I bought a used car through Spinny: Experience, pros & cons

I decided on a 2012 Maruti Suzuki Dzire with just 25,000 km on the odometer.

BHPian Prateek_999 recently shared this with other enthusiasts.

Hello to all the esteemed members of the forum this is my first thread in this forum, and I would like to share the experience of buying a car from Spinny

Choosing a car

It began in the year 2020 Jan, requirement was a car that would ply 95 per cent in a city for occasional highway use. I started exploring options. But unfortunately, the lockdown was declared.

I made the car search a part of my WFH. Initial idea was to get a better car (in decent condition) for about 2.5 lakhs as this would be the first car I would be getting for myself.

The Used car market of Hyderabad

I had been following the used car market in Hyderabad for a long time, and when I got into it fully, oh my god it was such a mess. I went to the Maruti true Value, cars there were in extremely bad shape. I saw an alto k 10 which had around 35k clicks on the odo, and the dealer quoted a whooping 3.2 lakh for it. (negotiable). I asked him about the dents the car had, he replied “sir once you finalize the car we can talk about the works and price”. And next, I asked about the warranty, they said it will just be a word of mouth and nothing is written, this was the case with 3 to 4 dealers and then I dropped the idea of Maruti true value.

Next, I visited the used car dealers in a place called Madhapur (people from hyd can relate to), and there began the real game. I visited a dealer, he noted my requirement in his notebook, showed me some cars, I was not so satisfied and walked away. Later I received 50+ phone calls from Various dealers. So, what happens here is they have a what’s app group in which they post the customer’s budget and requirements and circulate it within themselves.

After getting so many calls I visited a few of the dealerships and inspected the vehicles that I liked. Found a Swift that had an odometer reading of 50k km, a Santro, a Honda City and an i10. The Swift and i10 were overpriced. He quoted 5.9 lakhs for the 2015 Swift Vxi. When I refused and walked to the gate he was ready to finalize it for 5.00 lakhs. I did not utter a word and left. I took the number and got it checked, it was last serviced at 76k km and had 50 k clicks on the odo. This was a case with three to four local dealers. They offer no warranty or anything once they hand you over the vehicle, they are done. I was completely dejected and decided to go in for a new car.

The following options were considered for buying a new car after a detailed car search:

• Maruti Suzuki Alto 800, K10
• Maruti Suzuki Celerio
• Renault Kwid

Took a test ride of all the there. Kwid 0.8 L was just not up to the expectations. Celerio had a 4-month wait and k 10 was out of production and had no stock left. The only option left was the Alto 800. I was told by the dealer in Hyd ( Somajuguda) that the vehicle would be ready in a week.

The car procurement:

And finally, one day I came across a website called “Spinny”. It is a company based out of Delhi, now a big chain which is spread over many cities. I went through their website and found the cars to be in really good shape and they were offering a one-year warranty on all their cars.

I decided to pay a visit to the dealership. This was a totally different experience; their office was located in a mall and their inventory was in a basement. People, there were really professional, to be honest, I never got such hospitality even in a few premium showrooms. I told them my budget and they showed me a set of cars. All the cars were in pristine shape which is usually not the case for the dealers who sell ordinary mass-market used cars. After going through the inventory, I saw a 2012 Dzire VXI which did about 25000 km. They happily offered me a test drive, I told them I wanted to take out of the basement to get the correct overview the salesman was very professional and polite yet slightly hesitant but finally agreed. Overall I was very much satisfied with the car.

Later I told the salesperson that I am ok with the car but will get it checked from the A.S.S records. They did not refuse, I booked the car by paying INR 10,000. The good part with these people is the booking money is refundable, unlike other local dealers where they just rob the money in case you do not finalize the deal.

The only thing I was sceptical about was the old car having such a low reading on the odo, but I checked the tires and they had dates similar to the year of manufacturing of the car (sigh of relief). I got a photo of the RC from spinny and got it checked from the Maruti service centre. The reading was genuine, and the vehicle was non-accidental. And on that day, I decided to purchase the car.

I called up spinny and said I will be taking the car. I decided to go for a car loan, spinny offered the best deal from HDFC compared to what I was getting outside. The next morning the finance person turned up at my doorstep for documentation, the loan was approved by the afternoon. And spinny was ready to deliver the car the same day. Woohoo, that was really fast. But I wanted to take the car delivery exactly after 2 days (June 16) as it was my late grandfather’s birthday.

Delivery experience

There comes the final day. I wanted to personally take the delivery but was occupied with work completed. I requested the salesperson if they could deliver the car to my place, they were more than happy to do it. The salesperson himself arrived at my doorstep with the car and all the documentation and RC transfer were looked after by them.

Pros and cons of Spinny

Pros:

• One-year Warranty: 3-month comprehensive which includes electrical parts as well and the rest includes a warranty for engine and transmission)
• Certified Vehicles: They give an entire health report of the vehicle on their website along with the dent map windshield chipping etc.
• Professional experience: Mentioned the way they treat customers.
• Transparency: No previous owners are mentioned.
• Proper documentation: I was given 10 pages of paperwork about the warranty and the way it works making things clear.
• Hassle free purchase even for people who are not aware of cars as most of the cars were in good shape.
• Money back within 5 days of purchase or 200 km (whichever is earlier) in case you are not happy with the car

Cons:

• Fixed price whatsoever
• Prices are about 5 to 10 per cent dearer compared to the local market.
• Test drive is mostly in the basement of the mall which makes inspection a task.

Here's what GTO had to say on the matter:

Good review. Thanks for sharing. The entry of organised players into the fragmented used car market is good, especially those who have their operations running like a well-oiled machine. Heard good things about Spinny from a fellow Moderator - their staff, call centre experience and inspection were superior to the others. They actually rejected his car because it didn't meet the quality criteria (was an old beater car).

You anyway save a lot by going the pre-owned way, so a 5 - 10% premium for a smoother experience is nothing. In fact, for most of my used cars, I have paid a premium for the car I really liked.

Here's what BHPian SmartCat had to say on the matter:

My experience with Spinny was excellent too - but I was the seller. Sold my 2011 A-star AT with 45,000 km on the clock for around Rs. 2.3L. A friend of mine sold his old i20 via Spinny too.

PROS:

• Online quote software is quite accurate. You will be offered the "online quote" price, give or take a few thousand.
• Evaluation is done at home. No need to go to a dealership like Cars24 or OLX cars.
• After evaluation, you will get an offer on phone within 24 hours. This quote is valid for a week
• Funds are transferred online
• Driver will come home and pick up the car

CONS:

• Offer is more or less fixed. No room for negotiations
• Ultra thorough evaluation and test drive. The technician takes almost 1.5 hours (including photography time)
• Nervous feeling handing over the keys to a stranger while he checks the car (I stayed with the car though)

So I was chatting with the technician about HOW SPINNY WORKS:

• Once a car is purchased, they fix any minor cosmetic issues and get it serviced
• Car bought for Rs. 2L is likely to have a sticker price of Rs. 3L
• Customer always negotiates while purchasing a used car. So an Rs. 2 lakh car might eventually be sold for Rs. 2.85L or 2.9L
• Small cars are generally sold within 30 days
• If a car is not sold within 30 days, they slash the sticker price by 10% every month.
• Beyond a certain time period, if a car is not sold, they cut their losses by selling it to a used car dealer.

In Bangalore, if a car does not meet Spinny minimum requirements, the lead is transferred to their sister company called TRUEBIL. They accept all cars.

Here's what BHPian sunilch had to say on the matter:

1. True so far in my experience
2. I have noticed more than a 10% difference when compared to local dealers. It could be an exceptional case though due to high demand these days.
3. TDs are available at home too and longer TDs are also possible. I was given a TD at home and the car came 25Kms away from my home. I was also given unlimited time to check the car and drive it on the highway too.

Check out BHPian comments for more insights and information.