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-   -   Used car for 3 - 5 lakhs? My 1st car as a new driver (https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/what-car/272357-used-car-3-5-lakhs-my-1st-car-new-driver.html)

Hi BHPians,

Happy Dussehra to All :)

I am planning to buy my 1st Car as a newbie in Driving so Used Car is the choice for me.
I am 30 and married, belong to Delhi NCR and work in Bangalore.

Thinking of getting a Used Petrol car in Delhi NCR area.

NOTE: Going to send it to Bangalore as did not find a lot of options in Bangalore.

Budget: 3-5 Lacs.

Important Criteria:

0. No Major Accidents.
1. <50k Kms on Odo. (Little Negotiable)
2. Only 1st Owner.
3. Make 2015 and above.
4. Manual Transmission. (Want to start with this obviously)
5. ABS / Airbags.

I have only checked Spinny and Cars24 for now and shortlisted some cars. (Please suggest if there are other good Offline/Online options).
Some of the Cars which match the requirements and also my preferences are below (Please feel free to suggest a Car if you think it suits the scenario):

Swift / Tiago / Grand i10 / Amaze.

Details of Cars I have shortlisted are below. Will start taking Test Drives from next week.

Swift Zxi 2015: Spinny Gurgaon : 36K kms : 4.26L
Interiors condition Good with all electricals working / Exterior condition Average, some Dents and Scratches present.

Swift Zxi 2015: Spinny Gurgaon : 64K kms : 4.59L
Interiors condition Good with all electricals working / Exterior condition Above Avg, minimal Dents and Scratches present (Cleaner than the above Swift).

Swift Lxi (O) 2017: Spinny Dwarka : 24K kms : 4.68L
Interiors condition Good with all electricals working / Exterior condition Above Avg, minimal Dents and Scratches present. (Cleanest Swift)

Tata Tiago XT 2019 : Spinny Ghaziabad : 37K kms : 4.58L
Clean Interiors with all electricals working / Exterior condition Average, some Dents and Scratches present.

Tata Tiago XZ 2018 : Cars24 Gurgaon : 53K kms : 4.37L
Clean Interiors, Seat cover torn / Exterior condition Average, some Dents and Scratches present. Some Fog Light issue.

Apart from above, there are some good Grand i10 options available.
If required, I am assuming a full body Dent Paint will cost around 25k. That's Max for Exterior refresh? (Is it advisable to go for it? Right after I get the car or after sometime?)
Keeping another 25k for accessories and any other stuff.

I have gone through some posts on Forum regarding Buying an Old car.
Will take a mechanic along with me and also double check Service and Accidental history from Authorized Dealer and Insurance claims history.

Please feel free to add any suggestion/advice or things i may be missing. Planning to finalize by end of November 2023.

Out of all the options you have Shortlisted, this seems to be the best.

I would still suggest that you look for cars in Bangalore itself. There are innumerable options and you saying that there are less options was slightly shocking.

Thanks for the reply Arnav,
I have only checked Cars24 and Spinny, so i meant less options in Bangalore on these portals. Can you suggest some good options in Bangalore?

Cost of Transfer from Delhi to Bangalore will be around 30K.

Not looking to buy a Used VW or a Skoda. I can't think of any other cars which fits the need.

Since i myself am a new driver and my wife will also learn to drive on this vehicle, preference is more towards a Maruti or a Hyundai.
I have got a lot of bad reviews about after sales service of Tatas, although the Safety ratings and features in Tata cars are tempting.

Check out Maruti TrueValue as well, a major plus is they can show you the service history for Maruti cars, ofcourse if you ask for it. From a pricing point , in Bangalore all these organized dealers (spinny,cars24,TrueValue) are almost same. Given their access to service history TrueValue has an edge from buyer's perspective for Maruti branded cars.

I think within 3-5 lacs a used Honda Jazz should serve your purpose well.

Honda's are generally fuss free and reliable. Jazz also has good space and generally a safer choice.

Hi blackpanther13,

I think buying a used car in Bangalore is more logical as compared to Delhi-NCR.

The reasons are as follows:

1) You do not have to transfer the vehicle from Delhi-NCR to Bangalore and vice-versa (in case you plan to sell it back in Delhi-NCR).

2) Any vehicle registered outside Karnataka can now ply in Karnataka for a full year without paying lifetime tax.

3) But if you are keeping your vehicle beyond 1 year, then you have to pay lifetime tax as laid out in the Motor Vehicles Act, and have your vehicle re-registered in Karnataka.

You can refer below thread for more information:
Out-of-state cars can run on Karnataka roads for 1 year

The used car prices in Bangalore are higher than that in Delhi-NCR. However, if you plan to keep your car for more than 1 year, then the higher cost you pay in Bangalore makes more sense. It saves you from paying lifetime tax + re-registration procedures + difficulty in selling out-of-state car.

Slightly surprised that the Wagon R is not in your shortlist. It is the easiest car to judge corners of. It's extremely comfortable and practical. Plus, the 1.2 is a very good car in it's own right.

My suggestion= Wagon R 1.2 eyes closed.

All the cars you’ve shortlisted are one of best to drive specially for a new user. However if you are planning to keep the pre owned car for few years and don’t care much about interiors then you might also consider Celerio as one of option too. My grandfather learnt driving at age of 75 in newly launched Celerio AMT and he is 84 now and still drives it. Celerio and WagonR gives higher seating and good view of bonnet which swift and Tiago doesn’t.

Also, if your wife will also drive then it could be better to go for an automatic car because future is automatic with EVs and hybrid cars.
All the best

I would recommend you to check Ackodrive for new small cars. My wife was new driver and we had shorlisted Wagon R and Spresso (both AMTs) given the fact of better visibility of road and high sitting position. Ackodrive offered 30k discount as compared to dealer prices back in 2022. As sales of super compact cars have slowed down I am sure you can negotiate and get good deal on brand new car without much stretch of the budget.

My suggestion would be to buy a car from manufacturer that has left the country (e.g. Ford) or a car that's no longer on sale. It means a potential troublesome and not so niggle free ownership but you can grab these for real cheap and have them maintained at local garages. My first car was an Opel Astra 1.6 GSI (2002 model) that I bought in 2011 at just Rs. 90,000/-. I had issues with power windows, fuel pump and what not but there was nothing that couldn't be sourced by local garages. Ran that car for more than 20,000 KMs and it was a total blast. I still love that car and talk about it with my friends. Amazing memories.

Dear blackpanther13,
I have a slightly different take on your dilemma.
You mention a budget of Rs 3-5 lacs. What I would suggest is that if you can use a part of this as downpayment and seek funding for the balance amount to buy a new car.
For you, as a learner-driver, the best two choices of new car would be:
1. Maruti Swift VXi or one step up, the ZXi (good discounts are available too)
2. Hyundai Grand i10 NiOS Sportz or step up to ASTA
For both these vehicles: if you make a down payment of, say, Rs 4lacs,
& if you take a loan of Rs 5lacs, for a tenure of 5years from SBI,(they have the lowest interest charges or any other bank), roughly your EMI will hover around Rs10,000 per month, maybe a bit less.

The advantages of getting your new car are many:
1. For a learner driver, the fear of pranging your car, is realistic but sometimes unfounded. You will find a lot less learner-drivers end up in fender-bender incidents, because they are very careful when they drive, compared to "experienced" folks!

2. However well you get an used car checked up by your mechanic etc, to bring it up to scratch, you will need to spend money, maybe around 15-20,000 rupees to get that "showroom condition" feel.

3. Reliability: Being a new car, product reliabiity should be better compared to an used example. Example: you do not have to worry about replacing normal "wear and tear" parts at least for the first 10-15k kilometres.

4. Warranty: Every new car will have it. Anything going wrong, let the manufacturer after sales service take care of it. If you take extended warranty, you are covered further.

5. Insurance coverage: If you inflict dings & dents on your new car, it will be much easier for you to claim insurance and get a larger % of claimed value as the car is new. Certain insurance companies can be a pain in the nether regions of your anatomy, when it comes to processing claims, particularly with respect to older cars.

6. You will get a better resale value if you feel the need to sell your wheels later.

I am sorry to take up much of your time with my blathering.
Wish you & your family many miles of safe motoring, whatever you may choose.

Drive safe.

@blackpanther13, my suggestion would be to take a car from B'lore itself rather than Delhi, like some others have advised.

Please consider whether you wish to use the car daily or just for enjoying it over the weekends / out-of-city drives.

IF you want to drive daily, choose a pocket-safe, head-ache free option like any Maruti / small Hyundai / Toyota (Etios or Liva. This car has been discontinued, but still commands respect among cabbies because of its VFM quotient).

IF you wish to use predominantly on weekends / long drives, choose a car that'll let you enjoy that aspect of it more. A 10-year old Corolla / Honda City would probably make those trips a lot more enjoyable (& safer) than a 5-year old Celerio / Swift / WagonR.

Using a Honda City daily might sound nice, but it will cost you a pretty penny to get rid of the inevitable dings/scratches and high wear and tear (in B'lore). Also, I don't think 25k will cover the cost of denting + painting. 40~50k may be a better estimate.

Also, do ponder over arjab's advice. I went down that route too. I was close to NCR, had only enough money for a (fun) bike. Eventually chose a safer mode of transport (car vs bike) and got myself a new Alto K10 VXi after getting frustrated with the abused cars I saw in NCR's second hand car market. Since I had stretched my budget to get a car, I used public transport + cycle for commuting and used the car mainly on trips. Drove 50k in 3.5 years (45k of those were trips, with family, friends, even a few solo).

A peppy car and enjoyable company will have you looking for reasons to go on trips !!

My recommendation is to go for low mileage Swift(2017). Heard Spinny sells the best of the vehicles, however it is our obligation to twofold check from our end. Do take an accomplished driver/specialist and check the vehicle.

Happy and Safe Motoring.

Good thought on going pre owned route! As this is going to be your first car, and assuming you recently moved to blr, I'd say stick to the Japs. And a simple mechanical vehicle, without a lot of tech wizardry.

Tata/Mahindra of any vintage are not reliable machines and those from 2015-17 more so. Happy hunting!