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-   -   Used Cars: Your upper limit for the km / odometer reading (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian-car-scene/219452-used-cars-your-upper-limit-km-odometer-reading-6.html)

I voted for option 2: 26,000 km - 49,000 km

I think in the cities where most of the people's commute on a weekday is from home to workplace and vice versa, the average reading on the odometer should be in the range of 25k-30k approximately on a yearly basis. Hence, I am probably buying a vehicle which was bought about 2 years back. So, there is a high probability that the vehicle is in a good state.
Ofcourse we need to consider the brake and clutch wear due to heavy traffic in the cities.

Having a reputable repair shop inspect the car car is a good way to head off mechanical problems. Find a repair shop that is AAA certified if possible.If you pay a fair price for the car, if it is in good condition and you keep it that way, resale shouldn't be a problem. Although it's worth noting that brands with high consumer esteem will be easier to sell. Japanese cars are a good bet for resale.All this being said I would say the most important factor in getting a good car is to ask the person selling it lots of questions.The answers to the questions are important, but it is more important how the seller answers the questions. Do they answer naturally and logically or do they hesitate and seem like they are hiding something?If something doesn't seem right it probably isn't. If the car you're looking at has 50,000 miles on it, that basically means you can drive it for another 90,000 miles before you even get to the average. If the car has 100,000 miles on it, that's still nearly four years of driving to get to the average.

I chose the first option, with the least km on the odo. But if you ask me to buy a pre owned car now, I just wont.

I had an eye opening incident last week. I was travelling in one of my friends' S cross and asked him what his odo currently was. He told me he reached 75k km last month, and then tweaked the odo to 35k km at nearby FNG. He told me he would drive another 40k with regular services at FNG and during 75k km service he will go back to authorised A.S.S. That way , the service record will be intact while also using the car for more km than what the odo claims.

I don't believe pre owned odos anymore. I would rather buy a new hatch back than buy a pre owned D segment sedan at the same price.

This is where the tyre manufacturing date and the tyre wear inspection comes into picture. There is a high probability that someone would recognize tampered odo.

Although this is a common malpractice performed by the used car dealers, any specific reasons (apart from resale value) on why your friend is clocking back the odo?

Very nice and relevant thread. I have a query. How many kilometers on odometer is good to buy an used 2016 POLO GT TSI? Plus, what all should be one careful with while inspecting the car ?

It will depend on the make and model for me. I won't hesitate to pick up a Toyota SUV that has done more than 1 lakh, especially if it is with a service history.

If he really is rolling the odo back as claimed, he's a bit of an idiot. He should be turning the odo back by a smaller amount e.g. 15k for every 30k that he runs. Alternate services between FNG and A.S.S. This would lead to a far more convincing service record (now, he will have a huge time gap between the 60k and 75k services).

Even con-men are losing their edge these days...

I was so shocked that I did not talk any further about the odo thing with him. I was just speechless that even educated, rich people do such cheap stuff for a few extra bucks a few years down the lane.

In my case, I log every 1000 km milestone here on teambhp and use it as an online record of maintenance and ownership. I have always shared the link to prospective buyers when ever I felt like knowing what resale value I could get for my car. No wonder I always got much low of a quote than I expected. Guess truth doesn't make a good sale nowadays.
And to know there are a vast majority of private owners (not second hand dealers) themselves who willfully act to cheat strangers was something I couldn't digest.
All my dreams of lateral upgrade to a 2.0 TDI sedan just flew out of the window, along with my trust on people in general.

I voted for 26-49k kms. Reason one being that obviously I would like a new-ish car and also pricing should be decent for it as it's been fairly used.

The reason ideally I wouldn't prefer a newer car is that there are chances that an owner wants to dispose of it quickly as it has some issue that the ASS hasn't been able to resolve. He's stuck with it for 10000km but now he's frustrated and wants to get rid of it

I voted for 26000-49000 kms.
I think the car would have been old enough to get cost benefit of a pre-owned car. If you are lucky you could get warranty or extended warranty benefits too.
Most likelihood, the car would be within the 5 years of purchase, hence would be serviced at an authorized service center and having the service records. With so much talk on manipulation of the odometer, having service records would make sense.

I picked up a genuine 46000 kms run Toyota Fortuner 2010 in excellent condition with company service history, just a month ago in Delhi and the only repair I did was to change the water pump. It still have plastic wraps in the seat adjusters bar (bottom). Only big investment I made was to change the 10 years old tyres to Conti ATs.

A smart buyer will check the dates between the services and question the gap or walk away from the deal. While buying pre-owned, anything slightly out of place should set the alarm bells ringing.


But yes, there are many who'll fall for the trap.

I believe the actual vote should be for is "It depends". A bit of luck is also involved here. For me, buying a car from a 2nd and dealer or an through an ad from Ola truly gives me the jitters. It is mainly because of the zero trust that these guys have developed. There is a small percentage of genuine dealers and owners who post through Ola. However, for a layman who has very limited knowledge of cars and does not have a big clout to fight it out (like me), I would not go there.
Team-bhp on the other hand is a forum which has earned the trust of thousands of people. I am not telling this just because I am writing here. But the way the mods have taken care of going that extra mile just to take care of the quality of posts is really amazing. I have been watching the unbiased reviews of all cars from all manufacturers over the past 12 years which helps an individual to take the right decision based on his own needs.

Coming to second hand cars, I am glad Team bhp started the "Classifieds" section and I did buy a 72K km run 2011 Linea Tjet in 2018 from an active bhpian. Before the purchase, I went through the posts from the bhpian and clearly understood what issues he has reported during the ownership and when I talked to him the very first time, I clearly saw that he was very open with what is working well and what is not and it matched with his posts. That gave the confidence that the person is trust worthy. Moreover the bhipan had done his last service at the same FNG Pride cars where I service my Punto MJD. I went to Pride cars and asked the mechanic if the car was worth buying given that it had run 72K kms already. The mechanic looked through the service records and gave a clean chit and told me exactly the list of spares which he would change immediately to bring the car back to top shape. Took his advice, settled the deal and brought the car back home. Two years down the line, the car is currently at 84K+ kms on the odo and an absolute hoot to drive on the highway. Have never stranded me or my family anywhere and it perfectly satisfies our family needs as a second city car as well.

Have never picked up a used car yet. But, somehow feel that needs to be the logical way forward with the insane prices that today's cars command.

Whenever that has to happen, I would want to preferably pickup a max 1-2 yr old car in its top variant with 10-15k which would be reasonable usage. It will help me knockoff 30-35% of the on-road price as well as still be under warranty for any unforeseen issues. Also, would give me an opportunity for extending the warranty. Ofcourse, there needs to be much further inspections to see if all is in place, but atleast this would be my screening criteria.

That's the current thinking, but then heart rules when you're actually in market for one :)

I have voted for greater than 1 lakh kilometers. The song cheap thrills will be apt over here. stupid:

If I find a car and a trustable seller who will be in my close contact I shall surely consider the vehicle.

The reason being that in my office group we are 3 people who have bought pre owned Vento TDIs with over 1 lakh kilometers from a trusted mechanic friend of ours. Touchwood, there has been no problem apart from routine wear and tear repairs/replacements.

Silver vento 2012- bought at 80000km, current odomoter around 135000.

White vento 2011 - bought at 135000 km, current odomoter around 143000.

Yours truly's vento rocky beige - bought at 108000, current odomoter 135000km.

All the three ventos have proved to be bullet proof in terms of reliability except mine where I was stranded due to an ABS problem. But no problem from the engine whatsoever.

All three vehicles still pull like a train as their meant to.

I'll let the pictures do the justice for the condition of the cars.

I have posted non-edited pictures to provide raw condition through pictures.

Thanks.