Searching for a Diesel : old or new

Hi, I have been searching for a diesel car for a month now and the experience is given below. You can read the prelude here: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/sedans...-cars-own.html After this i test drove new cars from the following: 1. Maruti Swift: I wen to the showroom to see the new swift. It was not even displayed and on my insistence i was taken to backyard where it was kept. ZDI model was on display and the car looked good. Inside of the car was also looking good but the backside was cramped and i found ingress little difficult. I could not TD the car as there were several people seeing the car and i came back. I called them next day morning and fixed an appointment and they came bang on time. I drove the ZDI with 6k on the odo and i liked the driveability, the response and overall feel and didn't feel any lag. The car was stable and very good ride and absorbed shocks well. Given i drive Ikon and Fiesta, i'll rate it quite well on handling. Gearbox was smooth and precise. Other features were standard and satisfactory. I liked the upsized tyres as well. However, the ZDI is around 7.4L OTR in thane and I'm not sure I want to buy a VDI without ABS and Airbags. Secondly, the wait time of 7 months totally put me off as the car would not come before march and i'm dead sure of hike in excise duty on diesel engines in the budget which will jack up the prices of diesels between 25-75k (purely my gut feel- no data to support) 2. Ford Figo: The test drive vechicle came 2 hrs late after a few threats. It had 32k on the odo and condition was decent. However, the clutch didn't feel well and the ride was not as smooth as swift though i drove on the exact same stretch. Steering was fine-not light and not too hard with good response. Gearbox was little tight. Car didn't scrape any humps and I'm sure it will clear 95% of those in mumbai given these were not scraped. I spoke to few friends who have a figo and they said that the non-maintenance of the TD car is the issue with the clutch and gearbox else it is as good as fiesta and i agreed. The all round visibility was great which makes driving in bumper to bumper traffic much more compfortable and there was no lag. I'm seriously considering buying this fully loaded car now with alloys and USB port as well for 6.8 OTR 3. I20 Diesel: TD car came again after a few threats after the guy was insisting for me to come to the showroom. The Car was good looking but i felt a little cramped in driver's seat with my foot hitting the panel above the pedals. The AC was pathetic even though the temp was set at 16 degrees. Steering was very light with little feedback and the accelerator was dead till 50% pressed. The car stalled twice and i found some lag initially. But the price of over 8L OTR (sports model with safety features) i think is way too high. 4. Toyota Liva: Tried booking TD and was told to come to showroom. Threats didn't work. So decided to drop this car. Once going by the showroom in goregaon link road, decided to drop in. Went inside and circled the car for 5 minutes. No one there was available to help or wanted to help. Saw the car. Saw the plastics inside. I feel my M800 of 2000 has better plastics. Dropped the idea of TD and came out. Meanwhile i continued my search for used cars. Shortlisted on couple of Dezires/Fiestas/Fusion and an Elantra. 1. Elantra on the paper was the best buy. Fully loaded with great new interiors done by second owner. However, on the road i realised that the car handling was poor, i struggled to find a comfortable position and overall the steering feel and drive was too tiring. No way i can drive this car for 3 hours daily. Had to drop it 2. Dezires: the price expecations simply made not sense. mid 2008 dezires with 50k on the odo - VDIs for 5.5-6L simply was too much 3. I liked 2 fiestas. One an 2008 SXI (without alloys), black in a decent condition except work needed on the clutch and bit noisy engine. Asking for 5L with 50k on the odo which I was not sure is genuine. Still thinking.... 4. Other fiesta is white 2006 end fiesta with 55k on the odo. asking for 3.5L . Strongly inclined to buy this. It has alloys, good tyres and leather interiors. 5. Shortlisted a fusion tdci yesterday. 33k on the odo for 3.7L. Showed my SA today and he has given me an expenditure of 40k but the vehicle has had an accident on the side with coverup done up at a local station. I had given a token as well which I'll lose now. Also, the cost of spares for fusion apparently is very high and my SA clearly told me no no. This is the story till today and will keep posting my experience till i finally buy. Advice from any quarters on choice between used car 3/4/5 or a new Figo is welcome

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