Need advice: Sell my Kia Sonet turbo petrol for a used Corolla Altis?

I have come across a pristine 2015 Corolla Altis VL AT and I know the seller personally. It has done little over 60K kms, and is first owner.

BHPian 07CR recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Current Rides-I had purchased a Pre Owned Sonet HTX iMT Turbo in Feb 2022. ODO on the Sonet stands at 11.5K. I am extremely happy with the car. I also have 2018 Ecosport S TDCI at home which is chugging along happily at 33K Kms at the moment. Our yearly usage is around 15K kms, combined for both cars. Ecosport usually does 9K kms, while the rest is done by Sonet.

Why New Car- To be honest, simply because YOLO! I have come across a pristine 2015 Corolla Altis VL AT and I know the seller personally. It has done little over 60K kms, and is first owner.

If I purchased Altis

• Always Dreamed of getting a D segment Sedan. Dream accomplished.

• Superb legroom and interior space.

• Snob value of D segment sedan.

• Excellent backseat comfort. Very important for parents.

• If I purchase this, and sell the Sonet, I am looking at around 3.5L worth of saving (Purchase price of Sonet + Purchase Price of Corolla - Selling price of Sonet= 3.5L). Might as well invest it.

• I get a Diverse garage, a sporty black Ecosport S TDCI (Manual Diesel) for fun and a reliable and super comfortable white Corolla Altis (petrol, CVT)for those comfortable journeys.

What I fear about

• Miss out on modern necessities like Rear Aircon vent, Wireless Android Auto, rear sunblinds.

• Total age of sonet is just little over 1.5 years. I can safely assume that this car will serve me another 8.5 years easily. Can I rely the same on Altis (given my relatively low yearly running).

• The maintenance of an 8 year old Altis. Currently average annual maintenance cost of Sonet is 5-6K. What costs am I looking at for the Altis?

• While I am not too fussy about the FE, I get 10-13 in Pune traffic conditions from Sonet. How much more lower can the CVT Altis give me?

Would love your valuable opinions!

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

Selling a < 2-year-old car for an 8-year-old isn't the most appealing choice in my opinion, however, if it's a sedan you are after and if it's in good condition (assuming it should be, since you know the buyer personally) and you crave a D segment sedan, moreover you save a good 3.5 lakhs, I guess you could take the plunge.

You can get over the fact that you lose wireless android auto and sunblinds as these can be added on later,if necessary, rear air-con vents are a miss though, but do you really need it if thr AC is good enough?

As far as reliability goes, nothing beats Toyota, so it will safely run for as long a you want it to.

Toyota's maintenance costs are not on the higher side, so you should be fine there too.

Mileage won't see a considerable drop either, you should get double digit mileage.

So, overall if you are sure of the condition of the car and a varied garage with a sedan is what you are looking for, take the plunge and don't look back.

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

Hmmm, I would pass. Altis is not a YOLO car worth selling your current car for. If you can consider a Camry Hybrid for 15-16L, that would be a real YOLO. Altis has poor/cheap build and rattles to glory. Honda city is better (other than big car image)

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

Been there experienced that!

The upkeep of a D/D+ segment sedan will be considerably more expensive than the Sonet. Though it is the famed Toyota as compared to my experience with VW group sedans, still some costs will be similar.

Example - at 60K kms you are looking at suspension that will

• Best survive another 20k kms - if not less. A suspension overhaul (not replacement ) will set you back by 20k easily.

• Tyre - each tyre will cost upwards of 8K (decent grip/stability etc), 10K plus for sporty tyres.

• Battery - 15-18K

• Fluid changes and Filters - 20K or so.(minimum)

• Not sure if CVT needs fluid changes (DSG needed it) - that will be 40-45k and have to be done at the SC.

• Incidental repairs/ replacements etc.

As a thumb rule you must factor Rs 50K per 10Lakh of car purchase price (when new) per year. So for a 40 Lakh sedan - that’s 2lakhs per year that you must set aside.

Also, from a YOLO perspective you are not really going to enjoy the car TBH - it’s not a VW / Skoda D segment sedan with the punch from the engine and suspension tune for the ghats. It’s a comfortable cruiser that will take you from point A to B with a bit of a snob value thrown in.

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

It is clear that you like the Corolla. Go for it.

But keep the Sonet and get rid of Ecosport. Resale value is quite reasonable now, but that might not be the case 3 years from now.

Here's what BHPian AJ56 had to say on the matter:

If you want snob value/performance look for an older E350 or 530d. Now these will be higher annual maintenance and since that’s important to you, I’d suggest an in between option - 2013 Accord, manual or auto is upto you. It even came with the 6.5 sec 0-100 V6 if you can find one.

Built much better than the Corolla, has 6 airbags vs the 2 in the Corolla, gets ESP unlike Corolla, has much better rear space and is much faster (2.4 and 3.5 V6 both), also gets rear AC vents which are on your list. Market value of these is around 5.5-6.5L max.

Annual maintenance is very cheap, 5-6K for a basic service. Will clarify that basic maintenance cost doesn’t really change much by car size/class. for eg. both my Amaze and Accord cost 5-6k annually with full synthetic oil (Idemistu 0W-20) + oil and air filters, Accord maybe 900 more as it’ll take a little more oil that‘s it. Batteries are also priced similar, tyres are not and spares obviously will cost more but it’s not as extreme as some folks make it out to be.

In 13 years the only issue I’ve had on mine is a leaky hydraulic steering pump which was a relatively cheap fix many years ago, but the steering rack leaking is a known weak point of this gen accord and civic so make sure you check before buying.

Make sure you check the car thoroughly before buying with the authorised dealer + your trusted mechanic and you’ll be good. Also keep 1-2L aside for unforeseen expenses should any arise (unlikely). This actually applies to any used car not just the Accord. Also follow this checklist below when shopping used cars-

Cheers.

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