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-   -   What used car (90-100BHP) in Bangalore ? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-car/63142-what-used-car-90-100bhp-bangalore.html)

I'm starting this thread with the hope that my fellow BHP'ians can help me out with my buying decision without getting into a debate about which one of these is a better drivers car. I've been thru several threads that discuss the pros/cons of the cars I'm considering. Here's the list -

• Baleno
• Palio 1.6
• Ikon 1.6
• OHC 1.5
• OHC VTEC

50% of my driving is in the city and I do about 15K km a year. I plan to own the car for atleast 5 years.

The main points that I'm considering and using to justify the eventual purchase decision are -

• I don't plan to spend the next 6-12 months looking for the right car. Would prefer cars that have higher volumes in the used car market (makes the Palio 1.6 and the OHC VTEC a moo point - unless I'm really lucky).
  
• Budget of 3L - would love it if I could save some of that to spend on the ICE (tilts the balance in favor of the Palio and the Ikon since they have lower resale).
  
• FE when driven with a light foot (I believe that the OHC comes out to the top of the list here).

The questions -
(assuming that decent examples of all these cars are available for me to choose from)

• Would it make sense to pay a lesser amount and pick up a Palio or an Ikon? (IMO the parts for these are costlier and harder to find!)
  
• Or should I spend a bigger amount upfront (for a Baleno/OHC) and then hope to recover that with the lower maintaincence costs of these vehicles over a period of 5 years? (who knows if the parts for these will still be easy to find 3 years down the line ?)

Please help me narrow down my choices by refuting/validation the assumptions that I've made above (the ones in bold above) .

Thanks BHP'ians,
CrackedHead

A new Palio 1.6 will cost you about 5 Lakh's (w/o discounts) on the road.

With an ownership time period of 5 years, the warranty cover etc will be IMHO worth it.

hi crackedhead,
OHC VTECH rules!
Don't look anywhere. Agreed, that you will save alot by buying a Palio 1.6 but the pleasure that you will get by driving a OHC VTECH would be something else.

Go for VTECH!

Cheers,
Abhi

CrackedHead:With that assumption, go for the Ikon or the Palio. Biggest bang for the buck, IMO. Why? The fast moving parts are not costlier compared to other cars on your list and are easily available. Only any major replacements will pinch you. Secondly, you spend less money upfront, which means you have some available for urgent maintenance if required. Thirdly, future value of present money is higher;)

Look for Ravveendrra's log of his acquisition of a GTX. Will give you an idea of what kind of maintenance expense you are looking at.

I will second Anurag here. The only trouble would be a finding a car in decent condition.

Do note that for any used car, you will have to spend some amount to tune the car upto your liking. So, you can as well spend little upfront.

bblost's suggestion is not bad either. No new car with 100 BHP is available at the 1.6 stile's budget. If i'm not wrong they do provide extended warranty also.

My 2 cents - I think OHC would be the best bet if you can find one which has a good engine and nicely maintained. Other than that, Baleno fits your requirement too.

OHC, especially VTEC would be very difficult to find with a time frame in mind. I searched for 1.5 months and then gave up. Even nicely maintained 1.5 are hard to find.

OHC VTEC nicely maintained - very difficult to get in the 3 L budget.
Rest of the cars will be available in this price.



OHC and Baleno score here above Palio and Ikon

You would need to identify decent service station in your area and have a word with the mechanics regarding availability of spares for each of these cars. Being Maruti, baleno's spares should be the most easy to find.

If you want to keep the car for 5 years then it would make more sense in investing more for the car, lower maintenance cost translates to lesses hassles which means peace of mind.

Let me play the devil's advocate here w.r.t the Palio 1.6 (even though I am a proud owner of the same) and say don't buy one. Why? Because of the 3rd bullet point you have mentioned. Even if you drive it with a ball of cotton placed on the accelerator, it won't give you a FE of more than 11 kmpl in city driving and 16 kmpl on highway. My typical mileage figures are 9-9.5 kmpl in city and 14.5-15 kmpl on highway, with 100% AC usage.

Just my $0.02.

Cheers,
Vikram

if you can live with the low mileage nothing like the S10. close your eyes and go for it. :D

baleno is really good but spares might be an issue. same for OHC and OHC Vtec though parent company is supporting it in the next five years its definitely going to take a hit :D

then comes the ikon 1.6 Ford aint good maintenance. better ask the other ford owners for the same.

the blank truth is all of the car you have mentioned except the palio has been discontinued. so 3 yrs down the line.
you wont be in a safe position as far as spares are concerned!!

That's a practical suggestion - but there's a couple of reasons why I don't want to go for it.

The "Stile" has no style - I hate its tail lamps :Frustrati. The older Palio's look way better. IMO - that's worth the potentially high maintenance costs that I'd have to pay for a preowned car.

Had the Palio 1.6 been available in a fully loaded avatar today (i.e. with ABS + Air bags) - I would have bought it and tried to keep it for a lifetime. Minus those - the car will eventually have to be sold in the interests of safety.

When I sell my single owner Palio after 5 years, it'll probably fetch less than what the second/third owner Baleno/OHC VTEC would fetch.

Thanks, I've been following that thread (and hoping that I can find a car in good condition).

The Palio 1.6 is actually the only car for which I'm willing to go thru the trouble of buying from another state and then paying the Karnataka road tax and getting it registered to me.

From what I've read on team-bhp, the process can take a couple of months.

Like I said in my first post - the OHC wins here. My friend gets 14-15 from his 1.5 OHC in bangalore city traffic (with 40% AC).

But then - FE is the least important factor in the list of things I'm considering. (Ok - I lied, the least important factor is the number of cup holders) :D

Need to find one first - easier said than done.

IMO - spare parts availability would be best for whichever car that sold the highest numbers in its day (bigger demand for spares means better availability years after the model has been discontinued).

Carwale.com lists 2000 model VTEC's prices at close to 3L. But then finding one at a "reasonable" price is impossible given the fan following that the car has. Could be a long search even if I up my budget.

Dude, IMO you should first make a list of actual cars that are available for sale. Dont try to shortlist right away. A well maintained car is what you should look for. Be it ford, honda, suzi or fiat. Once you have a list of what is actually available, then you can go through it with a fine comb and narrow down to one.

I would like to do that but shortlisting cars with 5 different options wasn't working out (I tried).

To rephrase my first post in a concise manner - There are two options :

1. Buy a Palio/Ikon priced below 2L and pay more for parts and (potentially painful) maintenance.
2. But a Baleno/OHC for around 3L (maybe a Vtec for 3.5L) and then enjoy the relatively hassle free ownership experience and low cost maintenance.

Its a tough call to make but I need to finalize that so I can focus on looking at fewer cars.

You beat me to it! I was going to suggest the same, so that crackedhead has a list of 'good' cars in front of him to consider. That way, instead of narrowing the list down right away he could probably look at maybe 5-6 worthwhile cars and then decide from the lot!

I would say add a Lancer to the list.. it may be 87bhp on a 1.5 litre engine but I personnaly feel its driving pleasure is best among the lot. It may lose to few name you mentioned in the list on a 0-100 drag but put it on road and the best in class (among the ones mentioned in the list) drive quality, handelling, gearshift, built quality and interiors will make you fall in love with the car.

Drive all the cars you have mentioned in your list and then drive a Lancer... you will get your answer.

Plus I agree with Amitoj and Nitin. you first need to look well maintained cars available for sale and then make your list.

Get a Vtec. PM The Wolf, he might be able to put you through to some well maintained Vtec's.

11kmpl in City and 16kmpl on highway.You get 9-9.5kmpl city and 14-15kmpl highway with 100% AC. Where is the problem here? The mileage you talk about is the norm for 1.6L engined cars.