[centaur]

Sharing my experience with cars24. This was for a friends car who wanted to sell it on his trip to India as he did not see himself coming back anytime soon. The car in question was an 2011 SX4 VDi with 67k on the odo, second owner.

Since my friend wanted to sell the car on his trip to the city he asked me to get an evaluation from cars24 before hand so that he can take a call when he comes. He had already taken an appointment at the nearest branch (Hinjewadi, Pune) and I took his car there at the said time. I was promptly greeted by the people there and asked for the appointment code or something similar which I gave them. I was asked to sit while they got someone ready for the inspection.

Within few minutes, a person came to me, introduced himself and told me that he would inspect the car. He asked me for the keys and we set off on the test drive. It was a short drive and he drove well without ripping the car off or driving rashly. We came back and he took a lot of pics inside and he told that the car is a very good one and is neat. He checked for the electricals, AC and everything else inside. We then moved out and he took pics of the car from outside. He checked the engine bay and also told me about a problem (leaking fuel) which needed to be fixed whenever someone buys the car.

We later went inside and they asked me to sit while they upload the details and wait for the auction to get over. They reviewed the documents and asked for the insurance which I wasnt having then. So they went ahead and put that insurance is not available. The auction got over and they asked me to get into a cabin. They again reviewed the document and told me about their charges which was around 1k if the selling price is less then 5 lakhs and 2k or so if it was above 5 lakhs.

The auction done, they gave a price of 1.72 lakhs. I called my friend and he said he is not interested in this low a price. The cars24 guys started telling me that if we do not sell now and we come in again later, the price would further reduce as the buyers would know it is a repeat car. My friend still did not agree and decided to take a look when he was in town. I left cars24 without giving the car that day

My friend kept getting calls from cars24 for the car but he persisted that he would not sell it for such a low price. Finally after a couple of calls they gave a quote of around 2.3 lakhs or so. Since my friend wanted to get the car off his hands at the earliest, he agreed to it and sealed the deal.

SO my takeaway from the entire episode-

1. They are professional and the process is trouble free on the whole
2. Its a good option if you are short on time and want to get the car off your hands albeit with a lower price but with the peace of mind of RC transfer (apparently they assist in this)
2. The price they give after the auction isn't the final one and they will negotiate if you have the time to hold on to the car.

[rajshenoy]

Originally Posted by mayankk

Close to two years now and the car is still in my name with these twerps.
Take a bit of headache yourself, because these guys are a migraine.

Thanks alot.
From what i understood, they make you sign all the papers and the car is technically sold !! Assuming this business is legal entity(as per the law) What other problems can one get into ?

After talking to multiple dealers(including likes of True value) it appears that the target audience for these cars are same. They only manage to sell cars which are low run and say under warranty. Rest are sold off to these dealers who might also be bidding on portals such as cars24.

[SU-30MKI]

Originally Posted by blorebuddy

Have a question on insurance. I am planning to sell my car to Cars24 or OLX however car insurance is valid only for 2 more weeks. Is this a problem? Should I renew the insurance and then sell?

No, you don't have to renew the insurance. They will just mention no insurance. I did it for my scorpio, it was sold when there was barely a week left for expiry.

Originally Posted by rajshenoy

While i sense most of the sentiments here is related to not getting the best price, can those who have successfully sold their cars please comment on the ownership transfer process etc ?

Any hassles here or delays in selling the cars through online portals ? I would like to have a fuss free deal over few thousands

My experience has been trouble free. They send me the message of RC transfer with a link to the picture of the new RC, albeit it was after 100 days. You do get a bit lower than a direct sale, but I guess that's the price you have to pay for the convinence this offers - sell within the timeline one fixes, no hassles, tension free transfer process.

[binand]

Bumping up.

I sold my car to Cars24 back in December 2018. Even today (7 months on) I find they have not done the RC transfer.



Should I be worried about this? What are my options? They have paid me the full amount.

[ashishy]

Originally Posted by binand

Should I be worried about this? What are my options? They have paid me the full amount.

I''d be worried. I'm not sure if the declaration they give is legally valid. Recently there has been negative press on them, better be careful.

https://economictimes.indiatimes.com...w/70286121.cms

https://www.thenewsminute.com/articl...-growth-105519

[NaXal]

Originally Posted by binand

Bumping up.

I sold my car to Cars24 back in December 2018. Even today (7 months on) I find they have not done the RC transfer.

Should I be worried about this? What are my options? They have paid me the full amount.

You are ok till validity of insurance. Even if the car is involved in any mishap or wrong doing, their purchase receipt/declaration is sufficient to save you from legal proceedings since the issue is only about liability. Which is covered under you insurance.

Problem comes if your insurance is expiring or after it expires.

Definitely take this issue up with them but to save your self from any trouble, make sure to spend some bucks to renew the 3rd party insurance.

Their declaration & 3rd party coverage is sufficient to save you from any legal trouble. But don't bet on that only, send them some harsh worded notice to transfer the RC asap or compensate you for renewal of 3rd party insurance (in case they are yet to actually find a buyer).

Thanks.

[zebanaff]

Just sold my Dec 2016 Skoda Rapid 1.5 TDI Style (MT) at Cars24.

The process was rather painless, but bear in mind that I am a non-confrontational, non-fussy person - I'm self-employed and work from home, so I can afford to waste a few hours when I need to and re-plan my day. If you're the more busy, I-don't-have-time-to-waste kind of person, you may not feel as satisfied as I did.

Timeline:

2nd August
11am - Booked an appointment at Cars24 online at 11am. My appointment slot was anytime between 10am-6pm. The outlet was 10 minutes away from where I live. Got there by 12pm.

12.15pm - After a short and good enough explanation of the process, evaluation begins. Stood with the rep as he did it. They take pictures of everything from every angle and upload them in real time, taking care to move things around and make it look as nice as possible. They also did a paint thickness check across the car, and took a short test drive (under 1km). The whole thing took around 30 minutes.

12.45pm - Back in the waiting room, I was told the car would now be put up for real-time bidding from various dealers and I'd have my quote within 25 minutes. I had my laptop with me and a few emails to send, so got that done. 45 minutes later, I had a quote.

1.30pm - Quote received was at par with the best quote I had received across all platforms, dealers and individuals. 6.75L. I was hoping to get at least 7L (I had long given up on my original target of 8L), but also in a hurry to sell because I need to raise funds to pay for my next car (which I had already booked). Told the rep he needs to do better. He said he'll speak to the dealer with the highest bid and ask them for a final offer. Came back with 6.88L as the final offer, and would not budge post that. I didn't want any further anxiety of pimping my car around, so went for the offer. As explained to me, I would get 6.82L in hand. Cars24 would take a service charge of 5k, and would charge 1k for immediate payment. I opted for this, because again, didn't want to be fretting about the payment coming in for 3 days. In addition, due to an RTO mess-up, my car was listed as automatic on the RC copy instead of manual, I was told they will be holding 10k in reserve in case of any issues during transfer. They assured me that it would not be a problem and was just following protocol. The original purchase invoice says MT, and it would be credited to me in 20 days.

Further, I was told that the deal could not be closed on the same day because the machine to scan for wire tampering and defects in the car was not available, and would be available the next morning. I was okay with that and happy to have the car for the rest of the day to run errands. Also had to pick up the spare key from my parents' place across town since I keep it with them for emergencies. Bear in mind, your valuation will be 5k less without a spare key for any car over 5L. So the entire process took 1 hour 45 mins, with more to come the next day. As mentioned, I am an agreeable, no-fuss person with plenty of free time and entertainment gadgets in my bag at all times, so this did not bother me.

August 3 (today):

10am - Recieved a call from Cars24 rep, informing me that I can come any time after 12pm.

1.30pm - Reached Cars24, was given RTO transfer documents to start signing them while the final checks on the car were done. All these documents were also uploaded to the server. I was told there was an issue with the automated payment because the name on my RC book was in (name, surname) form but my bank account was (name, middle name, surname), so there was a mismatch and they would have to approve it manually, which took around 15 minutes. I was given all my original documents and invoices back, apart from (obviously) RC, insurance, and manual.

2.30pm - RTO paperwork and checks done. I was told the payment would be done in around 15 minutes. However, 40 minutes passed and no payment. The rep told me that they need to take additional approvals from one of two seniors for purchases about 6L, and neither of those seniors were picking up their phones. Lunch break possibly. I could tell he was quite hassled and shouting at people on the phone to find these seniors and get the approval. I was sitting and killing time reading the manual of my incoming car, so I had something to pass the time. Eventually, received 6.72L in my account at 3.30pm with 3 transfers of 2L each, and one for 72k.

3.30pm - Signing of final documents, customer protection forms and the invoice. Took 10 minutes, shook his hand and walked out with the money in my bank at 3.45.


So, the TL;DR version is
-It's highly unlikely that you can actually sell your car in 1 hour. I completed the sale of my car 28 hours after arriving there
-You will probably have to wait an hour minimum, or come back the next day, so carry some work or entertainment with you, so you're not sitting around fidgeting and getting flustered.
-I got a better price than from anywhere else I had tried over 2 weeks (including TBHP Classifieds, OLX, personal contacts, and a broker). So my conclusion is that if you want to get your car off your hands ASAP, they will give you a fair deal. Not necessarily a great deal, but fair nonetheless. And you can haggle with them for 1-2% increase on the initial quote.
-Carry everything with you if you want the best price - all car documents, manual, last service invoice, spare key. In addition, a few passport photos, PAN card, Aadhaar card, cancelled cheque copy. They were accommodating enough to accept soft copies of cancelled cheque AND my photographs since I didn't have enough.

So overall, because I'm someone with a chilled out work schedule, and always roam around with my laptop and Nintendo Switch, I found this relatively painless. The staff was courteous and prompt whenever things were in their hands, giving updates themselves every 10 minutes. The waiting area was comfortable enough with water, tea, and coffee available, and I received the money in my bank before walking out.

I'd give it 4/5 overall

[shankar.balan]

I visited this Cars24 quite recently just for the experience of getting my Yeti checked out.
They have an evaluation process which after their own inspection and notes, allows some kind of photo/ video based bidding by prospective punters and dealers for one's car.
Some of the offers one gets are really like an insulting slap in the face considering the care and maintenance one gives one's car!
This kind of experience has more or leas decided me on hanging on to my Yeti for a longer time and enjoying it for myself rather than let it go to some unappreciative, insensitive low- baller!

More and more I am drawn to the logic of that 'lateral upgrade' thread and the concept of a 'private sale' of my 'personal used car' to someone who is more appreciative of it rather than some impersonal public dealer...

[AlphaKilo]

Penning my experience with cars24 (buying, not selling). I was interested in their "used car" sales and wanted to experience the service.

- One look in their website, well sorted out and neatly laid out. The rating system of the cars based on mechanical, electrical, interior, exterior (scratches, dents etc all duly noted) with photos gives a very positive impression.

- Register one's interest by giving his/Her mobile number and promptly received a call from their service executive.

- Nice polite chap, explained everything about the car in detail and we agreed on a date for a testdrive/visit.

- With the test drive date nearing, started the rat hole chase! I kept asking the service chap to share the location details for a test drive and suspiciously, to all my requests came no reply.

- I finally gave him a piece of my mind, then comes the response,
" we cannot share the location of the vehicle (it is usually left with the owner) until they have finalized the purschaser and if the buyer and seller talk to each other, they will finalize a deal outside our purview which will bring us nothing!." I didn't have any problems with this but I was insisting only on a location share where I could test drive the vehicle before deciding. Promised to get back in 30minutes which never happened.

- The night before the test drive day, I requested him once again for location and came no reply. Next day at 10.30 was the scheduled test drive, promptly at 8.30 comes a call from him saying, he will call me back within next 15mins to confirm the location, which can be shared only vocally and not via text message.

- Also, he was pestering the whole time on me confirming a purchase. Finally, only during this call, he informs that there would be some service charges, RTO charges to be paid to cars24 if the deal goes through and no mention of the exact amount or percentage of the same. Upon insisting, got a reply that this can only be discussed in person and need to come to their office.

Here, I totally flipped and told him that this is exactly what I have been asking for a week and he is telling me all these now! I cancelled the test drive and asked him not to call me ever again with any offers.

On the whole, a business riddled with lies and hidden charges. My advice, stay away!!!

[2000rpm]

Cars 24 is as bad as the neighborhood thug dealer. They dont give a price over the neighborhood dealer, spam you religiously, do no provide details in a transparent manner.

Please read their car evaluation for your vehicle. Any guy who has any affinity for his / her car, will be massively pissed. Its is down right insulting.

[GrammarNazi]

I too had been to Cars24 for half cousins vehicle.

Apart from the low quote, it seems their target audience is those people who are either selling on an impulse or under un-due pressure (from family/circumstances).

I don't think selling to them will help anyone make an informed decision unless it's the case as above. Forget selling, I personally wouldn't even want to buy a car that was probably had a fickle minded owner/user.

[jetsetgo08]

Contrary to many here, my experience at Cars24 was much better than expected. I had a bad experience with OLX, Quikr while selling my Wagon R.

Request everyone to please list down the cars which were attempted to sell through Cars24. It is a known fact that if one tries to sell Skoda's, VW's and Tata's at Cars24, it would yield only pathetic quotes. Cars24 claim could be a hogwash, but I would recommend it for selling only cars that have good resale value (read Swift, Alto, Wagon R or Innova).

[bf1983]

Agreed. I had tried to sell my dads Nissan Micra XV petrol which a friend told me was worth 2 lakhs given it's nominally low running of 30000 kms in 5 years.

Gave it to cars 24 which was quite new at the time. In just 30 mins flat they had done the testing of the car and taken a lot of photos of the car and put if for their online auction.

By this time I was very impressed and the sales person told me that if I accept the offer I would be given a cheque immediately and they would help me with the transfer process for a nominal fee.

I was mentally prepared to accept even 1.9 lakhs just to avoid the whole headache of dealing with low ballers on olx.

However I got a huge shock when he told me that the car was worth 1.3 lakhs only. My old 7 year wagon r which had water damage which affected the smoothness of the engine and didn't perform anywhere near how it was before the water damage sold for 1 lakh. This well maintained Micra was being offered just 1.3 lakhs.

I walked off in disgust and the sales guy told me bluntly that if it was a maruti I would have received a much better offer.

He called me the next day saying he can now offer me a final offer of 1.5 lakhs. I turned that down as well and he thankfully didn't bother me post that. Finally sold it on olx for my asking price of 2 lakhs. So if you don't have a maruti car don't waste your time on cars 24 unless you wish to lose cool with a real low ball offer.

[zebanaff]

Originally Posted by GrammarNazi

Apart from the low quote, it seems their target audience is those people who are either selling on an impulse or under un-due pressure (from family/circumstances).

I don't think selling to them will help anyone make an informed decision unless it's the case as above. Forget selling, I personally wouldn't even want to buy a car that was probably had a fickle minded owner/user.

I'd have to disagree here. Some people (me!) would honestly prefer to just take a slightly lower price in exchange for getting the job done quickly. Turning the car around and having the money in the bank within 24 hours and no running around? Sign me up! Contrary to what our Indian mentality has ingrained in us, this isn't necessarily a bad thing. I value time and money equally (and also suffer from anxiety), so am willing to trade one for the other within reasonable limits

Also, disagree that only people who are "fickle minded" or don't care for their cars would sell their cars on this platform. I saw my car, and another E-class which was being sold, both in IMMACULATE condition. And we both got decent money for our cars. At the risk of inciting an army of brickbats, *maybe* some people's cars aren't as well-maintained as they think? I mean I've seen many cars which my friends claim are "well-maintained", which I'd frankly be ashamed to even call my car. Our individual benchmarks are different, is all I'm saying.

Could I have got the 7.5 I wanted for my car instead of 6.9 that I eventually got? It's a stretch. I'd been shopping it around for a weeks and seen nothing better than 6.75. I kept my listing on OLX for the heck of it, and even now, not seen an offer better than 7.

So I'd say, if you want to find yourself a loving new owner for your car who sees the work you've put in, and is willing to pay a premium for a well-maintained car, it'll probably take you months on end. I've seen another BHPian trying to sell his car since May, and still hasn't got the value he's looking for (I even test drove that car. Loved it, but just wasn't willing to pay that much. Found a better deal a few days later). If you have the extra time, space and liquid capital to allow yourself the luxury of finding the perfect buyer and price, that is of course the most rewarding way to do it, but also the most time consuming and the most legwork.

But if you're looking to get rid of a car without too much legwork, or a car brand that's already fetching low prices across the board, I think Cars24 and the likes are pretty good options. Time vs Money. You can only ever win with one of the two. But this is of course, just based on my experience

[drmohitg]

2. The price they offered was more than atrocious. Rather atrocious is un understatement. And before you assume I am in delusion that my car would fetch more, I recently got it evaluated at Tata and they offered me 1.5L more than this price. Selling it privately, I am easily able to manage 2L more.

Update to my own post from November 2018 regarding the gross price disparity in evaluation of my Altis. We had decided to keep the car for another couple of years at that time, however recently decided to sell it as we came across a very lucrative deal on a used car. Anyways, a year later and approx. 12k kms of running, I still managed to sell my Altis for a cool 1.3L more than the price that Cars24 had suggested. And keep in mind the buyer is from out of state and would need to re-register the car in his state, increasing the end buying price for him. Even then I managed to get 1.3L extra easily.

So I would again say it is a hit or miss with these fellows. Initially they offered better values probably to get established in the market. But now the story seems to be different. More annoying is that the indicative price shown on their website is drastically different than what they actually offered to me.