Used Japanese Or Brand-New Indian?

[Happa123]

Hi all,

I am new to this and I'm planning to buy my first car. My budget is around 1.8M. I want to know which would be the best option among buying a used Japanese car and brand-new Indian car.

How would be the fuel efficiency in used Japanese car? Is it almost same as its brand-new condition? Will they require frequent repairs?

Thanks in advance.

[liya]

I brought a celerio and the doors don't shut properly

But you save on petrol pretty much the same way an Indian saves

You can almost hear it counting the rupees as it revs

[kamal_bandara]

I used a indian car for 4 years... BUT remember after 4-5 years and about 60-70,000km's 1/3 of the parts may need to be replaced.Within one year I had to replce the shocks , clippers , locks, and some other stuff... So go for a Jap one..

[kamal_bandara]

I brought a celerio and the doors don't shut properly

But you save on petrol pretty much the same way an Indian saves

You can almost hear it counting the rupees as it revs

I saw there is a recall on Celerio. Any reasons ?

[Clark's son]

cars with birth defects. I like that term

Maruti and tata forgot to take their folic acid,

Perodua didn't go for dating scans.

[JFLanka]

I saw there is a recall on Celerio. Any reasons ?

Celerio is recalled due to a brake failure at high speeds.

[Chanaka Gunawardena]

I would like to suggest Honda Civic EK3 for that price range. Relaiable, Excelent handling, avarage fuel consumption and Parts are freely available.

[Jor-el]

I would like to suggest Honda Civic EK3 for that price range. Relaiable, Excelent handling, avarage fuel consumption and Parts are freely available.

Mitsubishi Galant. Reliable, Driving Pleasure, Comparatively newer, cars with service records are available, downside is, not too difficult to source parts but not freely available like toyotas.

[The Don]

If you have no previous experience on cars, mechanical failures and how to get things sorted out you may benefit from buying a brand new as it is covered by agents warranty. But, there is no argument that it is behind the used jap in all other aspects (except FE).

Please be aware that most 110s, FB15 are hacked by now. It is very difficult to find a well maintained one with recorded history and true milage. So when things go wrong you could be taken for a ride by the mechanics if you have no knowledge in the subject.

Your argument will be true if a manufacturers warranty covered everything. But in reality what you have to do is go to the dealership for everything like consumables which are not covered by warranty (brake pads, discs, clutch and anything else the dealership has excluded from the warranty) and pay over inflated dealer prices.

Personally the manufacturers warranty on Indian cars are not worth the paper its written on. Because they are simple cars, there aren't things too expensive to fail and the ones which do fail are normally not included within the warranty. And for the benefits you get from your warranty you pay out 2 3 fold for other failed components not covered by warranty. Its a bit of a scandal really.

[Happa123]

Your comments are really helpful. I would surely go for a Japanese one now. Thank you all a lot. More advises are always welcome.

[LashNeo]

Since you have made up your mind to go for a used Jap. I would like to suggest you to widen your choices. Don’t limit your selection for common models like the Nissan FB15s and Toyota 110’s. As one member has pointed out, it might be a bit difficult to find well maintained specimens of those common models since often they go from one hand to another; gets neglected and gets patched up and resold. There’s nothing wrong with those car models. It’s just the matter with majority of the crowd who owns them. But, if you widen your selection and go for a Mazda BJ series, Mitsubishi CS series or Honda EK series, you might be able to find a better maintained one fairly easily since more often, these models are used by enthusiasts who really care for their cars. And if you go for a Mazda or a Mitsubishi you’ll be able to find a better kept car for a lesser price tag as well. But always keep in mind that you’ll have to attend to some repairs here and there as you are buying a car that’s around a decade old. So, if you find a good used JAP, get a good mechanical inspection done and keep aside some money for those repairs. If you can get an estimation on the repairs, you can bargain with the owner and get the price reduced. After purchasing, spend some time and complete all those repairs including the minor niggles as well and you are good to go for another 3-5 years without much hassle.

If your maximum budget is 1.8million, better to look for something in the 1.65-1.75 million range since then you’ll have a financial cushion to attend any repairs that may need attention.

Edited February 25, 2015 by LashNeo

[The Don]

I suggest the best option at that price braket is a Viva Elite Manual (which would be roughly similar in price to a brand new Alto) from about 2012 or for a bit more the Viva Elite auto. They are certainly built better than the Alto.

[Knight]

Like with most Indian products (& programs), Indian cars are of cheap quality.

I hope by now you have made up your mind to go for a Japanese or European car.

For your budget, you can go for Nissan March (K11 or K12), Honda Civic EK3 ('99/2000 model), Toyota Starlet and many other cars found on AL.

All the best!

[Happa123]

How about Mitsubishi Lancer?

[MrCat]

Jap? Indian? Used? Not used? does it really matter as long as the quality is good?

[Happa123]

Jap? Indian? Used? Not used? does it really matter as long as the quality is good?

Yes, That is what I was asking.

[Happa123]

can anyone tell me why Lancer s have no good resale market?

[sasika]

can anyone tell me why Lancer s have no good resale market?

little thirsty than toyota models maybe?

[nagaya]

little thirsty than toyota models maybe?

thirsty coz of performance

[Davy]

can anyone tell me why Lancer s have no good resale market?

Resale value is not as terrible as people say it is. After 6 years of owning a Lancer, I can still sell it for a little over the price I bought it for... confidently. So I wouldn't call it poor resale value.

Also, I personally don't believe in making a profit out of owning a car. There are so many other factors to consider when buying a vehicle besides resale value.

Finally, being so fixated on resale value will bias you towards buying a car that will please the market (next owner), but not you.

[The Don]

can anyone tell me why Lancer s have no good resale market?

Utter rubbish.

The Lancers are cheaper because at first import as well they were cheaper.

Things change for every generation of vehicle. In the AE100, AE110, AE121 era the Corolla was certainly the car most suitable for our market (good fuel consumption, interior that aged well and seemed to hold out ok against /UV damage)

But you might have noticed, things have changed now.

Point is the priorities of the market change. I remember a time when Honda cars could be had for bargain prices but no more.

Edited March 2, 2015 by The Don

[Happa123]

Utter rubbish.

The Lancers are cheaper because at first import as well they were cheaper.

Things change for every generation of vehicle. In the AE100, AE110, AE121 era the Corolla was certainly the car most suitable for our market (good fuel consumption, interior that aged well and seemed to hold out ok against /UV damage)

But you might have noticed, things have changed now.

Point is the priorities of the market change. I remember a time when Honda cars could be had for bargain prices but no more.

Thanks DON.

[Happa123]

I'm thinking of buying a Lancer CS1 or CS3. I found many posts on AL on these two models. But I could not find much on fuel efficiency of CS3. I'm grateful if anyone knows about that can comment.

Are all CS3 having EFI?

[Davy]

I'm thinking of buying a Lancer CS1 or CS3. I found many posts on AL on these two models. But I could not find much on fuel efficiency of CS3. I'm grateful if anyone knows about that can comment.

Are all CS3 having EFI?

Fuel Efficiency has already been shared here. To add a bit more to my post in that thread, I started using 91 octane after it was available in the country, and the figures remained the same. You're looking at a lowest of 10km/l in the city and 14km/l outstation. If the figures are lower than this, the car probably needs to be checked up.

The CS3 does come with a 1.6L EFI engine (model 4G18). Please search the forum, you will find so much information about the entire CS series. Good luck with your buy.

[trinity]

Note that Davy is quoting figures of CS3 with manual transmission (Most of the CS3s are manuals here)... there are CS3s with CVT auto box and figures of those cars might be little lower than the Davys figures..

[nagaya]

Note that Davy is quoting figures of CS3 with manual transmission (Most of the CS3s are manuals here)... there are CS3s with CVT auto box and figures of those cars might be little lower than the Davys figures..

I have a CS3 with 4G18 ECI-MULTI + INCECS-II 4AT Sports transmission and in auto mode around 11 kmpl in city with regular 92 petrol, i haven't checked much on manual mode.with 95 octane, the pickup is more smoother

Edited March 5, 2015 by nagaya