Salam
Alhamdulilah after 3 weeks of car search, got delivery of a '03 Santro Club yesterday (11:30 pm - 20th May 2014).
The car is intended to be used as a daily runner by my uncle, with expected usage of around 60-65 kms per day (within city).
Background
Our budget was very tight we didn't have a lot of options. Also my uncle's preference was of getting a sedan . So our initial options were:
1- Suzuki Margalla
2- Suzuki Swift Sedan (1000 cc Margalla shape)
3- Nissan Sunny 1.0 LX
4- Suzuki Baleno (98-00 models)
After first week of search, it became very obvious that it will be a miracle to find the vehicles from S.No. 1-3 in un-abused condition due to the age factor and clean Baleno (option 4) was out of our range.
So we sat and reconsidered our options and gave up the idea of buying a Sedan, plus increased our budget a little bit. Thus we got some additions in our option list as:
5- Chevrolet Exclusive
6- Chevrolet Joy
7- Hyundai Santro Plus
8- Hyundai Santro Club (03-04)
Comparing the looks, availability of parts, presence on road and resale we decided to only focus on option no. 8.
The Search
It always happen while buying a used car that whatever vehicle we are interested in becomes rare, as we were not looking for Santro- came across a few good ones with justified price tags. And within a week......... boom ............ surrounded by dealers jugaado vehicles. I even came across a vehicle with coconut oil (khoprey ka tel :P) applied on the dashboard to give it a glossy look. For vehicles that were used by genuine owners, were insanely priced.....and the search continued till we came across the subject vehicle.
The Find
This vehicle was immediately rejected by my uncle as there was a lot of work required in the vehicle and he didn't wanted to experiment with a new vehicle (not previously kept) with the mechanics. But I got stuck on this vehicle due to the following reasons:
1- Vehicle was registered on the name of seller since 2009 (So vehicle in single hand since 5 years)
2- No major jugaads were observed.
3- Dashboard in good condition
4- All critical interior parts present and intact (except for the missing door sills or paapri for front doors)
5- White color
6- Was tired of spending my Sundays in "Car Bazaar" under the scorching sun....... atleast there is a fan and shade at the workshops
The Project
Vehicle was purchased on my persuasion and I was given the task to bring the vehicle to its glory within a limited budget and short time span.
As I mentioned earlier, the vehicle was delivered nearly at midnight yesterday.......didn't have the chance to inspect the vehicle in detail, but the major works already observed before purchase include:
1- Cracked Wind screen (to be replaced)
2- Axles to be replaced (maybe only new outers or whole axles Kaabli)
3- Steering needs work (I feel like it needs some bushes and minor repairs)
4- Front and rear suspension dead.......feel like a "Thelaa" on bumps
5- Some major tuning required with replacement of a few bearings.......details after inspection by my mechanic.
6- Body work (misc) specially the setting of front show i.e. front bumper, head lights and grill
7- Intensive interior cleaning
Will upload the detailed pics tonight IA........... for the time being please bear with these pics.
Regards
Arsalan