[thirdmainroad]

I've sold some of my previous cars with the help of online sites - most notably OLX and Quikr. I last sold a car 4 years ago. Back then, it would be a breeze. You get an ad going, perhaps pay for top listings, and you'd have loads of individual buyers calling you and you'd find a good deal in less than a week and you are done.

I've been trying to sell my WRV for the past few days, and have listings on Quikr and OLX. I am only getting calls from dealers, offering 2-2.5 lakhs less than what a buyer would pay. When I check for similar cars with the dealers as a buyer, they have them for 2.5-3.5 lakhs more.

I also think OLX and Quikr seem to give preferences to dealers - even though my ads are boosted, they appear way down below, and dealers with free listings are on top. Anyone else think the same?

And when did dealers become so greedy? They'd work on small commission back in the day, but now, seem to making well over 2lakhs with each car?!

Have posted on team bhp classifieds also, but Quikr and Olx do have a larger reach, end of the day.

[rakesh_r]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

I've been trying to sell my WRV for the past few days, and have listings on Quikr and OLX.

Did you try Spinny? They do give a decent quote.

[thirdmainroad]

Did. They again resell. Gave a very low quote, they did!

[AtheK]

Just not cars, same for bikes, almost impossible to find a good superbike directly from buyer these days.

[Cresterk]

Dealers were printing money the past 2 years and they now have a monopoly on the market. Post your ad on Facebook marketplace, OLX and team go classified and mention no dealers allowed. Dealers will keep reposting their ads every single day so ads from real owners end up buried too. I have had 0 luck trying to buy a used car this year too.

[drsachin]

In good old time we use to buy cheap grocery from neighbourhood but now we buy overpriced grocery from online websites.

The reason for the problem is two fold.
1. The organised players like cars24, spinny are making life's easier for some and difficult for others. Some buyers find cars overpriced and some sellers find they are not getting what their car truely deserves. This perception may not be with everyone and most people just find the effortless convenience of buying and selling worth it regardless of price. It's this category of people which drives their business. The first category doesn't matter to them.

2. The shrinking business of unorganised players makes them resort to unethical methods even more. So it's not greed but making money out of whatever little business they are getting.

[raycers_honda]

I was in the market for a used car after covid right up to July of this year. I searched every site, every used car app but failed to get a proper or perfect deal on any of the listed cars. They were priced too high, blatant lies, and no service history unless you pay. Every single site had only dealers listed. Not a single individual seller.

I was absolutely keen on buying the car but all these sites had only dealers and they failed me miserably. The one thing I couldn’t understand, is that most of them failed to show proper service history. 90% asked for upfront payment or token amount for the service history. 75% had the cars repainted but had mentioned otherwise. I lost all hope and went in for a new car. I was fed up. Specially when the used car prices were so high, it made more sense to spend 4 to 5 lakhs more and get a sparkling fresh and brand new car.

Some of the cars I saw were filthy from inside but looked brilliant from the outside. My first two cars were from CarWale and it was brilliant as I avoided all dealers, it had the option to choose from individual listings only. They have removed the individual tab now on most sites/apps. And many of the cars are reposted with different names but same cars. It’s a horrible seen for the used car market. Any way it’s their loss. They lost a customer, they lost a sale. I’m just one, but then there are many like me who probably sail in the same boat.

[Samba]

Dealers are literally dominating the pre-owned car market now a days. Its getting difficult to get a good deal.

Let me share a recent experience.
I was helping my friend, who was looking for a lateral upgrade by trading his existing car.

We checked with few car dealers to sell the car and their instant quotes were 2 to 2.5L lesser than the market price.

On the other hand we checked a car with a renowned car dealer in Kolkata.

In the ad it was given- The car was 2022 Jan manufactured and the depreciation they calculated for the car was for one year.

I checked the RC book, & it was a 2021 registered car.
When questioned, they told us, the owner took the delivery in Jan 2022!

The car had less than 8,000 km on it's odo and it seemed to be genuine. I requested the dealer, that if we go ahead with the car, we will like to get it thoroughly checked from the company authorized service center, & we will pay for it. They refused.

Okay, then I checked the car thoroughly.

Both the front drive shaft boots were leaking.
TPMS sensor light was on.
Rear bumper had a crack. (That is acceptable)
A latch on the front left was broken.

The car drove well. It had a smooth clutch and gearbox with no rattles or any unusual engine noise.

I checked it in evening, so could not figure out any mismatch in color.

The dealer was not ready to negotiate and told, it's a brand new car in mint condition, there is nothing to check. We can go ahead with the car with our eyes closed. Plus they claimed they have checked the total service history before purchasing this vehicle!

The very next day, I managed to procure the total service history of the car.

And it was an accidental vehicle. Starting from front bumper, bonnet, radiator, left fender, AC condenser, headlights, fog lights everything was replaced!

The owner sold this vehicle to the dealer just within 100 km from the odo mentioned in the job card for the accidental repairs!

While buying a pre-owned car from a dealer, one need to be very very careful.
For selling a car, it is best to put few ads and wait.
If you are in hurry, you are going to get less. Give an ad, set a realistic price, tell your friends, colleagues and relatives that your car is up for sell and be patient. Keep enjoying the car. It will take time, but eventually you will get a sweet deal. Never be in a hurry. If you can get an individual buyer, then it's like a win win situation for both the parties.

Same applies for buying a preowned car. Keep the money ready and keep exploring the preowned market. It's fun! Never go out to buy a car, as we go for shopping. You will eventually get a good deal. Patience is the key.

[JoaTMoN]

I recently posted an ad for selling my Duster. 90% of the callers were agents. Many of them even pretended to be buyers. I finally managed to sell it to a buyer(through his agent/dealer) in my own locality. The fellow has taken 30,000 more from the buyer(above my selling price), who didn't even check out the vehicle before buying. I'm sure he would be asking him for "commission" too. I feel bad for the buyer, who seem a very nice person. He even asked me to feel free to borrow the car until I got a new one. How I hate these greedy middlemen!

[DogNDamsel12]

A not-so-funny situation was selling off of one of my old cars for which my insurance paid me the IDV saying it cannot be repaired. And then the insurance guys sold it off as scrap to one of these second hand dealers, who beat it back into some shape. And sold it off to someone. Apparently the car is in fifth ownership right now, and I am sure each owner continues to face trouble. That's the reason I don't trust this entire process much. Won't drop any names for obvious reasons.

[thirdmainroad]

The used car market in India is growing exponentially - currently valued at over USD 34 Billion in 2021, expected to grow to over USD 74 Billion by '27.

Interesting article here : https://www.mordorintelligence.com/i...sed-car-market

OLX was the leading marketplace, which initially was concentrating on connecting direct individual sellers with buyers. But they have now tasted money and launched OLX autos - which inherently auctions the car to a set of dealers. Once the car is scoped by OLX autos, they make sure that the individual listing on OLX doesn't show even if paid for.

My grouse is this - dealers are unethical. Over charge. Do not give full disclosure about vehicles. Where as with individual sellers, chances are they are open for full disclosure, getting the car checked by the buyers mechanic, etc.

The issue also lies with the end buyers, who seem to be going to dealers more than checking for individual sellers. And that doesn't make sense. Why over pay, not know proper history of the vehicle and so on?

Yes, the dealers offer "warranty" etc - which I am sure they'll back off from when push comes to shove. But people seem to be preferring this over cars with brand warranty even!

Just doesn't make sense to me!!

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by thirdmainroad

OLX was the leading marketplace, which initially was concentrating on connecting direct individual sellers with buyers. But they have now tasted money and launched OLX autos - which inherently auctions the car to a set of dealers. Once the car is scoped by OLX autos, they make sure that the individual listing on OLX doesn't show even if paid for.

Very interesting. So basically OLX is engaging in unethical practices / outright scams by colluding with these shady dealers? Would be interesting to see what happens when actual buyers/sellers start to realise this and just find some other website

[thirdmainroad]

I think a few of us from team BHP should get together and start a car and bike only listing website - where dealers are not allowed ever!

There are not many options right now!

[Guna]

Technology was meant to eliminate the middlemen but on the other hand it is empowering them more and putting both buyer and sellers at a disadvantage.
How does nobroker.com manages to keep brokers away?

[thirdmainroad]

NoBroker is pretty damn useless nowadays. Again same story - started well, but now down the drain. A friend recently tried to sell an apartment. Wasted some 20k on their premium services.

The matter on hand is really the rise of the middlemen in India - and systems, with our social hangover enabling them!