Buying a car isn’t easy anymore: Some positive & negative development

One needs to make an informed decision after a lot of research. EV or not? Diesel bans & DPF issues. Sedans dying. Some cars are overpriced, others have long waiting periods.

BHPian buzzy_boy recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

The last 2-3 years have been interesting from a car ownership perspective. There have been many positive and negative developments. Listing a few below.

Starting with the positives:

• Lots of new models have been introduced
• Mainstream cars are safer
• Home-grown car makers have introduced world-class models
• Many players have introduced usable sustainable powertrains. Eg: Tata’s CNG, Toyota’s hybrid
• Entry of organized players into the used car business
• Turbo petrol and EVs are democratizing performance
• Lots of demand, and equivalent supply, for fun vehicles. Who would’ve foreseen the potential demand for the Petrol Thar 10 years back?

Listing some of the negatives:

• Due to inflation, cars are much more expensive
• Car loans are more expensive
• Huge waiting times
• An ambiguous regulatory environment causes fear
• Unreasonably high used car prices
• Diesel cars are much more expensive and complex
• No proper ATs below 10 lakhs.
• Very few value-for-money options beyond 30 lakhs

Despite the headwinds, the demand for vehicles has shown no signs of cooling off. While the macro-economics are interesting, the goal of this thread is to understand the individual experience. If you’re in the market for a new, or used, car, what is your personal state of affairs?

Please post more details about your experience through replies.

Here’s what GTO had to say on the matter:

Not simple buying a car today at all. One needs to make an informed decision after a lot of research. EV or not? Diesel bans & DPF issues. Sedans dying. Some cars are overpriced, others have long waiting periods.

My two paise:

1. Bought the car I loved = Mahindra Thar 4×4 in the exact spec I wanted (red & convertible). To my surprise though, the more I researched, the more I moved my original choice from turbo-diesel to turbo-petrol. BS6 diesel headaches, the f-a-s-t turbo-petrol and low 5000 km/year running were the main reasons.
2. OTOH, am retaining my 530d. First time I’m keeping a daily beyond the 10-year mark for the simple reason that any upgrade to this car simply isn’t worth the giant moolah I’d have to spend. And that the BMW has aged really well. Even by current standards, it’s handsome, luxurious, fast & comfortable.

Here’s what BHPian aargee had to say on the matter:

Sharing my sad state: My last car is already here SCross 1.6. Although I’m very enthusiastic, I’m no longer actively interested in driving a car in this country; maybe for a short 1-2 Km like a test drive is OK, but don’t wish to own & fight the traffic. Made peace with traveling by public transport especially train, bus & Uber/Ola

Perhaps I’m unique in this forum, but this is my plight

Here’s what BHPian Sheel had to say on the matter:

I think, the biggest issue with both petrol and diesel cars / SUV’s now, which I see is:

1. DPF clogging issue in diesel vehicles.
2. Not much clarity (IMO) on ethanol blending and its effect on BS-4 and a few BS-6 (which are E-10 compatible) vehicles.

I am relatively less worried as I have BS-4 diesel & petrol vehicles, so I am trying to postpone my purchase decision and hold on to my vehicles as long as I can. But if I had to buy one now, I would be in a conundrum. Have not voted because of the reasons I mentioned above. Thanks!

Here’s what BHPian Shreyans_Jain had to say on the matter:

It is so much worse for us Delhi guys. The kind of resale values we get for our immaculately maintained 6-7-year-old diesel cars can make a grown man cry. You can’t buy diesel anymore. NA petrol engines are LAME, turbos drink, then there is the entire ethanol angle. And the asking prices are through the roof.

Basically, if you live in Delhi NCR and have plenty of running, you are screwed. Your only options are EV (immature tech, Tata’s monopoly) or CNG (no power, no automatic, limited options) or just keep filling petrol and paying through your nose for it.

Hybrid is again a monopoly situation with extremely poor availability.

It’s a very tough call, and I have gone the EV way with the Nexon EV LR. You pay the premium but at least you are rewarded with zippy performance, fantastic refinement and negligible running costs. Have clocked almost 4000km already in less than a month. It has taken over from my diesel City (now sold) as the daily use workhorse.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.

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