Vehicular Woes

I am sick (again!) of having to wrack my head on buying a new car… Ordinarily, the purchase of first car from "own" money should evoke feelings of joy and pride… but I am just plain sick of having to consider and re-consider decisions… The more number of people you ask, the more number of views you get… And let me assure you that all views are mutually contradictory… First it was Maruti, before it was trashed as being "too conservative"… then it was Chevrolet, before it was criticized for "not being worth it"… Hyundais came and went as did Hondas and Fords and Toyotas… Mostly it was the money, sometimes it was the color… and at other times the shape of the car (Ritz, e.g. appears perennially dented from behind!)… Detailed discussion happened on used cars… Some supported it…others rejected it outright.. The net result is that I am still car-less and at the mercy of Pune's chor autowallahs…

The fact is that all cars are too expensive… unless you go for models such as Wagon-R, which are cheaper, but then "older" so to speak… I know for a fact that my first car will end up being heavily dented and hence I am definitely not in the mood to splurge… If my experience during Engineering is anything to go by, I am expecting ending up at the Hospital, once every 6 months at the very least and at the Service center at twice that frequency… And believe me, I know how much it hurts to get a scratch on a brand new vehicle… With all this playing at the back of my mind, and with the latent interest in appearing "cool", decision-making as far as car purchase is concerned just isn't happening!

Another important decision point which is adding to all the confusion is whether to go in for a high/middle end version of a low end car or for a low end version of a high end car… The price range roughly ends up being the same, but honestly, there is no point flaunting a Toyota Liva with no power windows!!! I've even tried to convince myself to go in for an Alto, but my legs simply refuse to feel comfortable!… I, honestly, tried to think of buying an Indica (knowing fully well that I will be flagged down on the middle of a road and will be mistaken as a Cab driver), before my Boss warned me of poor performance rating (He's not prepared to have an Indica-driving subordinate!)

And to all the confusion was added the new chapter on buying used cars… I am ok with that, but it seems that most used cars are Altos and Zens… Add to it the fact that the "better" used cars cost up to 3.5-4L… I guess it is complete non sense to spend 3.5 L on a used car, when you can get a brand new car by spending another 50-75k!

Anyways, so that is what is keeping me busy these days… Scouring dealers… bugging sales centers on phones and speaking to as many people as I can in trying to reach a "consensual" decision….Sadly though, consensus, in this matter is proving to be elusive!

Lets see what the future has in store!