Thread Starter
#1
Hi all!!
I am very much passionate about bikes & cars from my childhood. I was planning to own a car and due to several things, I was postponing it. Recently in last week, my dreams come true and I bought a Nov.2008 make registered in Jan.2009 white maruti 800 DUO AC . Actually, ours is a 3 membered family with my wife & daugthter and by inclusion of my son in Sept. 2011, my zeal for buying the car has grown up. At first I discussed with my wife and she gave green signal.
I discussed with my friends and they suggested to get a pre owned car, as it is better to have an used car first. Then comes a big question, Which car I has to purchase? As I am ready to afford 1 lakh rupees it becomes difficult for me to find the right car. Because my figure is neither low nor high for a small car. I shortlisted maruti 800, Zen, Omni, Alto, Nano, Santro, Wagon R, Ford Ikon. Due to cost, I deleted Wagon R from my list. I didnt find good Altos & Zens within my budget. Ofcourse I like ZEN (zero engine noise), engine performance, its looks, interiors, meter console, but unable to find a good one within my budget. With my budget I can get approx. 12yr. old Ford Ikon hence I dropped it. Ofcouse, I dont like Nano car. Finally Santro Zip plus, Omni & 800 stood in the list. I removed Omni from the list because of ride & safety. Although Santro zip has power steering, nice console, comfortable seating, I dont like its looks and more over with my budget I can get a 10-11 year old car. Then the final winner of my list is maruti 800.
Then I started searching for my dream car. I searched in net and preferred direct owner interaction, because I cant relay on local mechanics and more over dealing with dealers I think paying more. I find the prices at maruti True value are higher. One day I got a phone call from a Ford Ikon owner and it was 2000 make 1.6 topend model and his last offer was 95000/-. I became hot a little bit as it is in my budget and later gets cooled. Because as it is 1.6, it gives less mileage and maintaining Ford is costlier,and in my living area it becomes difficult for me to afford it. Some of my friends strongly oppose maruti 800. They suggested Santro xing because of advanced features than 800 and also to increase my budget But as it dosent fit into my pocket i denied it. Here, I has to mention some points about maruti 800.
It is the first car of thousands of Indian families. It is peppy, easy to drive, gives good mileage, low cost easily available spares, convenient in towns & cities, good resale value, any car mechanic can handle it, and I feel the AC is comfortable. However, the cons are less contemporary looks, plastic interiors, lack of power steering & power windows, low height, poor headlights, less bootspace, dashboard, discomfort in sitting back seats etc.
But I vote the Pros of maruti rather than cons. maruti is always maruti, we have to count on it.
Oneday, in a classified in net luckily I saw an AP registered maruti 800 in Bangalore. As it is registered in AP its easier for transferring the records. If it was KA registered I has to pay the life tax and some extra fees. Ofcourse in our area KA vehicles run with no problem. Immediately I contacted him on phone, and the guy has sent pictures through mail. While discussing in phone, he explained the condition of car in detail and told that not to low bargain. He invited me for a test drive and negotiate after it. As the car is good in photos, I fall in love with its first sight. With my friends, I went to Bangalore.
The car was neat, no scratches & dents, well maintained, with stock interiors, 60032 KM on odo, working AC, remote center lock, Dapic player with 2 pioneer speakers. It also has immobilizer. When I met the person selling the car, he was a nice guy completed his Engineering and he used the car to daily roam from house to college & offered a test drive and during it i liked the performance. The engine was smooth, responsive with no noise, gear transmission is good,and i observed brakes a bit weak. Suspension is good. Overall handling is fine.
We went to his home and while speaking amazingly it was known that, he is close to my relatives and is also hailing from AP. With that, the chances of negotiating have been closed and ofcourse I started loving the car. He already own Chevrolet Optra, Scorpio and new Toyota Fortuner. He said, as all the vehicles are on his name he has to pay extra tax for registering the fortuner and it is the reason for selling maruti 800 & he never used LPG to run the car although it has a company fitted kit. He gave the car for 95k with four 165/60 R 12 Yokohama tyres and 4 Ceat tyres that can run for another 2-3 thousand KM, One good Ceat stepny tyre and a car cover. I happily returned to home with my car by the evening. While driving the car on 4 lane with AC on, its a lifetime memory as its my first car.
Hope it becomes a lengthy discussion.
I post some pictures of my car that were taken by the previous owner near his house. I am awaiting for your valuable suggestions and comments.
I am very much passionate about bikes & cars from my childhood. I was planning to own a car and due to several things, I was postponing it. Recently in last week, my dreams come true and I bought a Nov.2008 make registered in Jan.2009 white maruti 800 DUO AC . Actually, ours is a 3 membered family with my wife & daugthter and by inclusion of my son in Sept. 2011, my zeal for buying the car has grown up. At first I discussed with my wife and she gave green signal.
I discussed with my friends and they suggested to get a pre owned car, as it is better to have an used car first. Then comes a big question, Which car I has to purchase? As I am ready to afford 1 lakh rupees it becomes difficult for me to find the right car. Because my figure is neither low nor high for a small car. I shortlisted maruti 800, Zen, Omni, Alto, Nano, Santro, Wagon R, Ford Ikon. Due to cost, I deleted Wagon R from my list. I didnt find good Altos & Zens within my budget. Ofcourse I like ZEN (zero engine noise), engine performance, its looks, interiors, meter console, but unable to find a good one within my budget. With my budget I can get approx. 12yr. old Ford Ikon hence I dropped it. Ofcouse, I dont like Nano car. Finally Santro Zip plus, Omni & 800 stood in the list. I removed Omni from the list because of ride & safety. Although Santro zip has power steering, nice console, comfortable seating, I dont like its looks and more over with my budget I can get a 10-11 year old car. Then the final winner of my list is maruti 800.
Then I started searching for my dream car. I searched in net and preferred direct owner interaction, because I cant relay on local mechanics and more over dealing with dealers I think paying more. I find the prices at maruti True value are higher. One day I got a phone call from a Ford Ikon owner and it was 2000 make 1.6 topend model and his last offer was 95000/-. I became hot a little bit as it is in my budget and later gets cooled. Because as it is 1.6, it gives less mileage and maintaining Ford is costlier,and in my living area it becomes difficult for me to afford it. Some of my friends strongly oppose maruti 800. They suggested Santro xing because of advanced features than 800 and also to increase my budget But as it dosent fit into my pocket i denied it. Here, I has to mention some points about maruti 800.
It is the first car of thousands of Indian families. It is peppy, easy to drive, gives good mileage, low cost easily available spares, convenient in towns & cities, good resale value, any car mechanic can handle it, and I feel the AC is comfortable. However, the cons are less contemporary looks, plastic interiors, lack of power steering & power windows, low height, poor headlights, less bootspace, dashboard, discomfort in sitting back seats etc.
But I vote the Pros of maruti rather than cons. maruti is always maruti, we have to count on it.
Oneday, in a classified in net luckily I saw an AP registered maruti 800 in Bangalore. As it is registered in AP its easier for transferring the records. If it was KA registered I has to pay the life tax and some extra fees. Ofcourse in our area KA vehicles run with no problem. Immediately I contacted him on phone, and the guy has sent pictures through mail. While discussing in phone, he explained the condition of car in detail and told that not to low bargain. He invited me for a test drive and negotiate after it. As the car is good in photos, I fall in love with its first sight. With my friends, I went to Bangalore.
The car was neat, no scratches & dents, well maintained, with stock interiors, 60032 KM on odo, working AC, remote center lock, Dapic player with 2 pioneer speakers. It also has immobilizer. When I met the person selling the car, he was a nice guy completed his Engineering and he used the car to daily roam from house to college & offered a test drive and during it i liked the performance. The engine was smooth, responsive with no noise, gear transmission is good,and i observed brakes a bit weak. Suspension is good. Overall handling is fine.
We went to his home and while speaking amazingly it was known that, he is close to my relatives and is also hailing from AP. With that, the chances of negotiating have been closed and ofcourse I started loving the car. He already own Chevrolet Optra, Scorpio and new Toyota Fortuner. He said, as all the vehicles are on his name he has to pay extra tax for registering the fortuner and it is the reason for selling maruti 800 & he never used LPG to run the car although it has a company fitted kit. He gave the car for 95k with four 165/60 R 12 Yokohama tyres and 4 Ceat tyres that can run for another 2-3 thousand KM, One good Ceat stepny tyre and a car cover. I happily returned to home with my car by the evening. While driving the car on 4 lane with AC on, its a lifetime memory as its my first car.
Hope it becomes a lengthy discussion.
I post some pictures of my car that were taken by the previous owner near his house. I am awaiting for your valuable suggestions and comments.
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