Team-BHP - So, why won't you buy a used car?

Let me share my experience with the purchase of 2013 Etios Petrol for my cousin. He bought the vehicle based on my advice and is happy until we took it to the first service post purchase @ 50k kms. We wanted SA to check the history and to our surprise, it met with an accident resulted in chassis damage. They had to change the chassis and practically rebuilt the car and it costed the previous owner a good 3L in accident repairs.

Although the SA said the work carried out to the customer satisfaction and all are OEM parts only, we were devastated to know we were robbed off a good 50k+ by the old owner citing the immaculate condition. Even when we took the car to Toyota ASC for verification before history they said nothing wrong with the car and the car never met with an accident.

Yes, the car is running like a dream and we never felt anything abnormal or weird in the past 14k kms of driving. But if only the owner or Toyota ASC had been transparent we would have bargained and reduced the price for what it's actually worth.

These are the instances that put us off from buying used cars. I love pre-owned cars for the VFM and after this, even I had a little hesitation when I came across a used Well-maintained Altis at a decent price. Now I need to find someone who is trust worthy and help us in such deals. Until then, no more pre-owned!

Quote:

Originally Posted by vivek.ks (Post 4770248)

xcentrk, sorry to hear you getting the wrong information from the service center.

Did you check service history, and I mean that did you by yourself saw, on the handheld devices that are with service personal?

What was the NCB mentioned in the insurance document when you reviewed it before buying? Anything less than 50% for a 5-year-old car is a red signal unless ownership has changed in between.

Since I had to attend some personal emergency my cousin brother took it to ASC and finalized the deal when they said all is good. The NCB was 50% when it was handed over to us as the old owner paid for the accident all in cash! And no, my cousin didn't get a chance to look at the history in the tab that the SA had.

1) My 1st car, Alto LX, ran a few kms without any coolant, the LPG solenoid unit's coolant hose had ruptured and myself, before my petrol-head days, ran it without coolant till the point the engine seized and was towed away.

2) My 2nd car, Indigo CS, ran over a boulder on the highway, and it pretty much bent the monocoque out of shape, needed chassis repair.

3) My wife's (1st auto) the uber-rare M800AT, blew its head gasket, needed a small weld on the head.

4) My wife's (2nd auto) Zen AX had cracked its head. The car itself was a used one from DL-15 year-exodus, I ended up damaging it further.

Many such blown engines & gaskets on various 2 wheelers I have flipped...

(Special mention to two gem of good'ol jeeps I got in used condition, a CJ340 and Armada Grand, they were abused for sure, but I knew what I am getting into and was ready to spend the time and money for their restoration.

Bottom line, I am not entirely confident of the used car market and how the cars behaved until the time they appeared online. Unless a car grew up and aged and matured in my inner circle (they rarely do) I wouldn't be confident.

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Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4728499)

Attachment 1955586

As some of you know, I'm a BIG FAN of pre-owned cars. In fact, I have even lovingly named them pre-worshipped machines :D. There are some interesting articles on Team-BHP discussing the pros of used cars, and how to go about the process:

Please vote on the multiple-choice poll. This is a topic dear to my heart.

Emphatically voted for the last option - I REALLY DO LOVE THEM. Allow me to reason out with my own car-buying experiences from the last decade.

The stories of your Civic and 530D buys have been seriously inspirational for me and I've been inspired by these over the last 10 years. Bought my last new car in June 2009 (Fiat Punto). Only sold it in December 2018 as it was approaching 10 years (god damn NGT). It was in perfect mechanical condition otherwise.

Since 2009, the chronology of car buys has been like:

1. June 2012 - Fiat Linea TJet - Nearly 30% off sticker price as it was June 2011 manufacturing (last batch of production before it was discontinued for a couple of years). Car dispatched from Pune factory yard (not one lying in a dealer yard or TD vehicle which were going for even heftier discounts).

Status - still own it and it's going great guns and puts a smile on my face every single time I drive it. Will remain in garage for next 3-4 years at the very least.

Note - Not strictly in pre-worshipped category but you see why it should be counted here.

2. October 2016 - 2013 Honda Brio VX AT - Picked it up at almost 50% off the sticker price (only 13k kms done and in pristine mechanical condition - some panels painted but that's part and parcel of driving in Delhi traffic). Was looking at a bare bones Maruti AMT at almost 1.5 times the price I eventually paid for this fully loaded Honda go-cart.

Status - still own it and it does faithful duty as a daily driver for errands and is a fav of my Dad who finds it the most convenient due to its size).

3. December 2017 - 2014 Mitsubishi Pajero Sport 4x4 MT - Due to the bad company I keep, got into off-roading and picked this one up for literally one third of the sticker price (yes at a 66% discount). Put some money into it to make it mechanically perfect and it has been heavily modded into an off-road beast (all thanks to the moolah saved initially). Was looking at Jeep Compass at that time but it's barely enough 4x4 capability put me off (not to mention the cost which was over double what I eventually paid for the Mitsubishi).

Status - weekend off-roading as well as long distance travel and expedition usage. Of course, it's still with me and will remain till NGT makes me part ways with it (looking for ways to make it survive the cull if I can somehow).

4. May 2019 - 2015 Mercedes CLA45 AMG 4MATIC - Now this was an impulse buy (I admit). Picked it up at 60% off its sticker price from a fellow T-BHPian. Pristine condition and after 6 months, I still can't find a single issue that I need to deal with (testament to us folks here taking care of their cars like their own kids). Daily driver for the most part (only AMG that can do this duty - I know it's a baby AMG, but still), and needless to say, it plasters a wide grin every single time I fire it up. Again, was looking at a new vRS or 330i when I chanced upon it right here in TBHP classifieds. :D

Status - Intend to keep this for a long time, i.e. a minimum of 6-7 years (unless I give in to more temptation that is).

At the end, more power to us folks getting our hands on beautiful machines at a fraction of the price for a long time to come. :thumbs up

I was checking the "how to buy used car" threads and visited few prospective sellers. Listing it down for others info and why I've concerns.

1. Spinny

From the current market price they charge 1.5L premium. They claim 125 point check which I'm not sure how credible. Looks like they are selling cars which they used for rentals as well as purchasing from owners before selling. I checked out Honda WR-V (diesel) and it had its door edges on inner side had reweld marks. Checked one more WR-V (petrol) and it didn't had such marks. Not sure if that's specific to Diesel variant.

Door lock has a rubber beading. You can see in our official reviews. But diesel had it missing and petrol had it.

2. Individual

Was checking out a Duster 110 ps and could see more than few insulation tapes in engine bay. When enquired was said it's usual only and nothing unusal. I was informed there is a engine protector spray and nothing else. (connecting dots it seems rat has played it's spoil sport in enginer bay)

Like mentioned above got to see everything really close and can't take it for granted like a new car purchase. If you have time to see every stuff very detailedly and lots of luck go for second hand cars and bargain accordingly.

I'm in shock after this experience in last two days and thinking twice about second hand cars.

Have owned + driven 5 cars since I started driving (in 2001), out of which all cars other than the one I own now - Ford Ecosport - have been pre-owned.

M800: Purchased 3rd hand from Maruti's truevalue - this car has been a royal pain in the posterior, a lemon - from stalling in rain or sometimes for no particular reason to rattling/substandard driving experience, this was my worst car ever:Frustrati

Zen: Hand-down from my father, this car is still dearest to me. He had maintained it top-notch, and had no troubles driving this over long distances during the 4years I had this one.

Toyota Duet(not in India): Pre-owned, but was in perfect running condition and cherish the many miles that I used this. Ran like a dream and was super reliable, never gave me any problems.

i10: Again handed-down by my father, this one was also butter-smooth & ran perfectly fine till the time I had this.

Ecosport: My 1st brand-new car that's still with me, and possibly will keep it till it's legally usable.

So, overall, of the 4 pre-owned cars that I owned/driven, only 1 was problematic & rest were absolutely delightful to own/drive - a 75% positive rating for used cars!

Sum up: Not at all averse to buying a used car, but for the hassles of finding a genuine one with low mileage/no accident history/not used like a commodity/maintained very well/choice of engine & other features... If all these tick, will be happy to get a pre-owned one, if/when I'm on the lookout for another one.
General trend seen in pre-owned car buying sites when I was in the hunt for one for wifey - nearly 50% are fake/hides either accident or other minor drawbacks, it's like searching for a needle in haystack to find the worthy ones from the vast number of ones listed for sale. So, if from genuine references as friends/T-BHP or other such reliable sources, can go forward with confidence; else it's murky waters, need to tread VERY carefully to avoid getting cheated!

When I sold my T-Jet recently which had only around 17000 genuine kms on it, I took it for some final checks, including the Multi-information display which was acting up. I had got a used one from Delhi and the car electrician changed it. However, he asked me if I wanted it further down to 11000 km for a small charge. I, of course, refused. And while the time I was getting my work done, I saw umpteen cars and bikes come there for kilometer reset. I had to go to the workshop three times, once in the day and twice in the evening - no point for guessing which was the the busy time of the day (or night). rl:

I got a new I20 Nline recently too. Did not shop around for used cars, except a Polo GT, but I ruled it out due to other reasons.