Why did I Prefer to Buy A Diesel Car?

Unlike the times when I purchased my first car way back in the 1980's, the present situation in India is quite different. In those days there were only three or four options for any one who thought of buying a car. But now there are hundreds of options.

Almost all leading car manufacturers in the world have entered the vast and growing Indian market with their car models to satisfy the demands of Indian customers from all economic classes, very rich, rich, upper middle class, middle class and even the lower middle class.

Expensive cars costing several millions of rupees and entry level cars costing fractions of a million have now flooded the Indian space with glamorous car show rooms of car retailer companies showing off their presence in the peripheries of most big and small Indian cities and towns.

Used car retailers too are a common sight now.

To aid and woo the potential car buyers, there are scores of car buyers' mobile apps and websites giving all possible information on various makes and types of cars such as car comparison, car features, technical specifications, car pictures, videos, expert and user reviews, basic and on the road prices from place to place, offers, car loan options and the like. 

But too much of car models with all kinds of information has been causing confusions in the minds of the average, not so tech savvy users.

Added to the confusion is the common Indian mind bias of imitating the bigger group. Many people simply avoid taking rational decisions of their own. Instead they prefer to go after crowd opinions and likes. Car marketing companies know this weakness of the Indian public and some of them successfully exploit this to their advantage.

Cars are conventionally a status symbol rather than being a  transport convenience for most people. Hence, car pricing has more to do with status rather than its usefulness.

Car manufacturers, therefore, produce scores of variants of the same model car with minor add on features with differential costs. Often the additional costs they charge for the extra features are not commensurate with the additional features.

Most expensive cars used as a status symbol signature of the user are neither value for money nor fuel efficient. Since they are mediums for showing off the affluence of their respective owners, I do not want to say any thing about those, here. Let the affluent class spend their money the way they want. It will not make any difference to them, but by spending they do make some difference to the economy. So, I feel they should be encouraged to spend as much as they can!

But that is not the case with people like me who come in the so called middle class or lower economic class. They have limited incomes and they need to spend their money with caution. They should get value for their money when they buy some thing like a car.

My first car that I bought in 1984 was an Ambassador Mark-IV petrol car. In those days, petrol prices in India used to be around Rs.5 a liter and it still pinched our pockets as this car hardly run 10 kilometers with one liter petrol. The limited option car then costed around Rs.60000/-

Both cars and petrol prices have been steadily rising over the years as is the case with most other things. On a like to like basis, fuel price rise in India has been more than the car price rise.

More over, the new car models have better design features and fuel options. Petrol, diesel, Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) and Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) are the automotive fuels available in India for the car users.  Electric Battery Operated Cars and Hybrid type cars are also available, though not very common. LPG and LNG are only available in select pockets and areas in the country.

Thus, petrol and diesel are the two common fuels available for all automotive users across the nation.

Now the question is which type car one should go for, petrol or diesel?

Petrol and diesel engines use slightly different techniques for burning the fuel inside the engine cylinders for extracting power. Petrol is a petroleum fuel that can be easily converted to vapor form. Hence, in petrol engines, petrol vapor mixed with air is compressed and ignited using electric sparks. On the other hand diesel fuel does not vaporize easily. When it is injected as a spray to highly compressed air in the diesel engine cylinders it automatically ignites with an internal explosion to push the pistons.

The internal pressure that a diesel engine has to withstand is much greater than a like powered petrol engine. Thus diesel engines have to be made with thicker metals to withstand the higher compression.  So diesel engines are naturally more heavier. The body of a diesel car has to be made with better strength to withstand the heavier engine and its higher torques.

In the older times small diesel engines were not so perfect. As they develop more internal pressure and torques, diesel engines used to be bit noisy, heavy and not comfortably felt as smooth.

But diesel engine technology has evolved much better now-a-days.

The newer diesel car engines used for entry level cars are much sophisticated than their old versions.

Unlike petrol, diesel fuel contains more chemical energy per gram and diesel engines are more efficient in converting this chemical energy to mechanical energy. Thus diesel engine gives more mileage and more power as compared to a similar sized petrol engine.

For ignition of the fuels, petrol engines need high voltage generated and supplied at the right time. So petrol engines need an electric ignition system connected to a reliable battery and electronic ignition management system. The spark plugs in the engine have to be maintained without carbon accumulation for good and trouble free starting and running of the petrol engines. If moisture or water enters the electrical system in a heavy rain or flood condition, petrol engines may give problems of starting and running. Such problems do not normally arise in diesel engines.

In short present day diesel engine cars are more reliable, fuel efficient and less prone to frequent servicing. Most entry level diesel engine cars give more than 20 km per liter with air conditioners working as compared to less than 15 km per liter for their counter part with a petrol engine.

In India, diesel is marginally cheaper than petrol. This is due to governmental policy and may not continue that way always. Even when the costs are equal, diesel engines give more mileage due to their higher efficiency.

Another advantage of diesel engine is its higher torque and power delivery even at lower engine speeds. Diesel engines are less likely to stop in a traffic jam and on a hill climb.

Diesel engines are a bit noisy and have more vibrations. But newer versions of diesel engines have mostly over come this and they are as smooth as petrol engines at least from the inside. At the outside, they may be a bit noisy at idling speeds. But during idling this same feature gives enough confidence to the driver in the reliability of the engine some thing a petrol engine can never give.

The car manufacturers typically price the diesel versions higher and typically in the entry level models a diesel car is costlier by around Rs.100000/- than the petrol version. But yet, my feeling is that it is worth going for the diesel version.

I had considered all these when I went for my fifth car an year ago. I do not repent on that decision. I am fully satisfied.

The  car I chose was Ford New Figo Titanium Diesel. This car is the most powerful in this range with a 1.5 L diesel engine and much cheaper when compared on a like to like basis. It is a very reliable vehicle as well. On road it costs around Rs.800000/- now. It has two driving modes-fuel saving economy mode and power drive mode. The fuel economy certified is 26.2 km per liter, but what I had obtained in real road drive condition is 19.5-23.5 km per liter with air conditioner running.

The least expensive and the best diesel car now available in the Indian market is perhaps Tata Tiago Diesel XM(O). On road it is available in the price range of about Rs.600000/- now. However, this is not as powerful as Ford New Figo (D).

Both cars are good value for money in the entry level diesel range. For city users, the Tata Tiago may be a good choice considering its compact, yet useful size and cost. It is reported as giving a fuel economy of 27 km per liter of diesel. It is having a 1.03 L, 3 cylinder engine with enough power for city and long drives.

What Are the Things to be Checked Before Buying a Flat or Apartment in India?

Real estate business has flourished much in India now. Both individual builders and real estate companies are active in most of the cities of India, especially those having a population of 100,000 or above.

Flats (sometimes also called apartments) in high rise buildings have now become common in the Indian cities just as in the highly populated cities of the world. Indians, especially the well educated and well earning middle class have accepted the culture of living in apartment homes in high rise buildings. 

More and more new features are offered by the builders and developers of flats to woo the customers. Depending on the city, location, construction features and luxuries as provided, buying a flat in India costs any thing between Rs.2000 to Rs.20,000 per sq.ft living space. While the cost of construction is more or less similar throughout India with a variation of  of say, 10-20 % from the average, the exorbitant margins above that exist in some localities and cities due to the high cost of land and its future escalation potential. 

Flats having 2 bedrooms, one common living and dining hall, one kitchen with 2 bathrooms are commonly designated as 2BHK types and those having 3 bedrooms, hall and kitchen are called 3BHK types. These are the most common types. These flats may or may not have additional facilities like additional utility space, an extra bath room, one or two or three balconies, etc. Floor area (also called carpet area) of bed rooms typically vary from a low of 100 sq.ft to a medium of 144 sq.ft  to a high of 156 sq.ft. Carpet areas of halls typically vary from 180 sq.ft to 420 sq.ft and kitchen areas vary from 48 sq.ft to 100 sq.ft. Bathroom sizes vary from 30-48 sq.ft.

The best way to understand the size of the flat is to measure its carpet area (the internal usable space excluding the walls, ventilation or pipe shafts). The carpet area of a 2BHK flat may vary from 550-900 sq.ft while that of a 3BHK flat may be between 650-1250 sq.ft. However, builders normally adopt other yardsticks to designate the area of the flat. Sometimes, the flat area is indicated as the built up area ( which is the overall outer area including the walls). At times it is indicated as the super built up area which includes the built up area plus an apportioning of all the common areas in the building divided among the total number of flats. The super built up area of a flat having a carpet area of 550 sq.ft could then be easily indicated as having 750 sq.ft which would be difficult for the buyer to verify. 

Real estate builders are known to exploit the buyers based on the manipulated or misguiding flat area projections. They may provide some plans of the apartment with internal dimensions. However, they would not show how the areas add up to become the projected flat area based on which the basic price of the flat is fixed. The government is reportedly considering to make the carpet area as the mandatory yardstick for all real estate developers, to over come such clandestine activities. Anyway, it is a good idea to get this aspect verified properly without any ambiguity before the deal is settled.

It is a good idea to check all the relevant approvals that the builder has obtained to construct and sell the properties. If possible a copy of all the approved drawings and other statutory approval documents may be obtained from the builders for records.

Now let us examine the technical aspects of the multistory building in which the flat is located. Many people in India are now-a-days get carried away by superstitious pseudoscience popularly known as Vaastu. Personally, I do not believe in such things and I consider it as some thing irrational. However, these are associated with one's personal belief system and therefore I leave it to the decision of the individual whether to check for vaastu or not.

Whether you take time and effort to check vaastu compliance or not, what aspects you should really check for a good living in your flat after you take possession of it are what I would like to discuss further.

The first thing is to check the water supply arrangements that the builder is planning for the building. Check whether the builders have got an assurance from the municipal authorities to have the water supply provided from the existing water supply network. Most probably, this would be missing. The builder might be telling that he has enough bore wells with enough ground water. The builders representatives may even show you the abundance of water that is being supplied from the tube wells that supply water for the building during its construction stage. But remember, this bore wells may not be enough to cater to all the residents when all the flats get occupied. Water would become one of your problems after you have established your flat as your home some years later. In most cities and towns of India, the local municipal authorities are too incompetent to provide good drinking water to the multistory buildings in later years, even while they allow the builders to construct and sell flats in such high rise buildings!

Assuming that there is some assured source of water supply (including water supplied through road tankers) the next thing to check is how this water is being planned for distribution in the building to the individual flats. Normally, there should be one underground closed tank preferably made of RCC with enough capacity to store water received from various sources including the bore wells. If the storage capacity of this tank gives an average of at least 500 litres per flat it could be considered quite okay.[for example, if the building has 50 flats, then the underground common water tank should have a minimum storage capacity of 50x500=25000 litres or 25 cubic meter]

Water from the ground level has to be pumped using pumps so that it is distributed to the individual flats located at various levels above ground level. Hence pumps are required to be installed for this purpose which draw water from the underground tank. Though there are many ways to do the water distribution, the best way to adopt to ensure 24x7 water supply  in the individual flats is by pumping the water first to over head tanks installed at the roof top of the building. The roof top tanks also should have a capacity which is preferably not less than the ground tank capacity. From the roof top tanks pipes are laid to the individual flats below through which water flows by gravity. There are a few things which need to be specially noted in this.

First the water supply pumps which have to supply the water from the ground tank to the over head tanks. The flow capacity , the pressure that these pumps generate and the number of pumps provided as standby are very important. I would now explain it with the help of a typical example:

Suppose that the building under consideration has 12 floors including the ground floor. The average roof height maintained in normal Indian apartment building is approximately 3.3 meters. Thus the roof top would be at a height of about 40 meters (12x3.3~). Normally the bottom level of the underground reservoir would be 5 meters below ground level and the overhead tank would have a height of about 5 meters. Thus the total height through which the water is required to be pumped would be 40+5+5=50 meter. Additionally the pump has to overcome the friction that is caused by the pipes and should have enough margin pressure to deliver water. Giving proper allowances to that, we need a pump which should be able to generate at least 60 meters of head which is approximately 6 kg per sq.cm pressure. 

The pump should have a pumping capacity in such a way that it could fill the overhead tank at a rate more than the average total consumption of water from it. During the peak hours of the morning, the water consumption in a typical 2BHK and 3BHK flat be an average of about 250 litres per hour or 0.25 cu.m/hr. Thus the peak rate of consumption for a 50 unit building could be 50x0.25=12.5 cu.m/hr. Thus the pump selected should have a capacity preferably not less than 12.5 cu.m/hr. This pump would be sufficient to fill the overhead tank from an empty state within 2 hours. This pump with a flow capacity of 12.5 and pressure of 6 kg would require a motor having a power of approximately 5 HP. There should be at least one additional pump installed having the same capacity which should serve as the standby in the event one of the pump is required to be taken out for breakdown repairs. Remember, the pump is the life line of water to the high rise building. If there is no pump to supply water to the top floors, life in the flat would be a nightmare!

Builders and their designers would some time try to save some money by installing lower capacity pumps than what I have indicated in the above example. In that case, the pumps would take more time to fill the tanks and are required to be operated for more hours. A lower HP rated pump would not give any real saving on electricity to the flat dwellers or their association. But it might reduce some initial cost saving to the builder. However, this saving is not very remarkable. The selection of pump capacities and the water supply designs often go wrong because of the technical incompetency of the engineers who work for the builders. 

The next aspect to be given importance is the provision of reliable level gauges for the underground and the overhead tanks and their linking to the pumps for automatic operation of the pumps. Such provisions would greatly help in reducing the wastage of water and the manpower that is required to operate the water supply systems of the high rise building. Make sure that your builder is giving due attention to this aspect.

When water is gravity fed from the over head tank to the flats below, the top floors would get lower pressure in their taps. The highest pressure would be at the lower floor flats. This uneven pressure has to be regulated with the help of suitable pressure reducing devices installed in the respective pipelines. If this is not done, the high pressure in the lower floors may even cause the water taps to fly out or rupture due to high water pressure.

Some builders or their water supply design engineers may not provide individual water supply lines to each flat which could be regulated from a common source point ( say the roof top). When flats are handed over to the buyers, it is the responsibility of the flat owners association to manage the common facilities. It would be difficult for such associations to regulate or stop water to those residents who are not paying their dues properly when individual water regulation valves are not provided. Absence of such a facility would also cause several flat owners facing problems together when some repairs are to be carried out for any one flat.

The next aspect to be looked in to is the type and numbers of electric lifts that are provided in the building. Never allow the builder to use the lifts for completing their construction work. The buyers should insist for newly installed lifts from reputed makes with all safety feature and service facilities in writing from the builder. In most flats in India, especially in the non metro cities, problems caused by non working lifts are very common. Your life would be miserable if you are to climb more than 5 floors every day due to a non working lift. People normally overlook this aspect. Lifts that are not proper are also a major cause of fatal accidents in high rise buildings. So, make sure that you and your co-buyers are aware of this and are capable of resolving this when you are to manage the show yourself when the builder quit the place after all his flats are sold out. Lifts are expensive machinery. The cost difference between cheap makes and reputed makes is too wide. I have seen many builders cheating the flat buyers on this issue.

It is important to give attention to the structural strength of the building and its construction quality. However as per the prevailing laws the builders are responsible for it for 80 years. They know if any thing untoward happens they are likely to go to jail. Hence, normally no builder would like to overlook this aspect. But, lack of experience and expertise of the builder and his construction group could cause many defects in the building as constructed. 

One should check how the builder has planned to dispose the sewage and the solid wastes that would be generated in the flats. Fire safety is another thing. Many builders do not have expert engineers in their roles to plan and execute these issues properly. It is a common practice in India that the statutory authorities are often and easily bribed that they give all such clearances without any hitch. It would be better for the buyer to ask for more details about these aspects and get himself convinced.

Insist for the layout plan of the building with the internal movement spaces and the parking spaces. In the drawings these might appear as okay. However, it is a good idea to check their dimensions to see whether such spaces are enough to turn and park your cars without facing difficulties. Also it is a better idea to get the parking space reserved for your flat in a written agreement.

It is now common that many builders are wooing the buyers with many luxuries. Swimming pools, play grounds, luxury fittings and finishes are all in the offering that make the flats to be like five star hotels. However, the five star hotels are managed and maintained by trained and experienced staff who are paid decently. When such facilities are offered by the builders initially, it is a good thing to check how these facilities would be maintained through out the future years with regard to their management and its recurring costs. 

Many people buy flats as an investment opportunity. In the metro cities of Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and in many other tier two cities, the flat costs are now at such high levels that one may not get the desired appreciation in the future as it used to be in the past. Buying flats in remote places where it is difficult for you to look it after could become a headache for you later on various counts. It is better you think about these too before taking your final decision. Remember, there are several thousands of unsold flats held by many builders in the major cities of India.

Unless the government changes its laws that enable the owners and builders to rent out their apartments, houses and flats without any risk, it would not be much beneficial to own flats as investments or as an income source. I had written about it earlier.[ read it here!]

You may also read these related articles that I wrote earlier in this context [ article-1 ; article-2]