Disappointed with Available Choices. Expert Opinions Needed.

[slashinv]

Hi All

My 'right' car search is on for my FIRST car. I'm bit disappointed with choices available at this time(March 2014).expert view is needed.

I am looking for below -

family car for 5 with sufficient luggage space
CNG a must - (very FEW choices for company fitted...sad)
ABS is must
budget max 8 - 8.5 L
good after sale service
'Peace of mind'

Please suggest best suited variant. My own research in NOT taking me anywhere.

also suggest if any better car launches in next 2 months ?

 

[dharmesh]

Re: I'm bit disappointed with choices available.expert view needed

Any particular reason for CNG and not diesel?

 

[slashinv]

Re: I'm bit disappointed with choices available.expert view needed

Reasons : Petrol & Diesel prices are going to keep increasing no matter what ; so obviously CNG is the choice. Considering CNG availability & it's benefits, CNG prices are very unlikely to shoot up. CNG is the fuel for future.

My car usage won't be much (regular commuting & occasional family trips) , so not looking for diesel. also diesel adds up cost and maintenance.

 

[anshuman8]

CNG prices are supposed to be revised from 1st Apr 2014 in upward trend. Please wait till such time before you make the final decision. If its diesel there are lots of choices.

You may not find a car with CNG+ABS as OEM specs as companies usually put CNG in lower/mid variant.

Please shed the idea - "diesels are more expensive to maintain" as modern day petrol and diesel cars have nearly equal maintenance cost.

 

[amitpshelke]

First of all a very few car company model gives a factory fitted CNG.

In India if the car is equipped with factory fitted CNG then it means that it is targeted for the buyer who are looking for a CAR which runs at a cost effective price and with some good or average features. [normally these audience do not buy a car costing above 5 lakhs]

Since CNG is not available in every part of the country as like Petrol or Diesel, so this might be also another reason, I guess.

To answer your question,
- MS Wagon R [that too Lxi model only]
- HM Ambassador
- MS Ecco
- TM Indica eCab

I think only Maruti provides their CNG kit without voiding the warranty for any car. You need to check with MS dealer.

Getting CNG kit fitted outside the showroom will hamper the warranty of a CAR.

If you are spending 8 lakhs on a CNG, I would rather suggest a Diesel variant in hatch or sedan.
You can get a good Diesel car with bigger boot at that price.

for an example:

- MS Swift Dzire
- Honda Amaze
- Hyundai Xcent [launching very soon. Booking has opened]
- TM Indigo eCS
- TM Zest [launching this year end, wait till Diwali. Tata feels this car to be promising]

Or you can buy a 3+ year old petrol car, and get CNG kit fitted from market. There are lot of shop who does this job. Some kits available in market,

Andi-Renzo
Zavoli
Tomasetto
Lovato Autogas
Longas
Tartarini
BRC
Bedni
Bugatti
Unitax
SKN

Some knowledge article to types of CNG kit,
CNG Kits and their Types | Features | CarDekho.com

 

[alexddas]

wait for a 100% CNG engine, the engine available are petrol engine with converters.
Company fitted or not the tech is same.

 

[DJ bro]

If CNG is a must, then Maruti Suzuki is the best option.
Do you need space, safety (which has to be made compulsary), what type of car (hatch or sedan), etc?

 

[sandip24]

Strange requirement ! CNG + 5 full seater + luggage space + ABS + company fitted.
Only car comes to mind is SX4 CNG, but might have to increase budget and miss ABS.

 

[allhyundaicars]

Reasons : Petrol & Diesel prices are going to keep increasing no matter what ; so obviously CNG is the choice. Considering CNG availability & it's benefits, CNG prices are very unlikely to shoot up. CNG is the fuel for future.

My car usage won't be much (regular commuting & occasional family trips) , so not looking for diesel. also diesel adds up cost and maintenance.

What will be your monthly usage ? Petrol is the best fuel if your monthly commute is less than 800-1000kms.

Pros of CNG
Cheapest per km cost.

Cons of CNG.
Less boot space.
Maintenance of CNG Kit.
Long lines of CNG at every cng station. Believe me you will feel irritated standing at long queues.

And a good Company fitted CNG will set cost you around 60k. Buy a diesel instead by paying a lakh. (only if monthly usage is more than 1000 kms or else it will be a bad investment.

CNG prices are supposed to be revised from 1st Apr 2014 in upward trend. Please wait till such time before you make the final decision. If its diesel there are lots of choices.

You may not find a car with CNG+ABS as OEM specs as companies usually put CNG in lower/mid variant.

Please shed the idea - "diesels are more expensive to maintain" as modern day petrol and diesel cars have nearly equal maintenance cost.

I agree with both of your 2 points.

Coming to diesel maintenance cost.

My petrol verna's first free service costed just 1055 rupees. I asked the advisor how much diesel verna's first free service cost - 3500 rupees.

Most car company uses synthetic oil for diesel engines which is costlier + expense of diesel filter. So yes diesel maintenance is costly.

 

[anshuman8]

Most car company uses synthetic oil for diesel engines which is costlier + expense of diesel filter. So yes diesel maintenance is costly.

You can run diesel car also on mineral oils (eg Swift and Ertiga) or petrol cars on synthetic oils (eg Rapid). Oil is not deciding factor for maintenance cost. What matters is fuel filter, oil filter. Rest all spares will be more or less same for petrol/diesel versions of same model car.

 

[allhyundaicars]

You can run diesel car also on mineral oils (eg Swift and Ertiga) or petrol cars on synthetic oils (eg Rapid). Oil is not deciding factor for maintenance cost. What matters is fuel filter, oil filter. Rest all spares will be more or less same for petrol/diesel versions of same model car.

I knew you'd point this out, the choice. You may use synthtic for petrol engines, its upto you. But I don't think service center will let you use mineral oil for diesel and even cng.

Friend's wagonR cng service cost 5k+ just because of the oil because maruti recommends synthetic.

And coming to the parts, parts are expensive for diesel as well. Again comparing clutch set cost for petrol which is 16-18k rupees and clutch set for diesel cost 26-28k rupees. Confirmed from hyundai advisor.

 

[amitpshelke]

The difference in maintaining a Diesel and Petrol car comes for the engine only rest all spares cost remains the same for equivalent variant.

Yes the spare related to Diesel engine are little costlier than a Petrol engine, but it is compensated over the petrol cost and the mileage given by diesel car per liter.

Also the Synthetic oil is recommended by most companies so that the engine wear out at high temperature is lesser.

 

[allhyundaicars]

Yes the spare related to Diesel engine are little costlier than a Petrol engine, but it is compensated over the petrol cost and the mileage given by diesel car per liter.

that's when monthly commute is more than 1000-1200kms. in this case , he mentioned he won't use the car much. so diesel is not an option.

 

[slashinv]

Thank you all for valuabel feebacks. Yes my monthly running won't exceed 1000 km except for few long trips in a year.

looking at all companies offering cars and their variants, I know my requirements sound strange, but I think car makers should provide these if they are charging this much high amount. Is it some kind of lobbying going on in auto industry, because of which nobody's offering a car with all of such features together and they have kept different variants which offer 1 or 2 necessary features with a huge price difference ?

To me , it looks like - I have to sacrifice fuel efficiency of CNG if I want space & safty(ABS)
or other way round !! :) :)

Or go for petrol and keep shelling out hard earned money with EVER increasing prices of petrol !! wow

I am welcming myself to CAR world :) :)

wait for a 100% CNG engine, the engine available are petrol engine with converters.
Company fitted or not the tech is same.

COuld you please advise if it is a near future reality ? or still a concept ?
Also you any near future launches that might be CNG variants ?

 

[karthick raja]

With your budget, you can get a better car than few CNG fitted ones available in our market. I suggest you to go for Diesel even if the monthly run is 1k kms since you wont feel the pinch of steep petrol price everytime you fill and also nowadays, both the petrol and diesel almost demands similar and less maintenance with evolving high tech modern engines.

My pick :
Honda Amaze
Maruti Dzire

Considering peace of mind and after sales service mainly. If you can stretch, go for ANHC which is a step ahead of even its rivals.