[ChiragM]

Wheels Wisdom has launched Litmus - a used car inspection service in Bangalore. The company plans to offer the service in other cities like Hyderabad and Kochi soon.



The inspection service is offered only on cars less than 7 years old and run less than 50,000 km. It costs around Rs. 1,500 and Rs. 2,000 (plus taxes) per car. A Wheels Wisdom Technical Advisor will inspect the car with a 200-point checklist. The inspection is expected to take 60 to 90 minutes and the report is shared with the buyer.

If the engine and gearbox are found to be in good condition, buyers can also buy a warranty for the engine (including ECU) and gearbox, which is valid for one year. The warranty is expected to cost approximately Rs. 10,000 (plus taxes), depending on the car. Buyers can also pre-book the warranty. Those who pre-book will also get two free inspections.

Link to Team-BHP News

[aryag1998]

Sounds like a great initiative!
It'll definitely reduce the stress on the used car buyer, however, they should ease their restrictions to say cars 10 years or newer, or driven for 100,000kms or less.

[libranof1987]

I seriously doubt the USP of this venture. Most manufacturers now offer at least five years of Warranty, a few up to seven and on rare occasion, all the way up to ten. When they have official support, why would an owner choose a third party, especially one that isn't established. This will very likely end up being a fly-by-night startup that'll last as long as the VCs' blessings do.

Also, I'd imagine the WW-provided Warranty has a host of T&Cs.

[Rajeevraj]

I have used their car service option multiple times, and have always had a great experience. Stopped using when they brought in a restriction that they cannot do regular service in the Authorized service centers. Did not make sense to give my car which is still in add on warranty outside. Keeping that aside, they had definitely earned my trust in the servicing space.

The <50k does not make sense in my opinion. Such detailed inspections are more relevant for cars that have run >50k where there are higher chances of issues or potential issues- Probably playing safe initially.

In the 'Why won't you buy a used car' thread, a majority of the comments are around how it is hard to get a clean car. So there is definitely an opportunity for trustworthy used car evaluations.

[bkc]

As many have pointed out, 50k kms is very conservative.
My car is at 90k and it still runs like new, except for suspensions.

They're shouldn't be any limit on kms to rate the car condition, it should just give an outline for its age and mileage.

[greenhorn]

My sister is looking to buy a used car in bangalore, and I wanted her to get it inspected. I asked her to get in touch with them, and they responded that they are no longer doing this.
Are there any other options? My sister is staying in koramangala and would prefer someplace nearby

[narayan]

Good initiative. I’ll expect one key check in that 200 point checklist. A confirmation that the ODO isn’t tampered with. Do they have the expertise to figure that out ? Or can they atleast try to infer that by verifying official service records, check for actual wear and tear and atleast attach a probability to the odo reading being correct ?

If they can, that would be a big plus for the service

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by libranof1987

When they have official support, why would an owner choose a third party, especially one that isn't established. I'd imagine the WW-provided Warranty has a host of T&Cs.

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The <50k does not make sense in my opinion. Such detailed inspections are more relevant for cars that have run >50k where there are higher chances of issues or potential issues- Probably playing safe initially.

In the 'Why won't you buy a used car' thread, a majority of the comments are around how it is hard to get a clean car. So there is definitely an opportunity for trustworthy used car evaluations.

Hahaha, had a good laugh after reading the last 2 paragraphs of the opening post. There are so many obvious red flags as rightly pointed out by others.

And what’s the deal with pre-selling selling warranty?! How does that even work? What were they smoking when they came up with that idea?! Also, why would someone in their right mind buy 3rd party warranty for a vehicle they don’t even manufacture?

There certainly is a need for used car evaluations/general inspections by TRUSTED mechanics/ASC, but not these types of shams which will take a lot of innocent customers for a ride/get ripped off, under the guise of peace of mind for buying a used car.

Originally Posted by bkc

As many have pointed out, 50k kms is very conservative.
My car is at 90k and it still runs like new, except for suspensions.

They're shouldn't be any limit on kms to rate the car condition, it should just give an outline for its age and mileage.

This! Conservative is an understatement, to say the least. Goes to show the competency of the ‘technical advisors’, if they don’t want to dip their fingers in vehicles older than 50,000kms/7yrs.

Originally Posted by greenhorn

Are there any other options?

Go to the nearest ‘TRUSTED‘ FNG/ASC and ask them to perform a general checkup on the vehicle. Don’t forget to make sure that the car doesn’t have any stored fault codes during the OBD2 diagnosis. Any competent mechanic should be able to give you a detailed vehicle health report in 60 minutes.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by ChoosetoCruze

Go to the nearest ‘TRUSTED‘ FNG/ASC and ask them to perform a general checkup on the vehicle. Don’t forget to make sure that the car doesn’t have any stored fault codes during the OBD2 diagnosis. Any competent mechanic should be able to give you a detailed vehicle health report in 60 minutes.

I'm aware of that route - The "Trusted" is where it falls apart. If I knew one, I would have started there. My sister is somewhat wary of having to deal with strangers with unknown credentials both from a security and social distancing perspective. A touchless service where you make a payment, give a car with details, and get a structured and professional report is much more valuable

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

I'm aware of that route - The "Trusted" is where it falls apart. If I knew one, I would have started there. My sister is somewhat wary of having to deal with strangers with unknown credentials both from a security and social distancing perspective. A touchless service where you make a payment, give a car with details, and get a structured and professional report is much more valuable

Got it. At the risk of assuming you haven’t already, have you checked the directory for FNG? https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangalore/

Are there any which are located near your sister’s location? If not, I’m sure other members can point you in the right direction.

[McLaren Rulez]

The warranty they offer is not that important. If these guys do a good job and manage to catch most or all the issues with a car, I'd happily part with that money before buying.

[greenhorn]

Originally Posted by ChoosetoCruze

Got it. At the risk of assuming you haven’t already, have you checked the directory for FNG? https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/bangalore/

Are there any which are located near your sister’s location? If not, I’m sure other members can point you in the right direction.

The nearest i could find is https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/banga...bangalore.html (Automotive Garage - Automechs (Koramangala, Bangalore)) which ended with folks challenging their people skills - so was looking for a more professional alternative. Anyway its pointless as I She and a lot of other friends i have, are not really enthusiasts. They are not really interested in building a relationship with the the lead mechanic of the nearest FNG (as opposed to me and my Indica which has probably secured the college education of at least one of them). They think of a car as an appliance, and just want a low involvement solution. Normally I would refer my average relative to a maruti true value and be done with it, but because its my sister, I have a vested interest in (1. her staying alive and 2. her not getting ripped off) so a used maruti dealership is definitely out of the question - And such a service exists - (along with RC transfer services offered by sites like cars24.com and quikr) then its the best of both worlds - cheaper and better cars from private buyers, Certification on the car quality, and a hassle free purchase experience (without any of the RTO headaches) Maybe this is a topic for another thread.

Anyway I found two options from other channels -
https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/banga...bangalore.html (Doorstep Car Servicing - Carista (Bangalore))
and
https://www.carpathy.com/car-inquiry...car-inspection

Will report back if/when inspections are done by them and create a new directory thread as appropriate


@everyone else - Did you not read my post ? they do not offer this service any more. Not sure what is to be gained by discussing future possibilities of a service offering that no longer exists.
If we are talking about wheels wisdom specifically, https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/banga...bangalore.html (Service Assist - Managed car servicing from WheelsWisdom.com (Bangalore))
If we are talking about online services like these in general https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/techn...-use-them.html (Online car service / maintenance providers: Would you use them?)

[ChoosetoCruze]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

They think of a car as an appliance, and just want a low involvement solution. Normally I would refer my average relative to a maruti true value and be done with it, but because its my sister, I have a vested interest in (1. her staying alive and 2. her not getting ripped off) so a used maruti dealership is definitely out of the question - And such a service exists - (along with RC transfer services offered by sites like cars24.com and quikr) then its the best of both worlds - cheaper and better cars from private buyers. Maybe this is a topic for another thread.

I know exactly what you mean and the high stakes involved. In that case, would it be prudent to ask the help of a trusted, automotive savvy relative/friend to find a potential car, get them to do all the pre purchase inspections & have your sister only involved in the money transfer & delivery of the used car?

Basically, asking a potential *Good Samaritan* to do all the ‘dirty work’ for her? I understand this option isn’t at everybody’s disposal.

Another option given the circumstances is buying a new car & calling it a day. (Money being no object)

Just my 2 cents.

[GTO]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

they do not offer this service any more.

Wheels Wisdom has resumed the used car inspection service.

We’ve brought back the service, and customers can book their appointments via the Wheels Wisdom website now.

In fact, now there are two variants of this service:

1. Where WW carries out the inspection (available in Bangalore): https://www.wheelswisdom.com/product...and-valuation/

2. Where WW assists customers in carrying out a self-inspection (available pan India): https://www.wheelswisdom.com/product...car-all-india/

[itsashishsharma]

Can they also report whether the odometer was tempered with?