Looking For A Fun Project Car Under Rs 4 lakh; Need Suggestions

I am 19 and have been dreaming about owning a fun, affordable project car, and my dad just gave me the green light to buy one

BHPian Fca5566 recently shared this with other enthusiasts:

Hello readers & members of Team BHP.

I have been a frequent reader for the past few months, but this is my first post.

My Background And Cars Driven

I am 19 years old and have experience driving various cars on expressways, highways, and ghats. Most of the time, I drive a 2015 Fiat Punto EVO 75 hp.

It's been with us for 10 years and I have driven it for around 15,000 km. The other one is a 2016 pre-facelift Renault Duster 110ps, which my dad and I bought and drove from Delhi to Kerala. I have access to both of these cars when, inevitably the project car breaks.

The budget is 4 lakhs max. There are too many options for me to choose from, so I need advice to choose one.

Some of the choices are,

Ford Fiesta 1.6 Petrol

Haven't driven a petrol but I liked driving the diesel.

Honda City Type2

I've driven a 1.3 before, and it felt adequate, but since this is a 20+ year old car it may be too brittle.

Suzuki Baleno 1.6
 

This is Dad's choice. I liked the interior and the low-end torque, but it doesn't feel sporty. And like the city, it might be too old.

Fiat Avventura
 

I really like our Punto Evo, and this looks better IMO. Dad is slightly against it since we already have the Punto.

Tata Safari Dicor
 

I haven't driven one or sat in one yet, but I like large oil burners, and the 7 seats might come in handy sometime.

Ford Endeavour
 

Same story as the safari. 4x4 examples might be harder to find.

I am open to models outside this list, and I know the basics of working on cars myself, so basic maintenance and repairs will be done by me. But i don't have any prior experience of owning or working on a petrol car and I would like to buy one within 2 weeks.

Here's what BHPian Rohit_Quad suggested regarding the discussion:

I would strongly suggest the Fiesta 1.6P. But i would suggest that you first go to your local Ford SVC and ask if they have any good ones for sale. If you are friendly and 'butter' the guys at the Ford SVC and get direct contact to the parts manager at the SVC, they will be able to check and source any part for the Fiesta, even today. My friend has a Linea 1.4T, which is a much newer car, but has been struggling for parts even at the Fiat SVC, since the last 5 years. Cannot comment on the others, but heard good things about the Endeavour as well. Keep in mind the upkeep budget for these cars as well. Spares should be readily available and would be vary of the Fiat's here. Get one with ABS and Airbags. Everything else can be retrofitted.

Meanwhile, BHPian karanddd added this to the discussion:

Is the 4 lakhs just for buying the car upfront or for both buying the car and then doing the modifications on it?

I'd give a 2010-12 era Civic a look because it's quite common as a project car around the world and it comes with a good amount of power stock. The possibilities for such a project are endless, subject of course to budget.

I ask because some of the cars you're looking at, like the OHC or Baleno, will set you back way less than 4 lakhs? Buying a 1 lakh rupee car and spending 3 lakhs on it vs. buying a 3 lakh rupee car and spending a lakh on it will produce fairly different results.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.