Writer's Note : This review WON'T include most of the driving factors since I am still a teen and not legally allowed to drive. Once I turn 18, I will surely contribute about that too. Plot :
We had a Nov '07 Toyota Innova in our stable when dad was in the previous company. So when he changed the company, we were on the lookout for a new car. Our Innova had a high mileage of 65k+ kilometers in just 18 months. So, we preferred a diesel car thanks to the high running. Our budget was about 8-9.5l on road. Dad wanted a MUV/SUV.
I preferred a 2nd hand car because I think that they provide more VFM than going for a new car and loosing good amount of moolah in the first year due to depriciation. Since we just had a MUV, I wanted a sedan this time. After all, I would be the one who would do most of the driving after next year!
New Cars TD'ed :
We first thought of going for an Innova again but it was slightly out of our budget. We checked out the Xylo and to our surprise, the seating comfort was better than the Innova. Dad liked it and we planned to go for it. I then suggested for some 2nd hand cars and then the real hunt started.
2nd Hand Cars TD'ed :
The first car we saw was a '04 CR-V A/T with a running of 50k+. The car wasn't neatly maintained and looked like a accident vehicle. It was immediately striked off from the list. Other such cars that didn't make to our shortlist included a few Innova's, a Scorpio, some Xylo's, a Superb, a Octi, a few Tuscon's and many Lauras. Will come to that later.
Since we didn't need a car immediately, we had ample amount of time and didn't want to rush to make a purchase.
VeriCar help :
I heard about VeriCar from some website. These guys basically help us in purchasing a good 2nd hand car by checking it thoroughly. They were really helpful and I think it's completely VFM. I prefer shelling out some bucks if it can ensure peace of mind later. I got about 7-8 cars checked from them for about 5,000 rupees. Too bad they closed due to some problems now.
The Škoda Factor :
On a Sunday afternoon, we were checking out the cars at some dealer's place when I spotted a Laura. I know this might be purely subjective, but I loved the looks of the old Laura. I still prefer the old Laura looks than the new one. So dad and me took a TD and to tell you, we were really pleased with the performance of the car though we were sweating profusely, thanks to it's so called A/C. For 9l, we were getting a DSG gearbox (which is absolutely awesome), a sunroof/monroof, bi-xenons, a huge boot, electrically adjustable seats, and a plethora of other gadgets. I just wanted this car badly. This is when I TBHP came into picture. I got to know how difficult (on the pocket) it is to maintain one. But still, we checked many Laura's. After all, who wouldn't want a car with comfort and performance like a Merc? My heart wanted this, even though mind was eons away from agreeing. Even today when I see a Laura, it brings a smile to my face
Cars we almost finalised : - Mahindra Xylo : This was the only new car we were about to finalize. The seating was better than a Innova, had some good features, etc. I was neutral about the styling of the car. To be frank, I didn't want another MUV so this one got dropped.
- Hyundai Tuscon : I loved this car. A 5 seater car was perfect for our family with the back area for our dog. We found a '06 Tuscon with about 40-50k on the odo for about 7.5l. Almost finalized but then got to know that the owner had a spat with his wife and the car was on his wifey's name.
- Ford Endeavour : This car was from the same dealer where we purchased our Corolla. It was a '06 or a '07 model with 40k on the odo. Price was 8.25l Dad even paid a token for this car. But I didn't want a SUV since we aren't much into offroading. So plan cancelled.
- Toyota Innova 2.0 Petrol : Dad wanted a Innova since it had loads of space. This car was a '06 with 42k on the odo. The car wasn't purchased because of it's puny mileage (5-7kmpl). This car was available at 6.25l.
- Skoda Laura 1.9PD L&K A/T : This car was nicely maintained, had no turbo failures, no gearbox failures, no a/c failures. It was in mint condition. It had 42k on the odo and was a '06 model. Bargained hard till 8.65l. When we contacted them a few days later, it was sold a few minutes later. Darn!
- Skoda Laura 1.9PD L&K : This was checked on the day we finalised our Corolla. 42k on the odo, nicely maintained but the owner wasn't ready to come below 8.5l. Didn't want to spend so much for this car.
The Climax :
Just after checking the Laura on the final day, I told dad that a dealer had a Laura for 8l and forced him to go there. Since we knew the dealer pretty well, he showed us this Corolla. It was a 2008 car, 26000 on the odo and well maintained. It isn't have all the complex gadgets like the European car but still guaranteed us of the well known Japanese reliability. The price was about 8.2l and we negotiated till about 7.5l. The owners had paid for a VIP number worth 50k. The dealer said that the owner (a lady in this case) didn't know about the market price of the car. Even I felt that this car was at a steal. Also, it would be better to pay more for fuel of a Corolla then for maintenance of a Laura. So, we took a TD and decided to take a plunge. I love it when we get pushed back due to accelerating.
Features that I missed : - More Airbags
- USB/Aux In
- Sunroof (Though I know most of you guys will say it's not needed in India)
- Rear A/C
Sincere thanks to all TBHPians who helped me in the Laura topic I posted sometime back. Special thanks to
ACM and
Shatrughna for helping me out through PM's
Also thanks to you members for going through my report.
Here is a small teaser of the car, edited in PS. The car
doesn't have xenons, just a small creation by me!