This is my second car, 1st one was Alto LX. Second again Alto. But this time LXI. Well some real reasons are there…
1. Why do I need a car?
There could be a number of reasons. Daily Commute, Weekend Commute, Show Off, Long Trip.
For me the reason was daily commute to office sometimes weekend commute… Bangalore auto-rickshaw just sucks…
2. Running Cost
This was a real good deciding factor. U need to pay fuel bill, running 2nd and 3rd gear most of the time and the repair cost for wear and tear.
3. Service Network
Should be reachable from my house or near to my office within 5 Km. I don’t wanted to ruin my weekend for car servicing. I always felt its safer to check by myself only.
4. Budget
In this point I was flexible… I was ready to spend till 5 Lakhs
5. Styling
Its based on taste of a person. Like I don’t at all like tallboy design.
So based on the budget the cars came into consideration are… M800, Alto, Zen Estilo, Wagon R, A Star, Santro, i10, Spark, Indica Vista
Now on the styling factor I hate tallboy designs. So Zen Estilo, Wagon R was out of competition. Santro and i10 should also go out but I kept them just because lots of friends recommended them. M800 is also out of the race… too boxy and old.
On reliability factor Indica Vista was out of competition just because of tata’s reputation. I was a regular commuter in my earlier office cab which was Indica. Lots of body roll and body noise.
i10 voted out because of the premium pricing. Showing off was not a deciding factor.
I was never wanted to go with Spark. Although this is a nice car but too much girly(My view). I wouldn’t mind my girlfriend driving it. Service network was another issue. But who can leave with these two for them it’s a nice car. Gr8 space inside. Best class pickup. I Really liked it. There was 3 years 0 maintenance offer as well. So overall good package. But it was the least fuel efficient of the lot.
In the final run its Alto, A Star and Santro
Taken test drive on A Star and Santro. I have an Alto at my home in Calcutta, so there is no need to take a test drive.
Fuel Effeciency:
1. A Star
2. Alto
3. Santro
Space:
1. Santro
2. Alto
3. A Star(Horrible boot space)
Power:
1. Santro
2. A Star
3. Alto
After Sales Service
1. Alto/A Star
2. Santro
Price:
1. Alto
2. Santro
3. A Star
Maintenance Cost:
1. Alto
2. A Star
3. Santro
Looks/Style:
1. A Star
2. Alto
3. Santro
Space was not an issue because I will be driving alone max another one person might be there some time. So I barely cared about the leg room on the back seat. Power was also not a deciding factor as I will be using it for city commuting only.
So in the other sectors FE: A Star, ASS: Alto/A Star, Price: Alto, Maintenance: Alto Looks/Style: A Star(I always heated Santro for its tallboy styling)
Now the competition was between A Star and Alto.
Trust me I was really confused. Then I thought that how long I am going to keep this car. Not more than 3-4 Years and then upgrade to a bigger better and sporty car(That’s why I have taken loan from SBI so that I don’t have to pay pre closure penalty?). After that I am planning to give it to my sister or my wife. If unfortunately I get married by then.;-D LOL…
So just because of the cost factors Alto won. Even the extra FE I have calculated for A Star. I will save max 1K per month on fuel. But I will be paying 80K extra so that will level up in 80 months. More than 6 years. Additional there will be extra EMI+ extra maintenance cost. So I closed my eyes and finalized for Alto LXI once again.
Will update once I get the delivery?. It’s a Brick Red colour. I liked Black. But that was out of stock and got almost 19K in discount. 3.12 Lakhs on road in Bangalore. Anyway my sis will be happy for the colour.