[octane_100]

For me, it is spouse and family. I am all for buying used and I have bought couple of them earlier but family isn't convinced, sadly.

[K_Drive]

"Are you kidding? I LOVE pre-worshipped cars" pre-worshipped sounds good. However it is hard to find one. For most of the owners, it is just a used car. Most of them abused. You need to spend lot of time, use your network and if you have limited knowledge on used cars, things will be difficult. Particularly in Kerala, there are lot of flood affected cars on sale. Currently they are masked in such a way that only an expert can identify it. So safe bet is a new car.

[Comrade]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Spouse / family.

Used cars are just used cars as per my wife, and no amount of convincing (Believe me, I've tried!) could get her to think otherwise.

A new Alto holds more value to her than a pre-worshipped Compass.

Exactly My problem. I find more financial sense in buying used cars even if compromising on color or variant etc. but my wife is dead against used cars.

1. She thinks used cars is risky proposition in Indian scenario where cars age faster (more dents, more rattles, lesser suspension life, etc), and seller may just cheat us.

2. She thinks there is sense of pride in owning new cars, and buying used (even if at higher price) is just being cheapstake.

3. She thinks it won't go well with the immediate family, and that they will not approve it.

3. She was ok with "certified" cars in the US, which she says gives a sense of confidence, but manufacturer-backed preowned programs are very non-existant/minimal in India. I tried to explain that certification is just dealer-level, and its just one more marketing trick used by manufacturer+dealer to inflate price but she will not entertain any discussion.

[DanishP9797]

Originally Posted by VWAllstar

Is that Bat Mobile yours? I had seen it during multiple super car events in Mumbai and recently at Valley Run.

Hello, I’m the proud owner of the Batmobile! Yes I was there at The Valley Run, you should’ve come met me, always willing to meeting bhpians and like minded enthusiasts.

For me it’s always a new car, could do pre owned if something exotic.

[aghate]

Voted 'Are you kidding? I LOVE pre-worshipped cars'.

The reason to join this forum was to gain more information on buying a used in car. Else, would have been a stalker on this website as I had been for many years. To be honest, the used car has not disappointed me(well one did in the UK, but more on that in a separate discussion).

- Monetary benefits in buying a used car are immense. I had bought a used 3rd Gen Honda City S MT that was 6 years old with 41k on the ODO. Reason this car was neglected in sales was it had 2 owners. As for me, I was mature enough to not let the 2 owners mark shy away from at least having a visit and test drive.
Till date I am happy with my decision. Got the car for 4.35L with comprehensive Insurance(paid 15k for the insurance, so the cost was 4.20L). Did a major servicing from Honda for 20k and added a set of 4 new Michelins after two months for 20.5 k.

That brings the total cost to 4.85L which was still less than the like for likes available in the market.

- The number of owners thing plays a huge role in the used car buyers market and rightly so in many cases. In my example it didn't really matter as the mileage was low and the car was fantastic. Way better than a single owner 80k mileage car.

- One has to be very patient in buying a used car. Good research, zeroing down on the budget and targeting less car models as options helps.

- The insurance cost in owning a used car is less as well compared to getting an insurance for a brand new car.

- There are many misconceptions in the Indian used car market. Both from the seller's and buyer's point of view. I am not sure when these will mature. I still don't see the market being reasonable with the prices being quoted for some brands. Just take a look at the prices from 'True Value' or 'First Choice' regardless of the manufacturer. To quote an example related to my aforementioned details, post my purchase of the City they offered me a similarly aged single owner City with a mileage of 66k for a price of 6.25L. 2 Lacs more than the price of what I had paid for mine.

I have and will always be an advocate of the benefits of buying a 'pre-worshipped' Car. And I am proud that I have managed to convince 2 of my friends in doing the same. One of them has got a second pre-worshipped car post experiencing the benefits with the first.

[chaturgaurav]

Main reasons in the order for influence:

- I don't have the knowledge or expertise on used cars - This is true

- The risk (being cheated, reliability, accident / flood damage etc.) - Lack of knowledge makes me prone to risks

- Used car loans are difficult and / or pricey - I will definitely be buying with a load and used car loan is expensive.

- Worried about the maintenance costs - With the uncertainty of what I must have bought, the worry of unexpected maintenance cost will keep worrying me

- Try convincing my spouse / family!!! - My mother and wife thinks its better not to have a car than to have a used car

[Vysakh]

The only car I bought is a used one and I'm planning to keep it long term.


These could be clubbed as lazy.
- Too much effort to find a car, TD it, get it checked...
- I don't have the knowledge or expertise on used cars
- The risk (being cheated, reliability, accident / flood damage etc.)
- Worried about the maintenance costs

[hiren.mistry]

Pre-used all the way, twice over. All my rides barring the Punto and the Suzuki Access were new.
A brief history:
1995 Suzuki Esteem - Bought in 2001, my first car bought by taking a loan from my dad. The car gave us immense joy, used it till 2014 when my brother exchanged it in favor of a new Dzire.

2006 Honda Civic - Bought it in 2010, What a car it was, bought it after reading praises on this forum. The ownership was a mixed bag of joy and frustration. I sold in 2 years to get a Fiat Punto.

2012 Bajaj Pulsar 200NS - Got it in April 2014 with barely 1k KMS on it. Still use it as my commuter, it's been my best buy till now.

2013 Toyota Corolla Altis VL-AT - This is a recent purchase, just got it home yesterday. As impulse buy as it can get. The car is with LAkozy Toyota now getting a once over (oil change, rear brake pads, discs etc changed). Will pen down my thoughts on this soon.

Cheers

[arindambasu13]

Till now, all our 7-8 cars in the family have been bought new. Dad never was interested in second hand cars, and while some of the used car deals look mouth watering, I simply do not have the expertise or risk appetite to pick up a used car. Too many ifs and buts, and like many have mentioned, the peace of mind with a spanking new piece (not to mention the whole experience of buying a new car) cannot be overvalued. Also, well maintained used cars are priced prohibitively in Bangalore. I would know, because I sold by 7 year old well maintained Swift for a great price just a few months back.

Maybe sometime in the future I will pick up a used vehicle as a second car if the price seems right.

[Fordlover88]

Voted for "Are you kidding? I LOVE pre-worshipped cars". My first car was a pre-owned ford figo(2.5 years old & close to 35k on the odo). It belonged to a doctor and was well maintained. I managed to strike a good deal with him and got it at a handsome price. I just got it serviced from fass and it drove as good as any new car. Since then i have been a huge fan of pre-owned cars. Buying a pre-owned car makes a lot of sense from buyer's perspective as he saves a appreciable amount in the initial cost of investment.

[pedrolourenco]

I've tried both new and used. Generally had a good experience with new cars. 2nd hand was a mixed bag. For now I've decided that for a regular car (upto 10L), I'd go with new. Reason being these cars hold their value and 2nd hand is not such a good deal. With premium I'll go with 2nd hand only for petrol models are Diesels tend to be used a lot if not abused before coming up for sale.

[condor]

I have purchased new cars, and also a used car. This one has worked fine since it was a company maintained leased car.

Finding a good used car is normally tough. Plus the financing.

However, this time the car I am looking for is not available as a new vehicle and hence been searching the used car ads. Hope I strike the nail on the head sooner than later.

[navin]

For me, a car is a means to get to work, home and play safely and reliably.

Yet given that I am a "TBHP Moderator" and GTO and Rehaan, as well as fellow BHPian V16, offered to help me find a used car I decided to give it a half-hearted try. The risk, the effort, and maintenance (time more than Rs.) of owning a used car played on the back of my mind.

In the end, I decided to err on the side of caution and got a Camry. This Camry.
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/test-...ip-review.html (The Fat Cat's new treads - Toyota Camry Initial Ownership Review)

I ain't proud. I accept that I am an idiot. But I wonder. My chauffeur and I both forgot to get the car serviced for the first 18 months of ownership. No used BMW or Mercedes would have tolerated that kind of neglect. The Camry did. Maybe in my idiocy, I got the right car for me.

When this car gets old, I will get another one. Most likely, the same model.

If I do get a used car, it would not be my primary vehicle. It would be some weekend fling thing. My mid-life-crisis thing. My "manopause" thing. Something small that I can find parking for when just me and my better half want to catch the late-night movie at the mall.

[Reinhard]

I voted for the 1st two options in the list.

I love a car brand new. I don't let anyone drive my car. Even family! And so, it has to be purely mine. Where me and the car build a fresh relationship with each other without any baggage for a very long distance. Then - I don't like to change cars often. The last car I used for a decade. The one before - I changed only because it had a bent chassis. So buying a new one makes good sense anyway.

The risks are too many for a used car. No matter how much I check mechanically & document wise, there is always a fraction of a chance that something was wrong. Since I don't change car for a decade, when I see a car available for resale, I first wonder what made the user sell it!

So rather than buying a more premium preowned car at same price, I prefer to buy a lower segment car in same budget. To each his/her own of course. My decision is purely emotional. With head, generally buying a larger preowned car makes much more sense.

[TheHelix0202]

I chose 'Try convincing my family..', I mean, nobody in my family would listen to me if I advice them to go down the pre-worshipped route. Except my dad maybe. Only us pre-worshipped lovers would know the pain that's felt when an unconvinced family scorns us and all we have to make ourselves content with is looking at page after page of a specific car on any random classifieds.

Edit- I'd LOVE to get a used Honda Civic, OHC, Laura, Octavia RS 1, Optra, Cruze or even a Sonata Embera. But then again, does anything ever happen according to one's wishes always?