The What Car Thread - Helping You Choose The Right Car!


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Went through all the other threads related to this topic and this one too. While lot of stress has been laid on making sure buyers do not overstretch, I think it's also equally important not to understretch - if there's such a word in the english dictionary. A classic example of the guy who understretched is yours truly. Read on if you want to find out I did it. Apologies if my writing isn't very atriculate or to everybodys' liking.

Come mid 2007 and my company decided to bestow me with a grade change and a pay package revision which put me bang into a B+ to C car affordability - going by the standards described earlier in the this thread. Though I was in no mood to buy a car (I was deriving immense pleasure just making prepayments to my housing loan and watching the numbers in my bank balance), the pressure from family and other quarters kept increasing constantly until I could no longer ignore it. Out of sheer exasperation and purely to satisfy everybody else, mid 2009, I just went out and bought an Alto LXI - no doubt, cheaper alternatives were available, I did not want to dip below the Alto and I was not interested in used cars. As lady luck continued to smile at me, we were gifted with a child, so now we're a family of five. Even though I was very pleased with my Alto, the negatives of that choice started coming forth quickly and very very awkwardly. The first one to hit me was the sheer lack of space. As long was we were four, it was just okay, but with a baby seat placed in the middle of the rear bench, accommodating two more at the rear started getting troublesome and rear occupants would start complaining within few kms of drive. Added to it was the bulky baby bag that had to be lugged around no matter where we went. That meant the boot was no longer sufficient to carry even our weekend trip baggage. Very soon, parents started complaining about traveling with us, and wife started riding the back seat with the child (Both could not be accommodated on the front seat). The next - though not major was the inability to do decent speeds and with AC on, it was quite difficult to slot into overdrive with full load. We had suddenly and clearly outgrown the car.

This was when I (for the first time) started to think about my affordability and whether I could have done better than the Alto in 2009. As it turns out, there were a lot of options available at that time and had I done a bit more homework, we would have been happy owners of an i20 or swift dzire or whatever, and it would have accommodated our increased space requirements without much difficulty. Sure I can upgrade even now, but the current value I'm getting for my car is terrible and it seems like a huge loss to trade her in for a new car at that price, given the fact that she has lot of life left - not even touched 30,000 on the odo and given the fact that the new car will also depreciate at a scary rate. If I do sell the car, I'll simply be cutting a excellent deal for the buyer.

Make no mistake, I still think the Alto is one of the best VFM cars you can buy. I am still very attached to her for her simple, down-to-earth, totally reliable, frugal (from every sense) nature and I can blindly recommend this car to any first time buyer. The only negative IMO is that the car has nothing in the safety features list except seatbelts. But then, at that price point I won't expect them either.

Had I done my homework earlier, the upgrade expense could easily have been put off by several more years. Bottom line - even buying a small/less expensive car might actually work against you. So it's not only necessary to take your present situation into account, it's also important to foresee (to your best) what your requirements are likely to be say in the next 5 - 7 years or for whatever time frame you plan to keep the car.

I have finally decided to keep my dearest Alto forever (Thankfully wifey agreed to use it). I should be going in for a second car pretty soon. What car will that be? Hmm, lets start at the beginning...
 
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Oh,I hope the Police don't come to me for reading adult content :biggrin:.
Jokes aside,a great thread.Really helps me.And that "wife" part,was really well written.Thanks for the useful info! [:)]
 
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Went through all the other threads related to this topic and this one too. While lot of stress has been laid on making sure buyers do not overstretch, I think it's also equally important not to understretch - if there's such a word in the english dictionary...
...I have finally decided to keep my dearest Alto forever (Thankfully wifey agreed to use it). I should be going in for a second car pretty soon. What car will that be? Hmm, lets start at the beginning...
That's a short and sweet story, however alto has nicest resale value depending about the condition you maintain, for a 2009 vehicle 30k on odo is very less which equates to higher resale value. Try selling the car into the ad sites like OLX and Quickr, im pretty sure there will be decent buyers. If you plan to keep then it's well and good because you won't get a car like that in future. Given your requisits the Dzire might go well.
 
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Okay a quick question to you people.

We are 4 in our family, but we do prefer 5+ seater to be our next car.
Reasons:
* My dad takes the car for highway trips at-least once in two months.
* We often go to mom's hometown where my uncle joins us for the trip.
* Montly running average would come closer to 1.5k kms on the odo.
* Currently alto is feeling very cramped now-a-days.
* If you turn back the pages of our previous cars, it was all MPVs.
* We are damn confused on upcoming BS-4 Tata-Venture and Mahindra Quanto (weird isn't it?)
* No budget issues till 9-10 lakhs, no big SUVs MUVs though(Scorpy,Xylo Evalia etc.)
.
Buddy, the best vehicle for you is the Renault Duster if you can stretch your budget by a little. The vehicles you are cosnidering are neither feature packed nor offer best quality interior, so no problem with Duster. The rear bench is very wide and I bet it can accomodate three adults in full comfort, better than the Evalia/venture by a large margin. The engine is good and reliable and can give very good mileage figures. Big boot is added plus point. You may complain about legroom but it is sufficient and also the seat base extends quite a bit forward so it is comfortable. If required, I think even 4 people can squeeze in at the rear for short distances. So, I see Renault Duster as the perfect vehicle for you. [:)]
 
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Buddy, the best vehicle for you is the Renault Duster if you can stretch your budget by a little. The vehicles you are cosnidering are neither feature packed nor offer best quality interior, so no problem with Duster. The rear bench is very wide and I bet it can accomodate three adults in full comfort, better than the Evalia/venture by a large margin. The engine is good and reliable and can give very good mileage figures. Big boot is added plus point. You may complain about legroom but it is sufficient and also the seat base extends quite a bit forward so it is comfortable. If required, I think even 4 people can squeeze in at the rear for short distances. So, I see Renault Duster as the perfect vehicle for you. [:)]
Uh, i bought Chevrolet Enjoy and completed 1 year 2 months already pal :P

FYI Duster doesnn't fit the bill at all sir, here's why:
1) It doesn't have 5+ Seats.
2) The price for diesel isn't justified.
3) I didn't like the interiors as i liked the Evalia's, also they are quite inferior for the price offered.
4) Also i don't need people sitting in the boot, and passengers be seen like [embarass].
5) The looks are yuck and reminds me seeing a giant frog!

However im content with my chevy enjoy, clocked 20k kms as of now and enjoying it every bit. [glasses]
 
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Uh, i bought Chevrolet Enjoy and completed 1 year 2 months already pal :P

FYI Duster doesnn't fit the bill at all sir, here's why:
1) It doesn't have 5+ Seats.
2) The price for diesel isn't justified.
3) I didn't like the interiors as i liked the Evalia's, also they are quite inferior for the price offered.
4) Also i don't need people sitting in the boot, and passengers be seen like [embarass].
5) The looks are yuck and reminds me seeing a giant frog!

However im content with my chevy enjoy, clocked 20k kms as of now and enjoying it every bit. [glasses]
Lol! I should have seen the date of your post and then answered! That's why the whole time while typing your reply I was thinking, why do you have a Chevy Enjoy picture as your avatar! [:D] Well, congrats, I am a little late to the party! Enjoy is certainly a very good MPV at its price point and glad to hear that you are enjoying it as well. You opinions about the Duster are quite interesting!!
 
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Lol! I should have seen the date of your post and then answered! That's why the whole time while typing your reply I was thinking, why do you have a Chevy Enjoy picture as your avatar! [:D] Well, congrats, I am a little late to the party! Enjoy is certainly a very good MPV at its price point and glad to hear that you are enjoying it as well. You opinions about the Duster are quite interesting!!
Ha ha thanks for recognizing it mate, we had our budget to be spent in a better way and a lot of pre-requisites before going for a car and was in utmost dilemma until this Enjoy suited us in every way which is why we bought it.
Please do go through this link to know the story. http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/f...vrolet-enjoy-ls-initial-ownership-review.html

Duster didn't impress me nor my needs in anyway sir, which is why i didn't take it into account at all, maybe if the boot had complete bench seats, i would've considered to an extent.
 
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My dad owns a Mahindra TUV 3OO and it is his daily driver. So I think people who are planning to buy an SUV my points will make sense to them that why they should consider SUV over any other body type. I am just 16 so the points will be from my Dad Prospective or my(passenger)

1. The comfort
I have sat in various cars from Sedan, hatchbacks, MPV but nothing is as comfy as a SUV.
I Have done a lot of trips in various SUV but the ride comfort, seating comfort, posture of seating
which you get in an SUV is very difficult to find in any other body type.I don't know but it has become
extremely uncomfortable for me to travel in sedans or hatchbacks.

2. Suspension
As I was talking about ride comfort. SUV are very comfortable over bad roads. You don't have to worry about
any potholes or speed breakers. SUV's Ride height is also very high so you don't get any trouble of scrapping.

3.Space
Compared to any other Body SUV most amount of Utility and Storage. The boot lip of SUV's are big.
Boot Space is high. The height of SUV's provide you head Room.
 

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