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-   -   Unusual dilemma - HR or DL registration? (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/179183-unusual-dilemma-hr-dl-registration.html)

I went to take delivery of a car today but decided to hold things as I couldn't answer an important question. Which place do I get my car registered from, Gurgaon or Delhi?

My wife, who's name the car would be registered in, has necessary documents for both Gurgaon & Delhi address, we live in Delhi right now. To add to the dilemma, we'd be shifting to Noida in the next few months but right now don't have any address proof for Noida.

The reason behind the dilemma is that I have a friend who had received a challan 2-3 years back for an offence he did not commit. He had no business in the place where he was accused of jumping a red light. Of course he decided to pay a visit to RK Puram police station to pay the fine. He did try to present his case there but the guy manning the desk was only to collect fine, alternative given to him was to approach the Saket Traffic court.

Later I was told, this is all hearsay though, that traffic cops in Delhi have umpteen times targeted innocent folks by randomly picking a list of vehicles who have been challaned in the past and sent notices to them on random basis to meet their targets, as I said, this is hearsay but I wouldn't be surprised if there's truth in it too.

I don't remember clearly but maybe my father or my brother faced a similar situation when they were in Delhi, unfortunately they aren't reachable till tomorrow which is why I decided to hold the registration process in the first place. If I get first hand information that this is true then I wouldn't really want to get a DL registration for this simple reason.

However, does my argument hold basis? What I've figured is that getting an HR registration is far safer and since we have the documents it should be a no-brainer. But then I look back a year and with the odd-even rule coming up, similar knee-jerk reactions might make trouble for non-DL registered cars if somebody decides to ban their entry in Delhi on whichever days they fancy.

It could very well be the other way round too and DL registered cars might get penalized since they are in direct control of Delhi govt., hence the question.

May I ask which car and the difference in road tax?

Celerio ZXi (O) AMT, its for my wife.

I think the price difference is hardly 1,000. Even if it was 10,000 more for Gurgaon I would gladly pay because the issue isn't the money but the headache that I'm anticipating with a DL registered car.

I don't think traffic challan is an issue.

Otherwise no one would have been buying on Delhi numbers.

My suggestion is to get Delhi registration only as 5-6 years down the line, its an easier sell than a gurgaon or Noida registration.

The advantage with a DL registration is that you get a permanent registration number on day 1 (and maybe a choice of odd/even).

In HR, you will have to chase the dealer for the permanent number.

Off topic: What is the OTR price for the car ?

I have been through this exact same dilemma while I was purchasing my previous car. Finally I went for HR-26 as against DL-7C for the following reasons:

- There was a huge difference in the registration amount which for my car was coming to almost around 75K (if I remember correctly)
- Recently I sold my vehicle and I can assure you that an HR-26 sells with the same ease as a DL 7C vehicle. Moreover I dont think there was any difference in the selling rate of HR-26 as compared to what it would have been for a DL vehicle. And even if there was some difference in rates, it would definitely have been lesser than what I saved while buying the vehicle.
- Your concern regarding Delhi Police randomly picking up numbers and sending them challans sounds new to me, maybe people here can comment more based on their experiences.
- Regarding odd-even or such rules coming into effect, I would like to tell you that these rules are valid for entire NCR area and not just for Delhi. So in this case atleast, a HR-26 or a DL car doest matter.

Didn't know this. For an HR number I was told that they'd call me in 10-15 days as the process can take upto 15 days. Dealer is known so chasing isn't much of an issue. They were willing to give me a non-registered car but no point if I can't drive it around.
I'm not sure right now but it would be quite less than the regular price, my dad pulled some strings. So far their initial quote was around 5.5 with extended warranty, zero dep insurance, basic kit etc. but they'd still refund me some more money. They can't show steep discount in their books so would be refunding it, not sure how this works but I'm glad I'll save good money. :)

@skoda0505: The odd-even rule was only meant for Delhi territory and not NCR. However, cars from all over India had to follow the odd-even rule when entering Delhi (not NCR).

Yes, I have been mailed a traffic challan for jumping a red traffic signal at Mandi House crossing.

But, there is a roundabout at Mandi House crossing and no traffic signal.

A choice of odd and even numbers has been removed from Delhi dealers. Even if you just want an odd or even number, you have to pay about 22k extra for number of your choice.

I have bought a Noida registration for my Mercedes as it was a whopping 3.5 lacs cheaper than Delhi. Just the road tax. In 2015.

Now UP road tax rates have also been revised upwards.

If it's a known dealer, then fine.

My Nexa dealer took 2 months to get the RC with the permenant number (includes one iteration for correcting a mis-spelt name)

There are more benefits for HR number as per my POV, the biggest of them is better resale value in long term, more buyers from Haryana, more so at the end of life/NGT order enforcement.

And no trouble from Delhi Police postal challans you mentioned above.

HR RTOs are some of the cleanest(straight) and easiest to get your vehicle registered. They do take some time in giving the permanent number but how does that matter? The temp no. is valid for a month and one can drive all over the country using the temp plates.

BTW, I have been a victim of false challan by the Dilli traffic police. Best part was that I was using the vehicle in Bombay at that time. I sent one of the admin guys from my office with the relevant documentation and snaps of the car in MH and the challan was withdrawn. However one cannot do that every time and it is a very tiring and all consuming process. Currently all of my vehicles are HR registered and as .anshuman pointed out selling a car registered in HR has no disadvantage vis a vis one with DL plates.

Keep one thing in mind. When you sell the car an HR26 car can't be re-registered in Delhi by the buyer, so this will limit your options and impact resale. DL number is preferred in the resale market

Its simple. HR number car will find takers in Gurgaon and not Delhi. DL number car will find buyers in Delhi and not Gurgaon. By buyers I mean more willing genuine buyers and better resale value. If you see yourself settled in Noida, then either of the two doesn't matter in that regard.

The challan issue is not an issue and its just bad luck that you got challaned for an offence not committed. There is surely no such nexus amongst cops where they target an HR number car in Delhi or vice versa.

The odd-even rule, 10 year diesel ban and all other such rules are likely to cover whole of NCR region and again won't make much of a difference.

So whats the right answer in the end? Well I would go with HR number plate if it is saving you a decent amount of money. If not then go for DL registration because of a faster process of issuing you the number etc, more number of buyers for your car when you decide to sell it off etc.

Please look past this. I have many (10+) DL registered cars in my immediate family. None of them have received bogus challans frequently. Has happened to, maybe, 3 or 4 of them once in, maybe, 5 years. But, that's it. Paying it is a simple affair, I have usually send out cheques for the fine amount and it gets cleared in a few days.

If there are other compelling reasons - like better dealership support, difference in OTR price, better discounts, better deals on service packages etc. use them to decide between HR or DL. Not this challan thing.

Thanks for your input guys! I've decided to go ahead with DL registration for my wife's car. There was a slight hindrance that HR RTO now wanted 2 address proofs and rent agreement couldn't be one of them. This meant some effort to get address changed on either Aadhar card or bank, as these 2 are the easiest.

With Delhi RTO, a PAN card and Voter ID card would do the trick. Just to save the extra effort I decided to get a Delhi number. There's also something about recommended days to take car delivery so a faster process helps both my mom & wife's cause of specific day & date for bringing the car home.

However, when buying a relatively expensive car, the registration cost could very well be a concern and for anybody with money as the prime decision making factor, weigh the cost gain during registration with the loss during resale of an HR/UP number.