[shadow_bhp]

have been trying to buy a pre owned car for months now.. I was not able to get the right deal. And quite frankly, I am not an Einstein when it comes to cars, so decided to go with True Value. Went to nearly all TV outlets in Bangalore and gave them my number just so in case a Wagon R comes in, they can give me a call. The problem was, I did get calls, but to check out already refurbished cars. That way, I was not able to gauge the true condition of the car. So decided to wait a little more. A couple of days back I got a call from Bimal regarding a 2006 end model Wagon R which the seller had just brought in. I went to check out the car in its "as-is" condition and took test drive and all, and honestly I was happy with the car's condition. Smooth gearbox, no rattling noises, suspension all ok. This kind of test drive was something i was looking forward to, to know the condition of the car before its refurbishment. So finally I booked it, although I know that I am paying more than the market price. There was one doubt in my mind regarding the service history, but those guys showed me a printout of the service history which was, to summarise, not entirely clear. Also, I have asked them to show me Insurance for all these years so that I can have a fair idea about the accident history (last update - they are still contacting the original owner regarding this). Also the original service history receipts were not maintained by the owner (as per their sales team). The car looks OK. Done somewhere around 30K on the odo. Negotiation was tough, not that much discount, but managed to get it for 2.8.
IMO, every second hand car buy is a risk, but then when you have to take it, you have to take it.
I hope I made the right choice this time.

[StrangeWizard]

Was surfing Carwale just for timepass yesterday when I saw this Chevy Spark LS Black colour for 2.39 lacs.
It was advertised by Sai service True Value at Lower Parel.
It was a 2007 Sept model done 28000 kms. Seemed like a good deal so went to check it out today. It was in excellent condition and seemed like new.
The black colour was shining and the interiors were spotless.
Took a test drive and liked it at that instant. So started negotiating and closed the deal at 2.20 lacs.
Checked all the papers and all was well. The insurance is comprehensive till 02/12/2011 and there is NCB as well.
There was a small goof-up though. The front number plate read MH-02-BD-XXXX and the rear number plate read MH-02-DB-XXXX.
Pointed this out and they immediately changed it. The actual one is BD because it is mentioned in the papers and I'm damn sure that DB deries hasn't started yet. Taking delivery tomorrow.

There was also a 2005 Santro done 10000 kms but the car didn't appeal to me. And I felt that the running is very less for a 6 year old car and asking price was 2.5 which IMO was very high.

EDIT: The dealer replaced all fluids and filters and gave me brand new Bridgestone tyres.

[Rajesh1968]

I would like to let you know my experience with True Value. I sold my 2009 Black RITZ Vxi, last month. I was quoted 3.1 L, then met other TV dealers, all of them quoted between 3.1 to 3.2L, finally Pratham Motors, Bangalore, came up with an offer of 3.30 L, immediately agreed to sell. They came home, did the documentation, they had taken my Full Name and Bank Account Number, the previous day, all of 10 minutes and off they went after handing over the cheque. It was pleasant though. I felt the price was fine as the highest I got from a TV without Bargaining was 3.15L, so 3.30L was a good bargain.

[accentgiri]

When I planned to sell my Maruthi 800, 1998 Dec single owner, with proper maintenance, I approached Maruthi True Value dealer at Chennai as well as at Hosur (near by native), both were willing to offer around 65k only that too for an upgradation of Alto K10. I was not happy with the offer, just floated the information in the close circles that I am planning to sell my car. I was able to sell the car for 96K without any problem in about 45 days. Worth waiting for 45 days I had a better pricing of 30K which is almost 1/3rd of higher pricing offered by the True Value.
On interacting with the True Value persons, I understand that based on the model they underquote and buy a car. By servicing the vehicle either with warranty or without warranty they jack the price and sell the vehicle for more than 30 to 50K difference depending on the vehicle.
It is better we make a purchase from the owner than TV dealers.

[lsjey]

I'm trying to exchange my Vista QJD Aura ABS for a new Manza. Visited and phoned up TAFE Reach and VST motors. They both have quoted 3.8 lakhs for my Vista (has done 21K kms and Jun 2010 model in excellent condition, with K&N, semi synthetic oil, Ext warranty).

The sales guys offered 30K exchange bonus. I was thrilled. As a second opinion I go to TS Mahalingam for a evaluation of the Vista. They quote 4.0 lakhs and I'm sure that they will offer 4.1 lakhs after some negotiation.

Now I go back to VST and TAFE and tell them the deal I'm getting from TSM. Both of them say, that 3.8 lakhs + 30K exchange bonus equals what TSM is offering. I point out to them that 30K comes from Tata motors and not from them. They have moved to 3.9 lakhs now. The unstated message is: Look you are gaining 20K with Exchange bonus and I'm gaining 10K in profits. It is a win-win situation.

This brings to me memories of the Ultimatum game that behavioral scientists play out with their subjects. Basically, they recruit a bunch of people, divide them into two groups. A person in first group will be given money (say 100 bucks), and will propose a split of this money to a person in the second group. The person from the second group can either accept of reject the split. In case the person accepts, both of them get to take the money according to the split proposed. If the person from the second group rejects the split, both of them don't get the money. Now if both the proposer and proposed are rational people, the proposer will propose a split around 90% and 10% and the proposed will accept. The rationale is: for the proposed any money is good and for the proposer, since proposed should be ok with any money proposing a smaller share for the proposed makes sense.

Now for my problem with the TASS True Value. Since the True Value guys know that I'll lose overall if I sell the car to an outside person, they are taking advantage of this situation and taking easy profit. What they are not realizing is that as with the Ultimatum game, this approach though very rational is counter productive. The reason, we humans are not rational people. We prefer to reject ridiculous offer even to our loss.

Don't know why the manufacturers are not realizing this possibility. Or is it implicit understanding? Hmmm... Do any of you face similar situations? Do share your experiences.

regards,
lsjey

[SBR]

Whether True Value or any other Used Car dealer would always quote a price which will make us feel as if our car is of no value at all. They follow this everywhere.

Its even more bad here in Bangalore. Once I had visited a Hyundai showroom to test drive a i10. In the meanwhile, the Sales Rep came up to me and asked if I would like to sell my M-800 in case I decide to buy the i10 and I replied to him in affirmative. Post evaluation of my M-800, they offered me 35% less than the existing market value of my car & offered me a exchange bonus of 35K on the new i10. I quietly walked out of the place. Later due to few personal compulsions, I decided not to buy a new car for some time.

But yes, True Value dealers have a way when buying used cars & selling new cars with exchange bonus.

[mayankjha1806]

When i was looking to sell my Indica in 2008, we also for sometime thought about replacing it with another car and so went to all the dealers. Some of them were playing this game as when you buy a newer car you get some loyalty bonus from Manufacturer and if that is added to the overall price offered by the dealer you get higher than what would otherwise be offered in the market.

What did we do? We did not buy any new car, sold it to some dealer at slightly lesser price. These days i hear if you get your car listed in the Just Dial it will fetch you higher price than both the dealer (Where you are buying your next car) or a pure used car dealer. I was offered higher then Maruti when we were evaluating Kizashi by selling Baleno.

So try Just Dial, you might get a better deal than both.

[Gansan]

Originally Posted by SBR

Whether True Value or any other Used Car dealer would always quote a price which will make us feel as if our car is of no value at all. They follow this everywhere.

The only exception I have seen so far is T.S.Mahalingam & Sons of Chennai, quoted by the OP. So far as I have seen, their valuation is very fair.

[creative420]

Guys. Need to know which is the best MTV dealer in Bangalore? I'm in the market to look at WagonR or Estillo for my better-half.

Or can anyone point me to a trusted/reputed used-car dealer? Considering the horror stories out-weight the sweet experiences in this particular thread.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by creative420

Guys. Need to know which is the best MTV dealer in Bangalore? I'm in the market to look at WagonR or Estillo for my better-half.

Or can anyone point me to a trusted/reputed used-car dealer? Considering the horror stories out-weight the sweet experiences in this particular thread.

Ideally I would suggest you avoid the dealers and look at individual cars. Once you narrow in on the car you like, get it checked at the nearest MASS.
You can save a lot of money if you deal with an individual.
For RTO transfer formalities, get in touch with AASI and become a member, they will take care of all your RTO work.

[creative420]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

Ideally I would suggest you avoid the dealers and look at individual cars. Once you narrow in on the car you like, get it checked at the nearest MASS.
You can save a lot of money if you deal with an individual.
For RTO transfer formalities, get in touch with AASI and become a member, they will take care of all your RTO work.

Gee thanks! Didn't know anything about AASI. I wish they also had their own classified section. It would have been brilliant dealing with such genuine members.

[speedmiester]

Originally Posted by creative420

Gee thanks! Didn't know anything about AASI. I wish they also had their own classified section. It would have been brilliant dealing with such genuine members.

You can check out the Team BHP classifieds and other classifieds as well.

BTW I am not discouraging you from visiting any used car dealers.
I have bought my 2003 Zen Vxi from Bimal Maruti true value in 2006. Even after 7 years the car is still top notch condition.
It is always wise to never make a impulsive decision when it comes to buying used cars.

[n_aditya]

Originally Posted by Rajesh1968

It was pleasant though. I felt the price was fine as the highest I got from a TV without Bargaining was 3.15L, so 3.30L was a good bargain.

I sold my 2002 Esteem Limited Edition to Mandovi True Value for Rs. 1.2L. They also quoted 85k for my 2003 M800 Std (4 speed) but we decided to retain the M800 since it is a very easy car to drive in the city.

However i forgot to remove the K&N filter (my bad!) and after the car was taken away i called the executive about it (a few hrs later) and he said there was an OE filter inside the box, not a K&N. Can't blame him though since it was my fault for not removing the air filter.

I would still rate Mandovi TV as good since they offered a good deal for our esteem. Garuda TV offered half the amount and i was livid for he had no clue what the limited edition meant.

[creative420]

Originally Posted by speedmiester

You can check out the Team BHP classifieds and other classifieds as well.

BTW I am not discouraging you from visiting any used car dealers.
I have bought my 2003 Zen Vxi from Bimal Maruti true value in 2006. Even after 7 years the car is still top notch condition.
It is always wise to never make an impulsive decision when it comes to buying used cars.

I just got back after seeing two vehicles. Posted my query in "Used car thread" just now.

I'll also visit MTV in the next couple of days. I'm taking my friend's known mechanic (for the last 26 years) with me everywhere I go, so I'm getting some sound advice.

I've been going through TBHP Classified section every couple of hours, but haven't found something in my budget. But I come across a few listings which make me laugh (obviously by non-members) when I see the asked amount. Thanks for all your comments though

[sgiitk]

Remember the most suspect professional in the West is a used car salesman. If you say good things about someone the riposte often is, "Will you buy an old car from him?". I do not see how our chaps can be anything better.