I've been on the lookout for a well cared for Baleno or an OHC 1.5EXI (or a VTEC) in Hyderabad for almost a month now and it has been a painfully slow process to say the least!
Hyderabad, to its credit, has a very reasonable used car market unlike other cities in the south. My budget of 2.5lacs seemed reasonable given the cars that I’m looking at!
However, finding decent used cars is becoming an increasingly painful exercise. My sources so far have been ads in online portals, recognized used car dealerships and newspaper classifieds. Here is what I like/dislike about each of them
Online portals
1. Carhyderabad.com - these guys seem to have an exhaustive list of cars in their database. However, the information available about the cars is sketchy to say the least and it is extremely inconvenient to find the recency of the listing. Besides, it is next to impossible to get the contact details of the advertiser. Every time I try I get the same message telling me that the advertiser did not have enough credit and therefore I cannot be given his/her contact details!
2. sulekha classifieds - sulekha too has an exhaustive list of cars in their database AND clearly states the date of the listing. This helps save time and effort on calls made to sellers who posted an ad months ago. Getting contact details of the sellers is a fairly straightforward process. The only problem with sulekha is the huge number of listings by brokers some of whom resort to posting false ads just to attract attention and make a quick buck.
Case in point being a used car dealership that calls itself "AutoIndia". On the 3rd of June there were 4 ads listed for balenos at unbelievable prices by the same individual. When I eventually called the contact number provided, I was informed that this was a used car dealership and that I was required to pay a "Registration" fee of Rs. 500 to avail of their services (which they said was showing me six cars that suited my requirements within one month!) What followed was incessant badgering over the next couple of days when they put an "executive" on my case to collect the registration fee. A few hours later, I received a call from them saying that there was a Baleno available and that I should get to secunderabad at the earliest to see the vehicle. It took me about tem minutes to make a few phone calls to reschedule everything else I had planned for the evening and just when I was done with that I got a call from the dealership telling me that it would be possible to see the vehicle only on the following day. They assured to call me and fix an appointment for the same. However it has been almost a week now and I am still waiting for their phone call (I’ve tried calling them but their phones are either busy or keep ringing endlessly so I have no option but to wait). On the one occasion that they answered my call, I expressed my displeasure at their poor quality of service only to be told that I was being unreasonable in expecting them to call me to keep me informed. I’ve written off the 500 bucks I paid them.
3. Dr Car – I find them to be the most professional of the lot. The level of detail available in the listings on their website is commendable. The inspection reports available for most vehicles are extremely helpful. I have noticed though that most cars have bonnet, fenders, doors, boot, etc. re-painted. I wonder if this is only a cosmetic bit (more so when the same inspection report also claims that the car has not been involved in any collision). The registration process is fairly simple and the support available on the phone subsequently is very good. Prices though seem to be a notch on the higher side in my opinion.
Newspaper classifieds
Though they carry a fair number of listings, my issue with newspaper classifieds is that they are available only once a week and that they are dominated by dealers and brokers who are very liberal with the use of superlatives when they describe the car.
I once saw an ad for an “immaculate” OHC in “scratch-less condition” that was “fully loaded” with alloy wheels, audio system and central locking. When I did get around to inspecting the car I was shocked. The paint work though scratch-less had completely faded away in patches. The interiors were shabby to say the least and the test drive had me battling with the steering wheel to keep the car going in a straight line. REJECT!!!
Used car divisions of car dealerships
I have tried only two of these so far, Auto terrace (Honda) and Varun Motors (Maruti Suzuki). There seems to be a general dearth of used cars coming in through their doors. For some reason OHCs and Balenos are never making it back to used car divisions of these dealerships. I’ve been in touch with salesmen from Auto terrace and Varun Motors’ used car division for almost a month ago and am yet to make any headway in my quest for a decent set of wheels!
So, that’s the story so far. I’m hoping that the experiences outlined here will make the search for a used car easier for some of you. I’m also hoping (very desperately) that some of you would be able to help me in my search – advice, leads, anything!

(Actually I’m hoping that there is something like a tooth fairy equivalent that will just plonk a nice car in my parking lot while I’m asleep!)