Raja
The official resale channel of the auto companies is a benchmark to guide you (for example Maruti's TrueValue) on prices. But if you are buying a similar car through a private deal you can expect at least a 50k saving. If you can, take the seller to TrueValue and get a quote from them for the car. Find out from a few other TrueValue dealers how much a similar car would cost to buy. You will find there is a huge gap between their buying price and selling price. I did this while selling my Zen. The gap in question was Rs 1 lakh. If I bought a similar car from TrueValue they would charge me Rs 2.5 lakh. If I sold it they were offering me Rs 1.5 lakh. When my prospective buyer saw this (an NRI) he offered me Rs 2 lakh. The deal was struck. We both gained Rs 50k.
One rule of thumb for buying second hand cars - December is the best time to buy a 2nd hand car from TrueValue etc. Because they are desperate to sell off their cars before the end of the year. A few more days and their stock would be one year older. Hope you get my point.
Regards
Sudipto |