When BHPians had a bigger budget, yet happily settled for a cheaper car

While just a few years ago, the segments were well-defined, these lines have now blurred and we see a lot of cross-shopping.

In this dynamic Indian car market of today, cars are improving at a scarily fast pace. Just look at the sheer competence & capability of SUVs & Crossovers in the 15 - 30 lakh space, be it the Creta & Seltos Facelifts, the 2024 Safari, the evergreen XUV700 and more. If you consider the space above, things get even better! Truth is, the 30 - 50 lakh cars are giving the luxury marques a run for their money. This is what GTO had to say on another thread:

But the real reason is the emergence of the 30 - 50 lakh car segment which really didn't exist this way before. Even the luxury brands have accepted that the Tucson & Kodiaq are being cross-shopped with their small crossovers, the Camry with their entry-level sedans etc. Cars like the Innova Hycross, Ioniq 5, XUV700, Safari, Camry, Kodiaq, Tiguan etc. are just too darn competent & frankly, all the car you need in terms of power, space, safety, features, size etc. They don't come with the headaches of German car ownership either.

It is the 30 - 50 lakh cars from mainstream car makers that have killed the growth of luxury car brands in India. Heck, forget anything else, the 50-60 lakh Fortuner alone outsells everything combined from Mercedes + BMW + Audi + Lexus etc. The German luxury car brands have dug their own grave in India with crazy pricing, stiff maintenance costs, cramped rear seats, eye-watering repair costs & turnaround times, delicate darlings that break over broken roads and lack of product innovation. The 30 - 50 lakh cars have developed at a far faster pace than the 50 - 70 lakh cars.

While just a few years ago, the segments were well-defined, these lines have now blurred and we see a lot of cross-shopping. Without significant compromises, mind you. We know of several people who happily bought a Camry Hybrid over luxury sedans, an Ioniq 5 instead of German EVs and Innova Hycross over the 70-lakh luxury SUVs.

This brings me to the point of the thread = have you settled for a lower-priced car even when you had the budget for a higher-priced car? Earlier, this would’ve meant that you’d be sacrificing a lot of features or settling for a less powerful car. However, you now have cars that offer much more bang for the buck. Here are a couple of examples:

BHPian vinayvec recently purchased a Tata Safari

Cars I tried and rejected.

• Fortuner (third row headroom was less, old school tech, price is on the higher side and not a 5-star rated car)
• Skoda Kodiaq (good car but 3rd row is strictly for kids)
• Jeep Meridian (again same good car but 3rd row is strictly for kids)
• Toyota Innova Hycross (good car, I did not like the looks, and it's not tested for safety yet)

BHPian nerd1200 purchased a Mahindra Scorpio-N –

Toyota dealers were raining discounts on the Hilux (probably) to clear their '23 stocks, so I briefly considered getting it. It was hard to ignore. I spoke to two dealers in Bangalore and the price one of them offered was almost too good to be true unless it was. I decided to test it out, I knew I had no use case nor did I wish to withstand the torturous ride quality, but I still had a soft spot for it. Took it out for a spin and came back mighty impressed with a lot of its qualities. I get why people endure the back-breaking ride and still love the Hilux.

But soon enough, mind voted over heart and the Scorpio-N voted over the Hilux.

There are plenty more such examples where the buyer has the budget for a higher segment car, but given how capable the car of a lower segment is, it doesn’t justify the price premium. When GTO was looking at an SUV, he was just looking for a 4x4 that he'd love, with no specific budget in mind. Although he could have spent a lot more, he happily settled for the Thar, then spent 5 - 6 lakhs on modifying it.

The kind of tech, power & features that 25-lakh cars offer can embarrass cars from 2 segments higher. This is the Seltos ADAS at work:

All in all, the value-for-money aspect is more prominent than ever. Do share your experience if you opted for a car of a lower price even when you had the budget for a more expensive car.

Here's what BHPian SR-71 had to say on the matter:

Voted Yes, did that on my last 2 purchases. My take, car is a depreciating asset, and we are paying 2x what they pay for same/similar ones in the US. Add to it the fact that for a person with my kind of OCD, more expensive the car, the more expensive its maintenance and heart burns when it gets dinged by some rogue driver. Additionally, the current 30 to 40L segment offers all and above what is available in the 70+ L segment makes the 30-40L segment a good choice for most.

Do I rue my choice of settling for a segment below, sometimes yes. Would I change my habit for the next purchase, well... :-)

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

Yup! We've done that, too. Had a budget of about 25 lakhs and almost finalized the Jeep Compass - but bought the Creta instead.

Main reasons include low presence of Jeep dealerships and unknown reliability.

Happy that we've gone for the Creta instead, especially after Jeep horror stories. Creta is a hoot to drive, with everything necesary inside, and good reliability.

Pythonista

Here's what BHPian anshu1101 had to say on the matter:

Nope, quite the contrary.

I had to stretch my budget to get better cars that were a bit beyond my budget for both the cars that I have bought thus far. I haven't regretted these decisions one bit. Mainly because I keep my cars for longer.

In the first instance, I had the budget for an i20 Asta Diesel, but stretched it and went for the Vento 1.6 TDI Highline. In second instance, I had the budget for a Safari top-end model, stretched it again and went for the Tucson 2.0 Diesel AWD.

Sold the Vento after almost 9 blissful years, and the Tucson is 2.5 years old now and going strong.

In both instances, it was the superior engines that sealed the deal for me, and that took precedence over other factors like features etc. Had features been the major criteria, I would have gone ahead with the Verna instead of the Vento. Same was the case with the Tucson over the Safari back in 2021. The option of an AWD with the Tucson was also a plus as my primary usage is touring.

Having said that, had the Scorpio N been around when I was out looking for a new car, I would have given it a serious consideration.

Here's what BHPian vibhav-van had to say on the matter:

Yes, followed this when my dear old Ecosport was getting replaced last year.

Walked straight to the Jeep showroom and drove the diesel AT. Lazy gearbox that takes a few full seconds to shift and a far cry from the fun MT I drove many years ago. Then drove the petrol AT only find this one to be even more dimwitted. Even the interior felt quite cramped. Then came the price - 40L on road Hyderabad for the model S Diesel and a meagre 1L discount. Not to mention their attitude saying 'Jeep is a premium brand'. Just didn't appeal to the heart or the head. Promptly returned the keys, put one Namaste and walked away.

Then visited VW to look for the Tiguan, only to realize that it wouldn't fit in my parking spot.

Finally went to Skoda to try my luck if they had any Octavias remaining. Ended up driving a Slavia 1.5, with a w-i-d-e grin plastered over my face. Yes, some parts of the interior were a bit creaky, but who cares when it drives like that. Also got a cool 1.8L off including freebies like extended warranty etc; owing to the car being in their stockyard for 3 months. Why spend more, if you're happy with a cheaper alternative?

Here's what BHPian Love4Cars had to say on the matter:

I believe it depends on where you are on the price spectrum. The sweet spot for VFM and acceptable cars starts from 15L-30L. Folks who have lesser budget try and extend to this sweet spot and purchase Top end Sub-4M crossovers or Medium / higher spec Compact Crossovers and in some cases the rare Sedans.

On the other hand, folks who have higher budgets (50+) also find most features and performance in 25-30L range and settle for Harrier, Hector, Safari, Hycross, XUV, ScorpioN and VAG top end Crossovers/ Sedans.

In both cases, the budgets to buy your ideal car overlap. I voted for extending my budget as I am on the lower spectrum.

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

In January, I was in the market with a budget of 40-45 lakhs to purchase a reliable car with low service cost and great resale value.

• I test-drove the Fortuner, XUV 700, and Creta. I even created a post on a forum to help me decide which car to buy. After considering all the factors, I decided to settle for the Creta. However, my plans to book XUV 700 were cancelled after reading the forum section on its niggles
• The final contenders were Fortuner and Creta. But since I already had a Mercedes for the snob value and highway duties, I rejected the Fortuner and brought the Creta home. The money I saved was invested in land.

Read BHPian comments for more insights and information.