[sreeJiva]

Originally Posted by deehunk

There after the car odometer was tampered to 67K and vehicle was completely repainted. The new ad said "low running vehicle and very well maintained".

So that's how CARS24 make profits? In their Tv Ad, they only claim to make your selling experience smooth. Buying experience they offer seems to be a whole lot different.

This might not surprise anyone from Used Cars industry, but for a naive middle class gentleman buying is first car (used ) for probable financial saving, these types of cons are a big let down and red flag. I wonder if there are any decent used car brands in India that don't do odometer tampering, (which has become a norm to make a quick buck).

On a separate note, I have burned my hands buying a 1 lakh run Hyundai Verna Automatic and incurred a huge loss by huge maintenance and then selling it for peanuts. I only read GTO's mantra "don't buy anything above 5 years or 50,000 km" later, and regret my buying decision to this day, as it burned a deep hole both in my pocket and pride.

So i'll think

[VJ05]

If I have to buy in Cash, I would prefer a used car. If I've to get finance, then a new car is preferred as the finance rate of used cars is too high and probably will offset most of the depreciation savings. In this scenario, I would prefer new car.

[DrSumit]

Ticked 3 (unrelated) choices:

First, maintenance costs scare me. This relates to, say, a 320d. Since my financial risk appetite (let's peg that at 10L) doesn't allow for a 2-3 year old version, I have to go through the tedious process of checking, waiting, evaluating (at BMW) and then finalizing a 5+ year old. Maintenance costs can thereafter be scary, unless you are very lucky! The same would apply to cars like the Passat.

Second, I ticked the model wasn't available. Try searching for an Octavia vRS and you'd know what I mean. Heck, I can relax my budget for that one (does it even deserve a budget?), but finding it is impossible - I didn't! Of course, there's a high probability such a car would have been driven hard, taking me back to point 1!

Third, are you kidding me? I love pre-worshipped. After toying with the idea for a fairly long time, I recently bought an Elantra fluidic (which ain't a driver's car, but mitigates the points above and provides a hassle free automatic for Mumbai traffic). Go figure!

[CarJunki]

Voted risk and lack of knowledge.
I keep cars for 10 years or more.

For any used car, there is just too many uncertainties. More than money, the hassle and time required to keep them running is just too much for me.
If it really comes to not being able to find a new car suitable for my needs, I will prefer to not buy at all.

[Mar21]

I see the logic in buying "second hand" or "worshipped" or as the poll refers to it - used cars.

However, a combination of factors has led me to buy new. I have however bought two second hand Cast Iron REs

1. Time or the lack of it
This is both in terms of hunting for one (i wish the day had 48 hours and work would not take up more than 11) and the time you have to decide and seal the deal once you have seen a car you like. (Weekend one - go check out the car, weekend two - take it to a mechanic for an evaluation, weekend three by the time you get to a decision with the family, the car's already sold)

2. Lack of access to a trusted mechanic or a service center associate - Walking into a service center where you have no relationship and asking someone to evaluate doesn't really work - you get a superficial check at best. Even going through a reference hasn't worked given their workloads/ lack of interest.

3. Lemons (and my inability to spot them) and the higher probability of things going awry within a short period of purchase.
For all the engineering and botany courses i've taken, my ability to spot a lemon is rather limited. Then there's the stuff that is about to conk off but hasn't yet conked off and will conk off within a month of you buying the car / bike (The two REs have taught me that well)

4. The risk of abuse by the previous owner - even sweet 80 year old Parsi ladies are known to push their cars hard, so one can only extrapolate. if i remember correctly, GTO refers to that in his bmw purchase as well when choosing between two options. Fine line between pushing one's car and abusing it. And I can't really tell whether that line has been crossed when i see a car (unless it has been really crossed)

5. Finally, the prices - I haven't found owner listings or believe in my ability to negotiate down to a price that makes it a sweet deal. If one is getting a 3-4 year old car at 70% of the price of the current model, it doesn't make a lot of sense in my mind, especially when the incremental amount is less than 3/4 lakhs in absolute terms. That may change when you are buying a car that retails north of 30 or 40L.

Cheers!

[McLaren Rulez]

If it's below 10L, the money saved isn't worth the time spent hunting around plus you have all the disadvantages cited in the poll. This is sort of the same reason why many of us buy brand new computers, phones etc. even though the pre-owned market has lightly used alternatives for a lot less.

Used cars in the higher segments do make a lot more sense though - the depreciation there is substantial and it starts to make sense to spend some time on trying to score a good deal.

[redCherry]

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[RevJ]

From all the above posts, it seems like everyone is playing safe and lack of knowledge on how to identify accidents or damages on used cars. I have seen post in which people has went beyond normal lengths for a PDI. Considering that, used car evaluation is a piece of cake armed with all the info here in this forum and others.

So my conclusion is everyone wants/needs a point of contact (read as service center) if and when things go wrong and need to blast someone. In a used car, you find a garage yourself, it might be good or not but you learn on or two things and maybe tinker around a bit too!

I always prefer Pre-Worshiped rather than new for
1. For the money of buying a new Creta or Seltos- used Innova anyone that too Crysta
2. For the money of buying any small hatchback as new- Used sedan Verna, Rapid, Vento
3. Modification from day one-No warranties
4. Lateral jump- The German luxo barges are within reach if you can stretch a bit more.

I am with GTO on this, Pre-Worshiped and what an apt name it is.

[procrastinator]

For someone who spent 5 weekends evaluating cars and 1hour/day on weekdays shortlisting them from November, 2019
Below points were considered to buy the new car instead.

1. Odometer: If it was a car sold by dealer (mostly) the odometer read funny value.
e.g.1 2011 Honda City with 60,000 kms today. You will be able to tell from pictures, it has been driven more.
e.g.2 2012 XUV5OO driven 95,000 kms. Most of the 1L+ cars will have odo under six digits.

I had to ask for last service bill or call the service center seeking details about it.

2. Body: It's a used a car, so will have to ignore minor scratches which are obvious in city. Expect dings to be fixed and panels to be repainted. I appreciate the fixes but needs to make sure job is done with proper color match and dent correction is invisible.

3. Price: This can be subjective to individual in negotiation; I have found people quoting high prices for good condition cars and very high prices for excellent cars. The way to reduce price has to quote very low value OR tell them this requires a fix of XX amount (XX is more than required) and go on bargaining. Sometimes seller would not budge and comparing that price on orange book value made it feel overpriced. Great cars got sold for that price and average car owners did reach back to me.

4. Transparency and Trust: Several claims can be false and several things are hidden. After following Used car guide on Team-Bhp, I have scratched my head on lack of clarity on many things told by sellers and dealers.
e.g. Dealers did not share insurance or RC because it contained owner details. I had to use VAHAN to get details and rely on dealer words for NCB and IDV.

5. Age: If you keep the car for longer duration, you may find it old even before you wish to sell.
e.g. if you plan to keep the car for seven years and have bought the three years old, it is going to be ten years old when you will get something new or old (again)

[deehunk]

Originally Posted by sreeJiva

So that's how CARS24 make profits?

So i'll think

I don't know who tampered it, but the ad was posted by a used car dealer in Bannerghatta Road. My another vehicle, Duster was taken for service after the deal, total billed amount was Rs.0. The service reference number was sent to my mobile by the ASS. We can identify the tampering on analog speedometers. It is difficult to recognise tampering on digital odometers.

[sudeepg]

I love used cars and would definitely consider buying a used car from a segment above than what I currently have, but not though the way of finance. What deters me most is the cost of financing a used car from the segment I am interested in. As said by our moderator here, the cost of used cars in Bangalore is plain silly. I was fortunate to own a used Honda city at a steal price. It's been the only time I owned a used car and loved it till the last moment it was sold. Plonking in my savings on a used car is also not a priority at the moment.

[vk007]

Voted for High Maintenance.

I owned a used Ikon 1.6 for 3 years before I got the City in 2009. Wonderful car but the dealer sold me a lemon in many ways. During my 3 years of ownership, I had to change the radiator fan, clutch system as well as some wiring issues. My favorite memory is switching the headlights on and the dash would go dark lol.


I agree on the commentary regarding the used car market in BLR. Its pretty inflated IMO and they CANNOT be trusted!

[haneeshN]

Are you kidding? I LOVE pre-worshipped cars - this completely reflects my mindset about buying a car.

We always own two cars at a time in our family and changed multiple cars (12 in the last 15 years) and everything was used except for one new Omni. Yes, buying used cars takes some time and needs skills (or a trusted mechanic) but to me, the positives outsell the challenges by a big margin. We take a lot of time in finding the car and haven't really lost much while selling them. More than that we could buy a higher segment car (lateral upgrade) for the budget. Yes, we have bought a couple of bad cars in the past but haven't burned our pocket much.

Pre-worshipped all the way for me

[Ragavsr]

Originally Posted by sreeJiva

So that's how CARS24 make profits?
I wonder if there are any decent used car brands in India that don't do odometer tampering, (which has become a norm to make a quick

Cars24 does not roll back the odometer. It's the used car dealers who purchase the cars from cars24 to resell , do the dirty tricks to maximize their profit margins.

True Value , Toyota U trust and cars24 directly ( if you buy from them ) don't roll back the Odometer as seen by the numerous amount of high odo vehicles they have in inventory.

[G-One]

Pre worshipped for me. all my personal cars have been pre worshipped ones.
1998 - 2004 - Zen MH410 bangalore
2000 - 2003 - Subaru Impreza - Oman
2004 - 2006 - Mitsubishi Magna v6 - Dubai
2006 - current (15 yrs) Ford Fusion 1.6 petrol - Goa, bangalore and kerala

but my wife always prefers new ones, probably cause the suffering is less
hyundai i10 kappa - 2008 to 2018 bangalore
renault kaptur - 2018 to current bangalore