[Arayan5614]

A lot has happened in the last 3–4 years. I moved to management consulting after spending over a decade in happy-go-lucky startups.

Oh man, the consulting world just consumes 100% (or more) of you. There was barely any time to drive a car just for the sake of it, so upgrading never even crossed my mind.

That’s how our very first pre-owned car from Spinny remained our loyal companion for four years.

Now that I’ve stepped out of consulting, my next employer offers a decent car lease policy at a 10.5% rate with minimal clauses.

This typical middle-class family from Bangalore now aspires to get an MUV, something like the XUV 700.

The decision is still in process, and I expect to share an update on that soon.

Here’s the catch. My office is based in Gurgaon, but my role is location-free, so I continue to work from Bangalore.

Since the office is in Gurgaon, the car lease company can procure the vehicle there and hand it over to me with an HR registration.

However, the company is in the process of opening an office in Bangalore.
To procure the car in Karnataka and get a KA registration, the lease company would need a GST presence in the state.

So either I wait for the office to open or try pulling some internal strings to get this done.

With a car price hike expected in April, I intend to at least book the car in March.

Now, the questions:

1) How about getting the car delivered in Gurgaon? This would save me around ₹2L in road tax. I could then bring the car to Bangalore and drive it here. I understand the legal technicalities, but at least 10% of PVs in Bangalore seem to have out-of-state registrations. How inconvenient is this in reality? Any first-hand experiences of driving other-state cars in Bangalore?

2) Should I wait for things to sort out, get the car in Bangalore with a KA registration, and just be comfortable paying the extra ₹2L in road tax?

Would appreciate some first-hand experiences and expert opinions.

For the curious folks, here’s the link to my first car: link (Preowned Car Experience - Chevy Sail UVA)

[yedukrishnan199]

Originally Posted by Arayan5614

With a car price hike expected in April, I intend to at least book the car in March.

Pricing as on the date of invoicing is applicable and therefore getting a booking done in March without payment and invoicing in March itself won't assure price protection. If the invoice is raised in April, the price hike would apply.

If you want the car now, get it invoiced in Gurgaon and drive it in Bangalore, I don't know but can you get a BH registration? If not you can drive the HR registered car in Bangalore for as long as a year without any issue but after that, it is at your own risk.

The second option of waiting would indeed be a better option (getting it registered with a KA plate). No issues and no worries at all, albeit a bigger hole in the pocket, but sometimes the peace of mind is worth the price.

[Arayan5614]

Originally Posted by yedukrishnan199

Pricing as on the date of invoicing is applicable and therefore getting a booking done in March without payment and invoicing in March itself won't assure price protection. If the invoice is raised in April, the price hike would apply.

If you want the car now, get it invoiced in Gurgaon and drive it in Bangalore, I don't know but can you get a BH registration? If not you can drive the HR registered car in Bangalore for as long as a year without any issue but after that, it is at your own risk.

The second option of waiting would indeed be a better option (getting it registered with a KA plate). No issues and no worries at all, albeit a bigger hole in the pocket, but sometimes the peace of mind is worth the price.

BH isn't option - otherwise, this would have been super easy!

[salluks]

HR registration vehicles have a bad reputation everywhere. I would get KA, but that's a personal opinion.

[svsantosh]

Not flaring up tensions, but please avoid Outside state car in KA now. There is a renewed crack down on Non KA cars.

I see you are a Bangalorean (from your Sail UVA thread) - you know very well what is happening in TOI front page these days. Be-Aware!

[Sohail_91]

If you are primarily planning to use the car in Bangalore, I would recommend getting a KA registered vehicle. Here’s why:

• Lately, there has been a rise in reports of harassment incidents in Bangalore involving out-of-state cars.
• Bangalore traffic police are quite strict when it comes to Non-KA registered vehicles. They will stop you 9 out of 10 times, and will scrutinise all your documents. Even if everything is in order, they will try to find minor reasons to issue fines, such as tinted windows, an expired pollution certificate, or any other small technicality.

If you decide to get a car from Haryana, here are few things you should keep in mind:

• Legally, you can drive an out-of-state vehicle in Karnataka for up to one year without needing to re-register it. However, be prepared to show proof of when the car entered the state when stopped by the police (e.g., transport papers, toll receipts, etc.)
  
• If you plan to register it in Karnataka after a year, the process of getting a road tax refund from the HR RTO may not be straightforward.

If you continue using your HR-registered car in Bangalore beyond the one-year limit, traffic police will ask for a pollution certificate issued in Haryana if you claim that it has been less than a year since bringing your car to Bangalore (this happened to my colleague who has a Delhi-registered car).

I have colleagues who drive Delhi-registered cars in Bangalore, and their experiences have been mixed—it really comes down to your luck and the mood of the cop on that day.

Hope this helps and happy shopping

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by Arayan5614

A
Here’s the catch. My office is based in Gurgaon, but my role is location-free, so I continue to work from Bangalore.


However, the company is in the process of opening an office in Bangalore.
To procure the car in Karnataka and get a KA registration, the lease company would need a GST presence in the state.

So either I wait for the office to open or try pulling some internal strings to get this done.

2) Should I wait for things to sort out, get the car in Bangalore with a KA registration, and just be comfortable paying the extra ₹2L in road tax?

It’s a no brainer and dictated entirely by conscience, honour and a sense of fairness.

If you live in a particular state and drive the car daily in that state for most of the time, then you need to pay the road tax in that state. Anything else will simply not fly.

I remarked in exactly the same vein in another thread a minute ago, when someone asked if he can register his brand new bE6 EV in Hosur because he lives just across the border in KA 17 kms away.

We snigger and smirk at those ‘rich people’ who drive fancy cars but evade the road tax by making a fake rental agreement in Pondicherry because the taxes there are low, and then come and drive those fancy cars in Bangalore or somewhere else.

Being (in general) decent, honest, tax paying folks with a sense of fairplay and honour, why would we want to emulate that kind of second rate behaviour?

Also, it is true that HR and DL registered cars do not have the most enviable reputations in KA. And there is this general parochialism and linguistic chauvinism thing. Why attract the ire of these folks?

[NarediAni7518]

Look, it’s quite known what happens with out of state cars in Karnataka, and as a matter of fact, you can always drive an outside state car for years without an issue in Haryana/Delhi NCR. why to take the risk in the long term ? Just pay more and get the KA Reg. for peace of mind.

[condor]

Suggest Keep it simple, and register it here in KA

Echoing what has already been said: Registering in HR would mean:
1. Pay fairly high Road tax again if the car is moved to KA series
2. Out of state cars have this 1 year rule.

Also, prices at the time of actual registration will be applicable.

[abhatt]

While selling my Polo I experienced that you recover a good amount of money when selling the car in KA as well. Do keep that into consideration.

[Asish_VK]

Bangalore's motor vehicle department and traffic police are known for targeting non-KA cars. Reports suggest they have resumed these checks recently. I recommend registering your car in Karnataka to avoid any issues.

[FAIAAA]

I drive two HR vehicles in Bangalore.

Without getting into discussion of morality etc ( which are personal and for you to decide), answering specific questions in opening post -
- yes, you do save a considerable amount, first discounts are higher in NCR, second, lower road taxes.
- you can drive down to Bangalore and do a cross country trip, solo or with family.
- There are no disadvantages of HR viz KA or any other state's registration. I have driven across the country. And you don't face any discrimination.
- RTO rules state that one needs same state registration only when one stays more than 12 months in the state. As long as you have fastag reciepts, atleast every 6-10 months of inter state travel, you are fine. That's also one reason cops don't stop anyone anywhere for this reason. It's very difficult to prove domicile. ( some of the posts above mention KA cops harassing drivers of non KA vehicles. Is it personal /direct experience or hear say? Also, were you stopped specifically for a Non KA number plate or some other offence and then in the discussion, non KA came up?)
Hope this helps.

[wooka]

1. BH series. It's the way. Though paid up lifetime tax in a state like HP/Chandigarh/Goa may prove to be cheaper in the long run. I do not see the appeal of BH in states with high taxation.
2. Renew it wherever you want / find it cheap to do so. For starters, get it done at the HR RTO.
3. Considering that you're working in a big firm, getting an BH series letter from HR should be easy. I work at Accenture and it's practically automated.
4. If you're switching jobs and don't know of the policies in play, I'd suggest checking. First, will you manage the full 3 years minimum lease tenure? Second, do you plan on a lot of running? Then leasing is an advantage. Third, do you have partial payment for the vehicle? Some firms may have a 40% or 50% capping of your annual basic salary and at that, perhaps the 25L ex showroom price of the diesel AWD fits the bill
5. Consider the EV alternatives, perhaps? This way registration in say NOIDA is 0% tax and as long as you have some out station till receipts with the car, no one can fine you. You also skirt the 10/15 year RC cancellation issue with a non ICE car.
6. Dashcam. When I point at the camera, cops tend to behave themselves. Well the AX7 has an inbuilt dashcam =)

I drive a chandigarh car pan India. When I do the same in a UP car I tend to get stopped in Gujrat. Similar for HR and DL cars. Your mileage may vary.

I've also seen a lot of MnM stock everywhere in NCR. As others have stated, ready discounts will favor your immediate decision making in NCR I'm sure. Do note that if you go the lease way, you'll probably miss out on the march discounts plus the MY24 stock is dwindling.

[sgoyal9]

I have lived in Bangalore for upwards of 5 years now. I have both a KA and a DL registered car with me.

When I bought my KA car, I went the "morality" route and thought should pay my fair share of taxes, better for mobility, easier resale, blah blah blah.
Super stupid decision. Looking at me and anyone else who may drive my cars, you can recognise from a mile away that we are outsiders. After that, it really does not matter where the car is registered. I have paid twice as much fines to natives standing next to me with the same registration car. Save your money!

After all, 2L can cover a lot of fines.

[SupahN00b]

Can't say much as to what's been happening the last couple of months with the alleged crackdown on non KA cars in BLR (spending more time elsewhere these days, moved my car out in Oct '24).

However overall the past 3-4 years I never faced any egregious issues due to a non KA number. You may get picked on a bit more at checkposts (e.g. others get waved through, but you have to pull over; being asked to repeatedly blow in the breathalyzer even though you're recording a cool 0.00), but at the end of the day, very manageable.

Not once was I asked for how long I had kept my vehicle in KA. I did always keep an up to date and out of state PUC; never got the PUC done in KA.