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-   -   ARTICLE: How to buy a *USED* Car in India (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying-car/18859-article-how-buy-used-car-india-50.html)

The Model is specified as 'Qualis' on both the RC as well the VAHAN website.

However, the Engine & Chassis No.on the RC and car are a match.

Guess I could go ahead with the sale then ?

Sounds like a data entry error to me. Go ahead.

Absolutely. But remember to definitely get it corrected on the RC. Ensure the same in mentioned on the insurance papers too.

Is it advisable / safe to buy a Car which has changed ownership twice in the 1st year itself and the second owner has not transferred the vehicle in his own name?

The reason I ask is because I test drove a Renault Duster RxZ AWD, August 2015 model, with about 8300 Kms on the Odometer. While the vehicle was otherwise Ok, I found out that the person selling it did not have the vehicle in his own name. Upon inquiry, he mentioned that he had bought it from some one in January 2016, but had not transferred the vehicle in his own name. As per this second owner, the first owner had sold off the vehicle as he had some financial problems. And the second owner had no particular reasons to give when asked about why did he not transfer the ownership in his name after purchase. And now, he is selling off the vehicle just after 7 months of ownership because he has received another Duster AWD as a gift from some one. I somehow am not convinced that it is all as simple as this second owner / seller is mentioning. Would it be advisable to go ahead with the purchase? Any straightforward way to find out if the Car is stolen?

This so called second owner is likely to be a small time broker who buys and resells cars for profit. Or possibly a scam artist looking to unload a stolen vehicle.

The duster if it exists is likely another such vehicle that he has in queue to sell. A surprisingly large number of car listings on olx and quikr are of this type.

Be extra cautious.

Compare the car license plate if visible in the online ad with the record on vahan.nic.in - I've seen santros for sale that are marked as Marutis - could be a data entry error of course but at this stage it's be time to back off and scout another car.

Pay at the most a token advance and then the remainder after the same RTO where the car was originally registered. Have your broker talk to the RTO clerk and let him confirm that the transfer should go through without problems before you fork out the remainder. Don't take delivery of the vehicle till the RTO accepts the registration transfer paperwork.

Have a trusted mechanic extra thoroughly inspect the car including for odometer tampering, signs of it being a refurbished chennai flood damaged car etc before paying the token advance and at the time of taking delivery to avoid any bait and switch.

Hi Bhpians,

Is there any way to find out if the car met with a major accident and was repaired at a neighborhood garage? How can we fetch the previous insurance policy details along with history?

Asking this out of curiosity,as I have seen lots of totaled vehicles being repaired/restored at FNG's. Upon further inquiry it was revealed that the owner's did not want the accident to be in the vehicle's service history.These cars are later offered for sale in OLX and Quikr.

Please pardon me if this was already discussed.

Thanks & Drive safe.

There is no central way of tracking repairs done at FNGs. I'm not sure if you can look at the history of insurance claims made against a car, I'll leave it to the experts to weigh in on that.

All major brands have preowned car divisions (Maruti TruValue, Hyundai Certified, etc.). I would approach one of them and ask the assessor for a personal favour - with suitable monetary compensation - to assess the car in question. Even better if you can get a person from the same company as the brand of car you're looking at. These assessors are good at identifying cars that have had accident repairs, and can even detect if it were done within an authorised service center or outside. They inspect the car for spot-weld marks, cut panels, health of the engine, etc.

I've never done this myself, but if I had to, that's how I'd go about it.

These cars are sometimes rebuilt to such perfection that it can easily elude the experts.
The car might not have any issues in future. But there is equal probability of turning into a lemon, in which case the buyer would suffer.

Besides having a trusted mechanic examine the vehicle, the other thing is to drive it and see. A car that's been totaled in an accident will not really have a nice feel to it when you drive it - jolting suspension, stiff and not terribly responsive steering wheel / accelerator / brake / clutch etc.

While a car can be rebuilt to perfection in terms of appearance, what goes on beneath its skin is what matters. And that's where the expert's opinion makes a difference - if he spots cuts/welds in places where its not meant to be cut, then its a sign of a structurally unsound car (e.g. a cut-and-shut car), one that can be dangerous. Likewise, patchwork structural repairs instead of proper repairs are a giveaway. The service manuals for cars indicate places where panels can be cut for repairs, and also mention the places where damage cannot be repaired (I've seen the Getz service manual for this). Its this sort of knowledge that a good assessor will be able to apply.

The assessor needs to see if there are telltale signs that prompt a further investigation, one that can even involve jacking up the car and peeking at its underside.

Take a look at this Fifth Gear video that gives a nice example of a car that's been cheaply repaired, how the assessor identifies it, and how it performs in an accident.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yjxM9chAe1k

Good point - the good old "bum test" is also a good way of finding out odd behaviour in a car. It may not identify everything, but it will give points of evidence that build up into a final decision.

Often, sellers (esp. dealers) will claim that some odd behaviours like pulling to a side are due to alignment issues - in such cases ask the seller to get that fixed (couple of hundred rupees, and 30 minutes only) before you revisit it. Any seller who can't be bothered to address this is either uninterested in making the sale, or has something to hide.

Thanks for the very detailed info and the video link. This will help us assess the assessor's.:D

Fellow Bhpians, I currently Own Tata Nano 2012 LX. Planning to buy a used car with decent boot space, solid build quality and safety features such as ABS, 2 Airbags. My current usage is ~ 15000 Km / Year. So I believe Diesel car might be a good option. And my budget is <4 Lakh.

With my requirements, I am unable to find cars driven less than 75K. My Brother-In-Law is suggesting me to buy Used Linea (Top end) driven close to 1 Lakh Km. This high figure in Odometer scares me off. Can I go ahead and purchase Linea?

The Linea definitely ticks all your boxes, and is a good car - one that is under-appreciated by the market.

Fundamentally, there's nothing that should prevent you from going in for this high mileage, provided the car has been maintained well. We have on the forum a Punto that has done nearly 2 lakh kms before it was sold off (see this thread). There are several taxis that are running the same 1.3L engine (in other brands) and you know how taxis are treated.

Has it been maintained well? There's no easy answer to that. If all the scheduled services were carried out at the right time (and this service history is well documented), and the car's had no mechanical failures, problems or accidents, it is fine. You will need a good mechanic to help you evaluate the condition of the car, and its engine.

EDIT: You might want to report your post (using the red exclamation below your name on the left side) and ask a moderator to move it to the Linea review thread. Other Linea owners there might be able to weigh in with advice specific to the Linea.

Though a very old post, just curious to know would you like to list out the issues you've had. I sincerely hope those have been resolved and you've been able to enjoy the ownership of the city. (This comes from a prospective city buyer :D)

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...ml#post4051356

I was browsing through a car seller site and found a car that interests me. But the car is registered in MH though it's plying in KA. If I want to buy this car, what should I expect?

1. Do I have to pay the re-registration charges even if I don't want the registration to change to KA number?
2. Are there such provisions for buying a used car that is not KA registered in KA and just changing ownership?

Please help / advise.