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

Hi Guys,
So this time I am here with a problem of my own. I know there has been a lot of discussion related to my dilema so moderators please move my post to the appropriate section if you think its necessary, though the question on my mind while posting this is 'How to buy a used car' and hence this thread.
I am planning to buy a pre owned car(never bought new ones) in Bangalore.
I saw this ad for a 2009 Linea Emotion Top End Model with ABS.
Single Owner
Oct 2009 Model
33000 kms run
Price : 2.65 lacs
With woofers
The only glitch is that its a West Bengal Registered car but the owner has the NOC for Bangalore. Now the Bangalore market for pre owned cars is exceptionally high as compared to say Delhi or Mumbai and people will quote as high a 5L for a similar model car.
Now till last year I would not have considered this as I know its a huge pain to get a local registration, paperwork blah blah and the cops will have a field day whenever they stop you on the road. But recently my uncle is getting his Merc transferred from Mumbai to Bangalore and he has a guy working for him who apparently claims that the rules have changed now and if you have payed lifetime tax in one state you do not need to pay again in another state. According to him he can get the job done in 5-6k and I will get a KA(Karnataka) number. I am not completely sure about this and hence need fellow BHPians advice on this. I am travelling this weekend out of state and will be gone for next week and I do not want to lose out the car in the meanwhile.
Please advice.

Found this interesting piece of article:

India cars: Better than new?

Quoting from the article:

"According to the latest available figures, from research firm Crisil, between fiscal years 2007 (FY, ended March 2007) and FY2012, sales of used cars in India grew at a compounded annual growth rate of 22%, from 1m units to 2.6m units worth Rs520bn. That outpaced sales of new cars, which grew from 1.1m to 2m in the same period. Crisil forecasts that the used-car market will grow at 22-24%, to 7.7m units from FY12 through FY17, at which time sales of new cars will be 4.3m."

I can definitely understand what the above talks of. Till few years back, the thought of used cars never crossed my mind, until I saw the value of lateral upgrade from GTO's thread on his Civic. Lately, I have been looking through a lot of Team-BHP classifieds to look for used Laura TSI. In my view, rather than a buying a new C2 segment vehicle, which was my original thought, a used D segment at the right price makes lot of sense. And if one has the money, even a used BMW/Merc seems to be the way to go. Every new launch in our markets will have a significantly increased price tag - blame it on currency exchange or rising input costs or even the awful state government taxes. Case in point is the new Octavia, which has been rendered unattainable for some of us in Bangalore.

On a different note, I have been eyeing this Classified - Laura TSI for a while, but unable to make up my mind of price vs. usage factor. Plus used car loan interest rates are way too high! However, any input from the experts would be of help on this particular vehicle.

Quote:

Originally Posted by evillife (Post 3313203)

Road tax is a state subject and every state has different rules regarding registration of out of state used vehicles.The best thing is to go to your local RTO office and find out the details. The seller will be eligible for a refund of pro rata road tax too but its a cumbersome process.

I am looking to buy a car(infact my first car).

A little background:I am 27 and putting up with parents in ghaziabad.We have a i10 for past 3yrs which is mainly used by dad for office commute and fortnightly drives to our native place meerut(60kms).We have another car a 9 yrs old alto which is used for local market and nearby commute. I work in Noida and used to commute by office cab.I a love cars and like reading a lot about them.I love driving them but driving to commute was a NO until now.Recently i got married and lately the need of another 4 wheeler has grown up. Until now eighter of the car served all the limited needs i had.I used to drive just for the love of driving rather than commuting(this means just on weekends or whenever parents could not drive :) ). I am more of a biker will always be.But now the requirement is that i alongwith my wife need to have a car of our own for office commuting. She can also drive well.

Confusion:
I am looking for a used car in market. But many confusions are popping up:

1)polo/swift/aveo with 20k-35k on odo and not beyond 2010.How are these cars in terms of longterm ownership.Is polo expensive to own compared to others?

2)honda city zx vtec 2007/2008 with less than 45k on odo. Most confusion lies here. Are spares easily available for this model? How much will be the life of a used sedan? I have realized honda sedans last longer but need more inputs on this.

3)I am targeting to keep the car for atleast 5-6 yrs. Which will be the best fit? What pros and cons can i expect from these models?

4)All of them are available in 2.8-3.8 lacs bracket. Do you think i should include some other reliable cars as well into the search?

Quote:

Originally Posted by saurabh041086 (Post 3328514)

All of them are available in 2.8-3.8 lacs bracket. Do you think i should include some other reliable cars as well into the search?

If your budget is bewteen Rs. 2.8 to 3.8 lacs, I will suggest to look for Swift Dzire, SX4, WagonR (K10 Series model).

I will also suggest to keep Aveo out of the probable list because 5 / 6 years down the line its maintenance will be very costly.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajni27 (Post 3323368)

I have zeroed in on a 2nd-hand WagonR VXi - Apr'10 model and 27100 kms run from True Value for 2.95 lakhs. It a minor accident history wherein its bumper and headlights were replaced. There has been no impact on the engine or radiator. They would do all the servicing before giving the car.

Rs. 2.95 lacs for a April 2010 WagonR with 27,1000 kmso on ODO is on higher side. Try to find a local dealer who will offer a similar car at atleast 10% lesser price than Maruti True Value.

Thanks,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rajni27 (Post 3323368)

Hi - I need a small advice from you folks. I have zeroed in on a 2nd-hand WagonR VXi - Apr'10 model and 27100 kms run from True Value for 2.95 lakhs. It a minor accident history wherein its bumper and headlights were replaced. There has been no impact on the engine or radiator. They would do all the servicing before giving the car.

Is it a good deal to go for?

Wouldnt you get a non accidental 2010 Wagon R for the same price??stupid:

As per my previous post I had mentioned about a 2009 Linea Petrol(Top End) with WB Registeration in Bangalore. I had a look at the car yesterday with my mechanic and he suggested the replacement of front left and rear right tyres and clutch plate which is nearing the end of its life after 33k on the odo. The confusion still remains with the road tax that I will end up paying. I have couple of friends driving TN and KL car respectively and who have been caught several times by cops for overspeeding(would you believe it)etc and were never asked for road tax. The KL Driver is a Certified Team BHP Driver(a proud moment as we are flatmates) and he informed me that the rules have changed (I have been beating about it but no one has a definitive answer) and that the tax you pay at the time of buying is for all India permit???
Anyways there is also a safe option from True Value, a Beautiful Black 2009 Linea with 31K on the Odo and ofkors top end though with no steering control??? The quote is for 4L but I am bargaining for 3.5 . Am I out of my mind for paying more..less?? Another point which bugs me and the objective of this post is that I have been seeing the car for around 2 months in true value. Why are they not selling it?? Does Linea has such bad value in second hand market, I dont think so.
The last thought which just came in my twisted and confused head today was after looking at an ad for Tata Manza Qjet -2010 - Top End - 65K Driven - Under extended warrenty for 4 years. Should I be sneering at it just because its a Tata. I love the Nano though.
Advice please???

Quote:

Originally Posted by saurabh041086 (Post 3328572)

Thanks buddy. Only problem is if i look at 2010-2013 models of Dzire/SX4 they are in the range of 4-4.8 lacs.This will be outside my budget. I am planning to spend a max of 3.5 lacs

It will be difficult to get good sedans of 2010 - 2013 at Rs. 3.5 lacs.

In such a situation I will advice to stick to hatchbacks & look Swift, WagonR, i10 & i20 (for i20 - 2009 - 2010 models).

In sedans you can get 2009 / 2010 Fial Linea & Tata Manza (both of otherwise fantastic cars) in Rs. 3.5 lacs, but Fiat's & Tata's after sales service & maintenance costs are a question mark for you (because you wish to own this car for next 5 / 6 years).

Since you are looking to buy a used car with a outlook keeping it for next 5 / 6 years, I will suggest to stick to Maruti / Hyundai / Honda cars.

Thanks,

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jignesh (Post 3328775)

It will be difficult to get good sedans of 2010 - 2013 at Rs. 3.5 lacs.
========
Since you are looking to buy a used car with a outlook keeping it for next 5 / 6 years, I will suggest to stick to Maruti / Hyundai / Honda cars.

Thanks,

Thanks Jignesh. Actually for hatch i am sticking to later than 2010. Reading through different sources i have collected that sedans have better built and lasts longer(feel free to correct me on this). Based on this i am relaxing the make criteria bit more in case of sedans. Can you throw some light on 2008 city ZX vtec with 35k-50k on odo(as these are available in the price range i have). I have heard honda cars have overall a very good life. Is availability of spares for this model gonna be a challenge?

Well I have a fresh query here.
I finalized the Deal I had on a 2002 Santro Zip plus model and now I am looking into getting some paint jobs done on the car. Please see my queries below:

1) The front & rear bumpers (body colored) have got a large amount of scratches and there is a dent on the front bumper as well. Trident hyundai claims that the dents on Bumpers cannot be fixed as its a fiber part and suggests to go for replacement. New bumpers costs 4K (Regular black ones) and 16K (Body colored) as per the SVC guys.
My question here is, can the the dent on fibers be fixed and the whole thing repainted and what would be the cost to do so if I do it at a Local Garage?

2) As the vehicle is nearing its 12th year, there are traces of rust appearing at some areas of the body & quite a lot on the inside of the doors at the bottom (probably due to hard water wash & improper cleaning). Can these be fixed by repainting, without going for a whole body repaint? SVC again suggests to replace all 4 doors and not go for a repaint. Cost 12K per door !! :Shockked:

Please advice.

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