[bblost]

Mission to quote your signature:
If the world was fair, God would've been here.

I am worried about having to prove the same to the Police.
Most of us know how smart and helpful the Police is.

[Mission_Safari]

Originally Posted by bblost

Mission to quote your signature:
If the world was fair, God would've been here.

I am worried about having to prove the same to the Police.
Most of us know how smart and helpful the Police is.

Yeah you are right. After reading the recent threads in 'Street experiences' it looks like anything can happen in this country.

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by appuchan

Oh those Russians! Never knew that Russia is in such dire straits. In that case we can expect them to import more cars to India through diplomatic channels and sell in "black" to make some quick money

More the merrier, bring it on Russians. But don't bring the lada please.

Originally Posted by appuchan

Hope so, only thing is that you will forever be under KGB watch

@M_S.. will let you know

[V-16]

Originally Posted by neoranjit

5.5L is a steal You should pick it up and sell it for around 8 or 9L .

Rubbish! It will not sell for over 3.5. maybe less.
Used Indian Corollas are available for great prices. The prices of second hand imported cars are not what they used to be earlier.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

I found this one in 'First Choice'. The dealer called me & said there was an imported corolla for sale. So I went to check it out. This is what I found.
According to the RC, it is a 1.5 L Corolla imported & registered (in 6/2003) in the name of the Embassy of Russia. I cannot think how this car can be sold in the local market without appropriate papers. The dealer says that he has not bought the car & is only working on a commission. Sounds true since no one will take up such a big risk.

Points to ponder

1. What about Customs duty ?
2. What about Road Tax ?

Above all this, the seller wants 5.5 L. Isn't that a joke ?

This car is a joke and a trap. Dont fall into it.
This must have been sold of by the consulate as scrap. Thats the only way they can sell this car in India without paying the customs duty and road taxes + sales taxes and registration charges.
Consular cars are exempt of all charges and duties as above and they have to be taken back to the country where they came from. Else they have to pay all teh above charges which will be so exhorbidant that you cant imagine.
These cars usually get picked up by touts who sell them to unsuspecting buyers, till one fine day the customs comes marching to your place and confiscates the car and arrests you.
Better left alone.
Actually im surprised that First Choice is indulging in such shifty stuff.

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by V-16

Rubbish! It will not sell for over 3.5. maybe less.
Used Indian Corollas are available for great prices. The prices of second hand imported cars are not what they used to be earlier.
....

Well, who knows, there might be some "interested people" in Kerala or WB who are ready to pay a premium for this car, coming form the land of Stalin and Lenin. Repainting in red would help though.

[V-16]

Originally Posted by appuchan

Well, who knows, there might be some "interested people" in Kerala or WB who are ready to pay a premium for this car, coming form the land of Stalin and Lenin. Repainting in red would help though.

Would they buy my Santro for 5 lakhs? Ill paint it pink if they want!!

Actually yes. There might be some gullible persons who may fall for the trap but usually, no one would pay a price like this for a car that does not even have clear papers.
And if i recollect, the south only pays bucks for Diesels

[esteem_lover]

Originally Posted by V-16

This car is a joke and a trap. Dont fall into it.
This must have been sold of by the consulate as scrap. Thats the only way they can sell this car in India without paying the customs duty and road taxes + sales taxes and registration charges.

I think I know what I am talking about. I had in no way shown any interest in picking up that car. Thanks for the tip though. It was just a curious test drive. The car is seriously underpowered as well. But good to drive in the city. It has pretty good low end torque.

[appuchan]

Originally Posted by V-16

Would they buy my Santro for 5 lakhs? Ill paint it pink if they want!!

Actually yes. There might be some gullible persons who may fall for the trap but usually, no one would pay a price like this for a car that does not even have clear papers.
And if i recollect, the south only pays bucks for Diesels

No sure if you understood the "political" undertone in my message earlier. Of course Diesel is big thing in south. Skoda is still a big thing in Kerala. But I hear that now the latest fad there is Accord. There seems to be a mad rush to get new or used ones. Residents can comment...

[shajufx]

Originally Posted by shajufx

5 lak seems to be a good deal provided you dont have any other hidden expenses like customs/stamp/road tax etc. I assume embassy registered vehicles would not go through abuse !

I take back my comment based on the revelation below.

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

The guy who has picked up the vehicle (dirt cheap) has abused it for more than a year without any papers (there are tell tale signs) & now wants to get rid of it.

Now, I would not take any interest in such a deal ! There are many hidden dangers as mentioned by our experts;

1. You will be under KGB watch
2. Its abused to the maximum
3. Spare parts cost and non-availability of imported models
4. Cost of preparing all legal documents

[nitrous]

Originally Posted by GTO

I hope you are joking. Neither is this car worth 8 L nor 5.5. Unless you get it dirt cheap, why would anyone buy this car? The Indian Corolla is more powerful, localised, will come with clean paperwork and a ready supply of spares.

You spoke my opinion,GTO.
Im gonna have you arrested for this.

[Mpower]

So where is the test drive report? I think this one has a smaller engine. (1.3L in Singapore)

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

According to the RC, it is a 1.5 L Corolla imported & registered (in 6/2003) in the name of the Embassy of Russia. I cannot think how this car can be sold in the local market without appropriate papers. The dealer says that he has not bought the car & is only working on a commission. Sounds true since no one will take up such a big risk.

Ah, somewhat makes sense. I guess its a better choice than Lada or that 118NE lookalike (Volga?) that is "made in Russia"

[Path_Finder]

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

The dealer says that he has not bought the car & is only working on a commission. Sounds true since no one will take up such a big risk.

The very fact that a delaer like First Choice is not taking risk smells something fishy about the background and paperwork

Originally Posted by esteem_lover

Above all this, the seller wants 5.5 L. Isn't that a joke ?

5.5L is indeed a big joke

I would suggest keeping away unless you find the car condition and drive to be expectionaly good and you have some fancy for imported ones!

[DocG]

Ahem!!! This was the regular Corolla in markets where the Corolla sold in India was refered to as the Altis!

Yes, Singapore is one such market...Have driven this car extensively as it's one of the more popular cars in Singapore...It's extremely fuel efficient, and you'll probably see somewhere in the region of at least 12-13 to a litre in the city.

It's a great car, but being a 2003, it's not worth 5.5...As Gogi said, more like 3!!! It's quite a bit cheaper than the Altis in markets where it was sold.

For 5.5L get the old gen Corolla, it's larger, better suspension, overall comfort and a more powerful engine.

Lastly I have extensive knowledge about resale of Embassy cars [Have diplomatic background]. All the papers have to be in order. Embassies are exempt of all duties for cars brought in for their officials. These cars are generally the ones used by the person in their respective country before being assigned to their new deputation. Only those is high posts such as Ambassidors / High Commissioners, Deputy Ambassidors / High Commissioners, or finance/security attaches buy new cars before new deputations. The duties will be applicable to anyone who buys these cars here in India. They calculate the depreciated value, and original invoice value is taken from the company HQ [i.e. A 2007 BMW's invoice value will be the German price for the vehicle in 2007, they then calculate depreciation based on their values, and tax you on that value]

BEWARE of these cars as they're usually abused! Check if the owner had any children above the age of 14 that's generally when my friends and I started driving, and I've seen quite a few Dip cars with suspension issues, many of which were courtesy of us :P [My favorite memory being the bulletproof blue Merc E class we messed with, apparently we screwed up the entire suspension geometry by pulling all those 180s and doughnuts that they had to get a new one! SA High Commissioner's car, and then there was the Palestinian Ambassidors cars..Ahhh fond memories of New Delhi and the Dip life...Gotta love how cops are scared of those blue plates]

Yeah so my humble advice to all is to stay away from Dip cars from families that have kids 14 and above...Trust me!

[GTO]

The duties will be applicable to anyone who buys these cars here in India.

That's an eye-opener. I always wondered of what taxes are applicable. Thanks for the info!

[speedy]

Esteem Lover i would suggest you stay clear of this car however tempting the offer may seem.
The hidden cost (taxes, duties) that would be involved like most of my friends have stated will be very high. The consulate would not have sold the car as scrap if it on sale again. they do have an arrangement with dealers as they dont want to go through the hassles. Previously STC was incharge of all consulate car sales (Bombay,Delhi) and then the consulates started selling them directly. The buyer has to clear the duties and taxes involved over and above the price he pays for the car. The consulate only provides a N.O.C. for transfer to the current owner.

We were offered a 94/95 Discovery years ago directly by the British consulate in Bombay for 3.5 lacs. We were not told of the duties involved just that a N.O.C. would be given. on Inquireing around and checking with the Customs We came to know that we would have to pay 12 lacs as duty and other costs to register it and make it legitimate. the total cost was 15.5 lacs for the car.