Team-BHP - ARTICLE: How to buy a *USED* Car in India

if I'm liking a Hyundai used car and have the license plate number available, how can I check its service history ?

Can I just call up any hyundai authorized service center and ask for one ... or is there any other method ?

secondly, a lot of people have written about how they took a car for a checkup at a service center. how does this work ? can I just walk in asking for a check up or is this like a scheduled appointment thing.

sorry for the dumb questions, but I have never done anything like this.

Guys,

I am a passive follower of this forum and really enjoying myself here :) ....and for a change would need some quick opinions on the following -

I am using Swift Zxi 2006 - 1,10,000 kms approx. Car is trouble free and running on CNG since last 80,000kms or so.

Planning to upgrade the car - to SX4. Have found the following at Apra True Value -

May 2010 SX4 ZXi - 4500kms only. Present RC is on the name of Apra Only. This would cost me 6.3L ... As per Apra this was a demo car - i really dont know what does this mean - probably either a showroom piece, or maybe used by some top management guy ... ?? The date on tires was April 2010 - so ODO doesn't seem to be tampered with.

I know outside this would be cheaper - but I have quite good experience with True Value and would want to stick with them rather than un-trusted outside source.

Can someone reply back to let me know if this is a good deal ?

Quote:

Originally Posted by honeybee (Post 1833886)

There is a separate thread that outlines the precautions to be taken while purchasing used vehicles. Please go through it.

Having said that, show the car to a good mechanic that you can trust. Paying 1.5 L for a used Zen that's 8 years old is IMO very high.

Can you please point me to the thread that outlines the precautions to be taken while purchasing used vehicles? I can not find it even after trying for a long time.

I am following this and used car price thread.

I need to know about a dealer in mumbai, Caravan Karmax. I am looking for a preowned AT car and came across this one.

He claimed the car has history, registered as company owned car, they would provide a certificate that the car has genuine ODO and is an accident free car. Price I would check in the other thread but need to know about this dealer. I never heard of this car dealer earlier.

Regards.

Quote:

Originally Posted by silverbyte (Post 2599414)

I have a similar question. Do service centres tell service history on phone or in a personal visit? I called up one centre and they said they cannot give history even though the car has been serviced at that service station.

~maniac

Hello All,

I was looking for a User Wagon R Car in Mumbai.

I will like to share my recent experience 9Fbruary 2012) at Used Car Dealer in Western Suburbs.

They had a January 2009 WagonR with 27000 Kms on ODO and the car looked good from outside appearence. There were minor scratches all around the car which seems to be normal.

We (my dad) took a test drive & streering felt bit harder then the WagonR we owned earlier. I was sitting on passenger side & the seat belt hook was rusted which I felt is uncommon. Also the air from Air Conditioner was leaking below dash board on passenger's side. ON examining the boot, the Carper was soiled & was full of oil marks.

After the test drive we were chatting with the dealer & he was explaining my how good the car was & he said will ensure full service before delivery. We went there on my bike & it (my bike) was parked parallel to the Car.

The color of the Car was silver & there was no major difference in color shade on different parts of the Car. I then looked at the image of the Bike on the Car & noticed a major difference. The Image of Bike on right side Door was very clear but on the Right side fender it was not at all visible. Upon close inpection I found that paint job has been done on Bonnet, Left & Right Fender while there was original paint on rest of the Car.

When we check the insurance copy, the Third party insurance was renewed in November 2011. Now for a Car manufactured / Registered in January 2009 it can be safely assumed that the Insurance will expire / or get due for renewal in January or Febraury 2012 but not November 2011.

Subsequently we came to a conclusion that the Car was bought by the Dealer as Scrap (Total Loss vehicle) from some insurance company & then they have repaired it to bring it to a state in which it can be sold to a first time used car buyer. Whenever a Car goes for Total Loss the Certificate of Insurance becomes invalid from date of Accident & new Buyer has to buy a new Insurance for the Car.

My endevour in writing the above (long) story was to advise first time used car buyers to be very careful & also to ask the experts that how can I as a buyer judge that the used Car offered to me is good enough & worth buying?

Thanks,

Hi Folks,

I am almost closing on the below deal, your comments / suggestions are most welcome.

Make: Honda City S AT
Color: P M Matel (Grey shade)
Year: July 2009
Kms run: 18000 (approx)
Reason: Seller moving out of country soon
Accessories: Leather seat covers, rear parking sensors, Michelin tyres, CD player (Original from Honda), Honda Assure complete cover insurance valid till July 2012 (will be transferred to me along with endorsement without any cost).
Ownership: Single owner (apparently he is my cousin bro :) )
Hypothecation: NO
City: Bangalore
Deal : INR 6,50,000/-
The car is regularly serviced, scratch less and in mint condition.

I have two loan options:
1. HDFC Personal / Car loan = 14.75 % reducing + 2% Processing fees (needs documentation and approval procedure)
2. Citi Bank Personal loan = 15% + 0.5% Processing fees (pre approved).

I am most likely to close on option 2 here.

Your suggestions are most welcome.

Hii, im planing to buy a maruti esteem carb, planing some mods on it after a few months, found myself a 96 model with 4 alloys(not brand new, still looks good) and 4 appolo tyres which are in good condition, it has xenon lamps installed, interiors looks a bit bad, still adjustable, cold use a re paint(only after some months of use), has a kenwood stereo system installed, odo has gone beyond 1L kms, has side skirts and a race type back bumper installed(looks nice, but front is the esteem stock one), I think its a base model, no power windows, engine is not in a bad shapes, sounds are inside limits, guy is asking 65k for it, is it worth it? guys plz help! im planing to buy one very soon...

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jignesh (Post 2692418)

I will like to share my recent experience 9Fbruary 2012) at Used Car Dealer in Western Suburbs.

Which dealer was this?

Last Sunday went to some used car dealers in Malad,Goregaon to look for a used Wagon R for a friend. There were some 2008 Wagon R's with about 37k on the odo with asking price around 2.7 - 3 lakhs. The guy at Maruti True Value seemed disinterested! A couple of the cars were in bad condition.

At Linkway which is on the road opposite Inorbit Mall, the concerned person showed us quite a few cars and seemed interested. A 2007-08 Accent with 42k on the odo seemed like a good buy for 3.2 lakhs.
I did not drive any of these cars. I really could not figure out if any of these cars odo was tampered or not. On me questioning him about service history of cars , he said that he will have to look in his office.

Also went to Modi Hyundai where we waited for 15mins but nobody turned up at the used car section. Was told that they went home early.

I guess buying a good used car is a bit about luck as well!

[quote=PPS;2750788]Which dealer was this?
quote]

Hello PPS,

I stay at Western Suburbs - Malad West & know almost of the dealers that you mentioned.

I have (co-incidently) bought two used Wagon R's (details in my signature) in last 10 months & I know the working of most of the dealers in Western Suburbs.

Please feel to PM me & I shall give you my contact number. You can call me anytime & if you wish, I can accompany you to a used Car Dealer at Kandivali (from where I bought my Wagon R K10) three weeks back.

Also to mention that Price I was quoted for 2008 WagonR Vxi - Rs. 2.51 lacs & 2010 WagonR K10 - Rs. 3.25 lacs.

Moderators, I have offered a pure help & guidance & I have no commercial interest.

Thanks,

Quote:

Originally Posted by CANPUSH (Post 2750537)

I am looking forward to buy a used car as second car for home, to be used by my daughter for short in-city runs.
She is considering Santro/ Wagon R for upright seating position.
One of the dealer told me not to go for 'Xing' model as it has some problems but to go for pre 2005 Santro.
What are the problems with Xing? can anybody throw light on this?

It is nothing but pure tripe from the guy who says that Xing models have problems. C'mon u can accuse Hyundai of making( in the past) bad looking cars but never a lemon. The Xing is a great car for city drives and so is a wagon R by the way.
Buy a reasonably new car , aroung 3-4 years old, to have the confidence about the reliability of the car. Older cars will have rubber parts in a deteriorated condition and you could get disappointed with a hose leak or a slack drive belt.
If u are automobile savvy then no issues even if the car is older as you will know what to do to set an old car right