car choices for an potential ex-NRI? Hey guys. I've lived in the US for a bit over 15 years now, indulged myself with all sorts of fun cars, right up to the present (I have a rare extreme spec Lotus Elise built by their motorsport arm, one of 50, with chassis spec borrowed from the Lotus Exige Cup race car).
The desire to return to India has been building and my wife and I are starting to consider it very seriously (though very far from a decision), and being a gearhead, one of the first things that comes to my mind is "what will I drive".
To be honest, I am not excited at all by the field on offer in India mostly because I like rwd cars and I am not inclined to shell out 30 lacs for a 4 cylinder BMW. While its by no means a hard and fast rule, I am inclined to pursue inexpensive car choices, mostly because I've had some of the best here and I am not interested in paying big bucks for what are very mediocre cars to me.
The interesting thing is, while I have little regard for Honda Civics and Toyota Corollas and Hyundai Vernas, I am full of appreciation for the 5lac and below cars because they provide honest simple functionality at what is, to me, a ridiculously low cost, and I appreciate their simplicity.
So with that, let me share with you the cars I am interested in: 1. Maruti Gypsy King. red! Its an unrefined, crude, bumpy, impractical, gas guzzling dinosaur to be sure. But I remember the gypsy as being a mechanically simple vehicle that is very rewarding to operate. By operate, I mean just the pure mechanical feel of the thing. I am attracted to it for other reasons as well. I always had fun driving it, despite its truck like handling. Also, I've owned 5 convertibles in the US and I am most keen to have a vehicle in India that I can open up. Plus my wife is from Kashmir and I expect we would go to Kashmir and Ladakh often. Plus I like the idea that we could pile a bunch of friends in to go for a drive. Mostly though I expect it just to be a fun vehicle to drive in or out of town.
I am also greatly attracted to Maruti because there service shops are everywhere, parts availability is everywhere, and the parts are so frickin cheap!!
I would be concerned about its poor fuel economy, its poor highway performance, difficulty in resale. And I don't know if factory A/C is available on the Gypsy. How long does it take get one if you want to buy new? 2. a second hand Ford Mondeo. Yes, its fwd, but I have a great respect for the Ford Mondeo and believe the car that was sold in India was the best in class for chassis dynamics, and I would think that a second hand low mileage car would not be very expensive. Maybe 10lacs? On the other hand, I would be worried about parts availability. The last thing I want is to have the car breakdown and find that the nearest dealer is 200km and cannot get the part I need for 2 weeks. 3. Second hand old model Honda Accord. My dad has one and I think its a bloody fantastic car for India. It is unbelievably reliable and durable, plus it has just the sort of efficient, driver friendliness and isolation from the madness of Indian roads to make it the most pleasant car. 4. A suzuki Swift ZXi or VDi. cheap, nippy, good to drive, just wonderful. 5. a second hand Ford Ikon 1.6 Rocam. 6. Octavia VRs, maybe, but the reliability issues and dishonesty of its dealers, I am not so sure about this one. 7. second hand maruti Zen. yes, I mean that. This car has always impressed me with how light and easy it is to drive in the congestion of Indian city traffic. 8. alternatively I could go for an import. ideally a second hand but good condition, low mileage E36 M3. or an MX-5. or a E39 E530i. or maybe an LS400. But I've no idea what the prices on these are like in India.
Anyway, as you can see, my thoughts are all over the place, from zens to gypsies to M3s.
your input and reactions are most eagerly sought!!
Last edited by Harbir : 25th April 2009 at 01:13.
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