Have to buy this weekend - need help!

[pickdj 0]

Have to buy a small car for my dad this weekend. However have had zero time to do any research so here's hoping that the auto boffins here can help me out

I am using the template which was mentioned by a user earlier. Any help will be appreciated.

Feel free to ask additional questions and will try to provide answers.

Basically I will use the car for a few months but will then handover to dad once I move out of the country. Hence ride quality, safety are important. Power is definitely needed for the few months I will drive it

Service network important - particularly in Pune and Mumbai.

Whats your Budget - 5-7 L

Kms driven Daily – 10-20 only

Bodyshell - Hatch

City/Highway usage% - 90:10

Max No.of Passangers - 3 most of the time

Usage by - Self driven

Prime requirement - Ride Handling/ Looks/ power

Preferred Manufacturer – Stuck between Nissan Micra, polo, etc

Encounter bad roads? Yes

Existing owned cars SX4 top end petrol, old Esteem VXi petrol. Will sell the Esteem soon

DJ

[BonFre 0]

First welcome to the Board. Need some more information from you in order to suggest some buys.

Do you want a Diesel or a Petrol car? Looking at the running i.e. 10-20Kms daily, petrol should do fine.

Micra has good ride & handling but Polo betters that. Where Polo looses is the after sales service & maintenence costs.

If safety is a priority & it should be too, choose a variant with ABS & Airbags. Guess Micra does not come with ABS but its mirror-image Renault Pulse has that.

Another hatch with good Ride & Handling characteristics is the Punto. If you can live with Fiats laxity, Punto should be a good buy.

A slightly cheaper option could be the newely launched Chevy Aveo, heard it also has good ride & handling.

[rameshbabu.n 6]

Since you say that the car is for your father, I suggest you take a look at Honda's Brio,

specially the automatic version. As your usage is too low to consider and buy a diesel

hatch, you should go in for only a petrol car. Honda Brio Automatic is a gem, more so

for elders who may find it difficult to handle city traffic (you say the car will be driven in

city most of the time). When compared to other automatics in the market, Honda Brio

Automatic is the best. Give you dad what is best and best suited to him. All the best.

[sachins 51]

@DJ, Going by your requirement, petrol should suffice.

In petrol, my suggestion will be either Honda Brio or Hyundai i20.

You can also get an AT on Brio in your budget which should be a boon in city driving for your dad.

Both hyundai/honda have good service network but from reliability/maintenance cost point of view, i would prefer Honda.

[librankur 39]

An Automatic is apt for highly populated traffic conditions , choose between the AStar, i10,i20 or the newly launched Brio which is the best of the lot.

My only concern here is that if you opt for one you will have to fall into the Waiting Game which would prevent you from buying the car readily,so it cannot be done this weekend , unless ofcouse the dealer has a previously ordered unsold vehicle.

For ready deliveries you may also have to pay a premium and may not get the best deal , buying in such haste is not advisable , till such time until you and your dad have test driven each option .

On the other hand ,cars with heavy discounts on them can be latched this festive season ,best suited for those who have already decided what they want after having test driven each option.

If you plan to buy a 5-7 lakh car try spending atleast 5-7 minutes with it before buying it.

[CarCrazyASTL 16]

Considering your need, the choise is simple, Go for Polo!

If your running is less than 1000-1500 Km go for Petrol; otherwise go for diesel!

[pickdj 0]

Thanks everyone for the replies.

Petrol is what I am looking at as well. Considering my dad drives very rarely (our 2 year old SX4 barely has 6k kms!), its not reasonable to buy a diesel version.

I checked out the new primo version of the micra and they tell me it has ABS and 2 front airbags as well.

Will check out the brio and aveo as well. I really wanted to buy the polo but they tell me that the aftersales is pretty costly. Any info?

Internet research says that the Jazz is also a good option...not sure if its true.

Wont go for an AT since both me and dad love the manual shifts, and the mileage will be an issue especially in India with pterol price rise.

Nissan says their service network has improved considerably. Not sure about the coverage in Mumbai and Pune though.

totally agree on spending sometime driving the car, however time is a luxury I dont have. If I dont buy this week then the earliest I can be back in the country will be Dec. This one will have to be bought purely based on the autocarindia recommendation .

Guess the Saturday will be pretty hectic.

DJ

[creativebala 178]

Service network important - particularly in Pune and Mumbai.

Whats your Budget - 5-7 L

Kms driven Daily – 10-20 only

Bodyshell - Hatch

City/Highway usage% - 90:10

Max No.of Passangers - 3 most of the time

Usage by - Self driven

Prime requirement - Ride Handling/ Looks/ power

Encounter bad roads? Yes

My first suggestion for you is Beat LT(o) Diesel, though your driving doesn't require that, 1L price is an investment which you will earn while reselling it.

This variant will be the only Top end diesel you can afford, so Safety fulfilled, since its a diesel, its powerful and as we all know its looks best in its segment.

Since you live in Pune/Mumbai, ChevyAfSS won't be a problem and also for 3yrs or 45k kms, you need not shell out a penny.

Beat is small, so a very good city car and can seat 3 in comfort and it has the Best Ride in its class.

Next choice is Brio Auto , next base Jazz

[Sstar 77]

@DJ: Welcome on to the board.

Looking at your requirements, I would suggest you followings:

1. First thing, based on daily running needs, you should only buy a petrol as investing in a diesel hatch which will be +1 lac over and above the same variant of a petrol version.
   
2. As you mentioned "Bad Road" then I would suggest only pick Maruti/Hyundai since these two have most spreaded service network.
   

On suggesting a car within 5-7 lacs of Rupee, followings will be my list of choice in the order they are: -

1. Ritz Zxi - This will offer you more space in term of cabin and boot comparison to Swift. Since this is the top most variant hence it will be loaded with all the luxury/safety features to make the drive a pleasure. Plus high ground clearance would be added advantage. Note that recently MSIL has launched new facelifted Ritz.
   
2. Swift Zxi - This is most popular hatch in the segment and does not need any intro, however, if the passengers are taller than normal height Indians then rear seat legroom will be a little problem. Also the boot is just impractical. However, it is fun to drive car.
   Note: both Ritz and Swift petrol should give you 15+ KMPL of FE, however, Ritz would be lesser awaiting than Swift.
   
3. i10 Asta - This is i10 top variant which comes fully loaded with safety features as well with an FE of 16+. However, some times people have reported that rear suspension has boucyness behaviour which is not so comfortable.
   

[pickdj 0]

@DJ: Welcome on to the board.

Looking at your requirements, I would suggest you followings:

1. First thing, based on daily running needs, you should only buy a petrol as investing in a diesel hatch which will be +1 lac over and above the same variant of a petrol version.
   
2. As you mentioned "Bad Road" then I would suggest only pick Maruti/Hyundai since these two have most spreaded service network.
   

On suggesting a car within 5-7 lacs of Rupee, followings will be my list of choice in the order they are: -

1. Ritz Zxi - This will offer you more space in term of cabin and boot comparison to Swift. Since this is the top most variant hence it will be loaded with all the luxury/safety features to make the drive a pleasure. Plus high ground clearance would be added advantage. Note that recently MSIL has launched new facelifted Ritz.
   
2. Swift Zxi - This is most popular hatch in the segment and does not need any intro, however, if the passengers are taller than normal height Indians then rear seat legroom will be a little problem. Also the boot is just impractical. However, it is fun to drive car.
   Note: both Ritz and Swift petrol should give you 15+ KMPL of FE, however, Ritz would be lesser awaiting than Swift.
   
3. i10 Asta - This is i10 top variant which comes fully loaded with safety features as well with an FE of 16+. However, some times people have reported that rear suspension has boucyness behaviour which is not so comfortable.
   

Considering that I have been a loyal Maruti user for many years (all of our cars have been maruti versions), I am honestly thinking of buying something else. No other reason

will check out i10. Not sure how much "Checking out" I can do till Saturday but will try.

DJ

[dr_nishu 198]

So, which car have you booked by today ??

Sorry for the delayed reply but my take is on Honda Jazz or Maruti Ritz petrol.

You can also check out New Chevrolet SAIL U-VA, its a very promising car & comes with hassle-free 3-year Maintenance programe also.

[Wasif@ 0]

I think the i10 asta is a good buy. You have less members(3) so its good. The i10 is also a spacious hatch. But a lil more money go for the i20 asta. Its loaded with features, very spacious--like a sedan, looks are great, Best for city driving.