I even shortlisted a few used cars like the Mahindra XUV500, Hyundai Tucson and Kia Carnival.
Bhpian is diwakarmuthu recently shared this with other enthusiasts:
The quintessential story in most of our homes, just that I relate to this car transition of mine.
I’ve segregated this across multiple topics for ease of reading.
- Ah! The Big Brother
- Deciding on what to adopt / buy next
- Forget the Hassle, buy a new car
- The Twist in the Tale – The Younger Brother Stakes Claim
- My Review
- Accessories
- The Unthinkable Happens
Ah! The big brother
14 years, 2 months and 20 odd days later decided to leave the garage for good. He had grown old, rusty in some parts and called for some good TLC that I didn’t find VFM. So, the difficult decision was made to leave him for a better home.
Indeed, the separation was quite an emotional one, for the Scorpio was my trusted ride and as a family we created wonderful memories, the drives, the joy of bringing my newborn in the car and seeing him literally grow inside it for a decade, moving homes, all came flashing in front of me. All things, living and non-living, have a finite lifespan, and all existence is transient, this was my moment of transition.
In all these years, never once did the car let me down. Over 1 lakh on the ODO, it just absorbed everything that was thrown at it.
An online car marketplace came to the rescue. After checking out multiple quotes, I gave it away to the most competitive one.
Deciding on what to adopt / buy next
Simple requirements
- 7 seater, but ok with a spacious 5 seater
- Under 25L for pre-owned and 30L for brand new
- AT Only (Bangalore got me this time!)
I had a few options in front of me:
- Scour the market for VFM offerings in the pre-owned space (Adopt)
- I prefer to hold onto the car for 10+ years, put the money in a brand new car (Buy)
- Company is offering me a lease, why not check that and I can pick something at a higher price point too (Adopt)
They say, “Idle man’s brain is a devil’s workshop” and mine was indeed. There were too many ideas floating in my head, some of which I have already floated in many threads here.
Scour the market for VFM offerings in the pre-owned space (Adopt)
I shortlisted the following cars
- XUV500 (2019 + model) – The most logical choice in my view. Trusted engine and a proven car, so I looked at more than a dozen examples. Took test drives of W8, W10 and W11 models. I skipped the dealers as I saw the same examples getting repeated. The ones I liked got sold before I could get home and discuss. The others had a lot of issues and decided to look at – Budget Range 18L – 21L
- Previous Gen Hyundai Tucson (2019 + model) – I saw a couple of examples, low run <30k on the ODO cars. I found one Petrol variant for 24L and when I started to look at the service history, the truths came out, the door, left side rear fender were all changed in an accident, while the other car was maintained poorly, shoddy interiors and more importantly body had so many dents which didn’t warrant the price they quoted. I walked away – Budget Range | Petrol 24L | Diesel 26-28L
- Mahindra Alturas G4 4WD – I had to increase my budget, which I was ok for the right car. Some well-maintained company cars were available. I checked a couple of cars, and I loved it instantly. Getting hold of a direct owner car was very difficult and an online car marketplace quoted a bomb for a car that was not worth that much. As I did not get any more examples moved on – Budget Range 24L-27L
- Kia Carnival (Prestige / Premium Variant) – This was a very interesting proposition, and found a couple of good cars, though from dealers. Though not a huge fan of the van lineage. Considering BLR, the narrow streets and driving I decided to skip this one – Budget Range 25L-31L
- I glanced at the Germans too as I had the luxury car itch. Merc B-Class and Audi A4 falling right at my budget, albeit slightly old (6-7 years old). Thought long and didn’t want a grumpy German in my garage and decided to let it go
By now 3 months passed with no luck in finding the right car.
Continue reading Diwakarmuthu’s review for BHPian comments, insights and more information.
