[Tourer]

I would suggest you to go for something relatively newer and reliable. A very old and unreliable car can eat up your precious study and skill building time in repairs unless you have some help at home to take care of it.

While I understand low fuel efficiency is not a concern for you, but based on my experience, it is better to not go for a gas guzzler at such an early stage as it might limit your ability and freedom to do frequent road trips with your gang.

A Honda city or a Ford Ecosport might fit the bill the best.

[mohitchalla]

Lot of good recommendations have already been made, so I would like to add a different perspective. Whichever car you get, make sure it comes with ABS brakes and at least 2 airbags, regardless of the crash test rating. Some cars with oversteer are fun to drive but difficult to control under sudden braking, especially without the ABS. Also, do not obsess over how quick or fast the car is, or how powerful it is. Rather than that go for a car with simple mechanicals, good handling and body dynamics.

Most importantly, enjoy the driving. You can never buy your first car again!

[sauravpat]

I'm 22 and learnt to drive in 2018 on our 2014 year old Nissan Micra Active with 67hp and 2012 old Honda Jazz with 90hp at the time. We got that car in 2014 over the Celerio for my elder brother when he turned 18 since this base variant also offered 2 airbags and ABS and was around 5.5 Lac new.

And it was a size larger than a santro or celerio.

I was in a very similar situation as you. Used my Honda Dio for college most of the time and the Micra was shared between us two brothers depending on who had to travel farther on a particular day.

I would recommend getting a large hatchback since you will no doubt have friends sitting in the car all the time. I personally have travelled to football matches with 8 people on-board in the Micra with all our kit. We just sold our 7 year old and 50k km done Micra for 2 lacs. So will fit in your budget as well.

And flooring the throttle built only the sense of speed....not real speed...so it gave me a large margin of error while learning. Even in the Jazz which was my mom's, the tall gearing meant that flooring the throttle would do nothing till the revs built up past 1800 rpm. And the interiors were really nice.

Both cars did not have any reverse parking sensors and cameras thankfully. Most of my friends cannot reverse and park without cameras and sensors now.

My suggestions would be

1. Swift ZXI
2. Honda Jazz
3. Micra Active
4. Polo 1.2 MPI

Dual airbags and ABS is a must according to me. That's the bare minimum you need to have. If you are going to be driving on highways regularly would suggest you then look at crash ratings as well.

And all these above cars do have a nice youthful appeal to them as well.

Our family will always fondly remember our blue Micra on which both of us learnt to drive. I had the added advantage of using a 4 year old car... a small scrape here and there wasn't the biggest deal. So I think its perfect that you are looking for a pre owned car. And don't worry too much about the body work. There are bound to be a few nicks here and there soon.

Hope this helps.

[jithin23]

Originally Posted by GreasyCarb55

Hello there, I turn 18 in about 3 weeks and I'm looking for a first car that is also a good enthusiast car, I'm one of the emotional guys when it comes to Automobiles so drive feel/emotional connect is very important.

The original plan was to buy a brand new Duke 250 or RR310 but around December 2021 I had a change of heart and shifted (pun intended) towards a used enthusiast car instead.


2) Fun to Drive? - Oh absolutely, it should fun to drive it's my first car after all, I'm willing to make sacrifices (like comfort and interiors) for the fun factor. I want a Manual transmission.

3) Fuel efficiency- FE is not an issue, with the City for dad and mom preferring the Innova this car will not see much use outside of weekend trips and juvenile tomfoolery. Although a minimum mileage of 7-8kmpl in the city would help in convincing the parents. Furthermore we are looking to get an electric scooter to replace our old '13 Vespa LX125 as a errand vehicle so I will be using that for commuting to college 90% of the time.



6) Aftermarket Support - Odds are I will keep this car for atleast 3-4 years so I would like the car to have good aftermarket support in terms of mods.

7) Budget - I was initially given a budget of 3-3.2 Lakh (on road Bangalore + Gear) to get my very own bike but that cash has been reallocated to the car (Hence this post). Current budget is 3.5 Lakh and willing to extend to 3.8-4 lakh. We have 30k reserved outside the budget to get any repairs done (if needed) and getting quality of life improvements like a modern head unit and speakers. Any money saved will be re-invested into the car for mods down the line and fuel.

8) New or used? - Definitely used, the only new car I'll get in Bangalore with 4 lakh in hand would be the base model Alto, might as well get a Duke 250 at that point.

I don't have hands on experience with most of these cars so I'm depending on TeamBHP and family input to determine the pros and cons. If it helps I'm located in Bangalore.

First of all, advance congrats on turning 18 and to buy a used car. A sensible choice in today's overpriced bikes which aren't VFM at all and not safe. I used to ride a lot till I got my 1st EcoSport in 2018. After which I felt that a diesel car is safer and more economical than a bike.

The cars you have shortlisted are quite good but remember you will be 3rd or 4th owner with these cars given the age(except swift because swifts of 2014-15 will fit in your budget).


Since you had mentioned you will keep the car for 3-4 years, you can consider Ford Figo or Freestyle(go with BS4 Diesel only) post 2017 as these cars are more suitable for your use case and it's maintenance is lesser than that of a Duke 250. Freestyle will come with Sync3 with Android auto and ESP too. Plus you can use these cars akin to a 2 wheeler. Don't worry about parts as the time frame you intend to use, you will get parts easily. If you're open to older gen EcoSport(2014-15), you might get that too well within your budget.

These are reliable, fuss free and you can drive more for less.

My friend owns a Duke 250 and after the free services, the new gen bikes cost almost the same to maintain as a car.

Hey, I can help you out for a used car in Bangalore. We can connect.

[tanbeamer]

Originally Posted by GTO

My suggestion: Buy the newest Grand i10 or Swift that you can find. If you get a WagonR 1.2L, go for it (it's a fun breadbox). Learn the basics of driving, don't go out on the highway yet and read up on our many driving advice articles.

I think something like a pre-owned Ignis would be a very good option. Compared to other Maruti vehicles, used examples are comparatively lower-priced while having fewer KMs on the Odo. Also I feel it looks a lot more youthful compared to a WagonR

[GreasyCarb55]

Originally Posted by karanddd

I am just curious, what made you give up the idea of a motorcycle in favour of a car? For 3 or 4 lakhs, you can either get a great motorcycle or an average car. I'd take the bike.

Mostly parental concern for safety.

My parents logic being that if I crash at say 40-45kph in a car, I get a couple of injuries and the car needs repairs or worst case scenario needs to be scrapped.

But a 40-45kph crash on a bike means I'm turning myself into a meat crayon and coloring the asphalt red or I'm going body and/or head first into the road.

Plus I will be working part-time/freelancing during college, most of those funds are gonna be saved up for a Motorcycle I can truly call my own.

[GreasyCarb55]

Originally Posted by jithin23

Hey, I can help you out for a used car in Bangalore. We can connect.

Thanks jitin, we will not be buying the car till june 2nd or 3rd week (aka after 12th Boards and entrance exam results) so I'm concentrating on those now.

I'll contact you when all the exam shenanigans are over if that's okay.

[Mat095]

Firstly, I’ll start by saying all the best with the exams and stuff buddy, it’s all a lot easy than it looks and sounds.

Secondly, finding a good used car is also pretty much like a board exam, Cars24, Spinny and OlaCars should give you some good “study” material. In your case, the subjects you should consider according to me are: Swift and Brio, both of them are mod friendly and easy to maintain also a lot fun to drive. Driving a peppy hatch never gets boring on our roads.

Happy Hunting and drive responsibly!

[jono213]

As someone who's about to turn 18 in a year or so too, i relate to you on a spiritual level, most of the options you've listed out for yourself are mine too haha! Thing is tho, my dad has driven home the fact that any new/used car i get should have dual airbags or some amount of abs because you never know on the road what could happen, if i really could suggest

1) A used 1st gen honda jazz, no brainer in terms of aesthetic and of course, honda's reliability and service

2) A 1st gen diesel swift would also cater to your needs very well

If i could give advice, stay away from the jetta and octavia for now, since you're in college, not sure whether its a its a residential or you're a day scholar, trust me, maintaining these cars is a long drawn out process and will sap away time and money.

Have fun figuring this out!

[Vedantoyota75]

Originally Posted by GreasyCarb55

Thanks jitin, we will not be buying the car till june 2nd or 3rd week (aka after 12th Boards and entrance exam results) so I'm concentrating on those now.

I'll contact you when all the exam shenanigans are over if that's okay.

Hello GreasyCarb55, I was in the same dilemma as yours when I turned 18, 2 years back i.e 2019,
I was also excited to get my hands on an “enthusiastic” car like Type2 City Vtec, Civic or Baleno 1.6, but my parents disagreed for a car and eventually the plan was dropped, I totally agree with what @Gto said, if also was very much sad when my plans of a City Vtec was scrapped but eventually I have realised it was for the good only, I got my license started of driving my late grandfather’s 2006 Tata Indigo Tdi, clocked a lot of kilometres, even I considered going for a hatchback but we already had this car gathering dust in the garage so I took it out, got all the works done, to get it to its former glory and yeah within a few days it was all good and continues to serve me.
For you I would suggest you to go with a 2nd generation Swift or the First generation i10(post fl) 1.2 Kappa, or even first generation i20 Petrol, these cars are comparatively young, much reliable, cheap to run and maintain, any young driver is going to be a bit more hard on the throttle which will eventually lead to wear and tear of parts considering anything from early 2010s will be much more easy and trouble free to maintain than something 2 decades old. You can find clean and well maintained examples of these cars somewhere between 2.5-3 lakhs, get one add some good wheels and some good music system and you’re good to go will serve you without a hiccup for the next 4 years at least by the time you’ll be a much matured driver with a lot of experience and the you can go with something above 100 bhp for now I’ll advise you to stick with something young, reliable, cheap and easy to maintain.

[Turbohead]

Originally Posted by MadinMumbai

At 18 the best car to get is no car.
Seriously, India is not like USA where one can’t do without a car. Getting on public transport will help build character like no car can.

+1.
In the first two years of college, I was not allowed to take the 2 wheeler to college. Although there was college bus, I had other projects/ commitments which forced me to take public transport.

It's definitely worth experiencing and appreciating for atleast 1 year and forces you to be introspect on life. I learnt to be content seeing the struggles regular people go through to have a decent life.

After that, I'd suggest a Swift ZXi. Pretty good seats and handles quite well. Will do your highway duties in the future too and has enough grunt honestly.

[DIV17]

I would strongly suggest the Maruti Suzuki Ritz, having driven it around for a year (petrol), it's a proper fun to drive hatch. Not the fastest around but that K12 engine is revv happy and would be a great beginner car. It is as much fun as a Swift but more spacious and practical. The diesel is a great choice too. Also comes with the advantages of being a Maruti and has good mod potential. Also I think the Ritz looks great even today.

Other options will be the Fiesta 1.6 and the Mitsubishi Cedia. Proper fun to drive cars, but both are discontinued so maintenance maybe a question mark

Good luck with your search

[Rajiv Krishnan]

I agree with GTO on not owning a car with over 100BHP for your first car. I learnt to drive on an Eon with 55 bhp and had the time of my life for the first year and a bit before I felt that it was severely underpowered. Any car with 80/90 bhp is going to be a lot of fun for a first time driver who is not used to driving a fast car. Another issue with the octavia and jetta (idk about the corolla) is how well they mask speed. You could be going 120 kmph and it can feel slow sometimes. A swift at 80 feels fast. My advice is to buy a car that is reliable and has excellent resale value, enjoy it for a few years, get comfortable with driving and then upgrade to a more powerful, more fun car. If you buy a vrs (my dream car as well), you need to be fully aware of what you are getting into. FE is going to be miserable, the car is not realible and can breakdown, and if it breaks down, parts can be difficult to find and expensive to buy. Definitely a car you should own when you have an income of your own.

[DudeWithaFiat]

My suggestion would be:

1) A car that is reliable and cheap to maintain. The fill it, forget it type.
2) A simple car that won't have to stay in the garage for days while the technicians try to figure out what has gone wrong (cough...cough.. Zermans..cough)
3) A car that you don't mind if your friends want to take for a spin.
4) A car that won't grab a lot of attention.

A WagonR, Swift fits the bill.

[Vinod_nair]

Great thread, Sonny boy, you've heard excellent opinion from uncle's and guru's.

Now from a grand youngster, who turns 62 a week after you.

Your heart will be on a gypsy, go for it, i know a youngster in Kanpur, whose family is into armed forces disposal bullet, Jeep (no more) and gypsy, he showed me one last year for 1.7Lakh, MPFI, good condition, only the rings had to be changed.

Ping me, I'll get you in touch, and I'll liaison for you, till it's loaded on the truck.

P.S. I've no financial interest in this, just helping.

Regards