Three sparingly used cars you can get for under Rs. 1.5 lakh
If you are looking for your first car or probably a second car on a very tight budget of about Rs. 1.5 lakh there are a number of good deals available in the used car market. There are good hatchbacks and even few sedans that fall within that price range.more
However, to ensure you don’t get a car that is too old or has run too much, we’ve only shortlisted those cars that are available at under Rs. 1.5 lakh, have run less than 50,000 km and are not more than seven years old, that is cars made only after 2006.
Scanning through the CarToq database of multiple listings of used cars on the Internet, we found at least three cars that would make sense to you if you are looking at an entry-level hatchback.
Tata Nano
This should come as no surprise. The Tata Nano was launched in 2009, and was proclaimed as the Rs. 1 lakh car. Of course, on-road prices were a lot higher, but still this is one car you can get in the used car market really cheap – even lower than the price of a new 150 cc motorcycle! Tata Nano vs Maruti Alto, the better first car?
The Tata Nano is powered by a 624 cc, two-cylinder rear-mounted petrol engine with a four-speed manual transmission, putting out 37 bhp of power and 53 Nm of torque. It has a claimed fuel efficiency of nearly 24 kmpl. A new Tata Nano’s price ranges between Rs. 1.53 lakh and Rs. 2.17 lakh now across three variants.
Here are some good deals on Used Tata Nano’s across cities:
Tata Nano LX 2010: Priced at Rs. 1.40 lakh. Driven only 33,000 km in Bangalore.
Tata Nano LX 2009: Priced at Rs. 80,000. Driven only 28,000 km in Delhi.
Tata Nano Base 2011: Priced at Rs. 85,000. Driven only 32,000 km in Mumbai.
Maruti Alto
The Maruti Alto is India’s largest selling car, selling over 25,000 new cars a month. This means there are plenty of listings for used Maruti Altos as well, but they do command a good resale value, and hence getting one cheap is a bit difficult. Still, here are some sparingly driven cars that are relatively good value if you are looking for a second-hand Maruti Alto. What’s the price of a used Maruti Alto? Three city comparison
The older Maruti Alto, was powered by a 796 cc three-cylinder petrol engine putting out 46 bhp of power and 62 Nm of torque with a five-speed manual transmission. The car is good value for money as a city runabout, which can also do a few long distance trips. A new Maruti Alto 800 now costs between Rs. 2.43 lakh to Rs. 3.56 lakh, across seven variants – four petrol and three CNG powered.
Given the good resale value, one can only get Maruti Alto cars that are made before 2008 at below Rs. 1.5 lakh. Here are some interesting listings for sparingly used Maruti Altos we found across cities:
Maruti Alto LXI (2006): Priced at Rs. 1.05 lakh. Driven 45,000 km in Bangalore.
Maruti Alto LXI (2006): Priced at Rs. 1.25 lakh. Driven 40,000 km in Delhi.
Maruti Alto LXI (2006): Priced at Rs. 1.35 lakh. Driven 30,500 km in Mumbai.
Maruti Alto LXI (2008): Priced at Rs. 1.50 lakh. Driven 35,000 km in Delhi.
Indica Xeta
If you are looking for a spacious car that can carry a whole lot of luggage as well as seat five passengers comfortably, then you should keep your eye out for a Tata Indica Xeta petrol. This car doesn’t hold its resale value that well, but is a very practical car. The Indica Xeta petrol is relatively low maintenance when compared with a diesel Indica, and hence would suit your purposes well.
The new Tata Indica eV2 petrol is powered by a 1.2 litre (Fiat sourced) four-cylinder petrol engine putting out 65 bhp of power and 100 Nm of torque with a five-speed manual transmission. This car is priced between Rs. 3.29 lakh and Rs. 4.10 lakh across four petrol variants.
The older Tata Indica Xeta was powered by a 1.4 litre petrol engine that put out 70 bhp of power and 121 Nm of torque, with a five-speed manual transmission. Its downside was low fuel efficiency of only about 11 kmpl in the city, but if your running is limited, this is a good deal. Also read: Tata Indica diesel now cheaper than Maruti Wagon-R petrol
Here are some indicative prices of used Tata Indica Xeta cars we’ve found:
Tata Indica V2 Xeta GLS (2006): Priced at Rs. 90,000. Driven 40,000 km in Mumbai.
Tata Indica Xeta GLS (2007): Priced at Rs. 1 lakh. Driven 47,000 km in Mumbai.
Tata Indica Xeta GLS (2007): Priced at Rs. 1.30 lakh. Driven 20,000 km only in Bangalore.
Tata Indica Xeta GLE (2007), with CNG: Priced at Rs. 1.35 lakh. Driven 42,000 km in Mumbai.
There are a few more listings within this budget of cars not more than seven years old. These include a few Hyundai Santros, a handful of Maruti Wagon-R cars, Maruti Estilo and Chevrolet Spark. But these cars, however, have been driven around 50,000 km already. So you’ll really need to hunt for a good deal there.
Which of these cars would you pick, if you had a budget of just Rs. 1.5 lakh and wanted a car? Share your thoughts. Great used sedans for under Rs. 1.5 lakh