Advice needed in purchasing a year old Swift LDi

[octane1002]

Fellow BHP-ians, I have been scouting the used car market in kolkata for a used diesel hatch within the budget of 4-4.3 lacs for the past month.After going through various cars, I've zeroed in on a year old Swift LDi, the details of which are as follows:

Colour:Silver
Month/Year of Registration:July/2008
Odo reading:18161
No. of owners:1(Company regd.)
Accessories:Remote Lock/Tints
Insurance:Comprehensive(valid till July 2010)

Brief History/Description of the car:I TDd the vehicle.The in-cabin noise is almost nil which is surprising(considering its a swift that has done 18k kms).No rattles.The engine pulls really smoothly.A/c cools ok(would term it as excellent).Brakes have good bite.
After TD I checked on the vehicle history and it came to light that the car had seen a couple of insurance claims relating to body work, details of which are set forth below(Now before fellow members/experts start imploring me to "Walk away from the deal!!!",please go through the whole post):

1.1st claim amounting to Rs.7642:Invoice states Door repair.Denting/Painting was involved.

2. 2nd claim amounting to Rs. 5423:Invoice states rear pillar repair with denting/painting.

3. 3rd claim amounting to Rs. 4378:Invoice does'nt state anything apart from "repair".

Now, I spoke to the service advisor at the M.A.S.S and he was of the opinion that although he didnt attend to the car personally, these could'nt be classified as major damage, categorically stating that any major work at the M.A.S.S would cost Rs.20,000 upwards.My question is can these be treated as major damage for the purposes of depreciation on the resale value of the vehicle??

Also, on going through the Insurance papers I found that the Insurer Co. had been changed after the first year...which to be frank, wasnt surprising as claims had already been made and there would'nt be any NCB.However, the IDV in the 1st year was around 4.65 lacs as compared to an IDV of Rs.4.05 lacs in the 2nd year.What does this signify..as in, there has only been a 10% depreciation in the value of the vehicle which is a good sign, because if Im not mistaken, insurance companies value/inspect the car thoroughly before putting an IDV on it right?So, does this mean that the vehicle is in a fairly good condition with no major damage?

Now, considering that the price quoted on the vehicle is 4.35 lacs and the new LDi costs around 5.3 OTR, what would be a good price for the car considering all these facts and also taking into account that resale prices in Kolkata aren't as high as Bangalore?They're more in line with Delhi/Bombay.

Documentation:Last , but not the least, do I have to get an additional endorsement/document fron the Insurance company to get the Insurance transferred to me?What is the procedure to get it transferred?Also is there any additional document apart from Form 29/30 In case of transfer of ownership of company vehicle to private individual?

Sorry for the really long post, but rather than go the add-a-detail-an-hour way, I thought it better to provide all details of the car I had.BHP-ians I really need your help on this one.

Cheers.

[simply_sunny001]

You must be crazy to spend 4.35 Lacs on a 1+ year old and 18k run LDi and that too with 3 Insurance claims.

You should have paid 4-4.25 lacs for a non-accidental and perfectly kept car. So considering that you should try to bargain and get the price down to 3.25-3.5 Lacs max.

BTW, if you can afford 4.35 for this then why dont you go for a new one at 5.3 Lacs.

[CrackedHead]

+1 - spend the extra moolah and pick up a brand new car. ICE and other upgrades car always be done later.

[Gilead]

Octane, you might be better off stretching your budget a wee bit and buying the Vista TDI or the Punto Active MJD.

[musicmanaman]

If you want to buy this car then 3.3 max, but it's better you go in for a new car at 5.3 Lacs OTR.

[fast_elegance]

Octane, i dont think its a good buy and that too at that price. When you have so many doubts about the car, you will never be happy driving it as these thoughts will always keep hovering you.

Its a better idea to stretch your budget and go in for a new car. You will enjoy the new car feel which can never happen with a 2nd hand car.

[Abhay]

Originally Posted by simply_sunny001

You must be crazy to spend 4.35 Lacs on a 1+ year old and 18k run LDi and that too with 3 Insurance claims.

BTW, if you can afford 4.35 for this then why dont you go for a new one at 5.3 Lacs.

I agree totally. 4.35 to 5.3 is not such a huge jump when you consider that for 5.3 you will get a brand new, problem free car (Higher resale for a new car too than a used one)

No more doubts about, was I sold a damaged vehicle? is something fishy?

Whatever the condition of this car, having had 3 significant (not major but still) repair jobs within a year surely tells you what sort of driving/care it may have gone through.

[shantyrocks]

cmon dude..

plz shell out a lac more and go for a new car.I went through some used swift ddis before i got one new for myself.Trust me its no good buying a car that has had pillar repair work.put in a lac more and buy some peace of mind dude.

Its always better to go for new diesel car cause you dont really know whether the car was run-in well or not.
Used petrol cars make a better deal.In your budget you might land well maintained NHC which is a amazing car with good F.E and rich interiors.you might even get a good swift Zxi at quite less than your budget.

Think it over dude.Buying a used diesel car is a risky proposition.

[octane1002]

Thanks every body for your replies.
Please note that I never said I was going to pay the amount quoted on the car.Its just a quote for a used car which was/is open to negotiations.Going by the advice most of you have given should I then quote a lakh of rupees less than the price already quoted?

[coolclouds]

3.3 is max for this car. Stretch your budget and go for a new one.
BTW, since this is a company regd car, for how many years the road tax is paid?

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by coolclouds

BTW, since this is a company regd car, for how many years the road tax is paid?

Road tax in West Bengal has to be paid yearly and for newer cars when you buy the car you could pay 5years tax and then renew subsequently.

[octane1002]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

Road tax in West Bengal has to be paid yearly and for newer cars when you buy the car you could pay 5years tax and then renew subsequently.

Right on, mate.Tax has been paid for 5 years

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by octane1002

Right on, mate.Tax has been paid for 5 years

I would suggest you look for another car which hasn't had too many crashes and is in your budget.Apart from that if you could bargain the price then it might be worth it.

[octane1002]

Originally Posted by IndrojitSircar

I would suggest you look for another car which hasn't had too many crashes and is in your budget.Apart from that if you could bargain the price then it might be worth it.

Seems its really difficult to find a good condition used Swift diesel here.Came across a getz CRDi, but that also had some major bodywork done on it.To make matters worse, the owner was expecting the moon for a discontinued model, just because its hard to come by.Needless to say I walked away.
Tried Maruti True value, but the cars are way overpriced and the condition is nothing to write home about.

[IndrojitSircar]

Originally Posted by octane1002

Seems its really difficult to find a good condition used Swift diesel here.Came across a getz CRDi, but that also had some major bodywork done on it.To make matters worse, the owner was expecting the moon for a discontinued model, just because its hard to come by.Needless to say I walked away.
Tried Maruti True value, but the cars are way overpriced and the condition is nothing to write home about.

Well then i would say try this car then and try and reduce the price and see if this works out.Why do you want a diesel car do you travel a lot ?