[gopikb]

My first car was bought new which was a 5-speed Maruti 800 which I bought in 2001 and sold it on 2005 at 28K on the odo. All services were done on time and it was sold in excellent condition to Mahindra 1st choice. I am sure the current owner who had bought it, the car was more like a showroom piece. I still see this car occasionally running in Bangalore. (Reg No. KA 05 MA 1702 - Any bhpian?) The only reason I changed it was because I needed a more sturdy car to hit the highway.

My second car was a Hyundai Xing XL was was also bought new in 2005. Dont mock at me for buying Xing for highway drives. That is all that I could afford at that time. I used it for 33000kms before I sold it to my wife's close friend in 2009. This was also in pristine condition and the friends family is still going great guns with that car at 1.1 lakh kms.

Both above cases are examples of very well maintained cars which the buyers got for a steal and should have very good experience in buying second hand cars. In 2009, I bought my Fiat Grande Punto MJD (Thanks to GTO's stunning review) which after 11 years of ownership is getting better with age. I have clocked 94k Kms with it until now and primarily being used by my wife to get to work. It was a great mile cruncher until 2 years ago when it was the only steed we had. It is truly a highway star and very good to drive in city traffic too.

In 2018, I bought my first used car which is a 2011 Linea Tjet run 72K kms from a fellow bhpian. After I bought it, I did have to change a couple of items like the digital odo display which was already kaput at the time of purchase and I changed the clutch assembly fully as it was running on stock clutch for 80K kms. I also changed all 4 tires to Michelin. All of these amounted to 50K extra spending apart from car purchase. But the car is performing like a dream. Absolute pleasure driving it similar to Punto, gives more comfort / space and the added boot space is enjoyed both by wifey and kids. In terms of build quality, we know FIATs are one among the best, the car has all safety features like Airbags, ABS, EBD etc, runs all 4 disk brakes. What else do I want from my car? It ticks all basic needs atleast for me. If I buy a new car for Rs.15 lakhs, I end up paying an average of Rs.35K~40K per year just for the insurance for the first 5 years. However, with this used car, my IDV is just about 2 lakhs and I spend about 5K for insurance each year. But for a car with IDV of 2 lakhs, there is really no comparison in the value it provides in terms of driving pleasure, comfort and the flexibility it has given to us in terms of usage. Absolute value for money. It has been our highway steed since the last two years and have clocked 84K until now.

[Arjun Reddy]

I like my cars spotless,clean and have always maintained them well. I have an OCD.

I love the new car feel,smell and the connect from day one.

The interest rates are cheaper and the depreciation works better for me on new cars.

My registration number has been the same from my first bike in college to all the cars/bikes that I have owned and currently own. It has become like a signature for me.

[SJM1214]

Isn't the smell of a new car intoxicating?
Well, but then the new car's smell is not the only reason that I like to go for a new car.

The for basic reasons, I won't buy a new car are in the poll itself.

• The risk (being cheated, reliability, accident/flood damage, etc.)
• Used car loans are difficult and/or pricey
• I don't have the knowledge or expertise on used cars.

This doesn't mean, I"ll never buy a used car. For a long time, I am toying with the idea of buying a used 4x4. Let's see how things work out.

[vivek.ks]

Originally Posted by torquecurve

The biggest disadvantage of buying a car from a higher segment - you WILL be spoilt and then a lesser car doesn’t cut it for you anymore. Refer my thread on What car!

I love this statement of yours. I could not think of buying a small hatchback or even a mini SUV after driving a pre-worshipped corolla for 2 years.

I am in big favour of buying used cars. It's a pain to search for right deal. I purchased my current corolla after 3 months of discussion with seller and doing my research on the side. For mad traffic in Bangalore, I find it easy to drive my used car without worrying about minor dents and scratches gifted by 2 wheelers around me. It is difficult to imagine driving a brand new 20L+ car and be at mercy of bangalore traffic to keep your car clean.

[airbus]

All vehicles I have purchased were brand new. Personally I don't want to take any risk of previous usage (or abuses), which might impact reliability.

[GrammarNazi]

Poor city & highway infrastructure takes its toll on cars as they age, apart from suspension they can develop issues with many components that wear out over time due to many factors including usage pattern.

Still, depends on what stage of life one stands at and what fulfills their aspiration & enthusiasm of the ownership. People with wherewithal may be able to keep a used car in shape for regular usage even for a VERY long term, but not everyone can manage niggling issues that may frequently crop up.

Cars nowadays seem to have been developed with obsolescence built in. Whether utility features from expensive cars trickle down to passenger cars or not, to design features & components that get problematic after a certain period of time & eventually rendered obsolete, is a practice thats definitely seem to be trickling down. This nudges people into buying new rather than something old & problematic.

Most people who buy a car as utility product for dependents, might choose a new car for the reliability & peace of mind that comes with warranty.

Brand hype.
When a new car is launched, there is considerable amount of brand hype around that car. The company would be setting the tone of the brands' stance, and this definitely adds to the desirability of a newly launched car.

[JoshMachine]

I wouldn't buy a used car (and haven't for that matter, yet) because of the "risk" element and the right model "non-availability".

I have tried the used car route, or atleast given it a go couple of times but on both occasions, the overall experience turned out totally disappointing - likes of inaccurate documentation and an accident car being sold.

On the other reason, it has been unavailability of the right model at the right price and equally importantly, at the time when I want it.

[skchettry]

I would not go for a used car for the fear of its history not being known to me. Sellers have not grown so truthful to tell me if there has been any major issue with it and the big established firms which sell the used cars with certain amount of warranty, are not such established to support me through at a later stage. All in all I feel something is not right in this car that the owner wants to dispose it off - that keeps me away.

[TT-S]

For me, the car whether new or old should be reliable. Reliability can be a risk for any vehicle that is old, especially if not properly maintained. This is the main risk against buying a pre-owned car. The time and effort required to verify/check a pre-owned car before purchase is much higher than when going in for a new car.


However, I am OK going the pre-owned route provided the vehicle in question is well known, owner is well known and chances of abuse are much lower.

[Rajeevraj]

The question itself is not relevant to me because I have absolutely no issues in buying used cars. So have voted accordingly. I am not an expert myself in evaluating used cars, but I think there are enough ways today to ensure that a car is clean.

The other problem that I always face is that I cannot comfortably afford a new car from the segment I want to buy in, like currently I have a Vento and couple of cars I would love to buy next are the Octavia and the Kodiaq. Both of which are outside my range and will continue to be so. So pre-worshipped is the most logical way for me to go.

[chaturgaurav]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

The question itself is not relevant to me because I have absolutely no issues in buying used cars. So have voted accordingly. I am not an expert myself in evaluating used cars, but I think there are enough ways today to ensure that a car is clean.

The other problem that I always face is that I cannot comfortably afford a new car from the segment I want to buy in, like currently I have a Vento and couple of cars I would love to buy next are the Octavia and the Kodiaq. Both of which are outside my range and will continue to be so. So pre-worshipped is the most logical way for me to go.

That is a very good way to look at pre-owned cars. However, to each his own. Purely depends on what one wants.

Quoting myself from another thread

Originally Posted by chaturgaurav

Understand pre-owned Corolla or Elantra will be a good upgrade and possibly be available in my budget, but even after reading all the info and discussions on this forum, I neither have the expertise nor could I muster enough courage to go for pre-owned cars. So I prefer to choose safe (as it can be with a new car) than unknown, even if that means I remain a segment or two below.

[somspaple]

Probably one of the options should've been :

Hard to buy used car because i live in Bangalore!

Here, used car prices are very high and can never be compared to Delhi/Mumbai prices. Case in point, I was looking out for a car under certain budget previous year. Started off with used cars but after coming across some good examples, realised that it doesn't make sense to buy good condition used car (well maintained , less than 4 years old etc) at the asking price.
Instead i settled for next best thing- previous year manufactured car from the dealer. After due diligence and negotiations, overall it worked out cheaper than buying sparingly used 1 year old car of same brand (Next gen Verna diesel automatic).

So, it's not a simple logic for us motorheads who want max bang for the buck!

[rajushank84]

Practical reasons, subjective reasons as well as esoteric reasons come into play.

1. Practically, if I want a certain model not exceeding a certain year and mileage, maybe even of a certain color, finding one that is fairly priced can be a challenge. Private sellers are sometimes oblivious to the real market price and are over-optimistic, for example demanding 80% of new on-road price after using it for 4 years. Used-car dealers doing the same but knowingly. It can take months and months of shopping to find the right car that's priced well.

2. Subjective reasons: after all that waiting to find one, there's the question in one's mind about how it has been driven. It is so easy to abuse a car in our current road conditions. A voice in the head says just pay more and get a new one that comes with peace of mind. And subjectively there's also the pride.

3. Esoteric reasons. A car is a place where you spend a lot of time. Energy system, aura of the person spending a lot of time in it, and so on. I've heard this reason stated even for buying new flats instead of used ones.

[Abhi_Automobile]

One simple leading reason - the used car loans are very costly + they have cap of 5 year tenure and I like longer term loans (7+ years). If I buy on cash, I’d definitely buy used, no doubt. But, I don’t, so, I don’t have any realistic option but to buy new.

There are other reasons such as my family doesn’t like idea of used cars, you run the risk of being cheated etc. - but I could manage all of those things if the financial playing field was equal b/w new and used cars. It’s not!

[landcruiser123]

I love pre-owned. My current ride is a 2012 Ford Fusion 2.5 SE bought for less than $8k. She had 753xx miles when I got her. That said, I'd never buy a 7 year old used car in India.

For most cars, the max age for me to consider a used car is 1.5-2.5 years or under 20-30k kms. I'd only touch models from Toyota, Honda, Hyundai (and maybe Suzuki.) The only reason I'd not buy an older car:Maintenance - it is hard to find competent mechanics in India to do repairs. I don't think I'll have that bandwidth

That being said, I'd consider older used cars in the UV segment (Innova & Fortuner) and when there's a younger one in the family who has to learn driving.

Attaching a picture of my current ride: