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-   -   Confused over buying a demo Hyundai Venue, need advice on DCT behavior (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-car/254812-confused-over-buying-demo-hyundai-venue-need-advice-dct-behavior.html)

Hi folks! I had been looking precisely for a used AT (not AMT) car within 5-6 lakhs for quite sometime. However, my current location being Guwahati, it is very, very difficult to find a used AT car here. Only examples available are used Honda Citys that are sold exclusively by the used car dealer network with high profit margins. Considering these, I decided to take a loan and increase my budget to 8L or so, so that I could accommodate a City of decent condition.

Just this month, after some exhausting search for 3-4 months, I found a demo vehicle at one Hyundai dealership that meets my requirements. Details as follows:

Model: Hyundai Venue SX+ Turbo DCT (Last Gen, with the updated steering, paddle shifters)
Kms done: 7800 kms. Looks genuine considering the service history, and overall.
Mfd Year: 2021. I could decode the year, but could not decode the month from the VIN. Registered in the name of dealership on August 2021. Effectively, this is just an a year old car.
Price: 8.65L, including insurance till Aug 2023, and 15 years registration already done.
Warranty: 1 year from the date of purchase, and not extendable (company policy on demo cars, they said). This is a sour point.

Condition of the car: Car is in relatively good condition, when considering it is a demo car. Some paint touch-ups present at right rear fender panel, but nothing major. No sign of any major impact anywhere. However, the driver seatbelt was not working, and is replaced. Servicing done on schedule. I found the engine to be normal and DCT shifts to be smooth (my point of comparison is a Sonet that I had driven earlier). Only exception is that the shift is not smooth when I forcefully downshift from 2nd to 1st gear using the Paddle Shifters/Manual Mode. Existing T-GDI + DCT owners (Kia/Hyundai), can you clarify whether this is normal behaviour, please? It is absolutely butter smooth when forcibly downshifting/upshifting to/from any other gear. The SA says that this behaviour is normal. It made no sense for me to take a mechanic for inspection, because FNGs here are not competent to diagnose DCTs.

Now I need some advice from you guys. Do you guys think that this is a good deal? Note that the warranty is reduced because it is a demo car. Any feedback on the DCT behaviour (normal or not)? I have paid a booking amount of 10k, and I am open to cancellation if the deal is not good. Thanks in advance. :)

As the 2022 facelifted Venue is out, the older test drive cars have to go and considering the kilometres clocked are quite low, I guess the car should be OK.
I normally would avoid Demo cars as they may have been handled poorly or may have had accidents too.

Their stance on warranty itself says they are not confident on demo cars. You can imagine how that DCT would have been driven in all those test drives.
What is the cost of a similar facelift model new one? If it’s in Bangalore, the pricing of 8.65 lakhs seems to be on lower side and hence you can take a risk.

Pre-facelift one last sold for 13.xx lakhs OTR. Don't know about the facelifted one, should be higher.

Caveat emptor!

DCTs are inherently unreliable and that warranty they're providing is pathetic to say the least. But considering the price at which it's being offered, not bad.

But since you're stretching your budget to get this example, i would say no. If it fails, it would take a 6 digit figure to replace it.

Any chance you can try hunting for a car in another town for more variety?

Do check out the new-gen Venue though. You'll be able to get a new car, entry-level model though, if you stretch your budget just a little.

Guys, an update: my confusion regarding DCT behaviour has been cleared by bhpian Xaos636, who owns a Venue DCT himself. Quoting his message below:

Special thanks to him. It clears my query. The DCT behaviour is normal, it seems, after all.

While the deal is a little meaty, I wouldn't go for it. For one, the demo cars are abused and you hardly get a feel of it by just a test drive. When you say the service has been done at the showroom, I am guessing it's just 1 given the odo reading.

- Demo car, so multiple drivers and many of those abusive
- DCT
- High likelihood of odo tampering
- No extended warranty.

A lot of things go against this deal. IMO, the risk reward ratio is not very promising. However, if you do go ahead, at least get a dealer warranty if not a Hyundai warranty. Else say thank you and move on.

Demo cars are horrifically abused, never warned up before hard driving, not letting the turbo cool down for around half a minute after a spirited run, rashly driven in general and not run in... I could go on for pages. Then comes the fact that this is a DCT. I'd stay away from this car since any repairs involving the same will cost an absolute bomb. The warranty offered is also barely anything.

For peace of mind as well as your wallet's well-being, I'd suggest that you look at something else. :)

Stay away from demo cars period, doesn’t matter if it’s CVT, manual or DCT. Look elsewhere, buy something else even if it means buying a lower segment vehicle.

Cheers

If you look up carwale.com, 2019/2020/2021 SX DCT models have a listed price (actual selling price might be a bit lower) of Rs. 11L to Rs. 13L. This seems to be a good deal price-wise, especially if you get it close to Rs. 8L.

Short term and long term reliability is a question mark, but you have a Rs. 4L cash buffer.

Avoid!!! My reason is their reluctance in giving you extended warranty. Everything else is fine but why would they deny extended warranty unless they already know something is wrong?

Don’t even think about buying a DCT(probably the most complex) without long term warranty. As it is the gearbox have had its share of issues reported already in the forum and other places online :)

It is unlikely to find an AT car in another town within the state. However, I can get one WB registered car, as there are plenty in Kolkata. I'll have to bear the re-registration costs in that case, also some additional hassle.

Right! Getting a DCT without extended warranty is a difficult choice. Regarding the warranty, the dealer is saying it is the new Hyundai policy for demo cars. I do not know for sure what to believe, and what not to.

However, I do not intend to keep the car for long, maybe only 1-2 years. And this is why I am looking for a used car in the first place. I do not want to take the first depreciation hit.

You might be talking yourself into buying this car by assuming that you might keep it for a short duration. I wouldn't do that.

There are three red flags. DCT, 7800kms of test drives and no extended warranty. I call B.S. on the statement that they have a policy that disallows extended warranty. In fact they should have offered it as a sign of confidence in the condition of the car.

Please continue looking for a well maintained, single owner car.