Purchasing a used Maruti S-Cross 1.6 with stage 2 remap

Budget was kept vague but under Rs 10 lakhs. Obviously, the lesser the better, but anything that fit the above five conditions, was in the list.

BHPian ninjatalli recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

June 24th, 2019: A day of reckoning in my life when I handed over my 8 year old Vento to one of the dealers in Pune. It was not an easy decision; rather it was a decision that had been pondered, discussed, argued and analyzed for nearly 18 months. But I was 100% sure of the final decision - the car wasn't being used at all due to a multitude of reasons and would have been used even more lesser once my Interceptor landed.

Adieu to 8 years of enjoyable ownership

June 24th, 2021: A new decision was being undertaken - a shift to the city of Bangalore (or Bengaluru as it's called these days). The Interceptor had done its job amazing well in the city of Mumbai over the last two years and still made its case as a primary vehicle. But the bee had entered the bonnet. And with another driver in the house now, the car question took a different track.

But certain decisions/ideas had been well absorbed during the past ownership process, so the process was well ahead, even before we started.

Filtering Criteria

• It made absolutely no sense to pay full dollar for a brand new car. Pre-owned was the way to go.
• It had to be a fun car. No doubts about it. What's the use of going through the used car market if one could not be choosy!
• It had to match up the torquey VW TDI engine, At the least! Not necessarily a diesel, but there was a benchmark for sure.
• The better half preferred an SUV over a sedan. No issues with hatchbacks though. Why so? No clear reason! Women, I say! So be it.
• Having spent a bomb on injectors and other issues, VAG cars with high mileage were to be kept a secondary choice (unless really nothing came up).

Budget was kept vague but under 10 lakhs. Obviously, the lesser the better, but anything that fit the above five conditions, was in the list. And top preference to owners over dealers.

The Search

One would think the above would give me a short list. But no, this opened up a can of worms for sure. Every review, every used car option started looking meaty. Bangalore OLX market is a pain in the *** with the dealers literally spamming the 'for sale' ads with multiple ads for the same cars and churning (resharing) the ads every few days so that it comes up top on results. Even the options on Tbhp classifieds were far and few. There was a time when I was looking at every car - even a well maintained 2005 Maruti Esteem.

But very soon, a list of cars came up front very clearly.

1. Ford Ecosport
2. Maruti Baleno RS
3. Tata Tiago JTP
4. Ford Figo Tdci
5. VW Polo TSI (or GT TDI)
6. Honda Jazz
7. Maruti S-Cross 1.6

To be honest, the Jazz really didn't fit the criteria but that was one car which both of us were comfortable with and hence in the selection list. A lot many other options did make the cut and were evaluated. For example a few Ford Freestyle (TDCi), bhpian's @tarunactivity's immaculate Fiat Linea T-Jet, a near-new Honda WRV still in warranty and a few others.

Thankfully sense prevailed and the above alternatives were discarded from the list. Unfortunately, the availability of cars in my list wasn't doing that great either.

• A few Ecosport were available but mostly via dealers with huge markups and the odd owner based post got sold within a day or two. One guy I contacted within 24 hours of him putting up the ad replied saying it was already gone!
• Hardly found any Baleno RS in Bangalore or nearby areas (e.g. Mysore). The only one I found was in Hubli!
• Same for Tiago JTP. In fact even when I searched nation-wide, I could fine only one search result! How many Tata sold of these, I wonder!?
• Figo (Aspire) actually were available in decent number but again dealer-heavy. Found a few owner ads but got no responses. I guess they were already sold by the time I reached out to them.
• Polo MPI were plenty to go around and the few GTI and TSI I found were ridiculously priced, even those from bhpians (example)! So much that I actually went and looked at a brand new 1.0 TSI and even considered for a while if that would have been a better option.
• Ah, Jazz. If I go by olx results, I get the feeling Honda only sold Jazz in Bangalore - so many options I found. And 99% of them from dealers with prices ranging from few lakhs to even till 10L. Couldn't even figure out which one to start evaluating at although this 2018 option from Spinny did look promising. Although I doubt it'll be available for long.
• Ah S-Cross, the bane of my searches. This one had the top pickings in my list and the worst search results. The market is filled with 1.3 options and numerous 1.3 options fraudulently sold as 1.6 in the ads. Bhpian @Dr.Naren had shared details of a 2015 S-Cross from his whatsapp group that had done some 90k km but I initially declined stating the higher mileage. But once I started going through the Olx ads, I only found one other option in Bangalore and one in Mangalore. The Bangalore one was priced way too high while the Mangalore option was priced high and with 90k+ mileage (although I did ask a cousin to check it up). I spoke to other ads across Karnataka and Tamil Nadu but found them turning out to be 1.3 options masked as 1.6. Calls to Maruti True Value dealers across Bangalore, Mangalore and Chennai led to no results except them pushing the newer 1.5 options to me instead.

An image I had become very familiar to by now

The Evaluation

While my search on OLX and other forums continued, I kept digging into the S-Cross review and ownership threads. Two threads really caught my eye - the Pre-worshipped car of the week: S-Cross and Wolf Mods for the S-Cross. While I was no newbie to diesel cars with turbo=lag, this was a definitely pleasant surprise. As I dug more, my interests in the S-Cross intensified much more as compared to other options.

So I went back to Dr.Naren to inquire if there were any more owners interested in selling. So far the only one was the 2015 90k model, so I finally reached out to the owner; and he shared images and more details.

An aggressive stance from this angle

Rear hatchback-ish look that seriously lacks a strong rear bumper protection

Neat side view - however not at all a fan of that black under cladding, gives a low-end plasticy feel

One of the cleanest & curvy dashboard I have encountered - no extra nooks and corners

Plain-jane frontal view - I actually prefer the slightly more aggressive stance of the 2017 refresh look

Huge boot space - with the option to further pull down the rear seats easily. The floor padding neatly hides the stepney

Version: Delta 1.6

Registration date: Dec'15

Odometer: 92.5k kms

No. of previous owners: 1

Additional Mods: Wolf Stage 2, projector fogs, Michelin shoes

And after nearly 3 weeks of calls, in-person meets, a long test drive and some extremely short price negotiation discussions, the deal was made.

Reasons for going ahead

• Detailed service and maintenance records as well as repairs and warranty claims across all five years of ownership
• Extremely well-maintained car - interiors and exteriors. Validated by @tarunactivity and me in person
• Owner answered most of my concerns with regards to known and potential/upcoming repairs (e.g. suspension, timing belt)
• Bare minimum but necessary mods done - fog lamps, better tires and alloys, the Wolf maps (ensuring absence of any turbo lag)
• Timely wear & tear repairs/replacements - regular check-ups & engine oil top-ups, brake pads, wheel balancing, battery replacement, clutch assembly (done in warranty)
• NCB of 50% indicating no major accidents (assuming any minor ones were handled without insurance claims)

The Michelin tires were about mid-life, with probably another 10k - 20k km life in them and the battery had been recently replaced and was still in warranty. The clutch setup was changed around the 50k km mark (apparently the service center had pushed for it) plus I didn't find any issue with it. Overall, there wasn't a lot to be worried about. Most important of all were the conversations with the owner - his openness and meticulous documentation (something I do too) gave me confidence in the deal.

There were a few 'issues' which he highlighted upfront - there was a bump on the rear panel which was quite visible (but thankfully no paint dents) due to a biker hitting the car. The front right headlight had a crack but the glass was holding. There were some ugly whitish drop marks on the roof which he couldn't explained clearly (possibly some paint marks?). But otherwise the car was in good shape and I couldn't really find any problems.

A week later I confirmed the sale, transferred a token amount and called it a done deal. Over the next weekend, he handed over both car keys, the full file of documentation (including RC, all original receipts, service & maintenance records, warranty cards, loan clearance NOC, etc.) and transfer of ownership forms (form 29 & 30) while I transferred the remaining amount. A nice unexpected gesture on his part - he had got us sweets to celebrate the new purchase.  We initiated the transfer of ownership the same evening and the car was finally transferred to our name after ~3 weeks.

Continue reading ninjatalli's ownership experience for more insights, information and BHPian comments.