[OfficerDoge]

Hi everyone from the TeamBHP community!

I am planning on buying the Virtus GT and had a question - should I get the new GT Plus Sport variant coming soon this year, or wait for the facelift upgrade late next year?

The GT Plus Sport variant will come with some cosmetic upgrades that I like, such as the blackout & dechrome treatment, diffuser, skirts, etc. but, the facelift would most likely get additional upgrades like a 360-degree camera, ADAS, a better screen (New Brazillian Taigun, called T-cross had a recent facelift with a screen upgrade) and more.

I like the current Virtus design, so another concern is that the design changes could go either way in the facelift model.

One of my cars is about 8 years old and outdated, so I want to trade and upgrade as soon as possible.

Is it worth waiting over a year for the facelift?

[GTO]

When you know there is a facelift coming, always wait for it. Reasons:

- Avoiding buyer's remorse. When the facelift is much superior, you will frequently see owners who just bought the pre-facelift saying they feel cheated.

- These days, facelifts are meaningful. Compare the Creta Facelift to the ugly pre-facelift, Seltos Facelift (1.5L Turbo with ~160 horses, no less), Nexon Facelift, deadly looking Safari Facelift...these were all significantly superior cars to the pre-facelift versions they replaced.

- Many Facelifts aren't just cosmetic = in the current competitive market, they get noteworthy mechanical upgrades & more features. All the learnings & customer feedback from the pre-facelift are incorporated in the facelifted version.

- Worst case, if you don't like the Facelift, you can always buy the outgoing car for a big discount. Dealers always have old stock from the last 2-3 months lying around and they offer it for massive discounts just to get rid of unwanted baggage.

- Your car is a 2018 Hyundai Elantra and it's hardly old or outdated . Many of us are using cars way older than that. Another year on your 2018 Elantra is nothing. Because it is 6-7 years old, your depreciation curve has also flattened by now.

My recommendation = Wait.

[ashutoshb]

Will add one more point. The itch to upgrade will be lesser in the facelifted car. One keeps the car for at least 5-7 years. The way technology moves, a facelifted car will be better tech-equipped than its predecessor.

[OfficerDoge]

Thank you for the response and advice, you guys make some great points. @GTO, My bad, I should have been more specific, I am looking to trade my older Toyota Etios and not the Hyundai Elantra, which is still a great car to drive and rare on the roads.

Also, the thing with buying old stock once the facelift is out, is that I won’t necessarily get the spec and variant that I want, which is the upcoming blacked out GT Sport.

I’m very happy with the current design of the Virtus but, I’m sure the technological leap in the facelift would be worth the wait. Still a bit confused.

[It's Magic]

Originally Posted by OfficerDoge

One of my cars is about 8 years old and outdated, so I want to trade and upgrade as soon as possible.
Is it worth waiting over a year for the facelift?

As others have suggested, it's always good to wait for a facelift when you know it's around the corner. If you get the car now and later prefer the facelifted model (when it’s launched in a few months), you might regret not waiting.

However, if you can't wait, you can consider other options like the Hyundai Verna, Skoda Slavia, or Honda City. You might like one of them.

Additionally, I would suggest checking out some compact SUVs. They would fall in a similar price range.

[PNTLovesNano]

In September 2019, when I entered Hyundai showroom with family, I ended up buying the old version against the completely refreshed Nios. It was no brainer. Why? No, it was not about the discounts on Grand i10 which got me the Sportz version at 6.5lakhs onroad against the same variant in Nios which was nearly 8.5lakhs. I had a frozen budget of 6-7lakhs and I generally don't shot it up, especially when it comes to car. Moreover, I was taking a loan and in that case it was practical to keep control. If my budget was 8lakhs, I would rather opted to buy Venue and not Nios.

[Rajeevraj]

I was kind of in this situation with the Skoda Kodiaq. While I have not decided to upgrade, was starting to think about it and as part of this process test drove the Kodiaq. There are some decent discounts also on it and it was tempting to go for it. But we know that the updated Kodiaq is coming next year and although expected to be mechanically identical, looks to have a nice set of upgrades.

There were couple of big downsides to waiting in this specific case. The new model is expected to be significantly more expensive and it is unlikely I can afford it and with the Skoda approach, the current model sales will wind up by end of this year and there is expected to be few months gap before the facelift comes out. So no option of choosing between the new model and pre-facelift model

In my case logic prevailed and I decided that although my car is nearly 11 years old, it still serves the purpose perfectly and I did not see any reason to not wait for a year to see what 2025 brings. I

In your particular case, I don't think you have the disadvantages I mentioned above, the pricing should not change significantly and also you should get the pre-facelift alongside the new car for sometime. If you don't have any urgent need you should wait. Especially if the facelift is expected to bring upgrades that are important to you.

[Jangra]

I'm going against the grain here, but I had a VW Vento for 7 years and never felt the need to upgrade with every iterations —except for Apple CarPlay. I owned it from 2016 to 2023 before upgrading to the Virtus GT. Now, my car has Apple CarPlay, decent headlights, an acceptable (though not exceptional) stereo, and an excellent engine-gearbox combo. I’m quite happy with it. The variant you're referring to has all the key and feel good features anyone would need.

Personally, I'm not someone who can wait a year once I get the urge to upgrade. I’d spend hours researching a reason to buy now than waiting for something new. If you're like that too, you're not missing out much with the current model, if anything. The Virtus is a fairly new model, and any upcoming upgrades will likely to be minor. Had this been about the Kodiaq, I would suggest waiting.

@Rajeevraj – Given Skoda's recent pricing strategy, you’re likely looking at spending a million more than the current model. While you’ve probably factored that into your decision, at 55 lakhs, the Kodiaq could still be the best car in that range. But you’ll need to be convinced that paying that much extra over the outgoing model is worth it. Of course, I could be wrong, and if the new Kodiaq is priced similarly to the outgoing one, I’d upgrade too.

[AnkitShroff]

Originally Posted by OfficerDoge

Hi everyone from the TeamBHP community!

I am planning on buying the Virtus GT and had a question - should I get the new GT Plus Sport variant coming soon this year, or wait for the facelift upgrade late next
Is it worth waiting over a year for the facelift?

Another point to consider would be how much the discount in the outgoing version matters to you in terms of absolute amount. For eg., I might spend an additional lakh on the newer version of a beater car even with not-so-significant upgrades expected but might be tempted to go for the outgoing version of a luxury German instead of the newer version if provided with a fat 10 lakh discount (note that the % difference remains the same for both the cars). Whereas, I know folks who are more financially sound who would be happy to pay an additional 10-15 lakhs for the upcoming version of the German luxury car (and vice-versa for the beater car example)

In any chance, happy shopping! Buying a new car is always a sweet moment

[funnysaltbrick]

Let me put it like this. The last edition of a product is almost always the stable version, because multiple waves of customers have already done the QC checking and feedback for you.

Whereas, with something new, it is never a good idea to jump in the first wave itself. It's always a good idea to wait and let the brand iron out the errors.

Answering your question of "Buy current or wait for facelifts?" I'd say buy what is available. This is one advice I got while considering a new laptop. If you have time on your side, then wait. But if it's something you need in the immediate, then buy now. By immediate, I mean "I need to buy now." or "I have a plan to buy for insert festive season of choice in the next 6 months". If that isn't the case, hold out for the facelift.

[Arun_S]

My brother just got Amaze, i asked him to wait for new model.

I know he is going to repent. So as GTO suggested wait.

[PrideRed]

Depends, if facelift is just few additions of fancy features and cosmetics and if you are getting good discount on current model, latter makes for a good purchase. However if the facelift is expected to come with significant changes to engine, mechanical features, then better to wait. That said a deep discount on current model may be a deciding factor for many.

Also point to note is, almost every car is getting a facelift in 3 years and model change in 6 years. If you keep waiting for a year or two, you will end up not buying anything as there is an update/launch always around the corner. Your car is going to get outdated in max 2 years.

[androdev]

Some tech is rapidly evolving, like EVs. Some brands are improving by the day, like Mahindra and BYD. But when it comes to German ICE cars, I would say "I believe in yesterday" :-)