[Blessing]

Originally Posted by PrasannaDhana

Can't help it. Most car dealers don't have their own used car divisions like Maruti, Toyota, VW and Mahindra. Others deal with third party local used car dealers.

The jeep dealer's duty ends with transfer of ownership and cash from the used car dealer. What that used car dealer does with the car sold, is none of their concern.

Please don't trust manufacturers used car divisions too. Five years ago, I saw a nice looking 5-year old Ritz Vdi in a True Value outlet, with 70k on the odo with slight damage on the tailgate. They said it was backed into a wall. It drove well in the test drive, so I haggled and bought it for 2.85, which should've been a red flag, but I went through that sale as it drove well.

A month later, after I got it serviced at a Maruti Service center, got the phone number changed in their records and checked in the Maruti phone App, I saw that the 1 lakh service was already done.

What was not logged into their systems was that it had a front right impact which damaged the suspension, glass and door. but someone had done a very good job of putting it back together.

True Value just said it was a customer exchange car and they didn't check it at all.
I didn't bother much as it didn't give me any problems and has been running well, apart from regular maintenance. Now the odo reads 1,35,000kms, add the missing 30k to it and it's 1.7 lakh kms and it still runs happily.

I also bought a Ssangyong Rexton RX7 listed on CarTrade directly from the owner. It had 97,000 kms, for around 13 lakhs. When I checked with Mahindra, they said it was genuine mileage but refused to give a printout. The test drive went smoothly and offered him 8 lakhs and left it at that. After 6 months when I checked it again and it was still available. Evidently almost everyone called him and asked if it was a Fortuner! I used to drive a Saangyong Korando when I was working in the Mid-east, so I had no such problems. The Rexton came home in December 2019 and am quite happy.
Want to write my buying experience to post here, especially since there are no Rexton posts at all here.

So, in my experience, buying directly from the owner is the way to go if buying a used vehicle. Keep your eyes open though. Any dealer, whether big or small will set the clock back.

[extreme_torque]

Originally Posted by Blessing

A month later, after I got it serviced at a Maruti Service center, got the phone number changed in their records and checked in the Maruti phone App, I saw that the 1 lakh service was already done.

It might be because the service intervals are based on both number of kilometers or time. It may have crossed x months since new but not the kilometers.

Originally Posted by Blessing

What was not logged into their systems was that it had a front right impact which damaged the suspension, glass and door. but someone had done a very good job of putting it back together.

Curious how did you find this out if it was not mentioned anywhere?

[Blessing]

Originally Posted by extreme_torque

It might be because the service intervals are based on both number of kilometers or time. It may have crossed x months since new but not the kilometers.


Curious how did you find this out if it was not mentioned anywhere?

My friendly neighborhood garage. He told me that the windshield and the right window glass were changed, and showed me the body damage at the door by pulling off the rubber door seals and cracked plastic dashboard which was neatly covered. But,as I noted earlier, it was repaired very well, and I've been using the car daily for the past 5+ years, regular 1,000+ kilometre highway runs included, without any major problems

[991.2GT3]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

It is a sentiment and practice shared by many car owners all over the world I would say. And it does make sense, at least financially as you say.

Here in the Netherlands you can find very competent independent garages specialising in for instance Alfa Romeo, Mercedes, BMW, Jaguar. Some even specialise in a limited range of models. I have written about my pal Raymond who runs an independent Jaguar X308 shop.

Not sure about India, but access to parts, manuals, diagnostic equipment is not a problem at all here in the west.

Many people start drifting away from their main stream dealers when the warranty runs out of shortly thereafter.

Jeroen

Here in Delhi too there are some really competent independent shops solely working on German luxo badges. They source parts from OEM suppliers and are usually 1/3rd the cost of the official dealer quote for the same work. My 5 has been maintained at one such garage in NCR where on several occasions i've seen rows of Rolls and Bentleys being worked on.
- They're so particular that they refused to help me with some repair on my Endeavour as it's a Ford while they had an A3(cheaper) and a Mustang(a ford) in the shop for some work

Although i'm not sure if there are any garages which specialize in a particular model (low numbers?!) as your friend does for the X308. Probably in the future when the market matures.

Yes, post BSI/warranty expiry people generally take their business to independent shops. Although given the dynamics os NCR's 10 year diesel rule; the resale value of old diesel Germans has tanked and now more than ever big repair bills, as the car ages, pinch a lot!

[VijayAnand1]

Oh boy, this is a real eye opener. I thought there was a reason why there was digital, but now it's probably worse than the mechanical ones. A couple of mins, no sweat and boom, you increase your car's value by 30%.

Kudos for bringing this post up.

Cheers!
VJ

[hamhaj16]

That's quite easy, some electronics knowledge and soldering skill is enough. They used to replace eprom.

[EightSix]

I had this question, (you might call it stupid) but if odometer tampering can be possible most cars, whether mechanical or digital; does it serve any non-illegal purpose? Is there a reason why reversing the odometer is possible? An example would help. I came upon this thread from another thread where I read an odometer could be reversed up to 250 km or something. So why is there a provision to do so?

EDIT: Why don’t automakers develop anything to stop odo tampering?

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by EightSix

I had this question, (you might call it stupid) but if odometer tampering can be possible most cars, whether mechanical or digital; does it serve any non-illegal purpose? Is there a reason why reversing the odometer is possible? An example would help. I came upon this thread from another thread where I read an odometer could be reversed up to 250 km or something. So why is there a provision to do so?

EDIT: Why don’t automakers develop anything to stop odo tampering?

If you have to replace the odometer it is best if you can set it to the value shown on the one it is replacing. That way the mileage will still correspond correctly.

Unfortunately this same mechanism allows to roll back the odometer as well. In all honesty, I would think it is impossible to design a tamper proof odometer. Odometer tampering is BIG business.

Here in the Netherlands odometers reading are recorded regularly and mandatory during service and MOT.

Jeroen

[EightSix]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

If you have to replace the odometer it is best if you can set it to the value shown on the one it is replacing. That way the mileage will still correspond correctly.

Unfortunately this same mechanism allows to roll back the odometer as well. In all honesty, I would think it is impossible to design a tamper proof odometer. Odometer tampering is BIG business.

Here in the Netherlands odometers reading are recorded regularly and mandatory during service and MOT.

Jeroen

Oh sorry, totally missed that possibility. Which is why I said it may be a stupid question. Guess I should have thought more before posting. Thanks for the answer.

Other than lowering mileage on the ODO while selling in the used market, I read that people also roll back odometers (common in the US) on rental cars to avoid paying excess fees, alternatively I’ve also heard of fleets and taxi etc. INCREASING the kilometres on the ODO to get higher compensation.

[raksrules]

My brother recently sold his Honda city (2012 I think) to a dealer which had clocked 130,000 Kms. He bought it used few years back. The same car was listed on Olx few days after with 85,000 Kms odometer and price was 95K more than what we got.


I am super skeptical to buy a used car as I am sure its odometer will have been tampered with. We are looking for used automatic and this is a big issue we have and we cannot get in terms with buying one.

[Shivam]

I recently did a test drive of a 4 yr old german from a "trusted" dealer. The odo was around 40k, however, the look and feel of the gave an impression that the car was beaten heavily. TD of the same raised several eyebrows. The suspensions were worn out. When I parked the vehicle, it was still assuming reverse gear. TPMS sensor warning was on and so on. I had a serious suspicion and almost lost faith on the used car market.

[vgaquarius]

Recently came across this Instagram page named metertampering providing services in Hyderabad. How’s this guy even doing it openly? Anyway, the picture of the VW maxidot has been stolen from teamBHP and some action must be taken against this guy as the stuff he’s doing is illegal and dragging teamBHP into it indirectly.