[Rajeevraj]

I actually voted yes. Because when the Thar came about, me and a friend had the exact same discussion. We loved the Thar, but it made no sense for either of us to buy one as we had one car, had no need of a 2nd one and the Thar was not suited to be a primary and only car. We did not discuss further as, once the prices were out, buying it shared was also too much money for what was going to be very limited use.

Between 2-3 close friends, for such niche lifestyle vehicles like the Thar, it can be made to work out. I don't think it is that big a deal.

[Altocumulus]

Bad Idea, Voted NO.

Apart from the other reasons mentioned, if you guys are so close friends, there are chances you would go on trips with family together. Thar is too small for all that. Instead buy 3 Thars of different colours and have a nice photoshoot each time.

[TrackDay]

Voted for NO.

I actually did this with a couple of friends back in college, but that was just a Honda Activa & Unicorn. Both were used and were purchased at a steal deal. And it was shared amongst just 4 of us to go to college from our hostel, late night hangouts, movies and dates etc.

I don't think it would be wise to do the same for a vehicle like the Thar, which costs a pretty good amount. At best rent one out during weekends and share the rent . Like others have said, it might lead to unfavorable situations which might affect the friendship.

[roy_libran]

What are the legal implications for the registered owner, if any of the other shared owners commit (wittingly, or unwittingly) an offense of a criminal nature?

[noopster]

Definitely a bad idea, for all the reasons listed here.

I have another proposal: each of you buy a car that appeals to all of you. Example: if Thar is the #1 choice for you, with Compass and Harrier close behind (and assuming your friends' lists don't vary too much from yours), you each buy what you are comfortable with (you buy Thar, your friend B a Compass and friend C a Harrier) and so you have the entire pool available to satisfy your need for variety.

[PaddleShifter]

I have another idea. You all are just fancied by the Thar. You dont need it for anything including off roading. Instead of spending 15 lacs on a car that can ruin friendship later on, have you evaluated the rental option?

https://www.cartoq.com/all-new-mahin...ar-rental-car/

You can perhaps rent it for 2 weeks every now and then and you will be bored of it in no time since things bought just for the sake of it dont remain valuable for much time period. No offence to anyone.

Renting out the car will be much cheaper in the long run plus you can rent 3 together and drive for a group activity someday.

My advice: Rent it.

[BlackPearl]

Voted no. Two of my very close friends went into such a deal with a motorcycle and became enemies for life after a couple of months. They have not spoken to each other in the last 10 years. My advice would be to stay away from such an arrangement. It might turn out to be fine, but why take the risk!

[Jeroen]

Whether it is a good or a bad idea, really depends on how solid your friendship is.

In all honesty, I would be very reluctant to do so, except with my best friend and spanner mate Peter. We would only do so, to jointly own a classic or otherwise very rare car. Never to own a car we would be using regularly. We would (and have) enjoyed chasing after certain cars, fixing them up, maintaining them jointly, restoring them jointly etc. So for us, it is just part of our friendship.

And I think that is probably a good differentiator. If you want to jointly own a car with friends to primarily lower the cost of car ownership, I think you are setting yourself up for potential disaster.

When we lived in the USA, I was part owner of some planes. And although it worked out alright, there were often issues. Some did not clean the plane as thoroughly as others. How do you decide on maintenance above and beyond the legal minimum etc.

I am not familiar with the legalities of car ownership in India. In the Netherlands only a car car only be registered and insured by one person. That person is liable for everything that happens with that car, including any penalties. You can of course agree to settle those financially, but if you get penalty points on your license, that can not be transferred!!

Also, the insurance will count everything towards whoever is registered as the owner. So if your friends and co-owners have multiple crashes, that goes against your name. Your premium will go up. Of course, you can divide that. But the next time you buy a car for yourself, you will still be faced with a record, seriously tarnished by others!

Here you would also need to inform the insurance company that the car is driven regularly by others in some sort of co-ownership. That alone could push your premium up.

So for many reasons, I am very reluctant to enter into these sort of schemes. Unless I really know the persons involved really well and I know they will be part in a joint owner schedule in the same spirit as I would be.

Jeroen

[vigneshkumar31]

Nice idea but highly specific scenario where it works. It works probably when you're in college, unmarried and are pooling funds for a beater to look fancy for the dames.

We actually had a beat up Indica, stickered it up and zoomed around back in the day. We affectionately called it Raavan Rath.

Any older than that and the equation gets skewed between individual wants.

If intention is not to own it full time , why not rental or subscription model then?

[Govardhansupra]

With enough and more funny experiences, (with cycles) and also, with several experiences of losing friends, reconciling and again fighting, let me tell you a strict NO.

Back in the days, not so long ago, me and some friends used to deal in cycles. We purchase them, repair, use and then sell it if some good deal comes through.

There were lots of arguments on who will keep the cycle, for what duration, and also when to sell and what price to sell. At last, everyone got frustrated and we decided to stop this.

Trust me, we were kids then, and for small silly reasons like deciding what colour to paint the cycle, has led to verbal and physical fights and then stopping the whole thing.

Now when we look back at those times, we would have a good laugh about it.

I remember an incident where one child accidentally tore a handle grip, which led to extremely physical fights, and then telling on each other's parents about their crushes, group planning in school, and finally solving them after some drama

[PearlJam]

I guess I'm that minority that voted for YES!

Obviously, a YES does not mean a blanket "yes" where you plan to share a car with anyone you know. It only means that it's a good idea, with someone who's equally passionate about cars, and there are probably only 2 drivers.

All the questions about sharing of expenses, accidents, fuel, insurance, usage pattern, can be discussed and finalized, even informally. Just like a Prenup

When multi billion dollar companies can run complicated stuff spanning 1000s of people, I'm sure it's not going to be a big deal to share a simple car between two people .

Someone mentioned "renting". We all have read various posts right here on how people have had to suffer terrible quality of Zoom/rented cars, where multiple owners have abused the cars, and the company has not maintained them. Renting will be the same - what makes us think that you will get a spanking new Thar every time? You will curse yourself every time you get a car that is poorly maintained. Also, you may not always get the car you want, when you want it.

Sharing would work extremely well when you want a fun to drive car which is not too expensive, but would not be the primary or daily driver of both sides. A good example - the Abarth Punto. It depreciates like hell, has niggles, and makes no financial sense to own it fully. But we all know what happens when you drive it!

[honeybee]

Originally Posted by roy_libran

What are the legal implications for the registered owner, if any of the other shared owners commit (wittingly, or unwittingly) an offense of a criminal nature?

In the eyes of the law, the registered owner is responsible.

In case of an offence, the owner will have to go through the whole legal grind to absolve himself of any liability.

Also if I understand correctly, such a "shared" ownership is not recognized by the insurance company too, so it run the risk of voiding the insurance cover as well.

If at all one wants to do it, the option suggested by BlackWasp seems to be the best: set up a partnership firm and buy the car in the firm's name. It has its own set of evils, but at least the legal title and insurance coverage would be a little simplified.

With a partnership firm, there must be a business to earn profits. I am not sure if a partnership can be legally set up just to jointly own a car. But that would just be the start of another nightmare.

[McLaren Rulez]

While shared ownership has its issues, it also doesn't make sense to buy three Thars!

Let one person buy it and own it outright and the other two can pay a rental fee to him to rent it out when you want, assuming it is available for that period. You can pay the owner essentially the same rate as you would to a rental company and go with the same terms (return with same fuel level, repair any damage you cause at authorized workshop, an agreement on how to deal with accidents, etc.). If you are all mature and reasonable people, there is absolutely no reason why it won't work.

Again, please do not buy three Thar's when none of you will use it that much!

[landcruiser123]

Voted NO. Friendships are priceless and aren't worth risking to save some money. Buy a used Thar/Gypsy or rent it for the looks. I don't think I'd even sell/buy (cars) to/from close friends as I'd not want to negotiate. *Knock on wood* - I can't imagine the kind of legal trouble and running around offices/hospitals an owner has to do if his/her friend crashes a Thar.

I know some PhD students who do car sharing in the US, but that is due to their financial situation. They mostly buy an old beater for grocery runs and in-town leisure (when they have time:P)

[mmxylorider]

NO. Friendship and business don't mix well. Try to find a 4th unknown with a Thar and work out a deal for renting from that person. None of you will have an liability towards each other, you save initial capital money which can be put towards an attractive rental rate for the owner.

Something like a Club Mahindra/timeshare....