This is my second review in MS and would like this to be as comprehensive as possible. Hoping this review might help people like me whose money is very precious and want to use it wisely when buying a CAR.
Here goes my story...
For the last 2 months, I had been on the look out for a Car by exchanging my old Maruti 800(1998 model) within a Max Budget of 3.5 Lakhs rupees(incl exchange).
As did not know the exact price of the car and was scared to sell to an unknown person, I thought it would be better by getting my car evaluated at Maruti True Value or any good recognised used car dealer in Bangalore. As per the same, first I went to the Maruti True Value dealer’s(Pratham and Bimal) in Bangalore and got it evaluated for 50K, as the vehicle needed a repair of another 5000 rupees. I was OK with the price, which was coming without any risk or any documentation process, from a recognised dealer in Bangalore.
Now knowing that I would get atleast 50K for my old car I was looking for a car within 3.5 Lakhs range. After doing a good amount of research on the internet, I found used cars of Tata Indica(Diesel), Fiat Palio(Diesel), WagonR, Swift, Hyundai Getz, Hyundai i10. The reason for the same is as given below.
Tata Indica: I was keen on Tata Indica(diesel) mainly for its low maintenance and running cost. Infact I was on the verge of finalising a very well maintained Used Tata Indica Diesel car, but the owner sold to another person, as he got a better price than me.
Fiat Palio(Diesel): Mainly for the Brand and quality of machinery. Infact Swift and Indica Vista run on the same Fait Engines which are known for their excellent performance. FYI, I could not find a single car(2007+ models) in the used car market(more than 15 showrooms) in Bangalore, for the reason might be that most of the owners were very happy with the CAR’s performance.
WagonR: Maintenance, Resale value and good Mileage.
Swift: Maintenance, Very High Resale value and decent Mileage.
Getz: Looks and performance. I still dont know why Hyundai stop manufacturing this beauty of a CAR.
I10: Exterior and Interior Looks, Performance, Mileage.
Out of the above I felt not to go for Indica Diesel for it being used extensively as a Taxi. And being a Diesel, it might give me a risk of High maintenance as it would be a used car.
Finally, I further shortlisted WagonR, Swift and i10 and went across showrooms to find a very well maintained used car in my budget. I found i10 to be slightly above my budget and was told by my friends that it is little high on maintenance and low on mileage compared to Maruti Cars in the same segment.
So now I had only 2 cars to choose from(WagonR and Swift), I felt I will go and buy from the very same Maruti True Value Dealers where I had done my Car’s evaluation.
One fine day, I went to Bimal true Value showroom and was on the look out for the vehicle. Suddenly, I saw a very good looking car in BRIGHT RED colour and asked as to what is this car. The showroom executive told me, it is the new modified ESTILO. Lookwise I felt it was better than WagonR and was happy knowing the price of the car(3.2 Lakhs for 2009 LXI model).
I test drove the car and was amazed with the performance and fell in love with this car. When asked about the reason for low price of the car, I was informed it was due to the lower sales of the car which results in poor resale value. Anyway my purpose was to have a decent car for atleast 5 years from date of purchase and was not bothered on the low car sales or resale value.
As I had added 1 more car to my list of options, it was time to do research on the shortlisted cars. I felt Estilo was a better option from me, among the other 2 cars(wagonR, Swift) due to its superioir mileage, low maintenance, boot space and cabin space, K10B engine which is known as a masterpiece from Maruti Suzuki, running other cars such as ALTO K10, A-Star and New WagonR.
Now I felt instead of going for a old car for around 3.2 lakhs, I felt it would be better to go for a new car for another 1 lakh. So when I went to the New Car showroom for checking the price and they said there is a 35K car discount + 25K exchange bonus for new Estilo. Which makes it to 3.8 Lakhs on road. So I had to pay only 3.3 Lakhs after exchange of my old car for 50K.
This deal really excited me, as I was getting a brand new car in my budget. So I never thought again for a Used car and went ahead and booked the new car(ESTILO) the same day.
I also checked with some of the owners(including my close friend) on the feedback for the car, I was surprised on their satisfaction levels and felt, was this the same car which is not selling much from Maruti Suzuki?
Anyway, I got the delivery of my new car on 6th April 2011 and have already driven more than 400 KM in the last 7 days. I would like to say I am very happy with this car and proud of myself for taking the decision of buying this car.
Performance wise, it would be too early to say. But I would like to tell that the mileage I am getting around 16-17KMPL(full tank to full tank) with 75% AC in Bangalore traffic which is more than my expectation. I felt there is a drop in power in 2nd and 3rd gear in lower RPM but once the RPM increases, you can feel a surge of power coming, which might be due to the 3 cylinder engine it has.
Will keep you all posted in the coming days on the performance or issues(if any) of the car.
Hope you all enjoyed my journey of buying a car. Wishing you all the very best.