[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by trek

Reliability
...
The price (within 2L)
...
safety equipments

If you could compromise on FE, Ground clearance, a little on rear leg room Corolla ticks all your box. All that needs is a bit more money (than Etios) in terms of running cost (Insurance - being >1.5L engine, spares, FE)

Variants with ABS & Airbag are easily available within your budget (or even cheaper, if you are looking for the generation before Altis) You can't go wrong with Corolla.

[Samba]

Am using an Etios, Petrol G from 2011 June which has clocked 101,000 km till date.

My take-

Pros-

Thoroughly reliable.

Cheap to maintain.

After many abusive trips to the Himalayan terrains, not a single rattle in my car.

The 1.5L petrol is fun to drive and quite fast on open roads.

The suspension is more tuned towards comfort, though it handles well on twisty roads.

Acres of cabin and boot space.

Spares are available anywhere & any mechanic can fix this car.

Paint quality is great. After 9.5 years, my car shines just after a wash. Am not a guy who always take car of the external paint. Literally anyone cleans my car and most of the time not even a microfiber cloth was used! Swirl marks are there, but the paint retained its shine.

No rusting anywhere in the car.

Cons-

Bare-bone interiors.

Poor NVH

2011 Etios had softer suspension, I later upgraded it with the stiffer ones available from the 2013 model. Things improved a lot, but with load the car sags. I later up-sized the tyres from 175/65R14 to 185/65R14. This made the GC of my car 176 mm. Things improved further.

FE completely depends on driving style. With not so light foot in city, you will get around 11-12km/L & 14-16km/L on highways.

Sheet metal is light, its prone to small dents on minor hits.

For more details do check this post in my ownership review, where I have mentioned about every work done on the car till 100k km.

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-...ml#post4817739

This year my car will turn 10 years. Will I sell it?

Hell no! Will pay the road tax and keep it! This car is more reliable than my two years old Duster AWD!

Between 2011 to 2020, I have sold our 13 years old Uno, our 1.8 years old Alto K10, 3.5 years old Figo TDCI, but I have retained this car and am still in no mood to sell it off!

Hope this helps.

[GTO]

As someone who regularly keeps cars past the 9 - 10 year mark, I can tell you this = if the price is right, go for it. But equally, you must be prepared for part replacements & maintenance. Even if a car is from the mighty "T", cars / parts have a finite life and there will be some that are on the verge of wearing out now.

Originally Posted by trek

Reliability - After owning a lemon car for long, getting a fill it shut it car is a must have. Frankly we don't know till date what a fuss free ownership means.

I hope you get lucky with this Etios, but the reliability of any 9-year old car will be a bit patchy.

[trek]

Thank you everyone for your helpful advice.

Most of you suggested on the Corolla, I did search on them however the available models are all highly run and most are above 12 years. I think the Etios will do okay for now.

Samba, thank you for the assuring post, it did clear some of the nagging doubts.

I plan to get the car evaluated at a Toyota service center and if the internals turns out okay, will go ahead with it.

Thanks again for helping out.

[vikramvicky1984]

Originally Posted by Mr.Boss

If you could compromise on FE, Ground clearance, a little on rear leg room Corolla ticks all your box. All that needs is a bit more money (than Etios) in terms of running cost (Insurance - being >1.5L engine, spares, FE)

Variants with ABS & Airbag are easily available within your budget (or even cheaper, if you are looking for the generation before Altis) You can't go wrong with Corolla.

Thanks for this insight. Someone I know is considering both these cars with a budget of around 5 lakhs. His usage is a mix of highway roads twice a month and rest of the times in villages of Bihar and UP. Will enter NCR occasionally so the 10/15 year old rule matters.

I understand that's etios is probably the most rugged car one can buy and run if usage is mostly rough roads. How good is the Altis in these conditions? Of course running costs would be higher, but will it be able to handle abuse like Etios?

Cedia or w124 would be awesome for the usage but parts will be a big challenge and cannot afford the downtime.
He doesn't want bolero/scorpio(unsafe), and cannot afford a Vcross.

Thanks in advance.

[PrasannaDhana]

I suggest old gen corollas/citys over the Etios. Though Etios is a reliable car, it has a terrible ride quality. No offense to owners, but almost all Etios cabs I have ridden in, have been bone jarring.

[classiccurves]

I bought an eleven years old Corolla Altis last year. It was a simple process tbh.
Took the car to the dealership it was serviced. Got it checked.
Did the whole PDI myself. I got it for 2.5L. It has not given me a single hiccup till now. Maintenance is also easy on the pocket. In fact, it just cost me around 3k for its regular service from Toyota dealership.
It is much more comfortable than Etios but has same ‘soft’ suspension problem. So, if you pack it with 5 adults and a bunch of weekend luggage, then surely, you will experience occasional scraping over spear breakers.
If you can find a decent Altis for that budget, I’d say go for it as it is safer and much more comfortable than Etios.

Good luck, bud!

[carfreak7]

I was in the same boat as yours, but I decided to take the plunge and finally got a used 2013 Toyota Etios G Petrol. The spares for the Etios are pretty cheap & maintenance cost will be low if you get it serviced at a FNG.

A full service (engine oil, oil filter, air filter, coolant, transmission oil, spark plugs, brake oil, throttle body cleaning) & clutch overhaul costed me Rs 13000 which is pretty inexpensive IMHO. Get these things done and the car feels like new. Also, do check the tyre's condition since replacing the tyres is an expensive affair. (do not compromise on the tyres they severely affect the handling & ride quality of the car)

I have heard that the 2011 model had many issues which were sorted out in the 2013 model which came with 15 inch rims. Try increasing your budget a bit and get a 2013+ model or the V/VX variant of the Etios which comes with alloy wheels & ABS/Airbags. Etios is a true blue Toyota and is bound to last for a long time.

You can find a good used Petrol Etios for a low price since the resale value of Etios petrol isn't that great. Also, do check the service history of the vehicle at a Toyota dealership. However, I won't recommend you to get the car serviced at Toyota ASC since they tend to loot customers (Wasan Toyota, Mumbai gave me a bill of Rs 15000 for a basic service of my old Etios Liva petrol).

FE isn't that great being a 1.5 NA petrol engine, however you can't expect much from a petrol sedan. Enjoy the ride quality & handling of the car along with the decently powerful engine which will make you forget the dated looks of the car. Overall Etios is a great choice over a used Swift Dzire in your budget & would be a decent lateral upgrade over your Indigo.

[MMV]

As an owner of 2014 Etios, I would say that your option is good at the budget you mentioned. As other fellow BHPians were mentioning its a good idea to stretch a lac more and look for 2014 Etios or Corolla. All these are build to last and reliable cars. Checking service history (including parts replaced) is advised.

[DHARM]

Hi,

As a owner of 9 year old 50,000Km driven Etios, I suggest you to go ahead with your purchase. with few flows as mentioned by many in their above posts. At this price point you wont get any another car which is having seating comfort, 1500 cc power, rattle free , low maintenance car. I suggest to try for V or VX version which has safety feaures like two airbags, ABS, EBD etc.

[UP!!!!]

Originally Posted by trek

I plan to keep the car for atleast another 5 years and use it as a daily ride and hope to travel long distance for vacations around the country.

If you're really keen on long drives across the country, I'll recommend to look for a car with dual airbags and ABS. You shouldn't compromise on safety aspects.

You may get Toyota Corolla or Honda City in 3-4 lakh like other suggested. It'll be a significant upgrade over your Tata Indigo.

[alikidwhy]

I would suggest going for it because since it’s only run 51k it wouldn’t have any major expenses soon except for the parts that need to be changed due to their age.

Since the car is known, it’s better to get this over cheaper ones from outsiders because the chance of deceit is less.

No car will technically be fuss free but Toyota’s run well with just periodic maintenance; do keep a slight buffer over your purchase price to bring the car upto your expectations since yours may be higher than the current owners’.

Wishing you all the best.

[greenhorn]

Contrary take. Is your indigo a TDI or a dicor/cr4? If it's the former, it's a fairly reliable engine, and your problems don't seem insurmountable. Are you sure the problems are with the car and not the workshop? I had an experience where a certain extremely well reviewed Chennai garage claimed that all the problems I was having with my 9 year old Indica are age related and nothing could be done. I had also decided to sell my car when my friend suggested another workshop. I ended up having to spend a ton on my 100k service, but since then my car has felt significantly better and run without incident for the next 3 years.

On the other hand if it's a dicor/cr4, then yes, cut your losses and get another car

[kamilharis]

When I read "Buying a 9-year old car in India" I was gonna comment a big "NO".

Then I read about the proposed Etios Liva and the below meme came to my mind.



There is no better car than a LIVA under that budget and age. No airbags and ABS but it's still safer than your current ride and other cars available for that amount of money. Maybe you can also give a try searching for older Corolla's as well. But Etios will be the safest bet in this case, DOT.

[SN88]

Hi All,
I have been in a dilemma and would like your honest inputs.
Our current garage includes a Chevy Uva 2008, Honda city 2008, Hyndai i10 auto 2013, VW Tiguan 2018.

I would want to replace my 2008 Honda city MT. The car has zero issues as such and very well maintained, but I just want a more fun to drive car.
My preference is a MT gearbox as i do not want any headache with the auto boxes going off.
I have seen a few used Laura's from 2012 which are going for 3.5 lacs etc.
I dont mind keeping another 1 lac for bringing the car back to its original condition or close to it.

What do you guys feel? is it worth going for an almost 9 year old laura done approx 60-70k kms ? Yay or Nay