Buying a Second Hand Car - Learn from my mistakes!!!

[vivekgk]

Great thread, with very useful info. I'm in the market for a used Scorpio myself, and the information was very useful. I still don't get why esteemlover prefers old, scratched windshields, but different strokes for different folks, I guess. I think that it's the typical obsession for everything original (The guy I went with to look over cars with insisted on passing up a car with original, delicious looking 17" OZ alloys and Michelin 235 tyres, because the 'standard factory wheels' were 'always' better!) I passed up on that car because the asking price was outrageous, but still...

I am fortunate that a Service Engineer stays nearby, who I can take along to assess the cars. He even gives me a rough on the spot estimate of the money I'd need to spend on the car, Bless him.

[ibcool]

Originally Posted by deepashpuri

Buying a Used Car from a Second Hand Car Dealer is a learning experience. I would like to share my experiences and hope that people learn from my mistakes.

The first time that I got into buying a Second Hand Car was in January 2002 from a car dealer in Bangalore. I bought a Maruti 800. The tyre of the vehicle looked in excellent condition but I had a puncture within two days of buying the car. When I took the tyre to the puncture repair shop – I was shocked when I was told that these are cut or crafted tyres which mean that these tyres are fully bald and some dealer has had them crafted or cut with fresh grooves – by driving on these tyres you are risking your life. When I took the car to buy new tyres – I was told the same thing by the tyre dealer too and I ended up buying a new set of tyres.

The second experience came in January 2004 – when I bought a Ford Escort from a Second Hand Car Dealer – the test drive that I took was extremely good in terms of the feel of the car. I asked the dealer if this car entailed any major repairs to which he told me that the car does not even require a Rupee to be spent on. After buying the car for Rs.2,25,000/-, I took the same to Metro Ford for service the next day. On seeing the car the Service Manager refused to take the car for servicing as he said that I need to first attend to the major repairs that were told to the previous owner – the harness had gone, the catalytic converter needed replacement and the vtec drive also needed replacement – the Service Manager informed me that all this would cost Rs.1,49,000/-. I immediately decided to sell the car within 3 days of buying it to another car dealer and he seemed to have known the problems with the car and bought the same for Rs.1,57,000/-. Thus, I incurred a loss of Rs.68,000/- in 4 days of buying the car.

My next purchase was a Santro – I had no problems with the same.

Now that I am looking out for a change in my car to a Wagon R – let me tell you about my experiences:

1. There is a shortage of second hand Wagon R cars in the Bangalore market. The dealers are quoting any kind of price for the same.
2. I looked at a one year old car done only 7800 kms. – the car had met with a head on collision; the side fenders had been replaced. I was lucky this time out because I had learnt from my previous mistakes and had taken the Service Engineer of one of the Maruti Service Stations with me.
3. Another car was a VX model but the logo at the back read VXI and had all the features of the VXI too – that means the dealer had made all the additions.

Please check the following while buying a used car from a Car Dealer:

1. Check the Original Certificate of Registration – see if anywhere it reads DRC issued (DRC means Duplicate Registration Certificate). Ask for it in writing that the Original Certificate of Registration is available.
2. Check if the Comprehensive Insurance is valid and for how long.
3. Ask for it in writing that the Car is an accident free car.
4. Do not believe the Speedometer reading as almost every car sold by a dealer is calibrated – add atleast another 20000 Kms. to whatever is showing on the speedometer.
5. Check the tyres for date of manufacture – the date of manufacture should be two or three months before the date of purchase of the car as mentioned in the Certificate of Registration. This gives you a fair idea whether the car’s speedometer reading is genuine or not.
6. Most of the cars come with pirated music systems.
7. Insist on a duplicate key – if the duplicate key is not there – most likely it would be with the Finance Company.
8. Avoid buying a car which has been repossessed/confiscated by the Finance Company – you will not get the Original Certificate of Registration and besides you may end up in problems with the original buyer even though the car maybe transferred in your name.
9. The dealers will make you talk to the seller directly face to face – but these sellers are not the original customers but are free lance car dealers who have bought the car from the original customer and want to make a quick buck on resale. To find out whether the seller is a direct customer or a dealer himself – just carry a set of transfer forms (Form 29, Form 30, Insurance Form, NOC Form, Sale Receipt and Delivery Note) with you and if the deal is truck ask him to sign on the same when you make the advance payment – he will immediately refuse or will take out another set of forms already signed by the original owner.
10. Check where the car is being serviced – you can find this out in the Car Manual but in the event that the manual is not available – most of the service companies put the sticker on the cars – call them with the car number and ask them for the history of the car. Also, you can check with the service company as to what was the last service date and the Km. reading recorded with them at the last service – this way you can figure out whether the speedometer has been tampered with or not.
11. When taking the delivery of the car – please mention the date, the time and speedometer reading on the Delivery Note – this way you are ensuring that before that date, time and speedometer reading if any liabilities are on the car it would be on the seller.
12. Bargain on the EMI as there are varying figures for EMIS. Also, if the car dealer is a DSA of any Finance company – he is earning anything between 2% to 3% on the loan amount from the finance company.
13. Bargain on the transaction fee – though most dealers charge 2% they normally settle between 1% to 1.25%.
14. If you are buying a second hand car that is less than a year old – please check the total cost i.e. your investment + the loan amount + the interest that you would end up paying at the end of your loan term period. The interest is almost half or more than half for a new car loan vis-a-vis the interest on the Used Car Loans.
15. Preferably if you know someone in one of the service stations or having been using one – take the car for a drive there and ask them to evaluate the car.
16. All the second hand car dealers are hand in glove with one another.
17. Use only reputed car dealers who advertise for accident free vehicles and who have had a good reputation in the market for a number of years.
18. Now that Maruti as well as Hyundai have a division dealing with used cars – take my advise buy preferably from them though they would be slightly more expensive than the market but remember that the car is certified by the manufacturer.

The Seond Hand Car Dealers market is flourishing in India because people like you and me do not have the time or patience to advertise for the Sale of Cars. These car dealers offer a person ont he spot cash settlements even if you have a loan existing against your car - they will reduce the outstanding loan amount and pay you cash upfront. But we actually end up loosing money both ways i.e. we sell our existing cars at lower prices and buy another second hand car at a higher price.

Please do not go by the outward appearance of the car – get it checked. Remember all that glitters in not gold.

i dont see the point of buying all second hand cars even after burning your hands so many times, yes dealers are cheats so are the agents, but then buy a new car man ... save the trouble!

[mithun]

Originally Posted by ibcool

i dont see the point of buying all second hand cars even after burning your hands so many times, yes dealers are cheats so are the agents, but then buy a new car man ... save the trouble!

Not all the 2nd hand cars are bad. There is a good side for every coin.

[man23ish]

Originally Posted by mithun

Not all the 2nd hand cars are bad. There is a good side for every coin.

I agree with mithun here. The best way to shop for a reliable pre-owned vehicle is to have a reliable mechanic (again a rare breed).. Its worth to pay him upto 5000/- upfront, and save more than Rs 50000/- afterwards..

Besides, from a depreciation perspective, the most expensive miles on a vehicle are the first 10000 miles. After that the vehicle cost does not depreciate a lot.. So let someone else drive the most expensive part of the vehicle for you and you buy a pre-owned vehicle and enjoy the rest of the vehicles life..

The best bet is to buy a pre-owned vehicle from someone you know.. With an input from a reliable mechanic..

I recently bought a pre-owned Fiat Palio D and i am quite happy with the deal..

[ravradha]

After reading this thread am scared to buy the used Alto I shortlisted. Are there any BHPians in Domlur/Koramangala/Indiranagar, Bangalore who can help in checking the car? I can show the car to them before I take a decision...

[mjothi]

Great thread. Thanks for bringing in life ravradha.
I was about to sell my Zen to a person this week in chennai. but this did not happen because, he wanted me to sign the TO forms without filling his names and claimed he may register it in his wife names or father. i told him to decide and tell the name and also give the address proof of the person in whose name this is going to be registered. He was trying to convince me. but I don't want to do that.
So, he deal did not happen.
I had 2 doubts.
1. he may be a broker and claiming to be personal purchase. So, he can sell it for higher price outside. i am not worried on this much, but still like that other party to be honest.
2. he may not even transfer this vehicle in any names and keep driving. Why? Because it may affect the resale value if it becomes 2nd owner. So, if there are any problem or accidents, I would be in trouble.

[Magnan]

Almost same happened with me.A well obliged person mediated for himself Rs.20,000 in getting me a II hand Cielo.I was asked to spend not a single rupee on it and within a month I had to invest Rs.17000 on cluch,brakes tires oils etc.It is almost impossible to find good persons engaged in II hand car market.Still I am managing to run that Cielo and minimum daily run is 140 kms as my workplace is far away.

Note from Mod - Please use spaces after punctuation marks in order to improve readability. If you are interested in discussing this further, please see this thread : http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/shifti...tml#post715060

[v&v]

great article. quite informative. i think now certified cars sold by respective manufactures like maruti, honda, skoda is a better bet rather then a local dealer.

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by deepashpuri

6. Most of the cars come with pirated music systems.

Pirated music systems?!

Nice writeup, If one is a first timer at buying 2nd hand, one should take a mechie / experienced friend along and throughly check the car.

[muneemmk]

Caution That is what has to be practiced , when dealing with an automobile agent. If you don't keep your eyes open for just a little while , u will have to search for your *****,they might have plucked it too in the process.

[Offside]

Many thanks for starting this thread , probably this one thread I've read all the posts in! So based on all the feedback I received and and team-bhp's advice , here's what I did - I just bought an Black Accent GVS '03 model for 2.5l with music system auto-cop etc.

1) I checked out all the local Ads and patiently checked each one out taking along a friend who had a sound knowledge of cars(also equipped with team-bhp's advice) - took me three months to shortlist a good one.

2) Then when I liked the car I spoke to the trident Hyundai service center guy in Bangalore and took the car there for a basic sanity testing. Only then when he ok'd the car I went ahead with the deal.

Of course you'd have to do checking of papers and stuff whihc is minimum required. I still don't have many complaints so far for my car (fingers crossed!) will defo keep all you folks updated whatever my experiences are.

Cheers!
cheers:

[e1t1bet]

Any well maintained car should have a service history record. Don't buy it if you don't get one.

[navan49]

If you know how to check, then you can buy the used one, otherwise none is reliable for you to help. The brokers are for their lively hood. They want to finish a deal of the day and take his share. Better buy the certified car on payment of 15 or 20% over the value.

[blackasta]

Its high time that something like carfax comes to India and every major repair/service gets reported. Only then shall the 2nd hand car market be free of dubious dealers dealing in lemons and junks.

[sierrakamat]

just for the record i have never bought a new car in last 20 years and have changed 22 cars cos i get bored with driving the same car in about a years time ,BUT i have never got a lemon the philosophy is simple a second hand car requires min 50 k to get it back to the original state factor that in ur buying price and never take that vehicle to the factory workshop where the funda is replace instead of repair .
if you wil buy second hands and want it to feel and perform like new then you have to spend or else go for a new car simple