Car Buying Journey with a Slip Disc: New vs used options under 10L

I am 5'11 and having a budget of about 10L OTR. It will be mostly city driving and definitely trips over weekends, vacations, etc. since both of us are interested in driving as well as travelling.

BHPian WiseFool recently shared this with fellow enthusiasts.

I have been a silent spectator over the past few years reading threads on various cars. Our family has never owned a car. I initially went for driving lessons and obtained my license before COVID and consequently delayed purchasing due to COVID and unavailability of parking space.

Fast track 2 years later, I am now facing trouble with a slip disc and have completely stopped driving my bike. It is time to purchase a car now.

Initially I thought of getting a second hand car to learn driving and then get a new car maybe 1-2 years later. But seeing the pricing in the second hand market, I am preferring to buy a new one itself given that it will be my first car and also tending towards this since I don't know anyone who is very technically knowledgeable to help me verify a second hand car (afraid of being scammed).

I want to test drive cars and then finally zero down on something since both my wife and I would be driving. I am thinking of renting a car for say 3 months to learn driving properly before I can TD and then finalise the car. I can see only Revv to be a good option where I can see a Santro (manual, petrol) for about 25k per month for 3 months. Is 3 months sufficient or should I look at 6 months as I have been reading that most popular cars have a long wait time. Is there any other better option in Ashok Nagar, Chennai. Also, looking for some contacts (like drivers) who can give me driving lessons for a few days before I get a hang of things.

Secondly, I also request the community for inputs on the car options. I am 5'11 and having a budget of about 10L OTR. It will be mostly city driving and definitely trips over weekends, vacations, etc. since both of us are interested in driving as well as travelling. Further, I would prefer a car with good ground clearance and high seating since it may affect my disc issue (no to cars like indica), should have good service support as SCs tend to cheat customers by replacing parts unnecessarily.

Thanks if advance for all the inputs

Here's what BHPian .sushilkumar had to say on the matter:

I do not see a need for a rental car, just to learn driving. Look for the nearest Maruti driving school. I am learning from them since last 20+ days and pretty comfortable already on road with 4 more on-road classes to go. Costed me 6K.

Their curriculum is good with theory classes covering various aspects of CMVR act. Since you are new to driving, Would suggest to look at automatic as your first car based on your budget & preference

Here's what BHPian lamborghini had to say on the matter:

75K is quite a bit to pay to avoid the initial few scratches, etc. plus Revv may give you an abused car to begin with.
Instead, I would recommend finding a pre-owned automatic (for ease of driving given you have slip disc) with decent safety kit and good visibility - a model that is under original warranty (so you can extend it further) and which can be inspected by the authorized service center.

Ideally something like the Jazz.

If you can get something like this for around 8L, keep 2L reserve for touching up the scratches and the like that would accumulate over the first year + any other untoward maintenance cost you should be good!

Also, do practice with a reputed driving school first and then towards the end do a few lessons with their instructor, but in your car for the added comfort.

Here's what BHPian Geo_Ipe had to say on the matter:

Why do you want to rent a Santro for 75k when you can buy a whole Santro in decent shape for that amount!? You can drive it till you feel confident and buy yourself your dream car. Old cars don't depreciate too much, so you'll be able to sell it off and take a hit of 10-15k tops, or of lucky for the same price as you bought it.

Here's what BHPian Androdev had to say on the matter:

Go with a used car of 10 years age. You can sell it later for almost the same price. Honda Jazz or Maruti hatch under 4 lakhs. Honda City is also good option. The trick is to look for a very old car with very low mileage - definitely possible for high volume seller cars. Try true value, Honda terrace, etc. so you get cars with genuine mileage and service history.

The problem with new car is that you will invariably receive a lot of scratches and dents which can be hard to digest. You may feel discouraged and quit driving altogether.

Here's what BHPian Dippy had to say on the matter:

Learn to drive a manual at your driving school but buy an automatic when you are buying a car. With your slip disc problems, a manual is the last thing you want to drive in bumper to bumper city traffic.

There are a dearth of automatic cars available in your 10 lakh budget. An AMT will easily fit in. Check out the Baleno/ Glanxa AMTs, Tata Punch AMT, Grand i10 Nios AMT.

You could also check if Honda has any Jazz CVTs in stock.

But buy an automatic. Your left leg will thank you as well.

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