Hey all,
This is my first post on the forums ( I just got accepted as a member of the community today), so do bear with any accidental breaches of protocol.
First and foremost, I was looking for an automatic sedan, for use in Mumbai, and for long distance trips ( occasionally) to Goa. The reasons for the automatic are that I find driving in the city to be rather unenjoyable during peak hours, and for the longer trips I was hoping for something with cruise control on the highways.
Initially I did not want to exceed a budget of 7-8 lakhs, but after looking at showroom models of cars, it seemed unrealistic to hope for something below 10 lakhs which would give me many years of service.
Another major stipulation was that it have a lot of legroom at the rear. My father has had an accident in the last year and as such he finds it difficult to keep his knee bent for longer periods of time.
This eliminated the showroom models of several cars like the Vento and the Ford Fiesta (though they were already stretching my 10 lakh budget, albeit just a bit) Neither of my parents are very fond of the A/c cold, so having my dad sit in the front was out of the question too.
I happened to come upon a used Renault Fluence Petrol AT 2011 model, going for 10.75 L or so with around 22,000 kms on the odometer. After reading the threads on this forum re: precautions with used cars, I contacted the owners and was informed that the car wasn't insured at the time, will be going to check it out in a few days and taking the T-BHP checklist along with me when I do so.
My monthly usage will be about 1000-1500 kms, and for the present I will be hiring a driver till I get acclimatized to the vehicle.
I do not plan to upgrade to another car for at least 8-9 years, if the car gives me good service.
As far as mileage goes, if it gives something like 10-14 to the litre I think that will be more than sufficient and I might look to CNG-fit it at some later point.
Does this seem like a viable sensible option for a car? Aesthetically I love the way the Fluence looks, but a new car is out of my budget by far.
Also, I was planning to take along a friend's brother who has dabbled with automobile mechanics in the past, for his opinion on the TD. Would it make more sense to take a mechanic along instead? Or someone from Renault? I am not sure of how to go about this, because the person would have to know the nitty gritties of the car during the drive. Any recommendations on this front too?
Thanks in advance for the assistance, any inputs would be very much appreciated, and suggestions for other cars in the same range too.
PS: The lack of insurance did bother me a little bit, but I presume if I could take an engineer/mechanic along they would be able to gauge if the car was dodgy or not. The service history is very detailed, I have been informed.
Thanks again.
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