[Hagaru]

Apologies for the delay, last week has been quite hectic with personal affairs.

Originally Posted by Voodooblaster

Spresso VXI AMT (Ex showroom Bangalore) 5.75 lacs will be a good option, though stretching your budget by a bit

Of course with Maruti, we have to factor in dismal NCAP ratings. Since the car will be used mostly in the city bumper to bumper traffic, NCAP shouldn’t be a dealbreaker


1) Total payout on a used car loan VS new car loan
2) tentative Resale value at end of 2 years for new and used car
3) Probability of expensive maintenance costs for a used AT versus peace of mind (OEM warranty ) for a new car


If buying an used AT, ensure that it has warranty

Honestly, I didn't consider S-Presso mainly because of a few horror stories I heard about the safety.
The budget isn't a stretch, if buying new, we were at one point ready to buy a Kwid AT brand new, will have to check this car out.

You are absolutely right about the calculations, After doing some calculations on the Kwid, we realized the amount of Interest paid on a 4.5-5 lakh AT would be the same as a brand new car at 8 lakhs. Although EMIs might be a bit higher, the peace of mind of having a new car without any mechanical niggles is worth it.

Originally Posted by Joe367

Brio might be the best car for you.

Brio is a car I adore, I think the rear profile looks really nice, but, the used market for Brio is quite inflated.

Would've been the perfect buy if it were in production.

Originally Posted by krankstter

I remember having this exact same requirement back in 2021 for my mom. Points 1-4 are absolutely spot on. We had a Tata Nano AMT which we had to sell owing to it's transmission issues (Only 35k total but still broke down often, gear auto switches to N on it's own). Got rid of it and started considering compact hatchbacks such as the Tiago, Kwid and Santro (Nano was discontinued by then). Didn't really want the Tata AMTs since we faced an issue with the Nano earlier, so ruled that out. Saw the Kwid, asked for a test drive, the Renault showroom itself was bleak, empty building with only 2-3 cars and a ton of empty space, highly ignorant employees plus the Kwid wasn't available for a test drive since some higher management's relative started using that as their personal vehicle, too many red flags already. We still decide to test drive the Triber automatic (we were told it's just an mpv version of kwid and it'll still feel the same way) and it felt extremely under powered, so ruled out.

The twist to this story arrives in the form of a Santro, no offense to the car or the brand, but the original Santro formula was completely missing, extremely low vehicle height and it just didn't feel like the OG, it felt slower than the Nano for some reason even though it had decent specs on paper. The sales person promptly suggested us to test drive the i10 nios and arranged for one vehicle within 5 minutes. The moment I stepped foot on the accelerator, I was sold. Mom was happy with it as well. Finally, got the Sportz AMT Nios, and it ended up being 3.5 lacs more than our initial budget.

Overall still very happy with the purchase though, because it handles great in the city. The AMT (probably the best in it's segment, no doubt) and the engine are ultra smooth, it's probably the closest ICE vehicle in the market which feels like an EV. The power is also decent and helps with quick overtakes.

I somehow have a feeling that you'll probably end up overshooting your budget as well. Wishing you all the very best in finding a happy trouble-free ride.

It seems your predictions might come true

Renault I have a close contact working at a dealership who would be able to help us out, not worried about the service.

We did check the new Nios, I love the way it looks and are already familar with the Hyundai style of things, so it would be a good bet. The only thing is finances, which is running way out of budget for our plans.

But, I feel its a worthwhile investment.

Thank you for your wishes!