We at Team-BHP are big fans of pre-worshipped cars, aren’t we? Whether it is a young sports car buyer who has a budget of 7.5 million rupees, or a car buyer with 7.5 lakh rupees. The used car market has so many options for all. Plus the benefits of buying pre-owned are huge!
But there has gotta be a particular car or few cars that you would(should) never buy used. Like this SsangYong Rexton, that GTO doesn’t recommend to a BHPian at all, despite being such a huge used car buff —
Quote:
Originally Posted by GTO Avoid at any & all costs, even if the seller gives it to you for 2 lakhs. You are basically paying him to take over his headache.
- The Rexton was a very mediocre SUV
- Mahindra workshops had no clue on how to service it
- The reliability was patchy
- Spare part availability is impossible
The car damaged the "Ssangyong" & "Rexton" brands so severely that Mahindra entirely ditched them when they launched the 2nd-gen car here, instead calling it the Mahindra Alturas G4. |
A ‘Scotty Kilmer’ search on YouTube will yield multiple videos on which cars you should never buy used. Even Consumer Reports has given the “Never Buy” Label to certain used cars. (
https://www.motorbiscuit.com/used-ca...ver-buy-label/) But sadly, there is nothing in the Indian used car market to guide a buyer about this.
There could also be some cars which are good new, but horrible used. Like in the new car market, where you would steer clear of certain cars, there has gotta be some cars you would never buy used.
So comment down below which cars, in your opinion are not suitable to buy used.
Here is a list of cars I would never buy used —
#1. Nissan Teana
This car looks like an amazing buy. Infact, I always wanted to buy one in India, because we had an 2005 Altima in the U.S.A. It’s big, wide, luxurious. It’s as reliable as any other Japanese car. What could go wrong with this?
Answer - Maintenance costs. Spare parts availability. Encounters with ROGUES (pun intended) and thugs that go by “Nissan Dealers”.
I don’t want a painful ownership, however great the car is. There is a reason why this car starts at 2 lakh used. Unless I have some technical know how and time, or a trusted FNG like
vigsom and his friend did (Nissan Teana V6: First impressions & power steering repair), I won’t buy a Nissan Teana nor would I advise anybody else to do so.
#2. Anything from the VW Group
Call me biased, and while the newer VW/Skoda are somewhat more reliable, the previous gen models available for cheap in the used car market are plenty. Buyers who want a German car for cheap end up with a dashboard that lights up like a Christmas tree.
When buying a used car, reliability is everything!
#3. Hyundai Tucson, Santa Fe, Sonata
You might think it is only the Germans that will end up here. Wrong! Hyundai gets a place here too. While I would strongly recommend other used Hyundai’s as great city cars — I would never recommend Hyundai’s premium cars. The reason - Hyundai failed miserably to support every one of their premium cars. Spare parts must be a huge nightmare.
Of course, these cars are very nicely built indeed and most examples can do over 2 lakh easy!
#4. Toyota Innova and Fortuner
Toyota’s are extremely reliable, for Innova and Fortuner spare parts are also not a problem, and they will outlast their owners. But these two are not good used buys, atleast IMO. These cars fall in the category of cars that are great when new but not-so-good as used buys.
The reason being, most of the time, these cars have ODO readings that are way too high, are heavily abused and are too old, yet too pricey.
Saving a few lakhs on a two-three year old specimen is fine. But buying a car that has one lakh kilometers, no thank you. These cars are best bought new.
#5. Dealer demo vehicles, media/press cars
Time and again, Team-BHP has advised against this, but you see expensive cars with low run ODOs at super-cheap costs — and then temptation would get the better of you.
Ownership hassles, damaged cars, tampered odometers — the list of problems is endless!
And the media and press cars are heavily abused too, Infact, you have to redline the engine on day 1.
And lastly, the key principle with used cars is that “If nobody wanted it new, nobody wants it used.”
I’m gonna steer clear of most flopped cars in general, for this reason.
Related thread - https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ml#post4730835 (The Pros & Cons to buying a flopped car)
And that’s all I got. I am no expert on used cars, and don’t own one yet, but I am sure more experienced members here should be able to enlighten BHPians with their advice. So, what are you waiting for? Start commenting down below!
Thanks for reading.
Related instalments in the Team-BHP pre-worshipped car series —
The not-so-obvious advantages New vs Used cars (ARTICLE: Buying a New Car vs Used Car) How to buy a used car in India