[shresan23]

The thing here is that my dad owns a Nissan Kicks 1.3l Turbo petrol (ownership review coming soon). I am a newbie driver despite having my Driving License for over a year. My dad downright refuses to give me the Kicks in the city (rightfully so) and I get to drive it only on the highways. I want to get a used car. Budget is capped at 2 lakhs.

Now, I have no idea what to look for in a car at that price point.

I have a few queries, options and preferences. Please help me out.

Do I get a moderately driven 10+ year old WagonR, Alto, Santro etc? or,
Do I get a heavily driven 10- year old Swift, WagonR, Beat etc?

- If a car has run more than 50k kms, can I trust it to handle my noob driving? (slips, hard brakes, improper gear shifting etc?)
- If a car has run less than 30k Kms, can I trust the owner?

- Can I choose a Swift that has run for over 70k Kms?
- Do I get Petrol or Diesel?

Are Olx or Facebook sales safe? Should I pay the premium for Mahindra First choice or Maruti True Value cars. Spinny is out.

Literally in a fix. Do help me out veterans. My dad refuses to join me in the hunt. He says that I will appreciate the car more if I put in the effort to find it.

[2000rpm]

Just get a Maruti. A swift preferably. You will get a very old car but will teach you the mechanical aspects of driving a vehicle much better.

People who learn now and start with new age cars, will never even learn to reverse without a reverse camera unfortunately.

A wild card entry will be a 2010/11 Polo Comfortline, which will be a car you will definitely cherish.

[--gKrish--]

I'd suggest an Alto K10. They are peppy, compact , easy and fun to drive in the city. They are fairly reliable and even if you have to take care of some wear and tear parts like clutch, struts or brake, it wont be heavy on the pocket. First gen Alto k10s also ride a bit better than WagonRs in my opinion.

Used car prices of Chevy Beat might be tempting but stay away. Besides its appearance that might appeal to some people, there is hardly anything in them worth the hassle and expense of upkeep now after Chevrolet's exit.

The Swift is a nice car to use in the city but most probably, only the first gens would fit within the Rs.2L budget. Steering rack is quite an expensive that might come up. Gen1's part costs 30k which is more than thrice that of Gen2.

Considering most of them would be over 10 years of age by now and would have clocked significant numbers on the odo, there are chances that you might be bearing the cost of replacement. So look for ones which have already undergone replacement. If opting for a swift, pick one with good history with the k12 engine. Also look out for rust.

Inspect and assess the condition of cars thoroughly and make a choice. Car do not always age by years or miles. A well kept 10 year old might serve you better than a thrashed 5 year old one.

If you can find a good and relatively newer car with low odo for a slightly higher price, do consider paying a bit more upfront for getting a car that would save you time and expenses later on. Sometimes it might take a while to find a good deal, so don't rush.

Good luck!

[frewper]

Originally Posted by shresan23

My dad refuses to join me in the hunt. He says that i will appreciate the car more if i put in the effort to find it.

What an honest truth. He just wants you to learn and you will. 2 lakhs is something that you can take risks with.

Originally Posted by shresan23

Budget is capped at 2 lakhs.

If a car has run more than 50k kms, can i trust it to handle my noob driving? (slips, hard brakes, improper gear shifting etc?)

If a car has run less than 30k Kms, can i trust the owner?

Can i choose a Swift that has run for over 70k Kms?

All I am gonna recommend is strictly based on your budget. I see you are a student. I am assuming you are still on budget on a lot of other things right now. And I were to go back to my student, I know there many more nagging issues that will come your way once you have the car, date nights and goa trips and others.

Buy a Maruti period. Anything reliable that you can buy in 2 lakhs other than a Maruti i a Hyundai But there is nothing as reliable as Maruti and cheap to maintain. Fuel budget will be same in all brands. What you need is to save money is on maintenance.

Petrol or Diesel. Once you have a car you will go to places. Again it makes sense not to spend on fuel and to spend it on some fun things. If you come across a good diesel car and if you need to spend 20k more, Pick the diesel.

You can buy a Swift or an SX4. Anything will work. You will have to buy something which is more than 5 years old because of the budget, but that is absolutely not a problem.

Good Luck.

[IshaanIan]

2 lacs would have been an ideal budget for a beater car but in today's bloated used car market, one has to be very careful about what they spend their 2 lacs on. First of all know that it is unlikely you will find a car for 2 lacs that does not require further money being spent on it keeping that mind, go for a Maruti and go for a petrol. It is best to look for stuff like the Ritz, SX4, A-Star. Being Marutis they are all easy and cheap to maintain. The SX4 is a really competent machine with a creamy 1.6 liter M series motor and durable underpinnings, the Ritz like the SX4 is also a product of joint development with a European marque (SX4 was developed with Fiat and Ritz by Suzuki and Opel) so it is also excellently well built but the K series motor needs to be whipped if one wants to derive any pleasure out of driving it. Go for the A-Star only if you cannot find a good SX4 or Ritz. Last but not the least, take your time do not buy a car just because you like the colour or because the photos posted of it seem nice. Take your time to inspect (give it to the ASC or a trusted independent garage for diagnosis if you have any doubts) and take your time hunting for them. With 2 lacs you are going to be hunting for scraps so finding a diamond in the rough takes time.

PS: Perhaps figure out some sort of side hustle? I am assuming an idealistic dad like yours will not want to pay the petrol bills either and if you enjoy driving you will definitely rack up about 10-15k in fuel bills every month. If side hustle cannot be managed get an Alto

[asit.kulkarni93]

You should seriously consider the Astar, Ritz or Liva. All three are cheap to maintain and are relatively safe. Mainly you will get a relatively newer car unlike swift or Wagonr which would be old and pricey due to the demand.

[shresan23]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

A wild card entry will be a 2010/11 Polo Comfortline, which will be a car you will definitely cherish.

A Polo? Well, i might have to stretch the budget. The Polo is like every guy's first car dream, for people my age atleast.

All of your points are duly noted. Chevy's are out.

Sx4 is out too. Its too large for me to park. The Kicks is already parked inside the compound. There is a little space for a ritz or alto or even Swift maybe. The Sx4 however will be too large for the spot.

I will definitely choose maruti and i think Swift or Ritz will be a good choice. I have an issue with my knee, so cant squeeze inside an Alto or smaller ones.

As far as the fuel budget goes, this car will be a 2nd car for the family too, so dad would bear it. That said. Budget would decide the fuel type.

Now only one question remains.

Can i trust OLX?
Can i trust Facebook Marketplace?


Maruti True Value in my city has only old Alto's from '07

[AB10]

I would suggest the i10. I learnt driving in that car and the 1.2L kappa engine is a good peppy one for the city traffic. I would suggest to look for the 2010-2013 models. However, 2L budget seems tough since a good i10 will come between 3-4 lacs in this sellers market.

[IshaanIan]

Originally Posted by shresan23

Now only one question remains.
Can i trust OLX?
Can i trust Facebook Marketplace?
Maruti True Value in my city has only old Alto's from '07

Cannot trust anyone even a dealership selling you a brand new car can dupe you. This is India it is everyone for themselves. That is why you should give the process time and inspect everything properly.

[GoBabyGo]

Hello Shesan23, my suggestion may be slightly odd, but you may take a call if it is good to you.

Get in touch with a reliable car driving school around you. Tell them that you want to polish your driving skills and ready to pay for fuel. I did this for my daughter last year when she got her driving licence and I was not willing to give her my Honda City for polishing her skills. I checked with the driving school guy from whom she learnt driving who said that he is ready and will charge Rs 4000/- + fuel (for max one hour drive a day) for 7 days. Even though my daughter refused due to her college timing clash and she wanted no intervention by that guy (they do have ABC pedal on passenger side also which they use to avoid damage of their car).

If this idea suits you, check with driving school in your area as for 15-20 days driving classes, you may not need to spend more than 10k to 12k and 15-20 days are good enough to become confident driver. In case you buy a used car for say 2 lacs, you will end up spending more than this.

[buzzy_boy]

I have a different take on this. Many of my friends bought cheap Marutis as their first car, and ended up regretting the decision.

Reason = well maintained 10 year old Marutis, which should cost 2 lakhs - or thereabouts, are extremely hard to find. The main reason is that those owners who take an effort to maintain them are reluctant to part with them. The ones in the market are invariably abused.

So, what happened to the cars that my friends bought? They remain unused in their garages - taking up space, and rotting away. That's Rs. 2 lakhs written off in my book.

My advice = buy a new Wagon R 1.2 (automatic), and keep it for 15 years. It can act as a good city car as soon as you move onto something bigger and nicer later on.

Happy motoring, and drive safe!

[dolphinjazz]

I would advise you to go for used liva, Eon or any Maruti (used Marutis cost a little more). Liva is a very good and practice car. Eon is a good city car and will come easy on pocket. you should get 8 year old Eon with 50k odo at around 2 lakhs. Avoid old Tata.

Between petrol and diesel, its better to go for petrol as it requires less maintenance. Diesel cars at that budget may come with all short of engine and injector problems which are cost affair. Although a friend of mine bought a 12+ years old swift diesel for 90k, used for a year, learnt driving and sold for 80k. quite a good deal.

Get a good mechanic to inspect the car before buying. also do check tires as their replacement may cost approx 20k.

[KSTejaswi]

As others have wisely recommended, Maruti is a safe bet in this price range.

As an owner of a 2013 K10, I'd recommend the 2010~2013 K10 heartily. If you find yourself unable to fit comfortably in it, I'd suggest a Celerio, maybe circa 2013. The Celerio is almost equally cheap. The Swift is certainly a very good car, but finding a good example in your budget may be quite tough.

Also, don't worry about 2nd or 3rd hand - just focus on the car's condition. Take utmost care to check this, with a competent well-wisher.

I would suggest sticking to Petrol, the service/repair bills will be significantly lower at ~10 years age, compared to Diesel.

[RijuC]

Buy a Maruti Suzuki anything that doesn't have any mechanical or major electrical issue. Add a good halogen headlamp bulbs (approx 2k cost), e.g., Philips Gforce extreme etc. And drive as slow as possible. You will be good to go for long drives in 1-2 months and 6 months hit the mountains.

Only collateral will be a clutch replacement costing you approx. 5-6k.

After you get full control, sell it off and buy your own dream car or use that car as a project if you started loving that.

You may get Zen Estilo 2009-10 model for a cheaper rate.

[lamborghini]

Never trust any dealer - they can all be equally honest and equally dishonest.

Personally, I really like the idea of getting a pre-owned Jap : easy to maintain, reliable, and workhorses.
However, I would also try and see if the budget could be extended marginally to allow for something like the Toyota Liva which isn't a great seller and should have a decent resale value unlike the Swifts, Altos, etc. which are high sellers and thus have high resale values.

Do take the time to get the car inspected by the A.S.S. before purchase and follow the other safeguards mentioned on this thread (ARTICLE: How to buy a *USED* Car in India) to considerably help reduce the chances of the car being a lemon.