[mohandas]

Now, I have a million-dollar question :
Ques-. Given the used car market in India, which is highly unorganized, where can i find a good used car dealer? All you guys are talking about 3.5 lacs skoda, 10 lacs Pejero, 4 lacs lancer cedia, 12 lacs BMW...where are you finding them from? .

I searched the net and found only a few - Maruti True value, Mahindra First Choice, Carwale and Dr Car. None of them have good inventory. I really doubt if they are true? Sorry for raining the party

[SkyWalker]

I have the same Q for Bangalore. What would be some good places to find used cars?

[abhinav.s]

Originally Posted by SkyWalker

I have the same Q for Bangalore. What would be some good places to find used cars?

I dont think there is a specific answer to this. As GTO has already said, you have to scout the market and visit most of the used car dealers. You have atleast 3-4 in every area now a days. Visit them and inspect the car yourself. Go thru the Buying used car thread and follow it to the T. You cannot go wrong. You can also search on the net in sites like craiglist etc. where you can find some killer deals.

[JLN]

The 3 cars I mentioned were all found on one of the following sites - www.click.in, www.sulekha.com, www.carwale.com, www.quikr.com, www.locanto.in. Can't remember which one was where and am lazy to surf again - now that I have the numbers and have spoken to the owners. They were all listed directly by the owners. If someone is interested in any of the cars, PM me, will pass on the contacts - am not in a rush to buy a car unless I find a diamond in the rough - so no heartburn if one of you snaps a good deal.

I did a 2 hour round of the used car dealers in bangalore - Classic, Mahindra FirstChoice, Maruti Truevalue at Mandovi, few unbranded ones (Royal Carz, can't remember the other names) and there were a few gems there - but the pricing was atrocious - eg 2009 ANHC AT with leather - price quoted 9.8 lakhs. Except for Truevalue and Firstchoice you will need to pay a 2% commission over and above the car cost - not worth it.

FYI - other gems I found (again on the net at the sites mentioned), but did not work for me:

1) 2008 Fusion TDCi with added Alloys, 15000 kms - price quoted 5 lakhs (pre-bargaining)
2) 2007 NHC CVT, 35000 kms - 6 lakhs (pre-bargaining)
3) 2008 NHC Gxi 8,200 kms with added alloys, spoiler and art leather seats - 6.75 lakhs
4) 2007 NHC Gxi 20000 kms - mint condition - 5.85 lakhs (post bargaining a bit).
5) 2009 Scorpio VLX, 17000 kms - 8.5 lakhs

All these were single owner cars. I personally checked out 1,2 & 4 but passed - mainly because of no ABS/airbags. will be happy to pass on the contacts if anyone is interested.

Approx. time spent on searching the net and checking out the cars - 8 hours probably. Am hoping I will find something that works for me if I invest an additional 6-8 hours searching.

Response to GTO: The Altis G variant costs 13.9 lakhs on-road (fabric seats). The price is probably higher by about 20K from today - higher road tax and VAT in Bangalore from April 1. The guy must have spent 40-50K additional for the stanley seats, reverse sensor and sunfilm. So 10 lakhs for the car seems to be a good deal - am tempted. colour is silver grey - looks real good.

[SkyWalker]

JLN - thanks for those links and openness to share! Appreciate it. I have sent you a PM.

[sachinj12]

Originally Posted by GTO

for 2 - 3 years for 'em Fortuners to hit the used market . At 10 lakhs, they'll make for a great buy.

GTO, you really shouldn't have uttered that!! I mean really, REALLY!!!

You really weakened my battle.

5 yrs down the line, I see myself selling my 2 month old Swift Dzire VDI and driving home with that mammoth of a SUV. Once the Fortuner was launched, I made up my mind then and there to get her home.

[WhiteKnight]

So GTOgiri continues, huh?

Being a practitioner of the same, I am adding three points

1) Always try to do a all-cash deal. Interest rates for Used-cars are pretty bad. Worst case, look for other financing options, such as Personal loan.

2) Please don't go overboard. Buy a Used-car which is only a segment (or two) above the one you could buy brand new now.

3) Premium cars depreciate faster, but their Spares cost the same or MORE as time passes. Be aware of the spare-part cost as well as possible sourcing options.

Good luck

[devarshi84]

Originally Posted by GTO

An Accord V6 or a Civic are super upgrades over the Lancer. Believe me, once you master the art of buying used jewels, its impossible to go out and buy a new car anymore. Such is the value!

three things I noticed while researching for used cars in Ahmedabad.

1. Cars are generally priced higher in the city. I didnt see a single 2-3 year old accord 2.4, Emebera or Laura below 11,50,000. I wouldn't even touch a used car with yardstick if its mroe than 2-3 years old above 40K and without a warranty. I dont know the normal depriciation rate but I guess in two years a car depriciated 45% on an average. That should bring the prices for Sonata and Laura below 10.

2. Luxury cars are tough to find outside Mumbai, Delhi (don't know about Chennai/Bangalore) and people might want to wait for sometime to find a good example. Never be lured by good prices as there is mostly a catch.

[Deep Blue]

Brilliant thread GTO, I have been tossing my head between a new I20 and the Manza. Now you give me a lot more ideas.

[vinaydas]

well used car dealers are always not the best choice for pre used cars.You can always get better deals from individual owners plus chances are the car will be in excellent shape.

[gomzi]

Originally Posted by mohandas

Now, I have a million-dollar question :
Ques-. Given the used car market in India, which is highly unorganized, where can i find a good used car dealer? All you guys are talking about 3.5 lacs skoda, 10 lacs Pejero, 4 lacs lancer cedia, 12 lacs BMW...where are you finding them from?

Well this is one of the reasons prices in the used car market are so mouth watering! As GTO said, you'll have to do a lot of legwork No Pain, No Gain

In addition to the websites JLN mentioned, another source of used cars are New Car Dealerships!
Lots of people go to buy new cars at dealerships and trade in their old one there. Dealerships also have their used car sections (Honda & Maruti) although they do not get advertised much. In Dec in search for a Honda, I'd called up all the dealers in Mumbai and all of them had a used car section.

Other sources include
- Newspaper Classifieds
- Your local Co-op society noticeboard (if you live in a CHS)
- Your company intranet (A friend had to sell his Alto in a hurry and the eventual buyer saw the post on our company's intranet postings page)
and ofcourse
- Team-bhp marketplace!

Great thread GTO, I was waiting for this one when you had mentioned it in your civic story.

[singh.amrit]

The only sore part about used cars, in my opinion is getting a sore deal, especially when dealing with car dealers, they ALWAYS.. absolutely always will cut corners. Any spares if needed would be cheap ones, the car detailing service would leave certain things not properly in place, locks placed incorrectly.. etc

My corolla began to rattle here and there after about 6 months of ownerships, found out that many locks were of improper size, some were not put in place properly.

In my opinion, it is best to deal with an individual as far as the car's "genuineness" goes, but usually individual sellers quote very high prices and are not ready to accept market rates.

[TheARUN]

Arrived late at the party, but excellent article GTO.

We were gifted a FIAT by a family member, then sold it off for 6,000 and upgraded to a M800 for 1,25,000. The M800 went for 50,000 and we got a SIERRA for 1,00,000. Now sold off the SIERRA for 55,000 and got a SAFARI for 2,00,000.

Imagine this, from a 1981 FIAT to a 1999 SAFARI, 4x4

Some things I've learnt from experience

1. The car you have should be immaculately maintained to find easy buyers
2. Keep updated with the prices by checking on online sale forums, FreeAds or using a lazy sunday afternoon going window shopping at used car dealers and weaning information out of them
3. Keep cash ready, and always know the lowest price you would trade your current drive for, and the highest price you would pay for your next ride.
4. Keep mentioning to friends that you might have your car up for sale, that way, God knows, you might have a starry-eyed buyer walking into your lap
5. Keep the car as near to original as possible, modified cars go for much less

Finally, I have the CR-V on my mind. The first generation (in India). Haven't started researching on it yet nor saving up for it becuase I love my SAFARI to bits. We'll put on many more miles together, and then I'll find her a better home and find myself a better ride. That we, we both would be happy

[dieselroxx]

Originally Posted by mohandas

Now, I have a million-dollar question :
Ques-. Given the used car market in India, which is highly unorganized, where can i find a good used car dealer? All you guys are talking about 3.5 lacs skoda, 10 lacs Pejero, 4 lacs lancer cedia, 12 lacs BMW...where are you finding them from? .

I searched the net and found only a few - Maruti True value, Mahindra First Choice, Carwale and Dr Car. None of them have good inventory. I really doubt if they are true? Sorry for raining the party

The best deals would be from a customer directly, Used Car Dealers charge a premium for their Value Addtion on the cars and Warrany/FS.
If you have got someone with good technical competence to evaluate the car for you I think you should be looking at individual sellers.
Keep your cash ready and start scanning classified ads!
Wishing you good luck!.

[channelv]

Really good article GTO, brings a totally different outlook to buying preowned.
The only worry is the maintenance cost which you have rightly pointed out.

My workshop owner sold off his Lancer and got himself a used Octi, he was all praise for the vehicle for the first two months. But now he says he regrets his decision to exchange due to his highly inflated maintenance cost compared with Lancer (even after owning a workshop).