Second Hand Car Buying Tips

Here are some tips you can use to buy second hand cars. Collected over the years from my experience of buying second hand cars for me and my buddies which include cars like: M800, Zen, Santro, Wagon R, Indica, Esteem, Accent, Swift, Scorpio, Optra, Corolla

1. Check the manufacturing date of all the tyres. If they are near the model of the year of manufacture of your vehicle (ex. the car model is 2001 and the tyres are also 2001) then the odometer is correct. However if the tyres are like say 2005 and it has considerable wear….it means the car is driven a lot.

2. Demand to see the service history or service record. If the car has been properly serviced (and i am sure you wish it was), the invoice’s will have the odo readings. Demand to see the bill of last service done. Or just get the emission certificate.

3. If the odometer has been tampered, usually the numbers don’t align correctly.

4. Look for dust or any other foreign particle on the numbers odo inside the glass pane.

5. All the tyres manufacture date should be same.

6. In specific case of Corolla see if the gear knob leather cover has been worn out. Also look out if the seat cover’s stitch lining is coming out from anywhere.

7. Try to get the info of the original seller and try to meet him.

8. Check the insurance if he has any NCB (no claim bonus)

9. The front bonnet panel usually has lines on it. If the car has been accidented from front, however you try to correct, this this line would not be perfect. try to catch this when you buy a car. The same goes for the straight body line on the side and rear also.

10. Before buying a car, try to test drive the same vehicle (should be in a good condition) from somewhere else. Better ask a friend to let you drive his set of wheels. Other option would be to head to the showroom and take a test drive there. The idea is to get the hang of a couple of things like: how is the engine sound in various gears, how does a maintained car handles around bends and how does it handle in traffic, you get to know the extra rattles, check the pickup, check the interior. Then compare these to the vehicle you have zeroed in on.

11. Try to see the car in noon time under direct sunlight. Verify that the car has a uniform shade of paint all over. If you see a difference in shade ask if the car has been repainted and why.

12. Open the bonnet and see the bottom of the hood you just lifted. There should be no spray paint job done there. Check if the paint is uniform.

13. Check for rust under hood, in and around engine housing. Check the condition of the screws used to tighten the battery in place. Also check for the misalignment of the screws where the suspension is attached. This would generally be at the two extremes once you pop open the hood.

14. Check for a white powder like substance near all the gaskets. Especially check this near the front and rear windshields and also on the inside of door glasses. Pull the gaskets on doors and see for any unusual marks.

15. Inspect the boot. Check for the condition of the spare tyre and the compartment. This may give a fair idea on how much the car has been used.

Hope this helps in your making a better decision when you are looking for a used set of wheels.

Time to buy a new car

I have been delaying this from since i don’t know when. Most people come to me for advice on which vehicle they should be buying. And so I have developed a reputation of a mr know it all in case of cars. And the funnily ironic part here is that when it came to buy a car myself I am confused. It’s not that I dont know my cars. I pretty damn do. Have the experience of scanning umpteen number of second hand cars as well. So second hand car mart is not greek to me. The problem here is the number of possibilities that have boggled my mind. Well here I just want to share with you all some of the research I have done. Might help some confused soul out there as well. Here are the car prices, on road, B’lore as of October 2009.

 

PETROL CARS

Company	Model	Price(in lakhs)	Disp (cc)	Airbag	ABS	P.Win/P.Steering	Mileage
Maruti
	Alto LX	3.07	796	N	N	N/N	14.5
	Alto LXi	3.27	796	N	N	N/Y	14.5
	A-Star Lxi	4.1	998	N	N	N/Y	14.6
	A-Star Vxi	4.4	998	N	N	Y/Y	14.6
	A-Star Zxi	4.8	998	Y	Y	Y/Y	14.6
	Estilo Lxi	3.9	1061	N	N	Y/Y	13.6
	Estilo Vxi	4.17	1061	Y	N	Y/Y	13.6
	Estilo Vxi ABS	4.5	1061	Y	Y	Y/Y	13.6
	WagonR Lxi	3.9	1061	N	N	N/Y	12.9
	WagonR Lxi DUO	4.17	1061	N	N	N/Y	12.9
	WagonR Vxi	4.22	1061	N	N	Y/Y	12.9
	WagonR Vxi ABS	4.5	1061	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.9
	Swift Lxi	4.77	1298	N	N	N/Y	12.4
	Swift Vxi	5.12	1298	N	N	Y/Y	12.4
	Swift Vxi ABS	5.34	1298	N	Y	Y/Y	12.4
	Swift Zxi	6.1	1298	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.4
	Ritz Lxi	4.57	1197	N	N	N/Y	12.8
	Ritz Vxi	4.93	1197	N	N	Y/Y	12.8
	Ritz Vxi ABS	5.22	1197	N	Y	Y/Y	12.8
	Ritz Zxi	5.64	1197	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.8
Hyundai
	Santro GL	3.92	1086	N	N	N/Y	12.8
	Santro GLS	4.13	1086	N	N	Y/Y	12.8
	i10 1.1 Era	4.37	1086	N	N	Y/Y	13.2
	i10 1.2 Magna	4.67	1197	N	N	Y/Y	12.8
	i10 1.2 Asta	5.66	1197	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.8
Chevrolet
	Spark PS	3.5	995	N	N	N/Y	13.1
	Spark LS	3.7	995	N	N	Y/Y	13.1
	Spark LS Music	3.96	995	N	N	Y/Y	13.1
	Spark LT	4.05	995	N	N	Y/Y	13.1
	Spark LT OP	4.56	995	Y	Y	Y/Y	13.1
Tata
	Vista – Safire Terra	4	1172	N	N	N/Y	11.72
	Vista – Safire Aqua	4.26	1172	N	N	Y/Y	11.72
	Vista – Safire Aura	4.54	1172	N	N	Y/Y	11.72

 

DIESEL CARS

Company	Model	Price	Disp (cc)	Airbag	ABS	P.Win/P.Steering	Mileage
Maruti
	Ritz Ldi	5.45	1248	N	N	N/Y	14.4
	Ritz Vdi	5.8	1248	N	N	Y/Y	14.4
	Ritz Vdi ABS	6.11	1248	N	Y	Y/Y	14.4
	Swift Ldi	5.48	1248	N	N	N/Y	14.7
	Swift Vdi	5.83	1248	N	N	Y/Y	14.7
	Swift Vdi ABS	6.14	1248	N	Y	Y/Y	14.7
Hyundai
	Getz CRDi	6.48	1493	N	N	Y/Y	14
Fiat
	Punto Active	5.76	1248	N	N	Y/Y	?
	Punto Dynamic	6.18	1248	N	N	Y/Y	?
	Punto Emotion	6.65	1248	N	Y	Y/Y	?
	Punto Emotion Pack	7.29	1248	Y	Y	Y/Y	?
	Palio SD	5.1	1248	N	N	N/Y	14
	Palio SDE	5.35	1248	N	N	Y/Y	14
	Palio SDX	5.5	1248	N	N	Y/Y	14
Tata
	Vista Terra	5		N	N	N/Y	13.9
	Vista Aqua	5.22		N	N	Y/Y	13.9
	Vista Aura	5.56		N	N	Y/Y	13.9
	Vista Aqua TDI	4.7		N	N	Y/Y	12.8
	Vista Terra TDI	4.5		N	N	N/Y	12.8

 

By the way did I mention that the number one reason I hate bangalore is  the road tax these guys charge. Can you imagine paying 60 – 70 k extra as road tax! I mean I can buy a decent 150 cc bike in that much money. And what are those government idiot &%^$!% babus doing. I don’t see any road developments happening around me that can justify the amount of tax being collected. Ok lets consider a hypothetical scenario. Assume a Maruti dealership sells 60 Swift’s a month. To average out on the variants lets assume they are all VXi’s. The road tax on a VXi is roughly around 60k. So the road tax collected by one dealership is Rs. 36 lakhs. And I have only considered tax collected on one variant by one dealership. Imagine what the actual figures would look like. Now just see around you and find any good driveable roads in Bangalore. Yup, now you get the hang of what I am trying to put across.

Well the confusion began as my ideal car would be a Swift Vdi, but it costs 6 lakhs in b’luru, which is kinda out of my budget as of now. But Diesel is at the back of my mind. So I began to explore my options from

1. New car or old car. A sub 3 lakh old car will have to be disposed off before leaving from Bangalore. A 3+ lakh car makes sense to be taken back to my hometown in Delhi. (Assuming I move back to Delhi in around 2 years).

2. Should I buy an Alto and drive it for 2 years and then sell it off when I move back to Delhi? I can drive a new car, but would have to shell out the road tax and the depreciation at the time i sell it off.

3. Should I go in for a second hand Alto which would come in around 1.5 lakhs. And then when I sell it off I would not face so much depreciation also.

4. Instead of going in for a brand new Alto, should I spend 50 k more and go in for Spark PS, which offers almost similar features and has better space than Alto and is 200c more than Alto. But then the resale value and Maruti service network are better than that of Chevy.

5. Should I go in for Swift petrol. This would initially cost more and mileage wise bump up my budget if I plan any long drives or highway excursions, as Swift petrol will at best give a mileage of 11 to 12 kmpl in city. But at least I get the sturdy and roomy Swift feel (well lets limit the comparison to Spark and Alto ) and also I can fall back on the trusty CNG when I move back to Delhi. Yes I would have to part away with the boot space in that case.

6. Here comes the competition, should I go in for an i10. I test drove the car and the handling is nice. It has a nice peppy engine. The new 1.2 is an added advantage. The 1.2 Magna has equivalent features of Swift Vxi and is priced by approx 50k less. But I need to take the car on highways to satiate my spirit of holidays and exploration. If I can wait for another 4-5 months may be i10 diesel also will be available. This according to me would be priced somewhere around 5.3 Lakhs on road in b’lore.

7. Ok the thought that blurs this division between Swift and i10 further is that: Should I go in for i10 Magna or should I put 30k extra and settle for a Swift Lxi. At least I get the big car and sturdy feel of Swift this way. Swift would be a good highway performer as well.

8. Should I buy Swift Diesel from Delhi, as there the road tax is less, and vdi should cost you around 5.3 L on road and then spend extra 10k to bring it in b’lore and then drive in the constant fear of the traffic cops.

9. Buy the Swift diesel in Delhi, and get the zen i have at home here. This way even if i get caught by cops and in the worst possible case end up paying road tax, it would not be as much i would pay on a new Swift.

10. Stick with the current old M800 for 2 years, and then think of another vehicle when I finally move back to Delhi. Till then I pray that my company gives me enough money so I can afford a VDi.

Company	Model	Price	Disp (cc)	Airbag	ABS	P.Win/P.Steering	Mileage
Maruti
	Alto LX	3.07	796	N	N	N/N	14.5
	Alto LXi	3.27	796	N	N	N/Y	14.5
	A-Star Lxi	4.1	998	N	N	N/Y	14.6
	A-Star Vxi	4.4	998	N	N	Y/Y	14.6
	A-Star Zxi	4.8	998	Y	Y	Y/Y	14.6
	Estilo Lxi	3.9	1061	N	N	Y/Y	13.6
	Estilo Vxi	4.17	1061	Y	N	Y/Y	13.6
	Estilo Vxi ABS	4.5	1061	Y	Y	Y/Y	13.6
	WagonR Lxi	3.9	1061	N	N	N/Y	12.9
	WagonR Lxi DUO	4.17	1061	N	N	N/Y	12.9
	WagonR Vxi	4.22	1061	N	N	Y/Y	12.9
	WagonR Vxi ABS	4.5	1061	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.9
	Swift Lxi	4.77	1298	N	N	N/Y	12.4
	Swift Vxi	5.12	1298	N	N	Y/Y	12.4
	Swift Vxi ABS	5.34	1298	N	Y	Y/Y	12.4
	Swift Zxi	6.1	1298	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.4
	Ritz Lxi	4.57	1197	N	N	N/Y	12.8
	Ritz Vxi	4.93	1197	N	N	Y/Y	12.8
	Ritz Vxi ABS	5.22	1197	N	Y	Y/Y	12.8
	Ritz Zxi	5.64	1197	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.8
Hyundai
	Santro GL	3.92	1086	N	N	N/Y	12.8
	Santro GLS	4.13	1086	N	N	Y/Y	12.8
	i10 1.1 Era	4.37	1086	N	N	Y/Y	13.2
	i10 1.2 Magna	4.67	1197	N	N	Y/Y	12.8
	i10 1.2 Asta	5.66	1197	Y	Y	Y/Y	12.8
Chevrolet
	Spark PS	3.5	995	N	N	N/Y	13.1
	Spark LS	3.7	995	N	N	Y/Y	13.1
	Spark LS Music	3.96	995	N	N	Y/Y	13.1
	Spark LT	4.05	995	N	N	Y/Y	13.1
	Spark LT OP	4.56	995	Y	Y	Y/Y	13.1
Tata
	Vista – Safire Terra	4	1172	N	N	N/Y	11.72
	Vista – Safire Aqua	4.26	1172	N	N	Y/Y	11.72
	Vista – Safire Aura	4.54	1172	N	N	Y/Y	11.72

Chevrolet Spark

 

At last I got some time off from my hectic schedule. Wanted to write this post so badly since two months, when I had freshly taken Spark for a test ride. First thing I loved was the Chevy executive who rode with me in the car. He asked me to take the car to the limit. I being habitual to driving in Delhi (Delhi drivers are by far the best I have ever seen), was more than happy to oblige. I remember there were two more guys in the back seat who were waiting for their turn to take that car for a spin next. I could see the poor chaps holding each others hands in the rear view mirror when I was negotiating a small round about on a size zero back road while dodging an oncoming Innova from right and overtaking a 407. I remember the Maruti guy telling me not to go over 60 kmph in the test vehicle. And I had a sudden urge to punch him in the face.

 

 

 

 

Okay enuff of the boasting stuff. Lets get down to more serious business here. Time for facts. Spark is the cheapest 1000 cc (995 cc to be precise) car around (PS @ 3.5 L and LS @ 3.7 L on road Bangalore). The only decent car you get in a budget lower than that is an Alto.  Spark delivers 63 bhp and 9 kgm torque, which is absolutely sweet for a car in this class. The suspension was superb. Spark comes standard with tube less tyres and gas filled shock absorbers. The car seemed pretty nice to swerve and cut across in heavy traffic. Changing lanes and fitting the car in gaps was not an issue. Also I have not heard of any major issues with the engine of this car. The engine is peppy and responsive. The AC was also average, nothing too great but not too bad either. Spark delivers an average of 13 – 14 under city conditions with AC on, which are good numbers. But here ends all the good part. Let’s see the other side of the coin too.

From outside the car does look a lot like Matiz. The front looks nice, but the rear is just horrendous and cheap. Interior is comfortable for 4 adults. But again depends on which car you are comparing this with. Compared to 800 and Alto yes it’s more roomier.  The two spoke steering is also not that impressive for hand grip. But the response of power steering is decent enough. Gear shift quality is just about ok. The dash in grey is ok. The plastics are ok, but then isn’t it the same with Santro and Wagon R also. The practically placed central console gives more room for the driver to get in and out of the car easily. The boot space is almost the same as you get on other hatchbacks.

The Spark is strictly a city car only. Do not dare to venture out on the highway. The build quality is not upto the mark. You can feel that the doors are so light you can compare it to plastic. Just knock on a door panel or a body panel to believe what I mean.

If you are looking for a car which is not too taxing on your pockets and don’t want to go for an 800 cc car, go for Chevy. Wagon R and Santro are both old stallions which sooner or later would be phased out. Both these cars are continuing because a. They do not have a worthy successor as of yet. and b. The company wants to have a model for this price bracket.

My pick Spark LS.

Lyrics HikkNaal – Dev D

I don’t even know why I am posting this, but I guess it’s the fact that I have listened to this song over 50 times in 2 days. I wanted to understand the lyrics and so googled it. But alas could not find the correct lyrics anywhere…. saareyaan ne punjabi  di maan bhen keeti hoi see….. so here’s the correct version… may be I also have managed to goof up some words… do correct me if I am wrong somewhere…

 

Hik naal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Nain aa Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Ti

Hik naal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Nain aa Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Ti

 

Mileya Malook Jeya

Vekheya Salook Tera

Paata Puhwara Hun Jehra

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Roop Tera Haye Ni Tu Fiza Hai Chenab Di

Balle Teri Taur Ni Tu Shaan Hai Punjab Di

Roop Tera Haye Ni Tu Fiza Hai Chenab Di

Balle Teri Taur Ni Tu Shaan Hai Punjab Di

 

Paake Yaariaan Kitta Haye Tu Kharab Ni

Bulliyaan De Haseyaan Ne Ditta Haye Maar Ni

 

Lak Jad Lachke

Jhanjhar Chanke

Paata Puhwara Nawa Tera

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Haye Tera Jalwa Tera Hai Shabab Ni

Aashe Aashe Aashke Kudi Lajawab Ni

Haye Tera Jalwa Tera Hai Shabab Ni

Aashe Aashe Aashke Kudi Lajawab Ni

 

Tera Ni Khumar Ditta Ghar Di Sharaab Ni

Patte Gaye Munde Pind De Behisaab Ni

 

Heer Sanu Lag Di

Sohniye Tu Phab Di

Har Paase Charcha Hai Tera

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Hikanaal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Naina Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Di

Hikanaal Lake Jind Tere Utte Var Di

Naina Dunali Tere Thaan Goli Maar Di

 

Mileya Malook Jeya

Vekheya Salook Tera

Paata Puhwara Hun Tera

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

Ke Muteyaraan Ton Bachna

Ae Husna De Naga Ne Dasna

 

Kudos to Labh Janjua, for singing this beautifully.

You can download this song from http://www.cooltoad.com