Concerned About Some Aspects of Buying a New Car!

varundbest · Mar 6, 2013

So i will be buying a car soon, a sedan. Actually firstly i will buy polo or swift for 6-8 months and learn on that and then i will buy a sedan.

So my problem is that i am not very much educated about manufacturers. I mean how is Chevrolet (i just came to know they sell korean makes in india, not american), Mitsubishi (they seam pretty much dead to me. I know honda is awesome. what about ford in india?

I know these are some decent manufacturer but i need to know if they are good in india, service, make, build quality,etc.

My short listed cards are -

Honda city i-vtec (100% sure shot good)

Chevy Cruze(most sexy but howz chevy?)

Ford Fiesta Fluidic (i dont know about ford but car itself seems good, just the rear sucks)

Hyundai verna Fluidic (also good but not sure if i like it)

Maruti Kizashi (decent engine but it comes as CBU in india and looks like SX4)

And is honda discontinuing accord and civic in india??

I also like new Mitsu Lancer 2013 (best of all but Mitsu seems dead), will it be a good buy?

or i can wait a few years with polo and buy an Accord V6 (top model or Accord, Rs.27L ex-showroom Delhi) but i dont know.

Budget is quite flexible. upper limit can be 16-17 right now but i would prefer to save cash though, if possible.

Sam Dinkar · Mar 6, 2013

What a refreshing query!! Nice to see a question different from run-of-the-mil questions.

First things first, I dont see any point in buying a hatch first and then going for a sedan after 6-8 months. You will loose a hefty margin on depreciation if you go that way, something that is not advisable especially since you have mentioned that you'd prefer saving cash. Adding on to this, a sedan (like the City) will be almost as easy to drive and learn on as a hatch. However, if you are really not confident about buying a new sedan now without first putting some kilometres under your belt on a hatch, I would suggest you would be better buying a second hand petrol hatch - options aplenty.
Sell it after 6-8 months and you will remain in a no-profit-no-loss situation. Maybe you can sell it for more than what you had bought it for!

You have quite a flexible budget (from City to Accord). As a first timer, I would suggest you stick to tried and trusted brands like Honda and Maruti. Not that there's anything wrong with other brands but being a self-admitted greenhorn about cars, you will have that much more peace of mind if you stick to the 'safer' brands.

Forget Mitsubishi.

Lancer 2013? Told you, forget Mitsubishi.

Honda indeed has discontinued the Civic, though the Accord is still available. The new City will be out next year.

Fiesta Fluidic? Its Verna Fluidic, not Fiesta. Anyways, if a car's not selling well, there must be some good reason behind it, right? Stay away, unless of course you have the mind and the spirit of an enthusiast.

Verna Fluidic - if you're not sure if you like it, why spend your time and energy on considering it?

Kizashi - Ha Ha Ha. If I remember correctly, there was an offer sometime back where Maruti was giving an Alto free with every Kizashi. If its still on, it will solve your dilemma. You will get both a hatch to practice driving in and a big, luxurious, reliable sedan!

Please provide some clarity about your requirements. Your budget lends several different types of cars within your easy reach. If you are clear about your requirements from your car, we shall be able to suggest you something that would fit nicely into your life.

All the best!

varundbest · Mar 6, 2013

I need something sexy looking like a Lancer. Decent BHP's and ride quality is more important, i can do with looks (I can easily get sun-roof, spoilers,etc. added for that) but engine is my main priority and thats only reason why kizashi is in list. I wanted something over 200 bhp, thats why added accord v6 but i'm ok with lower ones too like city.

amit1km · Mar 6, 2013

As suggested by Sam, I also can not see why you want to buy one hatch back and then learn driving on that. Just get the car what you are going to drive for long term.

Ford Fiesta is not value for money although it look really nice. Spec wise also very competent.

Verna Fluidic, heard a lot of complain about the car in some other forum.

Maruti Kizash, I would say a big "NO" to this.

Honda, Yes you can bet on this.
Chevy Cruze , Not a bad choice. You can go for this.

How about Maruti SX4,I think this a nice car.

D.J.D. · Mar 6, 2013

Hi varun,
First point, as suggested by Sam, there is no point in buying a new hatch just for 5-6 months and sell it. If you are really not confident enough on buying and driving a new sedan, you can learn driving with your friends or in any driving school.

You said you can wait for few years to get the mighty Accord. If you are really serious about a powerful petrol sedan and you don’t care about low FE then Accord is the best bet. Regarding city I would say wait for some time, you can get the new upgraded city.

Ford fiesta. Stay away from this as your main requirement is power. Same for verna.

Mitsu Lancer a big NO.

Chevy cruze is a great car with a potent diesel mill. You will enjoy the pulling power of this car. Chevy ASS and warranty are good. But remember back seats are not spacious. So if you are planning for chauffeur then this car is not for you.

Maruti Kizashi – Hmmm No.

Please provide some more detail about your requirement such as . type of fuel you prefer, what for the car will be used, are you concerned about running cost, when do you need the car etc.

Most important thing don't buy anything without taking a proper test drive.

DJ

Sam Dinkar · Mar 6, 2013

varundbest said:

You might want to go the used car way, then. Used Civics and second generation Accords (look hard and you may find that rip snorting V6 too) are available at delicious prices. You will get what you want - looks+ silky smooth Honda power at a fraction of the price of a new car.

Rightnow · Mar 6, 2013

@ Sam, how about suggesting Skoda Laura tsi? Heard good things about this car in terms of performance.

varundbest · Mar 6, 2013

I have Pulsar 150 DTS-i since 2 years and i have used it for around 6000-6200 kms so dont expect huge usage from me at all. i am in 12th and will be getting it for college. I plan to use it for 8-10 or maybe more years, even if i buy a new car, i wont sell it (its just me) I always get d service done on time and stuff, very particular about these things.

Looks and performance is main criteria for me and Lancer 2013 is my love but i am not stupid to go for a dead manufacturer as it dont see much future in it, i dont like ugly model with those vertical grills in front.

Btw, if any car have confusing console or any extremely technical rocket science stuff in controls then thats a plus point coz i love it!

Till now honda city automatic with sun-roof, spoilers, alloys and other normal stuff seems decent to me but it would be awesome if engine could get better. If there is any car which is releasing next year then i can wait coz i have to but a hatch first to get hold of cars.

If this info helps. If running cost is decent then thats a plus. kindly let me know running cost of cars as i am not really acquainted with it

Sam Dinkar · Mar 6, 2013

Rightnow said:

I would advice him to stay away from Skoda as he is not too much into cars. The last thing he would want is to be stuck with a manufacturer with dubious after sales service reputation and horribly expensive spares. The Laura TSI is a good, fun car, though.

varundbest said:

My dear friend, no car with 200 bhp will have 'decent' running cost. To quote the great Dilip Bam, you cannot hire an Arabian stalliaon and feed him on a donkey's diet. You are young and impressionable. Look for a second hand Accord V6 - it will offer you more performance than you could ever handle and will be absolutely faultless and reliable. It will drink like a fish, though because that's how physics works. When you run fast, you need more oxygen (fuel). Similarly, a car that runs fast will need more petrol (fuel).

The other option is to buy a second hand Civic or a new/old City and 'chip' it. Chipping will easily release 30-40 more bhp from the stock engine.

Please understand that you cannot have conflicting priorities because machines cannot go against the laws of physics.

D.J.D. · Mar 6, 2013

Rightnow said:

Hi praveen,

yes the first thing came to my mind was Skoda superb / laura. But i dint mentioned it because varun needs a niggle free peace of mind car. we know about skoda and their nightmarish ASS. So, better stay away [:)]

DJ

Aviral · Mar 6, 2013

Kizashi has been discontinued by maruti a couple of weeks back.
Accord v6 is a personal favourite of mine but that thing is not at all efficient.

I presume by saying lancer 2013 you mean the lancer cedia which we get here. Its a completely different car from the lancer evolution ( just saying because you might be confused) .
The evolution costs somewhat north of 50 lakh INR.
So, if you have this sort of budget, just go for the evo !

Personally I never liked honda city and since you have mentioned the chevy cruze in that list of yours I would say go for it!

I have clocked 65000 kms on mine and believe me , this beast never failed to put a grin to my face.
And the efficiency figures are always between 14 to 16 kmpl.
It would be stupid of me to compare the after sales of chevrolet to say either honda or toyota, but its somewhat liveable. But beware of things like the battery wouldn't last a year !!

Rightnow · Mar 6, 2013

Sam Dinkar said:

D.J.D. said:

Ohh cummon guys, he is too young to be risk averse.
Set his standards high right at the beginning!

I won't say much if Laura tsi is inferior to an accord (like Sam has mentioned) as far as the car as standalone is concerned, but if you are ignoring Skoda just because of horror stories, you are prematurely killing an enthusiast in the making.

autosafari · Mar 6, 2013

varundbest said:

varundbest,

Performance and ride quality are not the same.

Running cost will be relatively higher in high performance cars.

You are in 12th now and that means you will get a driving licence after some more months only.

Learn driving in a petrol sedan (old one). Since you want to drive soon a big car with big engine, practice in a big sedan will help in developing proper judgement ability.

varundbest · Mar 6, 2013

By Lancer 2013, i meant this - Mitsubishi Lancer Petrol 2013 India, Variant Review, Price
And by ride quality and performance i meant, decent BHP's and fair control and vibrations at high speeds and no sluggish gearbox...
And whats avg. maintenance of a car per year? (like - cruze - Rs.x,xxx, city Rs.y,yyy)
I needed 200+ BHP as i wanted to try on buddha circuit its around 46 km from my house.

Theferrarifan · Mar 6, 2013

Only the rally art lancer can get you those 200 horses. This is NO evo and is pretty much similar in driving dynamics as compared to laura tsi. You want speed,accord v6 is quick but too soft to corner. And Kizashi is a great car but since you want to hit the track,consider Laura RS. Get a petes box for 45K and you will get your 200horses.Dont go for hondas,the indian ones are too soft and nothing like old Vtec city.

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