A sabbatical from driving for nearly 5 years and I was back in the market for a set of wheels. Auto Consulting to someone looking for a car turns out easy however when it comes to oneself, there's a plethora of options and one can only be lost in the time sucking vortex from hell. The Internet !!
This was intended for my brother so he could drive and I could use it occasionally. Only petrol as the usage would be on the lower side. My brother only wanted a hatchback, preferably a small car like 800/Zen and go bling with with alloys headers and the rest of bells and whistles that could give the 'fizz' effect like James May. So the exhaustive list of cars that I've skimmed over the last 4 months. Starting budget was 50k but managed to 'boost' it up to a Lac so now the options switched from a pool of small cars and bigger sedans started showing up in search results.
For a budget under a lac (in the order of search results for the budget):
1. Maruti 800/Zen/zen classic << Serves only purpose of learning.
2. Fiat 118NE / Premier Padmini << Mostly will be at service center/spares issue
3. Contessa << I was more inclined to owning the classic but reliability kept me away.
4. Alto/Estillo/Palio << As good as pt 1.
5. Esteem/1.3 or a 1.6 petrol Ikon/Accent << First car a Ford so looking for something different
6. Lancer
7. Honda City type 1 OHC << Very inclined to these as there were options in 1-1.5lac.
8. Type 2 (1.3/1.5/vtec) << The best in my mind among the lot.
9. Honda Civic. (Low GC and expensive spares relative to Honda City)
So with the options above ended up test driving a couple of OHC. One was in a pretty bad state but the exhaust note with headers was sweet. However during a test drive the car choked within a km and the owner was honest to admin it was one of the cables from the set of 4 that pop out and just re-seating it gets working. A deal breaker for me this one.
The next one was a very nice looking type 1 OHC and it stuck on my mind like glue the moment a test drive was done. The modifications done were neat. Engine bay looked reasonably good for a 16yr old car. 4 lenso Alloys to give it a beautiful stance with spacers. Half headers to ensure you get the oomph factor without causing any nausea on long drives. Just a perfect blend of components I was after. Owner wanted to deal with only cash transaction and didn't seem very keen on selling it as there was no proper/timely response. So it kept getting postponed by a couple of weeks. Yet another deal breaker.
A week later visited BEL circle near Jalahalli to test a Type2 Honda city 1.5 with alloys, headers from Raj and shabbir (best in bangalore and in south India if I'm not mistaken) FC till 2020 but pretty loud car. I'm floored with the sporty exhausts but they surely are police magnets so was the carbon fiber finish spoiler. I wondered this type 2 Honda City is a better choice than the OHC checked earlier however the owner quoted 2.60 and was ready for 2L. The deal was again being postponed by a couple of weeks and after a feedback from my family we decided against this vehicle due to the mods done. Parents won't certainly like to be in the constant roar of the thunderous exhaust on long drives.
Now I start looking for deals outside Bangalore and a ton of options show up under a 2L budget. I'm now drooling over Camry's/Volvo S60/Jetta/Corolla/BMW. The City Vtec seems to be a rare bunch and finding one in a good nick even rarer. So the options are now narrowed down to only Honda City Type 2 or a Toyota Corolla. Upon searching there were quite a few listed and the color choices that were on offer and the one to please the family turned out to be this Blue one. The white/black/silver are the most common. Red and Blue look to be the exquisite breed. Took a colleague of mine who's the trained eye and he did the test drive and confirmed the suspension needed work and front bumper needs refit. Apart from that no major work that is needed on this baby. Hence the negotiations start and we finally seal the deal at 1.75L within a week. The price quoted on advert was 2.6L. Today my brother joins the automotive club with this Blue Wonder, The Toyota Corolla H2.
The Goodies (Features that I've not been accustomed to. Simple and subtle for many but a 5 Star for me) :
The AC is truly a chiller and auto mode works impeccably. I thought Figo had the best in class AC and I'm sure this is at par with the Ford. I wasn't aware that the mirrors were motorized. I only realized it the next morning when I inserted the key and then the sweet sound of the mirrors unfolding. Wow. Goosebumps! The engine is so refined but not as silent as the Maruti. Yet, coming from the likes of a diesel Ikon 1.8D you can imagine the grin on my face driving about in the 'silent mode'. The armrest had two storage compartments. TWO! The parcel tray on the front passenger area unfolds in a controlled manner and not like a freefall in the Ikon. Even the spare wheel is an alloy. The interiors are just superb with the fabric type that I always wanted in a car. Talk about being cocooned in luxury. Brakes being all 4 discs are sharp and with potential to stop on a dime. With the fog lamps on, it looks sweeter at night. I had my brother drive around the block while I just stood still admiring the looks. (Secretly though still have a soft corner for the Civic and City Vtec Type 2). I must thank my family for putting them up to a sufferfest and persistent requests for sanity check while shortlisting (actually a longlist) vehicles over the last four months. Even went to the extent of checking for options in Delhi and Mumbai looking at an Camry/Cedia. Everything on the inside of the car just works as it should. The first owner has maintained it very well. There are a few scratches on the bumper and cosmetic issues are to be sorted next year. The alloys show their age and have an orang-ish tinge but I can live with the dash of sportiness. The funny part is this car has a 6CD changer and a cassette player. I still have a dozen cassettes left however not a single MP3 CD in this age of AUX/USB streaming.
Issues that need attention:
1. Right wheel has knocking noise. (probably the ball joint/lowerarm/suspension/bushings)
2. Rear left wheel has a sound as if some sort of metal plate is loose and it has no pattern but just appears at random. Needs more inspection.
3. Front bumper on the right needs a re-fit as there is a considerable gap between it and the headlight.
4. Rear tyres need replacement not immediate but going by the looks there is still about 8-10k kms life left on it.
2. Rear left wheel/axle has a sound as if some sort of metal plate is loose and it has no pattern but just appears at random. Needs more inspection. (Pending)
3. Front bumper on the right needs a re-fit as there is a considerable gap between it and the headlight. (Pending)
4. Rear tyres need replacement not immediate but going by the looks there is still about 8-10k kms life left on it. (Pending)
This was intended for my brother so he could drive and I could use it occasionally. Only petrol as the usage would be on the lower side. My brother only wanted a hatchback, preferably a small car like 800/Zen and go bling with with alloys headers and the rest of bells and whistles that could give the 'fizz' effect like James May. So the exhaustive list of cars that I've skimmed over the last 4 months. Starting budget was 50k but managed to 'boost' it up to a Lac so now the options switched from a pool of small cars and bigger sedans started showing up in search results.
For a budget under a lac (in the order of search results for the budget):
1. Maruti 800/Zen/zen classic << Serves only purpose of learning.
2. Fiat 118NE / Premier Padmini << Mostly will be at service center/spares issue
3. Contessa << I was more inclined to owning the classic but reliability kept me away.
4. Alto/Estillo/Palio << As good as pt 1.
5. Esteem/1.3 or a 1.6 petrol Ikon/Accent << First car a Ford so looking for something different
6. Lancer
7. Honda City type 1 OHC << Very inclined to these as there were options in 1-1.5lac.
8. Type 2 (1.3/1.5/vtec) << The best in my mind among the lot.
9. Honda Civic. (Low GC and expensive spares relative to Honda City)
So with the options above ended up test driving a couple of OHC. One was in a pretty bad state but the exhaust note with headers was sweet. However during a test drive the car choked within a km and the owner was honest to admin it was one of the cables from the set of 4 that pop out and just re-seating it gets working. A deal breaker for me this one.
The next one was a very nice looking type 1 OHC and it stuck on my mind like glue the moment a test drive was done. The modifications done were neat. Engine bay looked reasonably good for a 16yr old car. 4 lenso Alloys to give it a beautiful stance with spacers. Half headers to ensure you get the oomph factor without causing any nausea on long drives. Just a perfect blend of components I was after. Owner wanted to deal with only cash transaction and didn't seem very keen on selling it as there was no proper/timely response. So it kept getting postponed by a couple of weeks. Yet another deal breaker.
A week later visited BEL circle near Jalahalli to test a Type2 Honda city 1.5 with alloys, headers from Raj and shabbir (best in bangalore and in south India if I'm not mistaken) FC till 2020 but pretty loud car. I'm floored with the sporty exhausts but they surely are police magnets so was the carbon fiber finish spoiler. I wondered this type 2 Honda City is a better choice than the OHC checked earlier however the owner quoted 2.60 and was ready for 2L. The deal was again being postponed by a couple of weeks and after a feedback from my family we decided against this vehicle due to the mods done. Parents won't certainly like to be in the constant roar of the thunderous exhaust on long drives.
Now I start looking for deals outside Bangalore and a ton of options show up under a 2L budget. I'm now drooling over Camry's/Volvo S60/Jetta/Corolla/BMW. The City Vtec seems to be a rare bunch and finding one in a good nick even rarer. So the options are now narrowed down to only Honda City Type 2 or a Toyota Corolla. Upon searching there were quite a few listed and the color choices that were on offer and the one to please the family turned out to be this Blue one. The white/black/silver are the most common. Red and Blue look to be the exquisite breed. Took a colleague of mine who's the trained eye and he did the test drive and confirmed the suspension needed work and front bumper needs refit. Apart from that no major work that is needed on this baby. Hence the negotiations start and we finally seal the deal at 1.75L within a week. The price quoted on advert was 2.6L. Today my brother joins the automotive club with this Blue Wonder, The Toyota Corolla H2.
The Goodies (Features that I've not been accustomed to. Simple and subtle for many but a 5 Star for me) :
The AC is truly a chiller and auto mode works impeccably. I thought Figo had the best in class AC and I'm sure this is at par with the Ford. I wasn't aware that the mirrors were motorized. I only realized it the next morning when I inserted the key and then the sweet sound of the mirrors unfolding. Wow. Goosebumps! The engine is so refined but not as silent as the Maruti. Yet, coming from the likes of a diesel Ikon 1.8D you can imagine the grin on my face driving about in the 'silent mode'. The armrest had two storage compartments. TWO! The parcel tray on the front passenger area unfolds in a controlled manner and not like a freefall in the Ikon. Even the spare wheel is an alloy. The interiors are just superb with the fabric type that I always wanted in a car. Talk about being cocooned in luxury. Brakes being all 4 discs are sharp and with potential to stop on a dime. With the fog lamps on, it looks sweeter at night. I had my brother drive around the block while I just stood still admiring the looks. (Secretly though still have a soft corner for the Civic and City Vtec Type 2). I must thank my family for putting them up to a sufferfest and persistent requests for sanity check while shortlisting (actually a longlist) vehicles over the last four months. Even went to the extent of checking for options in Delhi and Mumbai looking at an Camry/Cedia. Everything on the inside of the car just works as it should. The first owner has maintained it very well. There are a few scratches on the bumper and cosmetic issues are to be sorted next year. The alloys show their age and have an orang-ish tinge but I can live with the dash of sportiness. The funny part is this car has a 6CD changer and a cassette player. I still have a dozen cassettes left however not a single MP3 CD in this age of AUX/USB streaming.
Issues that need attention:
1. Right wheel has knocking noise. (probably the ball joint/lowerarm/suspension/bushings)
2. Rear left wheel has a sound as if some sort of metal plate is loose and it has no pattern but just appears at random. Needs more inspection.
3. Front bumper on the right needs a re-fit as there is a considerable gap between it and the headlight.
4. Rear tyres need replacement not immediate but going by the looks there is still about 8-10k kms life left on it.
5. Wiper pipe is disconnected so yet to find the right socket to connect it.
6. Front right power window sometimes is slow to respond but allow it a few minutes and its back to normal.
Pic update
This blog has captured the very essence of owning a Toyota Corolla: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/long-term-ownership-reviews/107579-toyota-corolla-2004-long-term-ownership-report-55-000-km-2.html
Update 8th Nov ::
1. Right wheel has knocking noise. (probably the ball joint/lowerarm/suspension/bushings) (Resolved - Struts and mount plates replaced)2. Rear left wheel/axle has a sound as if some sort of metal plate is loose and it has no pattern but just appears at random. Needs more inspection. (Pending)
3. Front bumper on the right needs a re-fit as there is a considerable gap between it and the headlight. (Pending)
4. Rear tyres need replacement not immediate but going by the looks there is still about 8-10k kms life left on it. (Pending)
5. Wiper pipe is disconnected so yet to find the right socket to connect it. (DIY - resolved)
6. Front right power window sometimes is slow to respond but allow it a few minutes and its back to normal. (Pending)
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