[__.gxr.__]

Originally Posted by Kami

The cars in the list are 15+ years old, but from my understanding many people in other countries (such as the US) use sports cars from the 1990s such as the Mazda Miata, so I assumed that age wouldn't be an issue.

The U.S is a highly competitive market with a huge plethora of choices. Strict lemon laws and quality standards are enforced there. A vehicle manufacturer can't afford to cut corners aggressively else they might end up caught in an expensive lawsuit.

The same doesn't apply to India. Manufacturers can get away with cost-cutting and poor build quality. Moreover, the appalling road conditions here also contribute to the fact that cars older than 15 years are seldom in proper shape.

[anb]

What about buying a Honda brio and making it a crio, engine change to 1.5 V-tec ? You will get a fast car as well as learn a lot regarding engine.

[dhruvritzed]

A few options you haven't considered:
1. Laura TSI
2. Brand new polo tsi comfortline by extending your budget a little
3. Used Abarth punto
4. Ford Figo TDCI 1.5 used or new
5. VW Passat
6. Skoda superb petrol or diesel
7. Polo GT TDI 1.6
8. Skoda Yeti, post a remap it can run really
9. Audi A6 3.0 TFSI 2009/10

Don't go for a kizashi, it is really boring.
Best of luck for your car search.

Cheers

[AirWind]

Ah, what a way to turn 18... get a license to drive before you venture out on this!

Octavia vRS mk1 would have run serious miles so bump up the budget a bit more and you can get the Laura vRS or the plain looking Laura 1.8 TSi and you can soup it up to make the show
Forget Polo GTI as they are re-selling at a higher price point where when new unless you are talking Polo GT the TSI or 1.6 TDI twins?
Forget the Beemers, you will go burst!
Kizashi a great car but will be tough to source parts
Accord seems ok, you can get the gen2's from 2006-07 well maintained ones and can keep some change for fixes
The TATA Tigor or Tiago JTP's are hard to find as they didn't sell when new

Look at a Fiat Punto Abarth, you will get a relatively newer ones within your budget and this would be my pick!

How about Mitsubishi Cedia - an end can will make wonders, parts can be available after market and if lucky you can dump an Evo engine + tranny after a few yrs

100 BHP Figo TDCI you might land recent examples and plenty of support

[Kami]

Originally Posted by Kosfactor

How are your financials? Can you afford the upkeep of vehicles that costs anything from 5- 10 times your budget when new? If yes, go ahead and keep the same amount of money , if not more as buffer for repairs.

Else, buy a Swift petrol , its fast enough to learn driving and affordable enough to own and maintain. Even people who own garages of their own will stay away from all the cars presently in your list.

My parents actually wanted to buy me a new car that costs 30-40 lakhs, but obviously I know I don't want to spend that kind of money on my first car that I will barely use as I don't drive much (and I'm not spoiled either) so I turned them down. I will probably be able to maintain a BMW, I'd just rather not, it's not my money and I don't want to waste my parents money.

Originally Posted by tharian

Apolgies if this sounds discouraging, but being a 18 year old, I don't think you need a fast car, not yet.

I might be old school in my thinking, but unless you are going to use this solely on the race track, since you also mentioned you want to work on the car as well, I would suggest getting a normal run of the mill car and get more experience in driving and then graduate to faster cars. This way, you gain the responsibility and control while driving a car fast when you get those powerful cars.

You did mention that you just learnt to drive.

I did most of my initial driving on a Mahindra jeep, which helped me a lot when experiencing different cars later on.

Thanks for the suggestion, but I have other cars that I can drive more casually while learning. I understand why you feel this way, and I'd hate to be stuck with a car that is very hard to learn after just starting out, but I have been practicing with an EcoSport, XUV500 and a Skoda Laura and I can say that I'm pretty confident that I can drive.

Originally Posted by dhruvritzed

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Originally Posted by AirWind

~

Thanks a lot for these suggestions, they are very helpful. I'll have to scour the used market and see what I can find.

[GTO]

Congrats on getting your driving licence and your first car . These are very special phases of life; savour them.

- Don't focus on "fastest". Instead, change your line of thought to "fun to drive". 25 years of driving taught me that the latter is the more important.

- Don't buy something just to modify. The scene of engine swaps and forced induction is a mess in the after-market with too many problems, reliability issues, breakdowns and lies. Spend the time saved on dating instead! 25 years of driving also taught me that "factory horses are factory horses".

- Cars I would consider buying used if I were you:
VW Polo GT TSI or TDI
Honda Civic 8th-gen. Good ones available for 2.xx lakhs
Ford Figo 1.5L TDCi
Tata Tiago JTP
Abarth Punto
Etios 1.5L. Outdated and ugly, but lovely engine + balanced behaviour

- Please don't street race or drive fast to impress anyone, as tempting as it might be. The only reason I am alive today is that, when I was 18, I had access to underpowered cars like the 800 & Padmini.

Originally Posted by Kami

BMW 750li - maintenance/spares cost seems to be too high but it seems to offer around 400bhp, seems like a hard choice

Don't even think about such options. You will be buying a car for <10-lakhs, but will end up maintaining a 1.5-crore one. There are far better ways to spend your time than on white elephants.

[Mr.Boss]

Originally Posted by Kami

I am looking for my first used car that I can also use as a project car to learn more about engines

Here are the cars that I have considered

1. Skoda Octavia VRS - none that are reasonably priced in decent condition, considering some that are not in great condition
2. Polo GTI - cannot find any on the used market
3. BMW 325i - seems to be expensive for what it's offering, spares too expensive
4. BMW 750li - maintenance/spares cost seems to be too high but it seems to offer around 400bhp, seems like a hard choice
5. Suzuki Kizashi - a little slow but seems great otherwise, considering getting it due to being a cheap car that I can open up and modify
6. Accord V6 - seriously considering this but seems a bit obscure, which year should I get?

Intention (Learning about engines) and the list of vehicles considered don't match as such. For a beginner who wish to understand about the engines and other mechanicals it is wise to start with something simple and small, then progress to complex mechanisms. It is as similar as starting to learn Algebra before understanding basic addition and subtraction.

PS: Assuming your current know-how on the engine is very limited and you are just about to start. Your current know-how level is missing in the OP

Neither of the cars from your list can be repaired by yourself unless you have prior experience or access to special tools and facility (by repairs I don't mean regular maintenance or consumables change) Remember, there are many such BMWs, Audis, Merc standing off-road after spending millions on repair by expert mechanics but still the issues were not sorted out.

Originally Posted by Kami

Preferably, I would like to buy a car under 5 lakhs. 7 lakhs is my maximum budget

Anything beyond the Accord from your list if not a safe bet. And other practical choices were suggested by fellow members. You are free to pick the right choice.

Originally Posted by Kami

The cars in the list are 15+ years old, but from my understanding many people in other countries (such as the US) use sports cars from the 1990s such as the Mazda Miata, so I assumed that age wouldn't be an issue.

For heaven sake please remove this comparison.
None of the cars from your list can be compared to a Miata (or something similar)

Originally Posted by Kami

My parents actually wanted to buy me a new car that costs 30-40 lakhs,
..
it's not my money and I don't want to waste my parents money.

Proud of you

[ssjr0498]

Find a good 1st-gen Honda City Vtec for about 1.5-2L, spend another 1L on installing a coilover, 50k on getting a shorter FD and lightening your flywheel and some basic mods.

So for ~4 lakhs, you will have a car that will go like stink and handle like a cart, will give you good mileage and decent comfort.

It will teach you "Driving" due to it not having any aids, apart from a brilliant hydraulic steering and an over assisted brake.

My two cents!

[Shreyas_H]

My friend, don't look at power output to decided this - make a practical choice. The cars mentioned in your initial post will hardly be practical and neither would they be the kind of cars you can work on yourself too much (except possibly the Polo GTI). My suggestion to you is to get a nice used Polo GT TSI with the 1.2 L petrol and the DSG gearbox. Nice and fast car and in my opinion, one of the best first cars any car enthusiast can get.

You will have a lot of mod potential, things that you can work yourself on for tinkering stuff and you will have a seriously fast car that is safe as well.
It will also not burn a hole in your pockets for maintenance unlike the other 15 year old options you are considering.

Getting a used car that is more than 10 years old, that too a complex machine is a strict no in my books!

All the best for your car hunt.

[drumbrakes]

Check out Zen Carbon. You can plonk in a 1.6 from a Baleno it should be easy to work on. Being a small car it will zip in and out of Bangalore traffic, looks good with 3 doors, will give you golf vibes.

You just got your license I think it's better if you drive a manual for some time, perfecting a downshift has its own charm which will be too easy in like a Polo with DSG, maybe a 1.6 TDI Diesel manual will do. There was a red one in NCR named 'laado' that was hot. A Laura TSI will be the fastest on paper under 7 lakhs with just a stage 2 remap.

Good luck!

~drumbrakes

[devilwearsprada]

Why not the Baleno RS?

My first car was a Maruti and a manual, they have great mod potential and weight savings are added fun for a fast car.

If you want I can attach a few pictures of a friends fully modded Baleno RS!

[Kami]

Originally Posted by devilwearsprada

Why not the Baleno RS?

My first car was a Maruti and a manual, they have great mod potential and weight savings are added fun for a fast car.

If you want I can attach a few pictures of a friends fully modded Baleno RS!

What mods have been carried out? Just curious as to the kind of mods are usually done to a hatchback that doesn't weight much, but doesn't come with a lot of bhp and torque. I guess there are a lot of possibilities, like a Crio engine swap as someone suggested, but I'm curious to know what your friend did.
Thanks!

[vaish9925]

My suggestion would be,
1. Honda City i-Vtec - 3rd Generation
2. Tata Tiago / Tigor JTP
3. Ford Figo 1.5 TDCi
4. Fiat Punto 1.3 MJD/ Abarth
5. MS Swift Diesel

The above can be had for 5 to 6 lakhs except for the Abarth.
Since you are interested in working on your own car, get a Zen or an Esteem, they are simple, very mechanical and easy to work on. And when time permits, plonk in the G13B/G16B. You'll be set for atleast the next 5 years, provided you don't get bored quickly.

A daily driver and the weekend fun car !!

Regards,
VaishaK MurugesaN

[devilwearsprada]

Originally Posted by Kami

What mods have been carried out? Just curious as to the kind of mods are usually done to a hatchback that doesn't weight much, but doesn't come with a lot of bhp and torque. I guess there are a lot of possibilities, like a Crio engine swap as someone suggested, but I'm curious to know what your friend did.
Thanks!

Attaching his profile here. There's a lot on the list including an e-brake

https://www.instagram.com/shraydewan/

[landcruiser123]

Don’t buy a German car unless your family is willing to give you many blank cheques. I assume you want to spend as little as possible on the car and do some mods down the line. Just remember, mods will go wrong at some point, even if done my an expert.

Option 1: Buy a Brio (or Amaze/Jazz) and plonk a 1.5 L petrol engine once you establish a relationship with your mechanic. This project will give you a fun car without breaking the bank.

Refer this: https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ty-engine.html (Mrs. Frankmehta's Honda "CRIO™": Brio with a City Engine!)

Option 2: Old civic. The mod potential is almost unlimited.

Option 3: Liva 1.5 P (rare) or an Etios 1.5 P.

Option 4: Swift 1.2 P; Convert it to a K14 engine. (refer point 1)

You can look at some diesel powered options too - Figo (new), S-Cross (1.6 pushing the budget), and Polo (extremely mod friendly) come to mind immediately.