[Angadk]

Hey bhp-ians,

This is my first post on the forum and I hope the community can help me out with its immense knowledge.

I am right now in the hunt for a used car in Bengaluru.

A bit of a background: I'm a fresh MBA grad who has, for the first time, understood the perils of living in a with a slightly less-public friendly transport system.

Although, my daily commute is only 4 kms but unavailability of cabs is killing me.
P.S: it may be noted that I don't intend to be in Bengaluru for longer than 2 years as there's a fair chance I get transferred/ move to my home town, Delhi.

I wanted to take the advice of my fellow bhpians on the following:

1) Whether to buy a used car
2) Which used car makes the most economical/financial sense to own given that I might leave town in a couple of years
(Note that I don't have a lavish budget. I really wish to stay south of INR 2 lacs)
3) Sources of buying used cars

Would also love to know of bhp-ians in Bengaluru that could help me out with this potential purchase.

Cheers guys!

[sunilch]

Originally Posted by Angadk

...
I am right now in the hunt for a used car in Bengaluru.

....!

Welcome to T-Bhp Angadk. Sticking to well known models and brands is the obvious point to consider but personally I would recommend something like a running model. A petrol Swift (1st gen or any refresh after that), Old i10, an Alto (if you like the space and sitting arrangement it offers. This will depend on your body posture and frame size), or a Ritz should fit into your budget and will be a quick fix in case of any issue during the ownership.

These are running or hit models (except the Ritz) and so resale will not be difficult when you move out.

Given your budget small cars with a recent make (2010-12 sorts) will be available. I doubt you will be in need of a boot that a sedan offers. As otherwise you will have to pick an older model (2007-09 sorts).

Sources: If you have the time and technical know how on cars then OLX but otherwise pick a known dealer that anyone living in Bangalore will recommend.

[Rshrey22]

A used alto k10 will surely be the best buck for your money. Also, If you are lucky, you might find a pre facelift version for under 1.5 lacs.

It's a pretty straightforward and utilitarian commuter that packs decent punch for the price due to its good power to weight ratio. It'll be easy to maintain (MARUTI SUZUKI) and you can expect good fuel average figures as well.

You can start your research on cartrade or similar apps.

[Who_are_you]

I would suggest to go for a petrol Hyundai/MS used car. These 2 brands have the best resale value in market. For long drives you can use self drive rentals like Rev, zoom ....

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...car-india.html


http://classifieds.team-bhp.com/

[McLaren Rulez]

Consider a motorcycle/scooter for such a short commute. Bangalore's mental traffic situation only justifies it further. Yes, there will be some situations where you wish you had a car and there are no cabs available (say when it rains) but I suspect these are rare.

If you must have a car, the only advice is that at this budget, don't be choosy about the model. Any well maintained small hatch will do the job - the brand and model are not very relevant.

[SmartCat]

1) Definitely makes sense
2) Cheapest available Alto or Wagon R
3) Maruti True Value for a large selection to choose from and a hassle free experience.

[chiranjitp]

You can easily buy an used car for a short period & then sell her off without losing too much money, due to the fact that an used car doesn't depreciate much. I see you are from Delhi & you are buying a car in Bangalore, the used car price in Delhi is among the lowest in the country & the used car price in Bangalore is among the highest. So, you should keep in mind this factor while checking out used cars.

With a budget of 2 lakhs, I would suggest something from the Maruti stable. I would recommend a WagonR or an Alto (preferably an Alto k10), even cars like the old i10, Santro should be within your budget. As you would only need a car for 2 years, maybe you could buy a Maruti 800 for under 100k. You only have a daily commute of 4 km & a Maruti 800 would be fine for such short distances.

[Angadk]

Thank you all for your replies. I'm overwhelmed by the response and do feel fortunate that I have a great community of like-minded car enthusiasts to help me with everything cars.

Originally Posted by sunilch

...........
Given your budget small cars with a recent make (2010-12 sorts) will be available. I doubt you will be in need of a boot that a sedan offers. As otherwise you will have to pick an older model (2007-09 sorts)....

Thank you for the welcome, sunilch. I really like all the cars you've mentioned. In fact, I've been fortunate enough to have had all the three Marutis in my stable (technically my father's) at least once in the past. MS cars are peppy and frugal at the same time. However, I am having tough luck in finding a car in the 2010-12 bracket that isn't a complete mess. Local dealers seem to be quite pushy with cars. Several of them look repainted, have 2/3 past owners and are suspiciously all driven ~50K kms . I just can't get myself to trust them at all.
Barely have any friends in or from Bengaluru and few have experience buying used cars. So I have no leads on trusted dealers.

Originally Posted by Rshrey22

A used alto k10 will surely be the best buck for your money. Also, If you are lucky, you might find a pre facelift version for under 1.5 lacs.
.....

I have tried cartrade extensively but to no avail. Listings seem to be quite old for K10s and are selling at quite a premium! To put things into perspective, I bought an Alto K10 LXi in Delhi around March'17 and it costed me ~3.3 on-road. The same five year old sells for more than 3L in Bangalore. I know it is not an apples-to-apples comparison but it's sure is amazing how demand and taxes make the markets differ so much!

Originally Posted by Who_are_you

I would suggest to go for a petrol Hyundai/MS used car. These 2 brands have the best resale value in market. For long drives you can use self drive rentals like Rev, zoom ....

Both brands are at the top of my mind as I'm unsure of being able to maintain a car that is heavy on downtime. I'm reluctant on Fiats, Skodas and Fords, Chevys and the likes for the very reason.
Sure, I have browsed through the forum extensively and only with reluctance and at the cost of being repetitive did I start a new thread. The confusion is immense.

Originally Posted by smartcat

1) Definitely makes sense
2) Cheapest available Alto or Wagon R
3) Maruti True Value for a large selection to choose from and a hassle free experience.

Great idea smartcat, I haven't tried Maruti True Value ever since we bought a pre-owned 2008 Alto Lxi in pristine condition from them. It just slipped my mind giving them a try. Would be visiting them this coming weekend and see what's on offer. Cheers!

Thank you for the advice. I did put a lot of thought into it and came up with several reasons why I wouldn't like to have a two-wheeler here. Lack of practice, unavailability of 2-wheeler parking at my office (it's funny how cars owners find parking easily, but two wheels don't - a lot of the folks travel by bikes and scootys) and most importantly reluctance of the family to see me on two-wheels. I do have an open mind about any brand but as the forum suggests, am bending towards Hyundai/MS cars a little - for the sake of being just a little safer.
Despite my reluctance, I might just slip my heart to a well-maintained Figo or a Beat if it's been someone's darling all this while

[sureshkishore]

Want to stay healthy, save money and contribute to conserving the environment get yourself a cycle. Your route of 4kms is just a 15min ride after all! If a car is must, a pre-owned Nano is simply one of best but underrated city cars in market. Get yourself a low mileage 2012 or later model. Shouldn't shed more than 25k after couple of years.

[sridhu]

Originally Posted by Angadk

...I am right now in the hunt for a used car in Bengaluru.
========
I wanted to take the advice of my fellow bhpians on the following

Welcome to t-bhp, Angad.

Since I can't send you a DM, please contact Mr Chalapathi +91 99 80 901122

He is a good mechanic and a friend of mine (I am Sridhar Parthasarathy). He turns cars over occasionally.

Now to come to your questions:. I don't think a car is a good choice because
- used cars at that budget will cost you money over 2 years in maintenance. Budget for about 75-100k more. Might be smarter to buy a newer car at around 4 lakhs and sell it for 2 when you are done
- more stressful to drive than be in a uber.
- I am assuming that you are a newish driver and hence will be prone to getting more stressed while driving. Also you will have an accident in that period (combination of Bangalore traffic & your newbie status. Mostly Bangalore traffic) So budget to spend on that as well.
- I guess two wheelers are out?

There were companies which used to lease cars for about 10k a month. Might actually be better for you.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by Angadk

Thank you for the advice. I did put a lot of thought into it and came up with several reasons why I wouldn't like to have a two-wheeler here.

Bangalore is choked up with 4 wheelers. You don't see it now, but get a car and you'll be on the other side soon wrt the pains of driving a car in the city; even though your travel distance is only 4 kms. I'll echo the earlier sentiment - get a 2 wheeler; much easier to handle and manage.

[Who_are_you]

Originally Posted by Angadk

....Despite my reluctance, I might just slip my heart to a well-maintained Figo or a Beat if it's been someone's darling all this while

I would recommend not to buy Chevy car. Finding parts and good mechanic would be difficult. Why not a well maintained Fiat Punto ?

[Prathiiik]

Since this car is going to be used only for a short period of time, I wouldn’t recommend buying a car as it involves more costs than just the purchase costs. Even if your outward budget is 2 lakhs, buying a car and maintaining it would cost much more than 2 lakhs. For the next 2 years, you would be spending for insurance and maintenance costs.

As mentioned by others, I would recommend buying a two wheeler due to Bangalore’s maddening traffic. Driving a car in Bangalore is getting tougher day by day. And even if your workplace does not have two wheeler parking, you could always park it at another place, close to your office. I would recommend an Activa or an Aprilia SR 150.

Or, if you are keen on a car, I would suggest going in for a rental. Something like Revv or Zoomcar would be good options. You also have the option of switching cars and trying out different vehicles.

IMO, buying a car for such a short period of time isn’t the best choice to make when you have other alternatives( two wheelers, rentals).

Prathik

[Storm2.0]

You can go for Zap(Zoomcar) car subscription. Here is the link https://www.zoomcar.com/zap/subscribe

[deep_bang]

Thumb rules while buying a used card in Bangalore:
1. Never buy from a dealer. It is guaranteed to be tampered with.
2. Buy from an individual. Those are people like you and me who would have used the car well.

Now, Alto comes to my mind. BUT, you will also get a slightly older Honda City too. Honda's are so reliable that it may not be a bad idea even after it has done say 70 to 80k kms. Considering your usage is less, cost of fuel (a sedan will give lesser mileage than a hatch), should not matter much. But, you get a bullet proof engine. A 2007/9 may be just around your budget.

Other cars that should be available in plenty: swift (premium resale??), I10(good price), Tata Vista(a good one will be actually available at lower price than it's worth due to depreciation).

Edit: Honda city 2005/6 vintage (dolphin model) should be available around 2L.