[thoma]

Originally Posted by dhanushs

• You need a badge to drive it, so every one wont be able to drive it.

This is one good reason. Have heard about this but don't know more about it. Is this for the driver or the car?

And, any idea about the warranty terms for use of a vehicle as taxi? This too, I've read in some owner manual, but my memory fails me on which one.

[WDM007]

^^^

I guess what he wants to say is, you need a Taxi License to drive the vehicle.
In many states, normal Car license can not be used for commercial / taxi vehicles.

Plus,

Cars with Yellow number plates are favorite vehicles for traffic police to stop and loot

[SS-Traveller]

Originally Posted by thoma

...what is the benefit the second owner gets in buying a year old car?

He pays cash, and he doesn't need to produce documents such as PAN card to buy a used taxi - mandatory when registering a new car.

Originally Posted by amalji

Is there any pitfalls in registering a vehicle as taxi ?

You need a professional driving license to drive a yellow-plate vehicle. Our usual DLs are NP or non-professional.

That, and the likelihood of being hailed at every corner of the city by people wanting lifts...

Check out the RTO cost of converting a yellow plate to a white plate after 1 year. Would be interesting...

[VaahanYogi]

Originally Posted by SS-Traveller

He pays cash, and he doesn't need to produce documents such as PAN card to buy a used taxi - mandatory when registering a new car.

You need a professional driving license to drive a yellow-plate vehicle. Our usual DLs are NP or non-professional.

That, and the likelihood of being hailed at every corner of the city by people wanting lifts...

Check out the RTO cost of converting a yellow plate to a white plate after 1 year. Would be interesting...

PAN card is required for transferring ownership of used cars also. This is a rule in Karnataka and I guess this is in accordance with CMV rules

[amalji]

Thanks all.

These are my conclusion -

• Tax for inter-state trips ( in the range of 1500 per entry ) - Major inconvenience
• Warranty for taxi ( should be lesser than normal vehicle ) - A concern
• Queue for getting passes to tourist places and other states - Major inconvenience
• Image / Status Symbol - Don't give a damn on it. Reason - I respect every job. I don't want a person to respect me because of my job, the shirt I wear or the car I use. I would rather try to get that respect by my behavior towards them. That would stand the test of time. Others are just temporary. And with regards to "saving 1.5 Lakhs", it's a good amount and I'm saving it from an organization ( Government ) who taxes me around 50% in terms of direct and indirect taxes when I buy a vehicle. Then, if I need good roads to drive, they charge a toll of 1 Rupee per km. And if I try buying fuel, they charge another good chunk of tax on the fuel. They have almost destroyed the automobile industry with their unscientific & greedy policy. It's just 2 or 3 manufacturers that makes profit in India. I would have been happier had these money been routed to a good cause. From several personal experiences, I know that that's not the case as well. So, I would rather donate 1.5 Lakhs to charity ( & thereby save another 20,000 on tax ) than pay a rogue organization.
• Driver badge - I don't mind taking one
• More hassles from Police - A concern
• Reduced resale - Not much of a concern because I buy it for 1.5 lakh less anyway. Opportunity cost for 1.5 Lakh less investment comes to around 12,000 per year.
• Cheating - Need to research more on it. If I follow the rules mentioned in the rule book, then it's fine.

Overall the 1st and 3rd points are a major hassle. Other than that, it looks good. And for a vehicle like Innova, avoiding on inter-state long trips will be a big miss. Maybe, some day I'll buy an Innova as a 'true taxi'. Seems to make a lot of business sense.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by thoma

Apart, I'm so surprised (and difficult to believe) to hear that someone sold a one year vehicle for a profit of 35000/-. What is the OTR price of the same car today? I mean, what is the benefit the second owner gets in buying a year old car?

The G model of innova costed about INR 9 lacs on road in 2008. The same model costs about INR 12.5 lacs on road today (give & take a few features).

My friend who bought his Innova in 2008, sold it for 20K more in 2012 (30 k run piece) than the price at which he bought the car in 2012.

Financial Allchemy!! George Soros, has written a cryptic tome on how to create alchemy using finance. I say what is the need to bang your head trying to understand his indecipherable logic. A person should just go ahead and buy a UV from Toyota. And Toyota will take care of you with their insane pricing methodologies. And of course they are egged on by the Indian public.

[KarthikK]

Innova is perhaps the only car which seems to appreciate in value as opposed to every other car out there. People who bought Innovas 4-5 years back were the ones who gained the most, thanks to the price of Innovas being steadily increased to where it has reached now (~1.5 times the launch-time price) and the stellar demand for Innova in the used market.

On a lighter note, the income tax section should include 'Innova purchase' as an investment channel for tax saving under section 80C . The short-term returns will be impressive, this in spite of using the car extensively through the period.

One point though - I'm of the opinion that the depreciation of a used Innova, whether a taxi or a private car, is almost the same. I say this since I see some used Innovas at my friend's used car showroom in Bangalore, and I don't see a substantial amount of depreciation for yellow boards in particular. In other words, both yellow and white boards undergo almost the same amount of depreciation percentage. Note that this applies only to Innova. Other non-Toyota MUVs like Tavera, Rhino, etc take a major hit due to the lower demand in the used market.

Resale shouldn't be a concern on your list, Amalji. In fact, I see yellow boards being lapped up earlier than white boards, by fleet operators looking for rapid expansion. They don't bargain much either, just opt to buy multiple cars in 1 shot for almost the asking price.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by KarthikK

Innova is perhaps the only car which seems to appreciate in value as opposed to every other car out there.

Innova's dad - the Qualis started the trend and continues it. Qualis has a reputation that it will never stop running. Drive a Qualis nowadays and instead of 'kitna deti hai', you will hear 'kitna main gaadi dogaay'? We have a Qualis - 2004, 250k on the block. And every other day we get a loose inquiry. And serious buyers are willing to depart with upward of 4 lac for this old thing. It amazes me no end!

Sorry for the OT.

[condor]

It used be a viable option long time back. While the math may look nice, it wont be so easy as on paper. You will have to have a commercial licence to drive it. And you may have to wear the khaki uniform too .. You could have a driver, but he too will need a commercial licence & may have to adhere to the uniform part.

Even otherwise, the re-sale would have to be done to a cabbie. If I were looking for a used car, I would not buy a converted vehicle.

[StarrySky]

Originally Posted by amalji

Thanks all.

These are my conclusion -

One more. I think the insurance cos do not offer bumper-to-bumper coverage policies for cars registered as transport vehicles.

[av8er]

A few years back I had this driver who used to drive part time for us and one fine day our car broke down and he got his own vehicle (yellow board Qualis) and he had white board that day and I asked him how is that possible and he said when using it for personal use you can use white boards.

Can anyone confirm this or was he violating laws? If he was not this is a very good loop hole in a system already filled with a lot of loop holes ;-)

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by av8er

A few years back I had this driver who used to drive part time for us and one fine day our car broke down and he got his own vehicle (yellow board Qualis) and he had white board that day and I asked him how is that possible and he said when using it for personal use you can use white boards.

Can anyone confirm this or was he violating laws? If he was not this is a very good loop hole in a system already filled with a lot of loop holes ;-)

When you register a car its either for personal use OR commercial. You cannot get it registered as both. So, what he did was definitely not legal.

The RC would still show it as a commercial vehicle and if the cops pull him over for checking the docs, am sure he would be in a big mess.

Yellow boards have a different sort of numbering. Like, DL 1Y sort of numbers in Delhi. These are not allocated to personal vehicles. Traffic cops would have an idea and know just by looking at it, that it is not a personal vehicle - if he used the same number on both the plates.

But if he had 2 RCs - 2 different registration numbers, one for personal and another for commercial, then I have no words! The engine-chassis number combo is supposed to prevent duplicate registrations.

[sarathlal]

The law doesn't prevent a taxi to be used for private use by the owner. Only the opposite is prohibited.
So there is no cheating involved.

But I was of the impression that the taxis road tax is significantly more. Are we sure on the numbers posted?
Also, what is the lifetime tax differential?

[mxx]

Insurance costs are high for taxi vehicles, isnt it?

[pgsagar]

Originally Posted by rrsteer

Innova's dad - Qualis has a reputation that it will never stop running. Drive a Qualis nowadays and instead of 'kitna deti hai', you will hear 'kitna main gaadi dogaay'?
Sorry for the OT.

I think it sounds bit of an overstatement. Every car needs maintenance and part replacement. Some need sooner, other much later. That is all. As for second statement. I am really surprised. Qualis was ugliest looking car from the first day of its launch. And now, it seems even more out of place. Someone have to be a sucker for Toyota brand to buy these today.

As for Innova and status symbol, nothing this side of Audi/BMW command status these days. Forget Innova. It looks airport taxi to me. Even owner driving looks like a driver. Sorry, I will much rather drive a Scorpio / Safari , even with those reported niggles.