Fastest pre-owned car under Rs. 7 lakhs

I have recently learnt to drive as I have just turned 18, and I want a car that goes really fast and one that I can possibly attempt to repair myself so I get a better understanding of it.

BHPian Kami recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

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

I have been looking at a couple of older threads, and then searching the used market, but I can't really find any up-to-date threads that answer this question.

I have recently learnt to drive as I have just turned 18, and I want a car that goes really fast and one that I can possibly attempt to repair myself so I get a better understanding of it.

Here are the cars that I have considered

Skoda Octavia VRS - none that are reasonably priced in decent condition, considering some that are not in great condition

Polo GTI - cannot find any on the used market

BMW 325i - seems to be expensive for what it's offering, spares too are expensive

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

Suzuki Kizashi - a little slow but seems great otherwise, considering getting it due to it being a cheap car that I can open up and modify

Accord V6 - seriously considering this but seems a bit obscure, which year should I get?

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

Form factor and mileage don't matter that much, provided they aren't terrible and cripple the car.

Hopefully I can get some good suggestions, and this can serve as a resource to the people that are in the same boat as me.

Here's what BHPian SenPai_GTi had to say on the matter:

Since this is your first car and you want to learn about engines, I would advice you to start with the Japanese motors first. German vehicles might be fast and interesting to learn from, but they will be a pain in your wallet and mind, because they can be very complex to understand and build.

You might want to try:

Honda Civic 1.8: Its cheap in the used market, fast and much easy to modify. I got to learn A LOT form the car and coincidentally it was the first car which I reverse engineered as a project. Parts might be costly, depending on which manufacturer you chose the parts from. Here are a few threads for your reference (1, 2, 3).

Maruti Suzuki stable: It might sound weird to you but I have seen some tastefully modified gen1 Swifts and they accelerate like crazy. If wallet permits, you can take a Swift and plonk in a 1.6 engine from the international Suzuki Swift inside and see the wonders. Or just remap a swift diesel and you won't feel like you're sitting in a Suzuki car. More recently, AM Racing had shown their modified Ignis and never would anyone have thought the Ignis could do this.

You can find out more about AM Racing here.

But if you have an experienced mechanic by your side, you can go for Polo GTI. To be honest, you might be eager to try you hands out on Skodas, decade old BMW's, Benzes and what not, but from my experience, you should go step by step, because modifying a car or rebuilding one is a tough task in India since it is not as well networked market as the US or even Europe for that matter. I myself have been stumped and frustrated a lot of times trying to rebuild a simple KTM engine. The much experienced members of the forum might help you shed some light on it.

And remember, any car is modifiable if you're willing to go the lengths for it. I wish you the best of luck for your first build.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

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.

Don't even think about cars like the 7 Series. 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.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.