[glidealong]

Originally Posted by VW2010

My neighbours just got an Esteem of similar profile. Less than six months into owning the car, they are now looking at suspension related fixes and AC related issues.

Originally Posted by jeeva

The price quoted for a 98' Esteem which has changed 3 owners is very high (1.15 L).
Very recently, we sold our 98 dec Esteem for 90k, and honestly it was a good price to have fetched in Kerala.

The electricals are a weak point in the Esteem, especially the power windows. Certain spare parts like the power steering bushes and oil seals are no longer available (MGP). Look at post 2000 MPFI models, which can be had in 1L range, if you are serious about Esteem.

Originally Posted by Sinner666

Out of the options you mentioned above, the Esteem is the better bet, being a Maruti and with a relatively lower cost of ownership. Both the other cars may have the spares availability issue. I too had bought a 2005 Esteem in Oct 2009. Has run ~45K kms since then. Had to get the suspension overhauled at 80K though. Otherwise, the average etc is fine.

Originally Posted by aa_asif

You should be able to find 2000-2001 model Esteem VX for 115K.

Try to stay away from carburetor Esteems which are pre-2000 make if you are concerned about mileage.

Hmm, looks like the 98 Esteem is closed chapter. From all that I heard from the used car dealers and here, the dealers are hiking up the prices by a neat 20%. So i guess I got to start bargaining from a neat 30% below the asking rate, incase i find one that satisfies the reqs.

Btw , i got info on an OHC AT 2002 model with 50k on the odo and an asking price of 250K. But my wife seems to be bent on mastering the MT way of driving before she gets into AT and the logic being - she could help me when we go for long drives in our Swift. Makes sense.

Originally Posted by mashmash

Do consider the Nano, our neighbors bought a Yellow one and are thrilled with it. The fact is that their Aveo is now parked and the family of 4 travels in the Nano.

I would love to hear first hand feedback from some guys in TBHP, which would make the case with Nano stronger. Till then, I am still sceptic, especially with the safety features. I have heard of Nanos catching fire while running, right in the middle of the road . Not sure if Tata has got the act right lately.

Originally Posted by rajeev k

Palio 1.6 at 77K is a steal provided the car is accident free, odo reading is genuine, the car is well kept &maintained and has not changed many hands.
Palio 1.6 is a collectors item man.

Yes, the speedometer was not working when i drove it, so i suspect something foul there. The car is single owner, but he has installed LPG kit around 5 years back. I have heard that engine life comes down significantly when run on LPG.
When i pushed the throttle hard, the power output didnt seem linear -initially the engine missed a few times and then the torque came bang on as if I was on a rocket!!!

Now i am looking for a palio 1.2, makes more sense with my wife.

Originally Posted by jeeva

Even if a little pricey, I would suggest a well maintained Alto/Santro/WagonR though.

Originally Posted by DarkEraser

Santro is the best option for almost any female. The high sitting position is BIG PLUS.

BTW, don't forget to get a baby car seat.

Yes, just called the used car dealers listed on dial a city and seems i have got a few candidates lined up. One of them is conducting an used car mela - so this weekend is for scouting for the cars and bargaining.

And about the baby car seat - definitely valid point , was looking at some of the options available on the net. But i just thought 'Anayillathay thotti kondanthu gunam?' - means,
'What use with an elephant-hook without an elephant?'

Will update you guys on how the scouting went.

[jeeva]

Originally Posted by glidealong

Now i am looking for a palio 1.2, makes more sense with my wife.

Yes, The Palio is not that bad as its made out to be and moreover, its going to be the second car in your family. A used, low mileage 1.2 ELX would be a real VFM buy as a good one can be had for around a lakh or less. The build quality is something that stands apart: every single time the doors close with that thud which really inspires confidence.
Avoid the dealer route as much as possible as, most of them are touts just trying to make some quick bucks out of a deal.

Why dont you glance through thursday's malayala manorama classifieds? There will be hell a lot of listings given by owners.
Although most of the cars are re-registered from MH/GJ, this guy offers good prices: USED CARS KERALA buy USED CARS sell USED CARS exchange of USED CARS

[download2live]

I would say rather than looking around for a second hand car, go for a Nano. Tata's have been working hard on it and now I see a lot more of Nano's around.
It will be easy to drive in a city and also easy to park.

You can go through the moderator Anshuman's thread on the Nano they got.

[glidealong]

================================================== =============
2000 Santro Ls Zipdrive for Sale

Color: Amazon Green
Done 70,000 Kms
With CD Player
AC
Power Windows
Single Owner
Company Serviced and Well Maintained
Expected Price: About 1.55 L
================================================== =============

Guys, does this sound reasonable?

[glidealong]

Originally Posted by jeeva

Why dont you glance through thursday's malayala manorama classifieds? There will be hell a lot of listings given by owners.
Although most of the cars are re-registered from MH/GJ, this guy offers good prices: USED CARS KERALA buy USED CARS sell USED CARS exchange of USED CARS

I checked the website yesterday , but found all the cars are located at Calicut and I am in Trivandrum. The prices looked reasonable and I was thinking if i had any pending visits to my relatives nearby Calicut so that I could cover both in a single drive.

Thursday's malayala manorama is indeed a good idea, and today is thursday! Let me see if i can find one, maybe in my office itself!!! Thanks for the pointer , off to the newspaper corner.

Thanks,
Hafiz

[mdsaab]

I am no pre owned price expert but i think the price should be closer to 1.20.

Originally Posted by glidealong

================================================== =============
2000 Santro Ls Zipdrive for Sale

Color: Amazon Green
Done 70,000 Kms
With CD Player
AC
Power Windows
Single Owner
Company Serviced and Well Maintained
Expected Price: About 1.55 L
================================================== =============

Guys, does this sound reasonable?

[glidealong]

So last week i have been looking for Santros and I met with 3 of them and I almost gave token advance for one of them, but pulled out in the last minute, thanks to inputs from the mechanic i took along before the deal.

The first one was a white full option 2000 model which had covered 1.38lakhs kms, asking 1.5lakhs rs. i pulled it down to 1.3 lakhs upon which the manager at the Hyndai Popular used car showroom was pushing me to pay the token advance straight away. Anyway, I got the car evaluated and he mentioned that it was an abused car and not worth more than 80k, so i pulled out of it.

The next day the same dealer called me up for a 2002 black full option, 2nd owner car with mileage of 55k and asking for 1.55lakhs. I got this one too evaluated with the same mechanic and he mentioned that this was a gem of a car and don't let it go. I put up upto 1.4 lakhs and the dealer is still holding on to 1.5 lakhs. This one has 2 new tyres at the front, excellent upholstery and the body paint looked great condition. The next day the sales man at the dealer called up and asked me to call on his personal number , if i am stil interested- looks like he wants to get this done outside of the dealer. I haven't called him yet, just pushing it further away in the future to see if it helps to bring down the price.

The 3rd one was the one I quoted in the previous post, it's a single owner one and directly from the owner. nothing great and nothing too bad about this one. The steering was not wobbly as the first one, the paint and the accessories are not good as the second one. put up a price of 1.2 lakhs with the owner and the last week he was saying someone offered him 1.3 lakhs when i called and now he says, someone offered 1.25 lakhs.. looks like he has a bad memory.

Anyways, I got a palio 1.2 full option lined up for check today with an asking price of 1.35lakhs. Hopefully i would close out the deal soon..

[jagan0677]

Originally Posted by glidealong

So last week i have been looking for Santros and I met with 3 of them and I almost gave token advance for one of them, but pulled out in the last minute, thanks to inputs from the mechanic i took along before the deal.

The first one was a white full option 2000 model which had covered 1.38lakhs kms, asking 1.5lakhs rs. i pulled it down to 1.3 lakhs upon which the manager at the Hyndai Popular used car showroom was pushing me to pay the token advance straight away. Anyway, I got the car evaluated and he mentioned that it was an abused car and not worth more than 80k, so i pulled out of it.

The next day the same dealer called me up for a 2002 black full option, 2nd owner car with mileage of 55k and asking for 1.55lakhs. I got this one too evaluated with the same mechanic and he mentioned that this was a gem of a car and don't let it go. I put up upto 1.4 lakhs and the dealer is still holding on to 1.5 lakhs. This one has 2 new tyres at the front, excellent upholstery and the body paint looked great condition. The next day the sales man at the dealer called up and asked me to call on his personal number , if i am stil interested- looks like he wants to get this done outside of the dealer. I haven't called him yet, just pushing it further away in the future to see if it helps to bring down the price.

The 3rd one was the one I quoted in the previous post, it's a single owner one and directly from the owner. nothing great and nothing too bad about this one. The steering was not wobbly as the first one, the paint and the accessories are not good as the second one. put up a price of 1.2 lakhs with the owner and the last week he was saying someone offered him 1.3 lakhs when i called and now he says, someone offered 1.25 lakhs.. looks like he has a bad memory.

Anyways, I got a palio 1.2 full option lined up for check today with an asking price of 1.35lakhs. Hopefully i would close out the deal soon..

All of us love giving free advice, dont we? ;P Just joking!

If you know a good private garage/mechanic both the Matiz and the palio are really worth exploring - given your requirements; your initial outflow can be minimised.

[Steer4Ever]

My 2 cents:

This is a typical dilemma for a used car buyer - go conservative or fun or power. I am on the lookout myself but my budget is 2l and below for a powerful, fun to drive car on which I am willing to spend up to 20 k a year on maintenance or mods as needed. So I've shortlisted a palio 1.6 and a 2001 lancer glxi.

In your case, the Santro will be wonderful for city driving but not really a fun car on the highway.

The Esteem is a gem of an engine, and all the perceived benefits of a Maruti - but the seating position isn't good at all. Way too low slung for me.
I would not rave about the build of the car but it is definitely good to drive - especially on the highways when you dont need to deal too much with things that aggravate a low-slung design - clutching and braking.

The Palio 1.6 is a brilliant drive in city and on the highway. Loads of power AND pull. City mileage will be between 8 and 9, highways 12 - 15 (a little lower than my previous 1.2 ELX). Palios are usually not maintenance heavy unless they're over 75,000 - 80,000 kms old, and even then rarely. The only thing that failed often for me were the power window switches.

I would suggest removing the swift from your list and probably going in for the Esteem if you get one in your budget.

Best of luck!

[glidealong]

Thanks to everyone, at-last i made the decision and bought a Silver Palio ELx 2003 June make, which had done 70K for 1.1Lakhs. It was a lady driven car maintained at the authorized Fiat service center -TVS- in perfect condition , without a single scratch on the body , tyres that should last another 15k and a 2009 Exide battery. On inquiring at the same service center I got very good feedback that this was a well maintained specimen and can go for it with my eyes closed. One of the glitches she had was the issue with the fuel gauge and temperature gauge, which would start working only after running for a few kms. Also the rear power window switches on the front looks like they are about to come out.

Anyways I gave her for a kilometer service to the TVS service center which was due by 72.5k(7.5 kms from last service , as indicated by the service records). When i mentioned the fuel gauge/temperature gauge issue, what they suggested was to replace the entire unit, which would cost 10k. I didnt want to do that and asked them to see if they can fix it as the speedo and the odo meters didnt have any issue. Including this and the fuel, coolant change and interior cleaning , the estimate came to 6K. Today i got this call from the service advisor and he mentioned that there is slight engine oil leak and fixing it would come to around 5-6K and I could take the risk and drive her as long as I keep checking the oil level periodically and see if there is a drastic change in the fuel level. Thought i will take the risk and see if the leak is not so significant. Then there seems to be fluid leak in the clutch slave cylinder, which he said is a must fix and would cost another 1000K. I told to go ahead and replace it as this issue might stall her on the middle of the road(so they say). Third one was issue with the break pads and they say it has already caused linings on the front discs. To replace the pads and the calipers it costs around 1800K , but he mentioned that it could last another 1k or more until the breaks start to make creaking noise while stopping. Since i didnt find any issue with the stopping power, i thought i will ignore this for now. Then they mentioned the front lower arms are having some minor issue and they suggested replacing it , though it's not anything serious and would cause to make some noise in the future. I choose to ignore this one too for now.

Summarizing, I love this Fiat, feels so solid and grounded when compared to my swift vdi and feels more like the Ikon Flair I had. But, but, this service center guys seems to be ripping me off, I had heard that Fiat is always expensive to maintain, but this is quite too much. If i had done all those things that they suggested, I would have ended up poorer by another 30K. gosh!!! . I got this bad feeling now, anyways, let me see once i get her back. I thought about giving her to the Bosch service station where they do all these cars as the other service center(Tata one) seems to be very low on everyones list. But one of my friends adviced against the Bosch guys and said the TVS guys are costly, but they know there job and I really hope that true. If any TVM guys out there who owns a Fiat and knows which is the best place for a Fiat to get serviced in TVM, please let me know. I would be more than thankful to you.

Hafiz.

PS: Will post the pics once i get her back from the service station.

[vijaycool]

Congrats on your new purchase. Yes, you love fiat palio once you start to drive extensively. Most of the people simply rant on fiat even without driving the car. *** is bad so look for a better workshop. This could be the only reason for the love hate relationship.

Regards,
Vijay

[selfdrive]

^^ +1 to that, please look for a better workshop for the Palio. It is an amazingly fun to drive car. I think I saw this thread a bit late in the day.

Nevertheless, I can confirm that the Nano works and runs fine. It is a bit noisy on the outside and the clutch is not butter smooth. But the insulation is good and the cabin is surprisingly silent (compared to the racket outside when you hit the pedal!) It is totally VFM and a hoot to drive/ park in city traffic. The driver position is high and it offers better headroom than most other hatchbacks. Contrary to perception it is very spacious, do have a TD just for fun if nothing else. This may be the car that you change to if/ when you decide to go in for a new car for the city.

EDIT: And no, it doesnt catch fire these days; Tata must have worked on that issue already

[infotech58]

@glidealong -

congrats on laying your hands on something you liked.

I have been hunting for a good used car in Mumbai from last few days and test drove a colleague's 2002 Palio 1.2 ELX which really left me impressed with its solid feel; it is just the *** horror stories and lack of (and/or expensive) spare parts that is preventing me from making my mind to go for it.

[mooza]

Just curious to know, how does the handling of Esteem compare to the Palio and Ikon ?

Congrats Glidealong, on the buy

[glidealong]

Originally Posted by vijaycool

*** is bad so look for a better workshop. This could be the only reason for the love hate relationship.

Yes, I got her back from the service station yesterday, looks like getting the spares are a little hard. Will tell you in detail.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

^^ +1 to that, please look for a better workshop for the Palio.

Nevertheless, I can confirm that the Nano works and runs fine.

Since i wanted to make sure about the safety aspect of the car as this was going to be used by my 'not so expert driver' wife and 6 months old kiddo, i had ruled out Nano this time, maybe next time i would be buying a nano and who knows, it might be an electric one!!!

Originally Posted by infotech58

@glidealong -

congrats on laying your hands on something you liked.

I have been hunting for a good used car in Mumbai from last few days and test drove a colleague's 2002 Palio 1.2 ELX which really left me impressed with its solid feel; it is just the *** horror stories and lack of (and/or expensive) spare parts that is preventing me from making my mind to go for it.

Thanks, I am starting to love and hate her!!! . If you are going to get one, be prepared for preordering the spares and waiting for it. But you will enjoy the ride as long as you are able to take her out.

Originally Posted by mooza

Just curious to know, how does the handling of Esteem compare to the Palio and Ikon ?

Congrats Glidealong, on the buy

Thanks Mooza, I think palio is better than ikon in handling. It feels more grounded and doesn't feel like its' about to go out of the tarmac. Palio feels safer on tight corners, but sure, she is not a breeze either. I haven't had my hands on Esteem for long, maybe a few times, but she is fun to drive and easy to maneuver . Not sure how she behaves on sudden braking and tight corners.