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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-90.html)

Hey everyone,

I need some help finding used car brokers. I have already contacted Venkatesh, recommended on other threads, but I want to contact a few to increase the odds of finding what I want. I'm extremely busy nowadays, and I would be happy to pay commission to have the right car found and all the formalities dealt with.

I am looking for a <5 year old VW Polo GTI, preferably petrol and preferably manual. Not finding much on fb or olx. I would really appreciate any leads to sellers or to decent brokers or websites.

Cheers.

Experts, need your help.

While I'm awaiting for my XUV 700, the delivery of which seem to be taking ages, I came across the SAME model from Mahindra First Choice. AX 7L P AT, 2023 manufactured, 4000 KMs on ODO, and currently at the showroom itself at a whopping 25L. The OTR for the same right now is 30.18L - more than 5 lacs of difference.

The showroom guys said that it was bought by the owner but due to petrol's mileage, they want to sell. I highly doubt this and suspect that the car was used as a demo car.

Thus my questions are:

1. How to determine whether it was the demo vehicle or not?

2. if not, any wild guesses if there could be anything wrong that prompted the owner to sell it in just 6 months?

3. And finally, even if it was a demo car, is it a good price for it?

Yes I did. Sorry for the late reply. It’s a wonderful car, got it at 24 lakhs. The power is awesome, mileage is average. The one thing I don’t like is the squeaky sound coming from the sunroof. I hear it’s a common issue in cars with Panoramic sun roof. Another thing, 360 camera is a must for this car. I am hesitant to install one as the whole stereo and main screen must be replaced, and I don’t believe a third party android stereo will give a good sound output as the current one. Anyone has info regarding this?

1) Can you not check the name of the owner from the Car Number on Parivahaan? That shall give a good hint of who owns the car. Also check the insurance policy - name on it shall also be helpful.

2) If it was the owner, the reasons could be multiple - from logical ones to superstitious ones. So no point in guessing. Check the condition of the car if it is not a demo car.

3) Price is simply an individual factor. If you think 5L makes it VFM, go for it. If not, then bargain for more. Personally I would expect at-least 20% off from the on-road price provided insurance is also transferred to my name. But that is me. You decide what you are comfortable to pay or how long to wait for the new one.

I think this is fantastic advice on this page. one thing that I couldn’t work out was how to buy a used car from. Let me say Bangalore and Delhi for a person based in Hyderabad. Suppose the quoted price of the car on the classifieds website is around 40,00,000 and every thing else checks out what are the additional plans for registration and other costs that I may face. In the given scenario, what would be my all in cost of purchase?

Everyone, I am after a premium used car as well and would like to know what is the recommended way of getting a car thoroughly checked.

From what I know (Googled) these are a few ones
- https://www.carwale.com/used/inspection/
- https://gomechanic.in/pune/second-hand-car-inspection
- https://droom.in/inspection
- https://www.cardekho.com/services/de...heckup-232.htm

Does anyone have experience with them? Do they also do an OBD scan too?

I will definitely go for an extended warranty (as long as possible) and zero dep insurance but would like to have extra peace of mind too.

There's this guy in my state called Suresh, he runs a company that certifies used cars. I think the company is called Suresh drives, check out his social media handles he might be useful. From what I've heard people have had generally a good experience with him. He charges around Rs.5000 plus gst for inspecting a vehicle. Although I'm not sure whether he'd be able to inspect in your location. I think you can find similar services from different people/agencies all over India, just look out for their customer reviews.

I have found him https://sureshdrives.com/services

Let me check if he services my area.

Took liberty of calling Bosch Service centres in Pune. The Pranav Kudle service center guy does it. But call him before you go. And when I bought my preowned city in Bangalore. I used Wheelwisdom guys. They are amazing, but guess don’t serve in Pune.

Hi BHPians,

First of all, thank you for all the help on the forum so far. This forum is my go to place for anything related to vehicles and the forum has immensely helped me. I am stuck in a situation where I could use some advice.

I recently purchased a used car. I followed the checklist and all articles on the forums. I am very happy with the condition of the car and have no complaints there. I bought it from a dealer in Mumbai who has supported me throughout the journey.

My issue is with the registration of the car. I was handed over the car with a delivery note by the dealer and they cited that it would take roughly 60 days for transfer of ownership. Now that the 60 day period is over, I started following up with them as the car ownership is still not transferred. When asked, the dealer mentioned that their RTO agent is unable to get it processed as there were some challans on the car and hence, the RTO probably needs the previous owner to visit RTO.

While they have assured me that they are following up on this, I am in a great dilemma as to what the issue might be and a bit worried as to the consequences and possibilities here. Just to add, the transfer request was placed by the dealer online a month ago and they also sent me the acknowledgment for the same.

One mistake I did is not to hold any amount until transfer of ownership is completed which probably has decreased the urgency from the dealer side. While some part of me believes that the dealer is trying on their part but I am not really sure.

At this point in time, what are my options? How can I safeguard my interests and what are the possibilities/challenges that could be causing issue with transfer of ownership? Requesting advice from fellow BHPians as to what my next steps should be? TIA

I had listed my car on FB marketplace, and somebody came and got a detailed inspection from a website where they came and checked everything for 2hrs and said it is in a good condition. There was an incident a few months back where a car rammed my car from behind at the right side and due to the impact, my car bumped into the car in the front. Due to this, I had to replace the dicky, right rear panel, front bonnet, grille, bumpers, etc. The bill was 2L+ and before he decided to buy the car, I had showed him this bill and explained the incident as well. There was a minor dent in the floor below the dicky which was easily repaired and reflected in the bill as well. Since there was no damage to chassis/structure of the vehicle, the mechanic also gave a go ahead and the buyer transferred the full money to me, took RC, form 29/30 and the car was sold.

However, after a day, he stumbled across this service history option given by cars24 and just checked that. That report claims major accident, structural damage reported and engine rework done! I have got every service done from ASC and there is absolutely nothing wrong with the engine. Also, the overall damage to structure, if any, would be the minor dent on the floor below dicky, which was corrected and was charged just 3k for that in the invoice. But the Cars24 report highlights these 3 things in red, wrongly claiming Engine rework is done.

Any buyer would get skeptical looking at such reports, even though I have given him the App login to my Car manufacturer app, in which he gets to see entire service history with bills. He is skeptical now asking whether I can sell it to someone else! There were buyers who had actually got the car checked in detail from ASC mechanics itself and were ready to pay the same amount, but since this guy had given me an advance, I said no to them and they have already moved on!

How can Cars24 generate such faulty reports which would sway the buyers? I am sure if you check the service history for the cars listed in their portal, it will never show such things!

I think it has to do with Cars24 limiting their personal liability in the transaction, where they can claim that every tiny imperfection in the vehicle was stated upfront, thereby allowing them to deny the the buyer's demand for taking the car back...

Most dealers who bid on Spinny/Cars24 auctions are aware of this, and take these with a pinch of salt, and where there's a genuine doubt on the car's condition, they either bid very low or stay away altogether.

Ultimately while buying a used car, it's always a case of Caveat Emptor (Buyer beware), so the onus is on the buyer to dig as deep as they need to before pressing the "buy" button I guess!