[MaxTorque]

Mahindra First Choice, the used car business arm of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, launched a new business called "Autoinspekt". As the name suggests, they will help used car buyers to evaluate the condition of the car on chargeable basis. There are many plans available, the plans start from Rs.1200. In the basic plan an engineer will physically asses the car condition and will submit a report to the customer in 24hr.

Here is a sample report.

Some extract from their website.

Autoinspekt a comprehensive car evaluation package to help determine the quality of the car. With AutomartIndia, get the speed of automation and the assurance of physical inspection. Our qualified engineers take care to thoroughly inspect the vehicle across a comprehensive checklist and provide a detailed evaluation report, including vehicle history and stolen vehicle report.

Have someone hired their service? Any feedback..?

[amolbh]

I had read on TBHP itself of a similar service offered by two auto enthusiasts a few years ago. They personally came and gave a buyer the green flag for a nominal fee. Needless to say, they eventually closed down.

After reading about MFC, I don't think atleast BHPians would trust this service.

EDIT:
Here's the link
http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ification.html

[drmohitg]

The sample report looks quite decent. If the fee is nominal and they are honest with there reports then this might become a norm gradually with buyers wanting a car that has been evaluated properly by these folks. But having said that for a couple of thousands, most service centres also do the same thing for you. When I bought a used Santro in Bangalore, I took the car to Hyundai and they gave a "Go ahead" report and even indicated a fair price for it.

[mints21]

I think that they may be using similar techniques when buying cars for themselves which are then sold at their First Choice outlets. They must have thought why not experiment and see if evaluation can be commercialised.

I do not think that such a thing will work in the long run. We have to see the reason for a person to get his/her car evaluated. If the owner intends to sell the car, he/she can try two three places, compare the quotes and take a final call that suits him.

Evaluating the car and carrying their report is in no way going to do any value addition to an already existing vehicle.

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by mints21

Evaluating the car and carrying their report is in no way going to do any value addition to an already existing vehicle.

Buying a used car, even from a known source, is always a suspense. Heck, buying a brand new car is a suspense by itself, as you never know which component will fail when. However for a brand new car the manufacturer offers you a couple of years' warranty - sometimes more - to take care of any such eventualities.

In case of a used car, you are on your own. Even when buying from organized sellers such as Mahindra FirstChoice, Maruti TrueValue etc. the warranty coverage is not as comprehensive as for a new car. Plus there's always the worry about how the car has been used or abused, whether the odo reading is genuine or not, whether the spares used by the previous owner are genuine or not.

I remember reading about practices of some dealers where the car shown to you is completely healthy, however once the deal has been closed, before handing over the car to you, the dealer may swap some parts with inferior quality ones. These malpractices exist because the buyer has no easy way of checking the genuineness of the parts or the vehicle condition in general.

How many of us have the time or skill to check if the suspension of a 4 year old 40k km car is good for another 20k kms? Apart from the basic checks of driving over uneven surfaces and watching for any abnormal noises and manually bouncing the corners, there's precious little a john doe would do to check the health of the suspension components.

Even when buying from a genuine seller, the seller cannot provide you the exact/correct state of affairs of the vehicle, as he himself is not always an automobile expert.

So it's actually necessary to have an independent evaluation agency which can provide a truer state of affairs than what the seller claims.

The biggest question is that of building credibility. If Mahindra FirstChoice can establish credibility about their testing processes and trustworthiness, the business is a golden opportunity. With rising car prices, the second hand car market is only going to increase.

After all, existing organized used car sellers like TrueValue do claim about rigorous 100+ points' checklists, and still manage to sell accident repair cars. And there are many 'uncertified' cars which are sold for a little less price for which there's no warranty or guarantee.

[GTO]

I think it's an excellent initiative. Everyone wants to tap into the value of pre-owned cars, but most are scared of potential issues (lemon, paperwork, odometer accuracy) and their lack of automotive knowledge.

For a noob considering a used car, 1200 bucks is nothing, if the service delivers as promised. Authorised workshops charge between 3 - 5k for a car evaluation. I, for one, would definitely avail of the service if it is offered at a convenient location in Mumbai.

Mahindra First Choice buys cars on a daily basis and - we can safely assume - has high expertise in the subject. If I can borrow that knowledge for 1200 bucks, it's a no brainer. Equally, the quality of evaluation is yet unknown (will wait for BHPian reviews). Also, there should be no conflict of interest (i.e. Mahindra First Choice making a direct purchase offer to the seller). They definitely aren't in this for the 1200 bucks (chump change for a Mahindra group company, the profit on used cars is far more).

[wilful]

I also think this is a very good initiative. If I were to be in the market for a used car, I would definitely go for an evaluation like this. I am sure people buying expensive vehicles would find this of immense value. I only hope they will take care to build a reputation of accuracy and reliability.

[mayankk]

How can MFC provide fair valuation without it being detrimental to their own processes.
their own buying price valuations are ridiculously low, and their selling prices are to be taken with generous servings of salt.
So if I see a good, lets say, honda city 2006 vintage in their stock, I could have them evaluate a similar car not from their stock, get their valuation, and offer them the same for their car?
Maybe add 20-30k for their 118 tests and "warranty"?

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by GTO

Also, there should be no conflict of interest (i.e. Mahindra First Choice making a direct purchase offer to the seller). They definitely aren't in this for the 1200 bucks (chump change for a Mahindra group company, the profit on used cars is far more).

Conflict of interest is something even I was concerned about. In a country as corrupt as India, the matter becomes even worse. I wouldn't be surprised to see sellers "motivating" the Mahindra evaluators to give their cars higher values or ratings.

My way around this, as a buyer, would be to pay the Rs. 1,200 and have the valuation done myself (even if the seller has already done it, and is showing me his/her report, I would ignore it). That way, the Mahindra evaluator has no incentive to adjust the ratings, and I would be there to ensure no shady business happens.

Overall though I think this could be a brilliant move. If the reviews for the service are positive, I would use it myself if I ever wanted to buy a second-hand car.

[latentpotential]

Is the evaluation to be done by someone on the payroll of Mahindra/ a subsidiary? Or is the franchisee staff expected to deliver this service?

This is going to make the difference between it being taken seriously, and being laughed away as a joke.

[rosh_aveo1.4]

Sorry for bumping an old thread, but just have a doubt here if you guys feel it makes sense for me to use this service to check for a car located in another state, such as Delhi or Mumbai (I'm in Kerala)

[canonball]

Originally Posted by MaxTorque

Mahindra First Choice, the used car business arm of Mahindra and Mahindra Ltd, launched a new business called "Autoinspekt". As the name suggests, they will help used car buyers to evaluate the condition of the car on chargeable basis. There are many plans available, the plans start from Rs.1200. In the basic plan an engineer will physically asses the car condition and will submit a report to the customer in 24hr.

Here is a sample report.

Some extract from their website.

Autoinspekt a comprehensive car evaluation package to help determine the quality of the car. With AutomartIndia, get the speed of automation and the assurance of physical inspection. Our qualified engineers take care to thoroughly inspect the vehicle across a comprehensive checklist and provide a detailed evaluation report, including vehicle history and stolen vehicle report.

Have someone hired their service? Any feedback..?

Would not there be some kind of conflict of interest. Say I negotiate a car and want it evaluated by these guys, what is the guarantee the first choice team does not go and snatch the car under my nose if the deal is good for a buyer?!! I forget this is India we only understand double standards Lol

On a more serious note, carwale had a good valuation tool but off late I find it supports dealers and investors more as they from the majority of the ads being posted. See a hint of appreciation in values on used cars which highly depreciate

[dpkbehera]

The valuation's being offered by popular car valuation sites in India like Carwale, Cardekho and Team BHP is usually based on manufacturing year, car make/model and mileage. However, its actual value could be affected by other factors, such as its condition, service history etc. This is not taken into account in an online valuation. You only get a range to work with.

Knowing the right price/condition of a car is helpful in many situation i.e.
a) Buying a used car.
b) Selling a used car.
c) Exchanging used car for a new car.
d) Sometimes you may choose to retain your old car.

These services were being offered by many vendors like Maruti True Value, Mahindra First Choice but these were not "Third Party" in the true sense. But now things are slowly changing. We now have at least 2 vendors offering third party vehicle inspection in India i.e.

1. Autoinspekt (http://www.autoinspekt.com/autoinspekthome/index.jsp)

"How Autoinspekt works is users can request for a physical evaluation of the car they intend to buy. Following this, a Autoinspekt representative will schedule a car inspection by contacting the seller and generate a report on the car’s condition and quality. When the report is complete, Autoinspekt alerts the user via email to view the report on their site. The company claims that the whole process is usually done in 24 hours.

The report will apparently provide an overall snapshot of the car along with a detailed condition on 53 parameters across 8 vehicle systems. This includes car body, electrical system, brakes, engine, fuel and ignition systems, steering & suspension system, air conditioner, accessories and tyre condition among others. These parameters are color-coded based on its health and provides an indication on whether it needs replacement immediately or over the next three months.

Besides this, the report will also provide pictures of the car along with an overall rating and a recommended market price, powered by the company’s used price guide IndianBlueBook.

The service is currently available through four different plans depending on the amount of car evaluation requests, starting with a basic plan priced at Rs 1,200 which offer a single report. This is followed by a Silver plan at Rs 25,000 per month (for 25 car evaluations), Gold plan at Rs 40,000 per month (for 50 car evaluations) and Platinum plan at Rs 60,000 per month (for 100 car evaluations).

Autoinspekt claims that several finance companies like TVS Credit Services Ltd, Tata Motors Finance, MAGMA Finance are already using this service for car evaluations."



2. TUV SUD (http://www.tuv-sud.in/in-en/industry...ection-service)

"TUV SUD is an independent and impartial third party solutions provider with over 100 years of experience in providing services worldwide to make mobility safer and more reliable. In India, TUV SUD has delivered testing, inspection, certification and training solutions for 18 years to over 10,000 companies across a wide range of sectors."

It seems that this vendor has recently started in Delhi and soon will have a pan India presence. I will post more details once i get a call from them.

[arunphilip]

Originally Posted by dpkbehera

Autoinspekt (http://www.autoinspekt.com/autoinspekthome/index.jsp)

Autoinspekt appears to be a spin-off from Mahindra First Choice, according to this thread: http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...st-choice.html

But yes, the benefit of such an independent service will be beneficial.

[dpkbehera]

Confirmed from TUV SUD that the services are applicable only to Delhi right now. Please find the contact details below i.e.

TUV SUD South Asia Pvt Ltd.
62/2, Lane No-8
Mundka Industrial Area, Main Rohtak Road,
Near BP Petrol Pump,Mundka, New Delhi -110041,India.
Board: +91 011 28342041

I would appreciate feedback from other members who have used the services of Autoinspekt/TUV SUD.