Re: Resale value of BS4 cars after BS6 introduction BS4 cars will mostly see an increase in resale value compared to the current resale prices or in the worst case, remain stable.
The reasons for this are many and include additional costs, maintenance headaches, more potential downtime, more troublesome, more avenues for adulteration etc as described below: Lower sulphur lubricant leading to trouble with BS4 cars: Let's get this out of the way as it appears to be the most misunderstood part - the lower sulphur content will not affect most of the European cars (who have been having injector issues) - VW, Skoda, Renault, BMW, Audi, Mercedes. Most of the current crop of European cars have been designed, built and tested and launched after Sept 2009 which was the launch date for Euro 5. Euro 5 has 10 ppm of Sulphur which is the same as BS6 sulphur levels. The major reduction in sulphur was from Euro 4 to Euro 5 but remains the same between Euro 5 and Euro 6. In India however the reduction has taken place during the shift from BS4 to BS6.
The injectors of most of the European cars will not be adversely affected specifically by the reduction in sulphur as they have been designed with 10ppm. The injectors of the European cars have the same part number for the EU models and Indian one's confirming that it has been built for Euro 5 at the minimum. India on the other hand will have major reduction in sulphur from 50ppm in BS4 to 10 ppm in BS6 and these may affect the models designed and built for BS4 fuel. Honda and Hyundai have reliable injectors so these cars should not also be affected. Ford has recently switched its injector supplier to Bosch from Continental so they should also be stable.
Additionally with the reduction in Sulphur, the petroleum companies would be adding lubricant additives to make up for the lack of lubricity because of reduction in sulphur. (However this in itself may not be a good thing because additives are not advisable for some cars.) Higher fuel costs: BS 6 cars will naturally be less fuel efficient than their BS4 counterparts because they will have increased back pressure. And as the DPF particulates build up FE would reduce further. In addition there is a need to regularly fill up Adblue along with diesel at certain intervals. This would increase fuel costs. Higher maintenance costs: The DPF would have to be cleaned at regular intervals and this could be expensive. Also if the DPF gets clogged it would be quite expensive to repair. There would also be a need to replace the DPF - indicating higher maintenance costs. More routine headaches: The need to fill up Adblue at regular intervals brings with it another headache - availability, adulteration, need to keep a check on levels etc. All this does not exist with BS4 cars. Less Powerful engines: Most manufacturers are discontinuing powerful diesels and having only weak petrols. These include VW, Skoda, Audi, Renault and even Maruti. Those looking for power combined with FE at lower prices will not find a good choice with BS6.
Given all of the above those looking for pre owned cars should gravitate towards BS4 cars than a BS6 cars increasing their resale value. |