{"id":50668,"date":"2023-10-28T10:19:29","date_gmt":"2023-10-28T10:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/myroadnews.com\/?p=50668"},"modified":"2023-10-28T10:19:29","modified_gmt":"2023-10-28T10:19:29","slug":"needed-a-motorcycle-under-rs-2-lakh-ended-up-buying-a-used-maruti-sx4","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/myroadnews.com\/news-features\/needed-a-motorcycle-under-rs-2-lakh-ended-up-buying-a-used-maruti-sx4\/","title":{"rendered":"Needed a motorcycle under Rs 2 lakh, ended up buying a used Maruti SX4"},"content":{"rendered":"

As per my strict budget, I had even booked a Bajaj Dominar 250 but for some reason, I decided to give the “consider a used car” idea a try.<\/h2>\n

BHPian moto_rrevver<\/strong> recently shared this with other enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

Introduction<\/h2>\n

Hello BHPians, before knowing my car and how I ended up buying it, I would like to give a brief introduction about myself.<\/p>\n

I am a 90s kid from a small town Ghatshila in Jharkhand and my passion for automobiles and music is a gift from my dad. I am an Engineer who started my career during the pandemic in 2020 and guess what is the first thing that comes to the mind of a petrolhead as soon as he starts earning.<\/p>\n

I went to Bangalore for my job and after 4 months our office got shut down because more than 50% of the employees were COVID positive, fortunately, I was not in that 50%. Returned home started working from home, started saving money for my first bike and it was July 2021 when I had to report back to the Bangalore or Pune office. I chose Pune as most of my family and friends are in Maharashtra.<\/p>\n

Search for a capable touring bike<\/h2>\n

As per my needs, I started looking for a capable touring bike as I travel a lot and mostly with a pillion, so a good pillion seat and comfortable riding posture were mandatory for me. As most of you have assumed, Dominar 400 was my first choice, it is a hell of a machine, but my budget was not allowing for it, so I skipped it and started looking into other options.<\/p>\n

Option 1 Dominar 250 –<\/h2>\n

This thing was closest to the mighty D400 but it lacked an aluminum swingarm, was less on power and torque, and had less chunky front USD forks. It was costing me around 1.9 Lakh on road which was fine by me as I had capped my budget at 2 Lakhs.<\/p>\n

Option 2 Suzuki Gixxer 250 –<\/h2>\n

Loved the engine, the refinement was way better than a few of the Yamahas, it was a complete package. Got to know why everyone bets on Japanese engines, unfortunately had to reject it due to not so not-so-comfortable pillion seat. It was costing me around 2.1 Lakh on road.<\/p>\n

Option 3 Yamaha MT-15 –<\/h2>\n

It was rejected before even getting the test drive, due to an almost non-existent pillion seat, still, I went for the test ride as this was the bike my heart wanted, and I know I would have bought it if I had to ride alone. Fuel economy of 50kmpl, R15’s engine with upright riding posture and street naked body, nothing else was needed to please me. It was costing me around 2.0 Lakh on road.<\/p>\n

Option 4 Java 42 –<\/h2>\n

It checked all my boxes only con for me was low ground clearance which was manageable. The only reason to reject this was the price tag as it was costing around 2.4 Lakh for the variant I selected after the test ride. And for that price any day I’ll pick the D400 after adding a few more thousands.<\/p>\n

Conclusion-<\/h2>\n

After riding all the contenders, went for the Dominar 250, and booked the bike in mid August 2021. They promised the delivery after almost 2 months in October as they told me there is a semi-conductor shortage and I checked with other dealers too no luck anywhere.<\/p>\n

So a long wait and excitement started, every day was feeling like a month now. Finally, the time came, I did not sleep the night before the delivery, thinking about how my first ride would be and what other places I wanted to explore on my new machine. Called the dealership 1st thing in the morning and it was heartbreaking to know that it would take 2 more months.<\/p>\n

After waiting for 2 more months, it was October 2021 and again the same thing production was slow due to a semiconductor shortage. After waiting for almost 4 months I was frustrated. Started looking for other options. Duke 200 was never on my list but knowing it was a very capable and frugal bike with upright seating posture and a good pillion seat with the new generation Duke I went for the test ride.<\/p>\n

1 thing to note I visited Java, Bajaj, Yamaha, Suzuki and KTM showrooms, the pre-sales experience of KTM and Jawa was the best they treated me like a customer who is out to buy a 2+ lakh bike should be treated. Loved the Duke, it had all the bells and whistles and lacked only a slipper clutch which I think should be included in this segment. Came back home and told my mom and my girlfriend (present wife) about the Duke and it was a big NO as soon as I said the words, KTM Duke. My mom termed it as a killing machine and my girlfriend was not comfortable in being a pillion of a chhapri bike according to her.<\/p>\n

How the idea of a pre-owned car came into play<\/h2>\n

1 fine day I was discussing all this with a friend and he suggested I should look into the pre-owned car market as during the pandemic the costs were significantly low for pre-owned cars as the automobile market was buried into the ground.<\/p>\n

Obviously, I loved cars since childhood and my family never owned a car so I was not very confident about the idea as there can be several issues with the car which can cost even more than the value of the car itself to do the repair jobs, though I was a good driver, had done multiple long drives on friend’s cars and self-drive rental cars but I know owning an old car can be a pain if anything goes wrong. Still, I chose to give it a try.<\/p>\n

Pre-owned car hunt began<\/h2>\n

Must haves –<\/h2>\n