I've been a silent reader/follower for most of time in my membership period on Team-BHP. Here's my story/experience of buying a pre-owned car in Bangalore. This is going to be a story-cum-purchase and ownership experience post. The writing style may feel unprofessional since I don't write much - so please bear with me or choose to skip. All pictures are taken using a mobile phone camera.
History:
Being a middle class motorcycle guy for most of my life till now(still I am), I was not into cars. The whole enthusiasm was restricted upto watching car races on TV or getting a chance to ride in taxis. My family got our first car in 2014 during my sister's wedding in Jharkhand. My father bought it with a small loan because it was about time we had a car, and my elder brother insisted that we get one - my Father was more inclined because elder brother faced issues in hot weather being studied and lived in US for couple of year now.
It was a brand new Grandi10 Sportz and cost ~5.3L OTR.
I was elated, but having no experience being in a driver's seat ever, and the fact that it was a brand new car - I was afraid to touch the steering. After the hustle and bustle of wedding got over, I gradually started learning how to drive with the help of a daily wage local driver.
Gradually, I was getting confidence and one day, broke the shackles of fear and took the car out by myself(I am still proud that I took it out of the apartment's basement parking on steep incline) - that was the day I can say I learnt how to drive(including in a congested tier II city).
Back in Bangalore, I always wanted a car for myself - but didn't have enough savings and a real good determination of owing a car. I would say I am an instinctive buyer and want something immediately if I like it in first sight(this comes in effect later in the post). The wait continued and I kept checking car brands, prices, the loan/EMI i would need to pay if I buy this/that car etc.. but again, the EMIs and no real need of a car held me for another 2-3 years.
Fast-forward to 2018
I used to stay with friends in a shared flat and one of my flatmates was really eager to buy a car in Jan 2018. He is a very practical guy in terms of finance and convinced me of benefits of a good used car. I used to read on online forums as well including team-bhp, and was convinced on his decision to buy a used car. On the opposite, my father is a big opponent of the idea of buying used stuff - it is a task convincing him. Anyway, it was not me who was buying the car at this time.
Now, the risks of buying a used car are many as obvious and hence the search for a used car for him started.
We roamed multiple places in west and east bangalore, as well as looked online - took test drives of many cars, but there was still a doubt about the genuineness of the car and it's history.
Then he stumbled upon a very excellent reviewed dealer(more on that later) in HSR layout. We went there(I was the one who knew driving and was the expert of two lol: ) and test drove few cars. The dealer actually turned out to be fairly good at first glance. They agreed to send the car for inspection on their cost wherever we wish in Bangalore - this inspired more confidence in us.
We finalized a 2014 Polo Comfortline(~28k run) in good condition with little bargain - the dealer bargains very little since they actually keep good cars and check history and stuff before buying one. The deal was fixed for 4.5L including little repairs and polish etc.
The first polo(My friend's) comes home (Extreme left is the test driver/wannabe expert):
It was a good deal because the car was in very good condition and few niggles like broken knobs for couple AC vents and stuff didn't bother him.
Come March 2018
It's been 2 months since my flatmate bought the polo and during this time I was helping him learn driving. I fell in love with polo's build quality(see the crash section ahead), character and the door thuds. Even though it has a 3-Cyl mill, it didn't bother me because for me, car was more like a commuter and safety tool than a enthusiastic driver's toy. It provided a decent pull and I was satisfied with it.
Now, one day, the bug inside us came alive on one weekend beacause my friend was pestering me continuously to accompany him in the car club - and here we went another used car shopping - this time for me.
My budget was 3-4 Lacs and I was looking for a polo preferably. We kept the HSR dealer as a last option and went to jaynagar and saw few cars, but as the First-sight-choice making person I am, nothing "clicked" to me in amy of those cars, even though I liked few of them.
Finally, we went to the HSR dealer as I was quite impressed with the previous deal. I test drove couple of i20s, i10 and liked an i20 ASTA which was coming for around 4Lacs. It looked good and had clicked ~30K kms. I was about to finish the deal for it.
While negotiating with the salesman to make it ~3.75 lacs, I happened to look around the building and there it was!
A blue polo - looking almost new and shining. I asked the guy if it was for sale, and yes, it was!
But, the salesman said and I quote, ''Sir, it is wayyy out of your budget! 5.8 Lacs sir". I asked the details of the car and here they are:
Year: 2015 Dec
Kms run: ~8000 ! (The reason for it to look almost new)
Specs: 1.2 Comfortline, ABS, 2 Airbags
No. of owner: 1
Issues: NONE! Engine bay was sparkling clean, interiors still had plastics all over the console/radio etc. Only the FL wheel cover was slightly broken.
I almost made a noob buyer mistake and said, "I WANT this car and will buy it right now, tell me the final price." It turned out from our past experience and in future course that my negotiation was not that bad.
After few rounds of negotiation and almost getting up and leaving(The classic saree shopping etiquette) I finalized the deal - less because I was happy with the price and it was actually wayy out of my budget, more because I am an instinctive buyer, and it was love at first sight.
The final price was 5.2L - now you are free to judge me here that I made a mistake or not, for a ~8k km run car in 2.4 years of ownership(The owner had moved to US as verified by me), an almost 2.6 Lacs dep looked fine to me - given I actually didn't care about profit or loss at the time.
Later, there was a small mostly harmless paint job that the salesman admitted, which I was ok with as it looked like driving mistake. Image is low quality because of salesman's camera:
As with the previous car(friend's polo), they sent the car for inspection at place of my choice. I got a general inspection done at VW nagwara for ~1K. Although the authorized service centers don't formally certify the used cars, the service manager at that time told me it looked good.
The delivery was finalized 2-3 days later by the time I arranged the money. They promised to change the wheel cap and fix IND number plates at delivery, along with polish etc.
The delivery
I took a friend of mine on the delivery date and the process went smooth. They took care of the ownership transfer as well.
Here's me taking the delivery of my first car, have a look at the shine:
Here's a random lame picture of the dash(forgive my hairs legs):
At my apartments, posing stupidly:
Again an idiotic pose in Hampi with the muddy gradients:
Another random picture from Hampi:
The 2-year Ownership review:
The car is great. I can proudly say I made a good decision and the car has been performing excellent in the limits it belongs to. The build quality is great of course, and am quite happy being an owner of a pre-owned car.
Here I am listing the Issues I have faced in 2 years of ownership:
1. The boot door was slightly misaligned, which was fixed quickly by ASC.
2. Wipers needed replacement(Of course).
That's it. Nothing else. I got it serviced immediately after delivery, which costed ~12K.
The crash
In Early 2019, Because of entirely my mistake and lack of concentration, I hit the Mansfield bar of a truck near KR puram while starting at green of the traffic light.
I was looking at a biker trying to sneak in between the car and truck ahead of me, and went too close to the truck and the inevitable, "he applied brakes". I was not looking ahead and hit the bar at ~5 -10 KMPH.
It was enough to crush the VW emblem, emblem grill, one mount each of both headlamps, and a small bend in the bonnet at the emblem area.
I had to get both the headlamps, emblem, grill replaced and the bonnet tinkered, repainted. Set me back by 23K.
But, using genuine parts helped and the car is back to glory and going strong.
The broken/replaced parts:
After repairs at workshop:
Fuel economy:
On highways with sedated driving and half occupancy (80-90 kmph), it yields ~18-19 kmpl.
Above 100 kmph, 17-18 kmpl.
In city, we better don't talk about it. I get 6-11 kmpl.
Conclusion:
Overall, it has been a good buy, excellent decision from my end even though I don't make many stupid:
Car is running great, has clocked 23k kms now. The tires will last another 10K at least. I'm a happy owner.
I have helped another friend buy the third car - a grandi10 from the same dealer few months ago. We all are pretty happy with the dealer. I almost got the 4th car from them, but the deal broke for ~20k negotiation because the car was almost brand new and neither parties were willing to budge.
Fun fact before I close: We 4 friends were staying together in an apartment flat: 3 bought cars from same dealer, the 4th deal to break was the 4th flatmate.
I thank you for your time and patience. Please excuse any mistakes. Thanks for reading!
Hey folks, I recently found out that my 1.5 tdi's radiator fan doesn't stay ON after I turn off the car. Earlier, it used to continue running for atleast 10~15 seconds after driving in hot conditions. (Ambient temperature is very high at where I live.)
I examined the fan. It works fine while the engine is running. But it stops as soon as i turn the key off. Pointed out the same to VW ASC during a service. They couldn't find any fault and told me that ECU decides how long the fan should stay ON.
I took a short spin on another polo which was much newer than mine and it had the fan stay running for almost 30 seconds after turning OFF.
I hope this doesn't turn into a serious issue as it's purpose is to dissipate some heat from the coolant.
Experienced ones, kindly share your thoughts...
No reviews on the 1 liter TSI yet? Have they not launched the Polo in the indian market with this engine? Or have the test drive cars not been made available to the consumer yet? Looking forward to how this engine compares to the age old 1.2 TSI.
Hello all. I own a polo which was manufactured in 2012, and since have tried to make it more upmarket by changing the seat covers infotainment system etc. I don’t know if this is the right place to ask, but has anyone with an older polo- pre 2013 facelift tried to facelift their car by replacing the front and rear bumpers? Is it advisable?
I asked a dealer about changing the steering wheel to the flat bottom steering wheel, but they advised me against it.
Maybe all this is unnecessary, but I like the current look better and was wondering whether it makes sense to facelift the polo myself at a dealer level.
Any advice would be appreciated.