Hi, Looking to buy a second hand car for 1 to 1.25 lacs. Currently using a Maruti Zen 97' model. The biggest requirement is a good working A/C. The car will run around 150kms a day, mostly on the highway. I'm thinking along the lines of Santro. What model can I expect in this price? Or what other cars can I look at? Tagging JD666 Thanks in advance, Kauffmann
With 150 kms a day, you ought to be looking for a diesel vehicle mate. Otherwise, in a year's time, you would have burnt fuel twice the value of your car.
A good 2004 Santro fitted with a CNG kit is your best option. Should be around 1.1 - 1.25 lakhs. If you interested in buying from Gurgaon I could opt out a few cars for you. Slightly on the higher side, but a bigger machine would be a 2003 Accent, with CNG again around 1.8 - 2 L.
But CNG vehicles can only be driven where CNG is available, right? We don't have CNG available in the North-East. You blokes are lucky to have this option.
SumitB - I would want to, but then there wouldn't be any decent diesel vehicle available in this price range. I live in Delhi, so CNG is available mostly everywhere. JD666 - I suggested my dad a Santro with CNG too. Do you think it's better to buy one without a CNG kit installed and have one installed on your own or buy one with a CNG kit already fitted? Just to be sure the kit installed is a good one, don't want the car to catch fire. I don't think we can extend our budget to 2L, so whatever we're looking for has to be in the price range of 1 to 1.25 lacs. So in your good opinion, Santro is the best car to go for in that price range? keeping our requirements in mind. Plus dude, I REALLY want the A/C to be in a good working condition, neither of my two cars has a working A/C and in this weather it's next to torture driving in them. It'd be very kind of you and I'd really appreciate it if you could track some cars down, if you get the time that is. But before that I'd like to run the proposal through with my dad, just to be sure he's in with me on this.
Yup for the fact that the Santro can take the load of the CNG cylinder and not start rattling or breaking down into pieces. And CNG is lighter than air. It immediately escapes upwards if any leak, so no scene of fire. Its with LPG that you need to be careful. Its heavier than air, and sticks around the area of incident. The important thing would be to ensure that the kit is registered on the R/C if you are buying it pre installed. Santros seldom suffer from issues, mostly the ones that I have seen are a juddering steering or underbody rust. The car can take a lot of abuse and is very robust compared to a wagonR or a zen estilo. Oh and the A/C of the Santro ( if serviced properly ) is one of the features that I loved about the car. ( We've had 3 Santros in the house, right from the first 1998 995cc version to the recent 1.1 xing model ) Ill see if I can find out any good machines around here. But they will be registered on a Gurgaon ID, you cannot get them transferred to Delhi. Hehe, yup even I thought so till I took it to the highway. Its good only for short stints and not more than 3 people in all.
So I had a long talk with my dad, he doesn't want to go in for a CNG car and wants to stick to petrol. So I guess CNG is off the list. As for the car, I've got my mind made up on Santro, but my dad is considering Esteem too. I've seen the A/C of santro in action and boy is the blower powerful, I guess that's probably what makes it so effective. What I have against Esteem is that it has been discontinued and eventually it'll become difficult to find spares for the car and I'm not too sure how effective the A/C is when compared to Santro.We're def not considering WagonR or another Zen. Which car in your good opinion would be better JD? Esteem or the Santro? Also, now that we've got CNG off the list, in our budget what model could we expect to buy of Santro and Esteem? By Gurgaon ID you mean that it'll be a Haryana Registration and we can't get it shifted to a Delhi no.? Thank you so much for all your help again, Kauffmann
Bro the santro gives ahitty average, specially the ones that will be in your budget.. Trust me CNG is the best fuel... Try to talk with your dad...
Esteem + CNG would be best, and in India as long as the car is running on the roads, you need not worry about spares.
what would a zen estilo cost in used market? new one's attract thick discounts on any day of the week. petrol used market is no money maker either. in the end, a newer suzuki is going to have less cost of ownership than an old hyundai. particularly if you dont really know some reliable guy for fixing your hyundai. the ASS guys like to rip people off lately.
The problem with the zen Estilo is that it comes with the previous generation suspension of the WagonR ( The Estilo is after all the previous Wagon R ). This causes suspension issues around 50-60,000 kms mark. And once a zuki starts rattling, there is no turning back. Already gave you one lead. However the used car market is quite good for an Esteem. One thing I realised after talking to hnp, was that if you buy a second hand car in NCR, that comes pre-fitted with CNG, be assured that its been abused a lot.. A hell lot. Since the purpose for the person was to simply drive around using it as a commuter and standing in line at the CNG station. They generally then reverse the meter a bit to show a lower odo reading. Better option to buy a good car, run only on petrol, and then get a CNG kit fitted. Best place is to go hunting online like olx/quikr, and do avoid car dealers like the plague.
Hey JD666, I'd be interested in a Santro or an Esteem too, it'd be great if you could forward me any leads that you come across.My dad would very much love an Esteem, how is the A/C in the Esteem? We'd be running it on Petrol. Looking to buy one asap. At around 1.25lacs, what model Esteem/Santro can one expect to buy?
A 2003/2004 Santro and the same year for an Esteem even. Ill just check around. For eg, this is a very very very good deal if you can verify all the documents etc - http://newdelhi.olx.in/esteemlxi-20...riven-by-army-officer-excellent-iid-380059615 This you can expect has done over 1.2L kms - http://newdelhi.olx.in/maruti-estee...rice-rs-80-000-only-urgent-sale-iid-396268552 And if this car actually turns out to what it is, I would pounce on it - For 1.1L! Its a steal! http://newdelhi.olx.in/going-abroad-want-to-sell-esteem-2005-lxi-iid-396174518 --- Post Merged: Jun 12, 2012 6:40 PM --- This is also a good deal if the seller is ready to negotiate the price to around 1.1 to 1.2 since the vehicle has done in excess of 70,000 kms. http://newdelhi.olx.in/esteem-vxi-m...or-for-sale-excellent-condition-iid-395573004 --- Post Merged: Jun 12, 2012 6:45 PM --- With Regards to Santro, What I found was most interesting. The good buys ( 2003-2004 ) are not listed online. The ones right before ( zipdrive, which has the old styling ) and after are listed. However this is a good listing to consider - http://ghaziabad.olx.in/2003-hyundai-santro-xing-in-ghaziabad-iid-396171296 for 1.15 a 75,000 kms done vehicle is good. And you can always verify the service history at any Hyundai Dealer. Ooh.. This guy got his Santro right before they launched the Xing variant.. sad.. but if he is ready to knock of 10-15k off the price, then its a go for it deal. http://newdelhi.olx.in/santro-zip-plus-2003-dec-iid-395592254 This ad sounds too good to be true, but needs to be checked out for sure - http://gurgaon.olx.in/santro-wth-cng-fitted-iid-395686897 Read this one - http://newdelhi.olx.in/2003-model-s...nd-driven-price-is-fixed-105000-iid-396137592 "Ac gas need to talk up" Santro ACs are pretty robust. I know my mom's car A/C gas was topped up only once in the 9 years we had her. So that means there has been some issue with this car. Avoid.
I suggest you go for Santro with CNG. On CNG fill of Rs. 25--300 ot should run 150KM with A/c, infact more on highway. I have Accent with CNG, runs 80Km on A/c. Hatchback definitely gives you better performance. I have owned santro for 3 years, trust me, it a great vehicle to own.