[glidealong]

I am looking for a used car for my wife. It would be mainly used to get her confident on real road traffic conditions(she holds a license, but hasn't driven frequently afterwards). Both of us are working and we have a 6 month old baby boy who is put up at a creche near to our offices. Once acquainted she should be able to drive herself to the creche and attend to the baby as it is getting harder for me to do the pickup and drop during my office hours. Most of the time this one would be parked by the office, out in the sunshine, as we drive together to office and back home in my Swift VDi and so the daily usage would be less than 10km made up of short drives of around 2km each. Occasionally she would be driving the baby to our home, around 15kms away, as I might be caught up with late night stuff to be finished at office.

So long for an intro, just wanted to clarify my requirements better, so you might be able to provide better inputs on which one to buy.

I have looked at
Matis - 2001, 60K kms , PS, A/C , 80k price
Palio 1.6 - 2001, 80K kms, PS, A/C, 4 PW, rear wipers, 77K price
Esteem - 1998, 90K kms, PS, A/C, 4 PW, 115k price, new front tyres, tax paid up-to 2013, third party insurance valid till november 2011, changed 3 owners.

I liked the Esteem very much - it looks good from the outside, interiors are well kept, engine is responding very well, great gear shift, all power windows working smooth, a/c seems to be good enough and power steering is extremely smooth when compared to my swift VDi. The only issue that seems to be there is the thuds(not really rattling) that seems to come from the engine bay(maybe even the bonnet??? )

I really want to buy this one if the price would come down below 100K , but then it's for my wife who barely shifts upto 3rd gear and I am not sure if the big car factor would be an issue here. Zen/Alto/Santro/Matiz were our first options, but i haven't found one that's as good as this Esteem is.

Please let us know if Esteem is a good choice here and we might even sell this in another year or so, to get a new one. The price, service, spare availablilty, cost of maintenance, FE... anything that should be considered before going for it.

Thanks,
Hafiz

[Ripper]

Of the 3 choices i would go in for the Palio. Reason, i just bought one and have fallen in love with it already, being a mall car it really gives a big car feel and at 77k its a steal, but do have the car checked once before taking the dig. The esteem on the other hand looks outdated and in another 2 years time you'd have to get it re registered, do consider this while making your choice. Also 115k is a lot of money for an esteem, was getting a 98 model car around 2 years back for around 90k. The only plus point would be that being a maruti the esteem will be lighter on maintenance and repair costs. As for the matiz, its better you let it pass.

[v&v]

glidealong,
IMO if you can buy esteem , its a good buy. it will easier to maintain being a maruti. Only check for any immediate expense.

Matiz/Palio will have service issues better to keep away from it.

I would also suggest to look for Alto instead of Matiz/Palio.

[mnhegde]

Originally Posted by v&v

glidealong,
IMO if you can buy esteem , its a good buy. it will easier to maintain being a maruti. Only check for any immediate expense.

Matiz/Palio will have service issues better to keep away from it.

I would also suggest to look for Alto instead of Matiz/Palio.

Agree with V&V here. Esteem is a fun car, low cost of maintainance (Compared to others in its class) and returns a satisfying FE. You can also look for a santro (00-01) or Alto (01-02) which are good and reliable cars with decent FE. Good Luck.

[hvkumar]

Matiz - no parts available in the market easily, avoid
Palio - phased out car, poor resale value, avoid
Esteem - better of the 3, but can you look around a little more? Maybe for a Santro or Wagon R?

[S_U_N]

I am not sure what is your budget, but I would suggest a Tata Nano or even better an automatic transmission car (you mentioned she would barely shift to third).

Driving a big car for a beginner is going to be challenging.
Since I have a son who is 2 years old, I can relate to this situation. My wife also takes care of pickup/ drop our son to play school.

I would also look at some additional features comfort and safety features such as central locking, front power windows, and a good AC which can cool the rear bench as well.
Also, cars which can be locked remotely via key will make be a boon since your wife will need to hold your son (and it is difficult to manually lock the car by inserting the key.)

Having said that, we have somehow managed to live without most of the above so far, but it is time to upgrade.

[glidealong]

Originally Posted by Ripper

Of the 3 choices i would go in for the Palio.
The esteem on the other hand looks outdated and in another 2 years time you'd have to get it re registered, do consider this while making your choice. Also 115k is a lot of money for an esteem, was getting a 98 model car around 2 years back for around 90k. The only plus point would be that being a maruti the esteem will be lighter on maintenance and repair costs. As for the matiz, its better you let it pass.

Valid points, but Palio 1.6 is a little worrisome in terms of availability of spares and maintenance costs and the power it generates might be a little too much for a novice to handle.
The Esteem is full option version and everything seems to be working fine, but as you said i should be able to bring down the price to 95K atleast.

Originally Posted by v&v

glidealong,
IMO if you can buy esteem , its a good buy. it will easier to maintain being a maruti. Only check for any immediate expense.

Matiz/Palio will have service issues better to keep away from it.

I would also suggest to look for Alto instead of Matiz/Palio.

Originally Posted by mnhegde

Agree with V&V here. Esteem is a fun car, low cost of maintainance (Compared to others in its class) and returns a satisfying FE. You can also look for a santro (00-01) or Alto (01-02) which are good and reliable cars with decent FE. Good Luck.

Alto is a good option, but for some reason, i dont find one that fits the bill and the requirements. The matiz factor has been driven by the fact that it was my first car and I had loved every bit of it. But lately, the ones that I see are so shabby, i guess they are best ignored.
I find prices for used Santro a little too much , 2000 Santro with a/c asking price is 120K. The floor carpet, seat covers and the dash looks so unkept. The bumpers have grayed and looks as if they are about to fall apart... . I can't justify the price , can someone help me?

Originally Posted by hvkumar

Esteem - better of the 3, but can you look around a little more? Maybe for a Santro or Wagon R?

Not sure if a used WagonR with A/C and power steering would be available for around 100k.

Maybe I should hold on for some more time to see if some alto/santro in good condition comes up.

Originally Posted by S_U_N

I am not sure what is your budget, but I would suggest a Tata Nano or even better an automatic transmission car (you mentioned she would barely shift to third).

Driving a big car for a beginner is going to be challenging.

Budget is around 100K and I don't want to spend anything more than 5k at the workshop immediately. Nano!!! , having heard the engine sound of a few thousand kilometer old Nano, i am a big sceptic of this one - it reminds me of pickup auto.. yucks.

Automatic transmission is a great option, any idea about the prices for a used automatic car? I guess Santro AT is the best bet. I might as well stretch the budget if i find a good automatic..
And as you said, my wife is a bit afraid about the big car factor and leans towards a small automatic one, though she hasn't driven an AT car yet.

Thanks everyone for the responses, it has left me thinking again and postponed my decision to buy by this weekend.

Will update you about any more specimens i come across.

[VW2010]

I liked the Esteem very much - it looks good from the outside, interiors are well kept, engine is responding very well, great gear shift, all power windows working smooth, a/c seems to be good enough and power steering is extremely smooth when compared to my swift VDi. The only issue that seems to be there is the thuds(not really rattling) that seems to come from the engine bay(maybe even the bonnet??? )

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.

For a price range around 1-1.5L i am leaned towards an Alto more than the esteem.

Esteem repair costs are a little high compared to Alto

[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.

If not Nano, I would suggest the Esteem, however, the price quoted is a bit high. I bought a 2005, 40k Kms run Esteem Vxi in Apr 2010 for Rs.2L in Hyderabad.

One service done soon after purchase which was Rs.1400/-. Nothing after that. Have done 2 highway drives in it. Hyderabad to Nagarjuna Sagar Dam - approx 240kms one way and Hyderabad to Bangalore - approx 580kms one way. No issues what so ever. Very comfortable and both times I got a FE of around 17 odd.

Its now at 45k kms and due for a service.

Keep us posted and good luck.


MaSh

[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.

[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.
But I found very less number of Esteems on the road during my last visit to Kerala. Did not quite figure out the reason for this, but up here in Delhi, going by the car's visibility on the roads, it still is quite popular.

[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.

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

[aa_asif]

Stay away from Matiz and Palio for being phased out and finding spare parts will be a nightmare.
Esteem sounds more practical being a product from Maruti stable, it will be much light on the pocket plus you get the comfort and boot space of a saloon.

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.
MPFI versions (Year 2000 and above) Esteem produced 85 bhp while the carburetor ones produced only 65 bhp so you have a serious power difference here.

[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.

[mdsaab]

since You have owned a matiz before you obviously know that its a good first car. My first car too was a silver matiz SA. Still have it to this date. Love it! And dont want to let go of it. Have not really faced any issues in maintaining it, and touch wood have been able to get all the parts required for maintainence etc.
Moving on.
You should be able to get the esteem for even lower than 90k as there have been three owners already. Its a great car too. Very light controls and easy to drive a good first choice too.

However i would recommend you to go in for a pre owned wagon r or alto. The wagon r should be your first choice. Its the perfect city runabout for your wife. Light controls, good visibility and high set seats a great car for your wife to gain her driving confidence back.
You could also consider a pre owned santro. But since you already have a maruti. Both your cars could visit the same service centre making it easier for the both of you.
Good luck with your search.