Wise decision-First hand car or second hand car

gostel · 26th September 2009, 12:41

At first I had toyed with the idea of buying a used car to hone my driving skills before going for an appropriate new car. This did not work for me because of several factors. Basically, the different requirements could not be realized in any one offering. When other things were acceptable, the expected price turned out to be obnoxious. Also there was the lurking fear of being left holding a lemon in my hands and looking stupid all over (this happened to a friend around the same time, and the lemon was handed down to him by a known person).
Well, I said to myself, if I cannot go for a second-hand toothbrush (which involves no great technical considerations, and can be easily exchanged if not appropriate) then how can I go for a used car whose technical aspects are important and which I cannot change so easily.

shankar.balan · 27th September 2009, 15:23

if sufficient money or repayment capability exists I would always prefer to buy a brand new car.

if not, then I surely wouldnt mind doing some serious shopping around and buy the right type of used car.

lets not forget - most of us regular joe's started out with buying an "used" car the first time we ever bought a car! Nothing wrong with that at all.

gaddiwale · 27th September 2009, 22:08

Quote:

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

if sufficient money or repayment capability exists I would always prefer to buy a brand new car.

if not, then I surely wouldnt mind doing some serious shopping around and buy the right type of used car.

lets not forget - most of us regular joe's started out with buying an "used" car the first time we ever bought a car! Nothing wrong with that at all.

Absolutly true. New car is always the first preference, depending on the affordability. Otherwise lot of cerified preowned cars now-a-days available. Myself got a preowned Zen from maruti True value as first car and happy with it for last 14 months. Bought it outright, so no EMI hassel, gives good FE.

Guna · 27th September 2009, 22:32

If a car is being sold within a year or two, I would look at it with suspicion. Of course there are sellers who have some genuine reasons like 'going abroad' etc.

Rajiv-Bang · 28th September 2009, 15:02

I bought a 7 yr old Fiat Uno to hone my drving skills for 70K (4yrs back)spent 30K on maintenance & finally sold it for 50K after one year. Bought my brand new Wagon-R in Jan-07 have not spent any money one other than routine company recommended maintenance.

I always had second thoughts in taking out the Uno on long drives which is never the case with Wagon-R.

One can go in for second hand car based on the condition of the car, it is advisible to take a mechanic who is knowledgeable to inspect the car. In case of luxury or high -end cars of course the buying price may me low but maintenance & spares can definitely be a drain on your resources.

Mevtec · 30th September 2009, 00:00

In my opinion one should go for a new car whenever possible.Unless you want to buy a car like OHC VTEC , a bike like Yamaha RX 100 or a Mclaren F1

.

New cars can be kept for longer periods.They are usually trouble free for at least 5 years and cheap to maintain (exceptions are there,no comments).
Also as Rajiv told you will be more confident in taking a new car for long drives.

singh.amrit · 4th October 2009, 20:04

Just my two cents :

I had a budget of about 5L when I was out for a car , looked through all the new car options ,none appealed but swift .
Then my friend suggested going for a used one , he told me Honda , Toyotas in general last long and have trouble-free ownership. I confirmed this with a few mechanics here and there and then set out for a new car.

Of all the options available my search was restricted to only these two brands. I saw NHC and corolla . both were similarly priced
finalized on corolla , went out looking for them in Karol Bagh area , saw many , spent a lot of time searching for it. It took me around a month and meeting around 20 dealers to find my car.

Its a pearl white corolla 2004 H2
It had done 65k on the odo with record.
dealer was honest , to be sure got it checked by 3 different mechanics (one from place nearby and two at petrol pumps near karol bagh) - trust me it is worth the effort.

when all of them gave their OK to the car, finalized it for 4.6L and negotiated a free first service with the dealer.

spent about 13k on insuring it , and about 2k on tit-bits here and there.

done 20,000 km since then (8 months) and am happy to report that havent spent a single penny on anything else apart from petrol (to be true - 2k on buying stolen mirrors when mirrors from my car were stolen - dealer arranged for them)

Car is a gem , have done 200km/hr on the flyover over kanpur (NH2) without any problems.

26th September 2009, 12:41	#46
gostel BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Navi Mumbai Posts: 192 Thanked: 107 Times	At first I had toyed with the idea of buying a used car to hone my driving skills before going for an appropriate new car. This did not work for me because of several factors. Basically, the different requirements could not be realized in any one offering. When other things were acceptable, the expected price turned out to be obnoxious. Also there was the lurking fear of being left holding a lemon in my hands and looking stupid all over (this happened to a friend around the same time, and the lemon was handed down to him by a known person). Well, I said to myself, if I cannot go for a second-hand toothbrush (which involves no great technical considerations, and can be easily exchanged if not appropriate) then how can I go for a used car whose technical aspects are important and which I cannot change so easily.
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 15:23	#47
shankar.balan BANNED Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 11,368 Thanked: 23,158 Times View My Garage Infractions: 0/2 (8)	if sufficient money or repayment capability exists I would always prefer to buy a brand new car. if not, then I surely wouldnt mind doing some serious shopping around and buy the right type of used car. lets not forget - most of us regular joe's started out with buying an "used" car the first time we ever bought a car! Nothing wrong with that at all.
	() Thanks

27th September 2009, 22:32	#49
Guna Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 4,012 Thanked: 4,204 Times	If a car is being sold within a year or two, I would look at it with suspicion. Of course there are sellers who have some genuine reasons like 'going abroad' etc.
	() Thanks

28th September 2009, 15:02	#50
Rajiv-Bang BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Bangalore,Karwar,Vasco-Goa Posts: 112 Thanked: 3 Times	I bought a 7 yr old Fiat Uno to hone my drving skills for 70K (4yrs back)spent 30K on maintenance & finally sold it for 50K after one year. Bought my brand new Wagon-R in Jan-07 have not spent any money one other than routine company recommended maintenance. I always had second thoughts in taking out the Uno on long drives which is never the case with Wagon-R. One can go in for second hand car based on the condition of the car, it is advisible to take a mechanic who is knowledgeable to inspect the car. In case of luxury or high -end cars of course the buying price may me low but maintenance & spares can definitely be a drain on your resources.
	() Thanks

30th September 2009, 00:00	#51
Mevtec BHPian Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Trivandrum Posts: 210 Thanked: 143 Times	In my opinion one should go for a new car whenever possible.Unless you want to buy a car like OHC VTEC , a bike like Yamaha RX 100 or a Mclaren F1. New cars can be kept for longer periods.They are usually trouble free for at least 5 years and cheap to maintain (exceptions are there,no comments). Also as Rajiv told you will be more confident in taking a new car for long drives.
	() Thanks

4th October 2009, 20:04	#52
singh.amrit BHPian Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Lucknow Posts: 106 Thanked: 0 Times	Just my two cents : I had a budget of about 5L when I was out for a car , looked through all the new car options ,none appealed but swift . Then my friend suggested going for a used one , he told me Honda , Toyotas in general last long and have trouble-free ownership. I confirmed this with a few mechanics here and there and then set out for a new car. Of all the options available my search was restricted to only these two brands. I saw NHC and corolla . both were similarly priced finalized on corolla , went out looking for them in Karol Bagh area , saw many , spent a lot of time searching for it. It took me around a month and meeting around 20 dealers to find my car. Its a pearl white corolla 2004 H2 It had done 65k on the odo with record. dealer was honest , to be sure got it checked by 3 different mechanics (one from place nearby and two at petrol pumps near karol bagh) - trust me it is worth the effort. when all of them gave their OK to the car, finalized it for 4.6L and negotiated a free first service with the dealer. spent about 13k on insuring it , and about 2k on tit-bits here and there. done 20,000 km since then (8 months) and am happy to report that havent spent a single penny on anything else apart from petrol (to be true - 2k on buying stolen mirrors when mirrors from my car were stolen - dealer arranged for them) Car is a gem , have done 200km/hr on the flyover over kanpur (NH2) without any problems.
	() Thanks