[SmartCat]

I sold my 2004 Chevrolet Optra 1.8 LT with 100,000 kms plus on the clock for Rs. 3.3 Lacs via Team-BHP Classifieds a week back.

But 2 months before that, I had started looking at some new cars in the market. - since I do an average of 18,000 kms a year, it had to be a diesel.

My requirements -

- Powered by diesel (haha, look what I bought eventually)
- Dual airbags & ABS
- Dead pedal (for long highway drives)
- Heavy steering feel (I don't like those "easy to drive" cars)
- Rs. 8 - 9 Lacs budget
- "Low" (relatively speaking) maintenance costs & good after sales support

I quickly shortlisted the following new cars -

- Fiat Punto MJD Emotion Pack
- Mahindra Xylo E8 (with airbags)
- Fiat Linea MJD Emotion Pack
- Tata Indigo Manza Quadrajet Aura Plus (short name, huh?)
- Hyundai i20 Asta (O) Diesel.
- Skoda Fabia Elegance Diesel

After some road tests, the Fiat Punto MJD EP "won" because it ticked most of the "requirements" boxes, and was about to put in a deposit. However, during my second long road test, I realized that the footwell is a bit cramped - my leg touches the clutch (almost depressing it) when I place it on the dead pedal.

With the Punto MJD out of the picture, I started looking at the used car market. The following cars were the top contenders -

- Hyundai Elantra CRDi
- Skoda Octavia L&K (man, this would have been perfect)
- Skoda Octavia Rider/Ambience/Elegance
- Fiat Linea MJD Emotion Pack
- Hyundai Tucson

In this contest, the Hyundai Tucson won rather convincingly and I paid an advance of Rs. 25,000 and booked a 2005 Tucson with 67,000 kms on the clock for Rs. 9.3 lacs through an used car dealer. However, I had to call off the deal because the seller (owner) had "misplaced" the original RC book, and needed "3 days" to look for it. I waited for a week before calling off the deal - I had to see the original RC book before paying for the car.

And then, it got me thinking - all the cars I had looked at so far had one major compromise or the other. The only car that had convincingly met all my requirements (except for the diesel bit) was the Honda Civic. I had taken a test drive of ANHC too, but its steering is very light.

So I eventually bought a Aug 2007 Honda Civic (leather option, manual transmission) with 35,000 kms on the clock, service history, scratchless condition for Rs. 9.1 Lacs


















Unfortunately, the camera battery went kaput before I could take more pics - so that's about it for now

[prince_pervez]

Good man! Congrats on your new pre-owned purchase. The price might be arguable IMO only, but what the heck, enjoy the ride. Drive safe buddy. Congrats again.

[sachinj12]

Well, all your quantitative ranking has been put to good use then. Is this the reason you actually started the ranking thing in the first place?

Congrats on the buy, and more quality pics please.

OT: When you starting SUV Comparo?

OT2: 18k km per year, that too in a Civic? Your pocket sure does run deep <wink>.

[holysmoke]

The civic is a wonderful car. I just took it for a long drive (500km+), and now I appreciate the car even more.

Congratulations on the buy, have fun, and drive safe.

[arishi1]

Congrats!! Smartcat, the shopping for Chameli seems to be good roller coaster, fist the Punto MJD, then the Tuscan and finally Civic. Its a great car. Hope you have a good ownership experience. Looking forward to your Travelogues on the Civic. Happy driving.

And keep the bottom of Civic intact. Those mighty Bangalore humps can take the nasty toll pretty easily on the Civic.

[echo77]

Great! So all the analysis boiling down to this

I thought you already had the Tucson.

Can you tell us how much the Fiat Linea MJD Emotion Pack was in the used car market? It is rare to find those.

[SmartCat]

Originally Posted by prince_pervez

The price might be arguable IMO only,

OK fairly big story coming up.

See, GTO's "lateral upgrade" thread was my biggest inspiration for looking at the used car market. We (as in extended family/relatives) are all traditional people when it comes to cars - we go to a showroom and buy something new. Since I was going to be the first one to buy a fairly expensive used car, I was quite nervous about the whole thing.

I have Government-Office-O-phobia - so buying a car privately and then dealing with RTO directly or via agents was out of question. I wanted a "new car" buying experience where all the dirty paperwork would be done by a trusted dealer.

I first went to a few used car dealers, but the "buying experience" was terrible. Every word uttered seemed like a lie to me. An rattly Skoda Octavia (Just-u 5 laaks price-u saar!) and just 60,000 km on the clock? Yeah right! After test driving a few rattly Octavias and strange smelling Elantras, I decided to head towards "Classic Automobiles - Luxury Pre-Owned cars".

Large showroom with huge glass facade. Cars parked in multi-levels with car lifts. Audis, Pajeros and Accord V6's on display. Salesmen wearing a tie and speaking politely - and not too pushy either. Finally, an used car showroom where you could take your wife to see the cars. Air-conditioned. Nice chairs and table where you can discuss the price. And after the sale is done, car is delivered at home, covered in a strip of ribbon and full of balloons. And a bouquet too.

So, at the end of the day, I guess I paid Rs. 1 Lac extra for all that jazz. Plus, cars are neatly maintained and polished when on display. Minor dents & scratches taken care of. If a car has leather interiors, it gets a leather cleaning treatment (daylight pics coming up).

However, the "official" explanation from the salesman was the used Civic prices are climbing because new Civic costs more now - current market price of new Civic with leather option is Rs. 16 Lacs in Bangalore. Anyway, next time I'm going to be a little more adventurous and hunt for bargains - it all depends on how the ownership of this used car works out.

Originally Posted by sachinj12

Well, all your quantitative ranking has been put to good use then. Is this the reason you actually started the ranking thing in the first place?

Yeah, and for me, the best car that suits my requirements turned out to be "none of the above"

OT2: 18k km per year, that too in a Civic? Your pocket sure does run deep <wink>.

Originally Posted by arishi1

Congrats!! Smartcat, the shopping for Chameli seems to be good roller coaster, fist the Punto MJD, then the Tuscan and finally Civic.

Civic is about 15% more fuel efficient than the 1.8 Optra in the city (and 25% more on the highway) - from what I've seen in the magazines. So I hope to save some money there!

The problem with the current crop of diesels is the turbo lag. I'm quite used to the linear train-like acceleration of the Optra. So buying a diesel would have been a compromise. But because of Punto's looks, that was one compromise I was willing to ignore - but not other cars!

Turbo lag is non-existent in Octavia, Elantra & Tucson - that's why I chose the Tucson initally.

Originally Posted by holysmoke

Congratulations on the buy, have fun, and drive safe.

Will drive safely, thanks!

Originally Posted by echo77

Can you tell us how much the Fiat Linea MJD Emotion Pack was in the used car market? It is rare to find those.

Didn't find a single EP - otherwise would have snagged it. A little bit of turbo lag wouldn't hurt if I'm paying Rs. 8 lacs! Other variants were available though.

[kpzen]

Selling an american with korean heart and then almost surrendering to an Italian masterpiece and then shifting thoughts for a Korean with american heart and then finally ending up with JAPANESE ART.
Woooh!! Watta buy..!! You have seen it all.

CONGRATULATIONS.!

[aargee]

Whoa!!! Smartcat...so finally you gave into that extra boot space huh? Punto should be a long forgotten story then!!!
Congratulations on your purchase; IMO, you've done a very good choice on the car. So finally Chameli is replaced with...what's this going to be called? Chintu or the function is yet to be organized?

[raghu230506]

That's a neat buy.

Congratulations smartcat.

Welcome to Honda Club.

Drive safe and have fun.

[rjstyles69]

smartcat congrats on getting yourself a civic. But then I wonder why a petrol car when you priority list was something like this ?

My requirements -

- Powered by diesel (haha, look what I bought eventually)
- Dual airbags & ABS
- Dead pedal (for long highway drives)
- Heavy steering feel (I don't like those "easy to drive" cars)
- Rs. 8 - 9 Lacs budget
- "Low" (relatively speaking) maintenance costs & good after sales support

Wonder why you never considered a SUV since you had 8-9 lakh budget to splurge on a car ? If this is gonna be your highway companion how do you plan to put up with the low GC ? I love the civic for its low stance , but that's again only for good roads.

[sukiwa]

Originally Posted by smartcat

If a car has leather interiors, it gets a leather cleaning treatment (daylight pics coming up).

Please post daytime exterior photos as well, can't understand colour of your civic. Is it black or purple?

Originally Posted by smartcat

However, the "official" explanation from the salesman was the used Civic prices are climbing because new Civic costs more now - current market price of new Civic with leather option is Rs. 16 Lacs in Bangalore.

Really? By this logic, IDV of used civic should also go up, isn't it?

[ms001]

Originally Posted by rjstyles69

smartcat congrats on getting yourself a civic. But then I wonder why a petrol car when you priority list was something like this ?



Wonder why you never considered a SUV since you had 8-9 lakh budget to splurge on a car ? If this is gonna be your highway companion how do you plan to put up with the low GC ? I love the civic for its low stance , but that's again only for good roads.

Exactly ,why didnt you consider a used scorpio/safari or a new bolero?
Since you will be using it heavily on the highway.
Low GC not a consideration ?

[shuvc]

Congratulations !

Any idea how much the V M/T cost in Bangalore in 2007?

18000kms on a petrol is ok I'd say. At least for a new car diesel petrol comparo, it would take a few years to reap the benefits, considering that maintenance costs are similar.

Originally Posted by sukiwa

can't understand colour of your civic. Is it black or purple?

Same here. Looks like the dark grey colour / polished metal metallic?

[indivic]

Originally Posted by sachinj12

OT2: 18k km per year, that too in a Civic? Your pocket sure does run deep <wink>.

Congrats smartcat ! The car looks really neat and I am sure you got a good deal.

@sachinj12 :18k on Civic per year, you really dont need deep pockets. 35k on the odo , the engine would have freed up nicely. In Chennai I used to 9-9.5 kmpl on a regular basis in city B2B traffic with AC on about 80% of the time, on the highway expect 14-15 regularly with AC on (23-25 degrees C) if you keep between 2-3k on the rpm. Max I got was 16.5 on one trip (AC on).

If you are constantly above 3k, which I am sure most Civic owners will, the FE goes down but not by much may 1.5 - 2kmpl.