[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by undead

buyers doesnt believe the kms run(mileage) , as they think the meter would have been reversed . They check the date of purchase , Type of Owner and just have a glance on the condition of the car and decide the price . Many buyers doesnt know how to determine the condition of the car , and doesnt know how to find whether the doors of the car has been changed due to accident and reduce the value accordingly.

That comes with experience.
The regular way to come around the problem is to take a mechanic to acess the condition & amount of repair required.

[rajatkumar]

Hi Guys,

I have been scouting for a gr8 2nd hand deal too, but now i have almost given up....

Reason: The dealers quote a very HIGH price!

I tried to reason out why in Hyd do we have such high prices?

Probable Answers:
1. The IT junta here is young n dynamic, most of them nt permanent residents of Hyd, so they need 2nd hand vehicles for the time they r in Hyd... so obviuosly more demand 4 used cars.

2. The roads here in Hyd are very decent.... and traffic conditions a LOT better than whats there in Delhi/B'lore. So the vehicles r nt strained! Higher used price

3. Common man CANNOT find a gud car mechanic...! Trust me its tuf 2 find one. So... dealers know hw to quote a price which is always a good HIGH amount. They r fleecing us... coz we do not have enuf know-how to evaluate 2nd hand cars!

I have been thru all this jhamelas! And am kinda bored, probably gonna try out a last few cars, n then go and buy a new vehicle all together!

Anyways.... what i need is an EXCELLENT car mechanic... who can evaluate a car! Any pointers???

Thx
Rajat

[DriverR]

Thanks for the input, gendarmee. The main reason I was keen on Maruti True Value was that they can arrange for the finiancing and do the transfer paperwork. Plus sometimes some people have found decent cars there.... at a slight premium though.

[suvi]

The middlemen want too much of profit. i wanted to upgrade my M800. the offer from both True Value and First Choice was 1.4 lakhs. a car with similar profile (17000km, 3years, dent free, AC, music system, autocop, VKool ...) costs not less than 1.8 lakhs to buy. In my opinion they are killing the goose that lays golden eggs with their greed.

[Technocrat]

Yes they do charge a premium but are very handy when you have to sell off the car at a short notice, its very difficult to come across a direct genuine buyer & take a lot of time to close the deal, these guys pay you upfront & get all the paper work done no running running around is needed from your end.

So if time is at premium the middle man are the way to go.

[gendarmee]

Originally Posted by DriverR

Thanks for the input, gendarmee. The main reason I was keen on Maruti True Value was that they can arrange for the finiancing and do the transfer paperwork. Plus sometimes some people have found decent cars there.... at a slight premium though.

Yea, thats there. paper work/Finances taken care off by them.
If you are okay with spending little bit extra then that would be fine.
I hate wasting money though lil or very little how much ever it may be, i get the new car registration, re-registration, liscence done my self, not for saving cash but coz i have this feeling of contentment....If i were extremely busy, I'd have looked for an easy way out too.

[aadix]

hey hi,
most of the ads in the classifieds are by used car dealers posing as original owners, thy have a certain prefixed value of each car for buying and selling, very often the margins range between 50 to 75k.

also since most of the people who pick up used cars are ether rich guys from villages or people who are looking for a car to pick up with black money, these two points are generally taken up as a plus point by the dealer.

my 2006 innova g1 got sold for 6.8 lac a week back, i had sold it for 6.10l a couple of months back, reason?, it was picked up by a farmer who sold half of his land in this reality boom.

that said,there are quite a few brokers/dealers who are very genuine and trustworthy, if not then all you need is a good mech to check the car + great bargaining skills.

ps: the best page for used cars deals is the sunday classifieds of either DC or eenadu.

[DriverR]

That is the problem, aadix....too much sudden easy money leading to people spending crazily and raising the costs along with them. This is why I find it difficult to get a second hand car at a decent price. Even private sellers are trying to cash in on this. In anycase, I'm trying to use the friends route for now, to see if I can get a 'known' (friend can vouch for its quality) vehicle at a good price.

[DKG]

Am joining this thread late but perhaps I can add some value as I happen to head a used car division at a local Hyderabad dealership.

Here's an honest low down on the Hyderabad scene.

The market here is primarily fragmented and dominated by over 3000 free lance dealers. Apart from these a few car showrooms have started a pre-owned car business too.

Although it would be improper on my part to generalise but the sad truth in most used car markets the world over is - chances are you are being conned by the dealer.

The common pitfalls and points to note:

A vast majority of dealers turn mileages down cheating the unsuspecting customer.

Usually accident repairs are well camouflaged and the unsuspecting customer gets a lemon

Cars are refurbished using low grade counterfeit parts that seem to let a car run but not only do they not last but even compromise safety

Not knowing the maintenance history of a car. A vehicle serviced at 5000 kms at the dealership has value as opposed to cars which have irregular service at the dealer or service at non authorised workshops, and worse as in many a case never serviced at all!!

Ownership. Single owner cars are the best bet. When you are going to be the third or fourth owner chances are you may be compromised

Be wary of cars that have done more than 20000 kms in a year. Usually they require more by way of refurbishment.

There are atleast a 150 check points that require careful attention during refurbishment of a car. Dealers who carry out such checks on cars and use genuine spares to refurbish cars will invariably command higher prices.

I have followed a strict code of selling genuine mileage cars, with no structural damage, refurbished with genuine spares and mostly single owner vehicles.

Our measure of whether we are doing it right is in the fact that we have a satisfied customer base who increasingly recommend more customers to us.

Buying a used car is tough and usually the unsuspecting customer ends up trusting the wrong person. Sadly even the so called organised sector compromise on quality.

Be very careful when you evaluate a car. Ask around for references

To summarise:

If you are buying a single owner car, with no accident record, less than 20000 kms/yr run, full service history, comprehensive insurance cover, refurbished to a standard, then expect to pay a higher than market price.

Provide you are dealing with a genuine dealer its always worth paying a little extra for a quality product than pay less and be shortchanged with a lemon on your hands.

[vnabhi]

Originally Posted by DriverR

I have always felt that the second hand prices for cars in Hyderabad is on the high side. Today while casually browsing carwale.com I saw an offer entry - Used 2004 Hindustan Motors Ambassador Classic 2000 DSZ AC - Rs.3,35,000 (Distance done 30K)

I was amazed at this price expectations. I really do not know what would be the correct expected price (Carewale say 2 Lakhs) but I found it to be ridiculously high. There are no extra fittings mentioned.

So, am I missing something, or am I right in believing that people here really do not know how to evaluate their vehicles.

Perhaps it was a typo, and the realistic price could be 35,000

[rider60]

i have a question, if one is really interested in a pre-owned car, why not wait till the nano is launched, this way, all those dealers who are currently quoting astronomical prices will be greatly persuaded to jump down a few steps, and the prices quoted then will be realistic imo what do you say?

[BUSA]

Originally Posted by rider60

i have a question, if one is really interested in a pre-owned car, why not wait till the nano is launched, this way, all those dealers who are currently quoting astronomical prices will be greatly persuaded to jump down a few steps, and the prices quoted then will be realistic imo what do you say?

Yes, but only the prices of small cars will fall in the used market. There wont be much effect on mid segment cars.

[DKG]

Originally Posted by BUSA

Yes, but only the prices of small cars will fall in the used market. There wont be much effect on mid segment cars.

I'd agree. The used 800 market will collapse and also older Santro/Wagon R's. I think what will happen is the 10 to 15 year old cars plying the roads will disappear. It will get cut to a max of 7 years.

[DriverR]

@DKG: thanks for your candid inputs. They were most helpful in understanding the market scenario. It would really be great of you can recommend some dealers where one can get good quality second hand cars. That would really be very very helpful. Your recommended dealers need not be the cheapest, but at least we can be sure that we are going to get quality cars and not false,empty promises.

[gendarmee]

Are u a first timer at buying a 2nd hand?
Actually i thought u were not, correct me if im wrong.