Need buying advice: New or used car in a budget of 15 lakhs

My present car is a 2001 pre-worshipped Zen, fit to ply till 2026, which I use occasionally for within city errands.

BHPian fawad0222 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello everyone,

After banging my head for more than a year and swinging from the pre-owned D segment cars like Jetta, Yeti, Santa Fe, tucson to the Safari, Duster 4×4, Hexa, to the pre-owned Delhi NCR registered luxury cars like Volvo XC60, Skodas with affordable asking prices and the Accords, Civics, Camrys , Suzuki Grand Vitara available for peanuts on one side and the new cars like Kicks, Rapid TSI, Harrier on the other side, l have finally reached a stage where I have gained some clarity regarding budget and accordingly have shortlisted some new and some pre-owned cars which I can own and enjoy for a reasonably long time. Still there is another list of cars which I can buy for the final five years of their life at a very attractive price due to the latest government guidelines. I feel now is the time to again(  I had touched base once before in the phase when I was looking for Jettas and a few others) go to fellow BHPians, share the way my mind works when automobiles are around, discuss my line of thoughts and maybe finally reach a consensus to buy THE car.

My station in life:

50 years of age, a doctor by profession, stable government job, cash in hand post taxes & home loan 12 lakhs a year, pension contributory , working wife and children stay in a different city and state. Have 15 years of job still remaining., living in a non metro, A class city near NCR.

My rides so far:

One tonne Army Nissan Ambulances, Mahindra Marshal and Sumo, owned by my father,a  pre-owned Esteem , first generation Swift, a petrol NA Ecosport all courtesy my wife, Outlander first generation and Cedia regularly while I was away in a foreign country, where I also got to drive a Pajero and a Lancer too once in a while, finally drove an i20 Asta Crdi, for about 7 years which I sold two years back. A Zen has been in my life for last eight years and i have recently got it overhauled.

My needs:

My present car is a 2001 pre-worshipped Zen, fit to ply till 2026, which I use occasionally for within city errands. I pedal my way to my workplace almost on a daily basis and I enjoy the ride. I feel like buying a car new/ pre worshipped as once in a while,(3-4 times a year) I go to my hometown by road which is around 250 kms away and may be with an enjoyable, reliable and powerful enough car I might travel to hills or go for some other long long rides every year. I love going on long rides and traveling in mountains.

My wants:

• An aspirational car which when I drive would bring a smile to my face and content to my heart.
• Looking for a sedan/SUV/estate with following attributes:
• A safe and solidly built car like Ecosport.
• A good handler with a comfortable ride like Ecosport, Duster.
• Power which won’t leave me wanting for more on highways, gear downshift acceptable.
• Exciting to drive again at least like Non aspirated motor of ecosport with exhilarating sound when pushed.
• Cylinders don’t matter but the refinement does. Turbo lag is a bother if it’s too much..
• Slick Manual gears preferred but AT won’t be a deal braker as long as it is durable and fun to use.
• Type of Fuel and fuel efficiency don’t matter with limited running.
• Reliable car which won’t leave me stranded on highways or make me visit ASS/FNG one too many times.. Also should be able to get the car repaired/maintained the in a non metro city.
• Maintenance cost shouldn’t break my bank account ( not much there in the first place) but willing to accept figure of 50-60 thousands a year if it’s a pre-worshipped car tugging my heart.
• Four wheel drive, rear wheel drive not really in my list but would accept gladly if they come my way.
• Ground clearance- high ground clearance preferred but is not a deal breaker as long as it doesn’t scrape it’s belly to remove its itch every other day.
• Shape- Love the grace and beauty of estate the most, followed by SUV and sedan.
• Size- size of Creta/Seltos/ Bolero is perfect though not the actual cars. Ecosport is short in length and XUV700 is too big.
• Features don’t score very high with me.

My budget is 15 lakhs max ( may stretch by 1-2 lakhs more depending on the car, other factors) if the car I am going to keep for at least 8-10 years. Being a veteran, I also can buy from CSD which can give some leeway to me in the budget. I am willing to spend up to 3 lakh if the pre-worshipped car has the residual life of around five years but otherwise fits the bill.

Those beauties who made to the list:

New ones:

• Rapid/ Vento MT- vfm with discount, solidly built, exciting engine-gearbox combo. Not too sure about their GC.
• Slavia/Virtus MT 1.0 litre- not very hopeful due to cost cutting. GC is a plus
• Harrier MT through CSD.
• Compass MT through CSD though I am afraid it would still be beyond my budget.
• Gurkha- non availability of ASS, low cruising speed , no real passion for hard off roading are the cons.
• Bolero- like its looks, pocket friendly upkeep, go anywhere nature.

Pre-worshipped ones to be kept for long duration with 15 lakh budget:

• Compass diesel MT.
• Tucson diesel but I feel I can live with a petrol one too though better to take a test ride.first. MT/AT.
• Safari Storme with Air bags, post 2015 models.
• Rapid diesel TD.
• Honda CRV 2 MT/ 2. 4 MT/AT.

Pre-worshipped cars which I can ride for the max of next five years but which are very high on desirability/ performance/ iconic and which I can buy within 3 lacs. Here their persona overrides all the attributes I am looking in a car and with the money saved, which shall also allow me to buy a middle weight to high end bike too:

• Civic MT.
• Accord MT/AT, V6, 2.4.
• Camry MT/AT.
• Octavia/Laura/ Combi.
• Passat/ Jetta/Estate.
• Yeti.
• Baleno Altura, Palio Estate.
• Elantra CRDI first generation in India.

If the cars are road worthy for more than five years and their maintenance cost is affordable for me, I can raise the budget for them proportionately.

So friends do I make some sense here. If somehow I really do, then please share your thoughts on the subject Looking forward to hear your inputs.

Thanks,

Fawad

Here’s what BHPian Sanidhya mukund had to say on the matter:

Since you are planning to buy the car for long journeys, I would strongly recommend not going for a very old car, not in the least low-slung sedans like the Civic etc. Leaky steering racks, destroyed suspensions, worn out engine mounts and shabby body condition seem to characterize most of these 10+ year old sedans in India. Also, part availability will not be very easy considering the fact that they have been discontinued quite a while ago. These cars are also susceptible to underbelly scrapes on bad roads.

Your best bet would be to get a fun to drive and reliable crossover. For new cars, I would recommend Jeep Compass and Tata Harrier. For used cars, you can look for S-cross 1.6D, Jeep Compass, Honda CRV, Toyota Fortuner and Ford Endeavour. By going for one of these, you’ll get a reliable car with good ground clearance and decent ease of servicing in your city. 15 lakhs is a good budget for any of these in the used car market and should be enough to fetch a reasonably new example. All of these cars are fun in their own ways.

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

Doc, your shortlist is very broad. The best drivetrain for an enthusiast is TSI+MT from VW/Skoda. Given your low usage and preference for MT, you can overlook the reliability concerns of VW and give it a shot. If your #1 criteria is fun to drive, then it will have to be something from VW/Skoda. Other cars might be a better overall package if you are looking for multiple things from a car. Your shortlist is too generic and broad, if you know what I mean. There are many outstanding cars in your list – but they all excel in different things.

Here’s what BHPian smasher had to say on the matter:

A wild card entry. A petrol automatic Crysta (3/4 years old) might fit you perfectly. My reasoning are as follows:

• Price 15 lakhs (tick).
• Used for long drives (tick).
• Reliability & low maintenance (tick, tick).
• Ground clearance & stable (tick).

But size might be a constraint. As you find the XUV too big, this might be cumbersome. Recommending it to you because I bought one and happy ever after.

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

These requirements scream Accord, either 2.4 manual or 3.5 V6. Well built, stable on highways, not lacking power, good exhaust note with no turbo lag, low maintenance and very reliable and ground clearance isn’t an issue. Look for 2012-13 models with under 60k kms. You should easily get one under 5-6L.

Drive it for the next 5 years (or more as reg. can be renewed) and postpone the new car as currently in under 15L on road you’ll get compromised products that are under powered and don’t put a smile on your face. Cheers.

Keyword: Need buying advice: New or used car in a budget of 15 lakhs