[Neversaygbye]

I can so relate to your emotion and love for the original Swift. I vividly remember the "You're the fuel" ad when it was launched and would have gone for the car had my Matiz not been giving stellar service then.

A couple of my friends still own the original Swift, and it so happens that I was in one of them just yesterday evening. Was impressed by how well the car has held up despite 93k kms on the odo and 14 years of age. I have advised both my friends not to get rid of their Swifts unless absolutely necessary. In fact I dissuaded the other friend from replacing his car and instead made him spend some of that budget in renewing the post 15 year registration and getting the car ship-shape. After all, Maruti just does not build them like that any more.

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by Tanveer02

A very beautifully written farewell post for the Swift bro. Your words are speaking the pure emotion at which you have pampered this car with all these years.

I for one have seen this car from day 1 to it's last day with you. And I can say this with all my confidence that it has indeed been a wonderful journey throughout.

Thanks Tanveer for the kind words. You & me over the years have had some serious fun with the Swift. That was the thing about the Swift, its playfulness. Begs the driver to drive hard, always.

Originally Posted by DevOnWheels

A proper farewell to our beloved Swift. It's really heart wrenching to see her go.

The upgrades and DIYs you did with her was awesome to read and experience.

Thanks Devarshi, even I very much enjoyed doing the DIYs & upgrades on the Swift. Also, Swift was very easy to work on, which I doubt the Polo will be (Of course Polo is one mod friendly car on its own way).

Originally Posted by JD_404

A beautifully written farewell post for an equally awesome machine.
Your decision to sell this suddenly did take all of us by surprise and we did try warning you against going to a german from a cheap pre owned Maruti , but thankfully the polo you got was one great deal.

Thanks Jyotirindra, you are of course the last person to redline the Swift. Regrading the Polo, it's always a gamble going for a German car. As of now, Polo is perfectly fine, though I am aware that it might show some tantrums going forward. In that regard, Swift & Zen were perfect, never had any reliability issues. No warning lights ever came .

Originally Posted by Neversaygbye

I can so relate to your emotion and love for the original Swift.

A couple of my friends still own the original Swift, and it so happens that I was in one of them just yesterday evening. Was impressed by how well the car has held up despite 93k kms on the odo and 14 years of age. I have advised both my friends not to get rid of their Swifts unless absolutely necessary.

Thanks Neversaygbye. Glad you liked the thread. Ask your friends to hold onto their Swifts for the foreseeable future, new gen Marutis simply don't have that charm about them.

[drive1987]

Hi Guys,

Please help me clear a doubt.
Which is the better option from the below two?

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

Thanks in advance...

[locusjag]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

Thanks in advance...

Normally, folks here would advise you to stay away from the car with low mileage and multiple previous owners.

But I had bought a used A-star AT 2nd hand with low miles on it. I added a negligible number of miles to it through the COVID era and sold it out of a parking situation compulsion. The next owner had a rat bite problem for which he couldn't properly get a fix, so he sold it to someone...

On the whole, I get sad thinking of the little bug's fate - for no fault of its own, it would've been seen as a lemon when being sold for the third time right? The car is an absolute gem otherwise - this I know. But how will the wider used car market know this?

Just shared my 2 cents on this.

I feel terrible for selling that cute little bug in the first place.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Hi Guys,

Please help me clear a doubt.
Which is the better option from the below two?

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

Thanks in advance...

1st owner with high mileage means it's been fairly reliable but needs some maintenance.
Low mileage with multiple owners in a short span means there is something wrong with the car otherwise why would owners keep flipping it so quickly.

[condor]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

1. If your running will be low. Get such a car at a low price
2. Only if the immediate seller is known, and it can be thoroughly checked.

Else, neither of the two.

I would say budget decides a lot of things. You can alternately check spinny, where they do have some low run cars of different years - and the car condition is listed in detail. Even Maruti Truvalue doesnt list such detail.

[nova.19_exe]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Hi Guys,

Please help me clear a doubt.
Which is the better option from the below two?

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

Thanks in advance...

Definitely the one with the higher mileage. Like @lamborghini mentioned, there might be something really wrong with the lower mileage one, otherwise no one would sell cars so quickly.

Just to be on the safer side, do ask for a service record for both the cars. You never know what might come up!!

[ashkamath]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Hi Guys,

Please help me clear a doubt.
Which is the better option from the below two?

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

Thanks in advance...

I wouldn't mix those 2 parameters to arrive at a decision because at times it could be deceiving.

1st owner car with high mileage. It could mean the car is reliable and owner held on to it for a long period of time. It could also mean that the owner could not afford an upgrade due to financial constraints and held on to the existing car. In this case, the reliability is not the factor but the financial constraint is the factor. Sometimes due to financial constraint one could miss on the regular maintenance and upkeep of the car too and try some local garages or jugaad too. There are a couple of such cars in my apartment complex where the owner is first owner but resorts to jugaad / neglect the car mainly due to financial constraints.

Low mileage car with 2/3 owners: It could mean the car is a lemon and the new owners did not want to keep it for long. It could also mean that the ownership changed hands due to the reasons attributed to the owners such as change of job / location, want to upgrade, car not meeting their expectations etc. Here the low mileage is the attraction for buyers and many jump in without thinking if the car is suitable for them or not. Once they buy, they find it is not suitable for them and they sell it off.

For Example, I recently got a call from a friend who wanted to dispose off his cousin's low mileage Wagon R as they were not using it much. I was tempted to buy as it was said to have maintained in pristine condition and low mileage. But then I never liked a Wagon R and so dropped the idea. Imagine if I buy the car because it is low mileage and very cheap, I would eventually sold it sooner than later because Wagon R was never in my radar for a car and I bought it only because it was low mileage car and at attractive price.

So, there could be various reasons for a person to sell his car or buy a car. So, the best way is to decide what car, which model year (range) budget etc first and then go out looking for that model/ budget / brand car and keep looking till you are satisfied with the car.

It is helpful to enlist the services of a professional local mechanic to ascertain the condition of the car prior buying ( a sort of PDI for used car) or take the help of the professional value assessors like Zekardo (for a nominal fee).

I have noticed that sometimes you land a very good car with low mileage and as per your expectation and sometimes you dont. Patience is the key here and go with an open mind. Sooner than later you should get your car of liking

[boniver]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Hi Guys,

Please help me clear a doubt.
Which is the better option from the below two?

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

Thanks in advance...

1st owner car with high mileage is better.
2-3 owner cars with low mileage is a myth in most cases as multiple owners would've most likely driven the car a lot and rolled back the odo. Genuine cases do exist but they form not even 0.001% of the total market.

In my case, either of these options would have only aided me in negotiating better. I would even go for a high mileage multiple owner car if the car in itself is clean upon inspection.

[ABeeBytes]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?
.

it's a case of different strokes for different folks, but as others have observed, a low mileage car changing hands frequently smells a lot like a lemon. I would avoid too high mileage for used cars because in Indian conditions, most pvt owned cars don't stay pristine close & beyond the 1L kms mark. They either develop some recurring niggles or start demanding big ticket expenses.

Something with 30-50K kms and 3-5 yrs with owner is in the sweet zone depending on your budget. Personally, I find the used car market way too overpriced for my liking these days and since I am holding the car for a decade or it's lifetime, I'll stretch for a new one, go a segment lower, like instead of a Venue, buy a baleno or ignis but a new one .

[chiranjitp]

Originally Posted by drive1987

Hi Guys,

Please help me clear a doubt.
Which is the better option from the below two?

Buy a 1st owner car with high mileage?
OR
Buy a low mileage car with two-three previous owners?

Thanks in advance...

Sorry for the late reply. My advice is simple, car's condition matters most than number of owners/kilometers on the odometer, especially if it's an old car. As long as the car is in good health, rest of the parameters shouldn't matter much.

Originally Posted by chiranjitp

Now to the most important question, what car replaced the Swift. I was initially looking at only new cars, hatchbacks to be precise. Finally, I ended up with pre-owned 2019 Polo TDi Highline +. This buying experience will be shared in a different thread/post.

The Polo is still with me & so far the going has been reasonably smooth, it had 43k km on the odometer when I bought her. Now the current odo reading is nearing 93k km. Of course I ought to make a separate thread for the Polo. For now sharing this photo of my Polo @14000ft: