buying a USED SUV in india

dan37_123

Hi,
I am planning a month long trip to india, i plan on buying a used four wheel drive vehicle.

Any suggestion or comments will be appreciated, specially with reference to prices (I know its difficult to price a used car), but still some indicative price and the brands, models etc.,

Thanks
Dan

jaldi-jaldi

Paagla Dashu

And is that because you plan to drive yourself in India or because you want to export the car to Europe?

Both are reasonably , (how should I put it) "not so bright" ideas.

It will be much less hassle and much less expensive to hire a vehicle with a driver for one month.

dan37_123

for gettting around in india, not for export.

thanks
dan

shere

Please can you indicate how much you have to spend.

Do you mean proper SUV type vehicles or bog standard 4x4 Jeeps ?

If you want a SUV then the Mahindra Scorpio and Tata Safari should fit your bill. You should be able to get a good used Safari for 4/5 lakh and a used Scorpio a similar price. These are large vehicles. I own a Scorpio myself which I use when I go to India. It gives 14KM a litre (diesel) if the diesel pucca. If not then 9/10KM/litre.

Next model down from Scorpio is the Mahindra Bolero. You should be able to pick one up for around 3 lakh used.

On the lower end of the scale you can get bog standard jeeps for around 1 lakh. I am told there is a place in Haryana (Dabwali I think) where they get ex army jeeps and put in reconditioned diesel engines and spruce them up ready for public sale.

Try the forums at www.indiacar.com
also http://www.automartindia.com/

dan37_123

bog standard 4x4 Jeeps , sounds interesting, can you please give me any websites of contact about haryana reconditioned 4 wheelers.

thanks
dan

dan37_123

my budget is about Rs 100,000 or lower.

thanks
dan

vinayverma

Dan,
I don't think you'll get a jeep for Rs. 100K which will take you around India.
The place in Delhi where the reconditioning of Jeep is done is called 'Mayapuri'. 4-5 years back one could buy a reconditioned jeep for Rs. 100K but now I hear its close to 200K.
If you are not going to do any serious off-road travel, then go for a basic Indian Maruti Suzuki 800cc car (I guess models earlier than 95-96 would be available for that amount). Another big + about Maruti 800 is, it can be serviced by almost all the local mechanics in India and the spares arecheaper than any other Indian 4 wheeler.
How about touring on Enfield motorcycle?

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I Vote for Enfield motorcycle than the second hand Maruti

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cyberhippie

I think as a foreigner on a tourist visa you aren't "officially" allowed to buy a vehicle!
This can be worked around by putting said vehicle in a local Indian's name but is it really worth it for a MONTH ??
I would look into hiring a vehicle with driver!! India is not the easist place to drive around, manic truck drivers and many road signs in Hindi or the local languages are just some of the problems you might face!!
With a driver you have a translator/tour guide/experienced driver all in one!

dan37_123

hi,
yes, i will take the advice, and will settle for a rent.

Is it possible to rent for a whole month, and can I hire a driver as well.

What could be the cost. I have seen that they go by like 4 to 8 Rs. per Km,?? could that be correct?

thanks

daniel

shere

I asked a relative to enquire about a year back and was told that 100K would get me a reconditioned Jeep in Haryana from Dabwali. I was given a price of 2 lakh for an ex police Maruti Gypsy. Maybe prices are higher in Delhi but in Haryana and Punjab you can get Jeeps for around a lakh.

The 800cc is not a car I would tour in. A reconditioned Jeep is also very cheap to get serviced and spare parts are easily available. The 800cc is a great car for local use as it is good on petrol etc but for touring it is a pile of poo.

It is a bit of a waste getting such a car for a month as you may lose more than it will cost to hire a vehicle for 30 days when selling the car on return. Dont know about Delhi but in northern Haryana you can a Qualis with driver for 800 a day (if you have for a few weeks) and just pay for your diesel. If you want somehting smaller like an Indica you can ger for less than 700 a day. The good thing is the owners are responsible for repairs, insurance etc.

cyberhippie

Around 6-8 rupees is a bit more realistic these days!
Most then charge you a minimum kilometer charge of 200 kms per day
And some ask for a waiting charge! maybe 200-300 per day!

Your probably looking at around 1900 rupees (this based on the higher rate of 8 rupees) a day doing 200 Kms a day
30 days comes out at 57000 rupees a little over a thousand Euros for a month been driven around! With research this figure could be less!!

There are thousands of taxi offices through out India that can arrange this for you!!

indiawise

If its just a month in india then RENTAL is a better option. If u do still want to buy or ....then....
To my mind its the Scorpio and the Bolero are what you should be looking at..and not at the reconditioned jeeps. Unless you are very sure that you are getting a very good and well maintained piece. I would consider the Tata safari a little lower down the order, unless I got it very cheap. It needs a football ground given its turn radius.

I had a mahindra jeep, with the peugot engine about 7 years back. And this is the same as the normal jeeps (bog standard jeeps) that you can buy as an all-terrain vehicle for a much lower price. I had it about two years before it was stolen right outside my house in Delhi! Anyways I was very fond of it and it was a reasonably good vehicle for the cross country driving that I did, though mostly on highways. Good power and all that. However I absolutely wouldn't recommend it today. These jeeps are nowhere engineered to be reliable. The king-pin bearings are mega-problem areas and the ride is rough that its not worth it. All this more so as there are other options available in India today. If its a holiday that you are on then just don't consider the 'reconditioned' jeep as an option. Reselling jeeps is also not that easy with a far lower second market. I bought my jeep, brand new, feeling good driving out the show room and all. In two years I spent many a time at the mechanics garage having something or the other fixed up. However those were the years that it was considered normal to be having to tinker around and have failed bearings, dynamos, bust etc.. ..new vehicle or not. Something akin to the older british bikes as against the newer Japanese machines!?
The scorpios and the cheaper Boleros are what you should be looking at today. Not only will you have a more comfortable ride but far more reliable. The major plus point on buying a Bolero or Maruti Gypsy (not exactly an suv) is that you’ll find spare parts anywhere and a mechanic to boot for sure.

Vinayverma has a point when he mentions that a cheap Indian jeep isn’t going to take you very far. His suggestion about the maruti 800 tiny lil car, actually makes a lot of sense if its reliability + lower budget on your mind. (Shere...the Maruti 800 is a good car and one which I have used driving in the hills, on the hyway from diu to Amritsar and recently on the nightmarish roads in MP). However there is very little boot space. And it can be cramped for tall 195 cm+ drivers. I call it the ‘point n shoot’ car, given its power to weight ratio and the superb handling. Its great in the mountains. Along these lines and if budget is on the lower side (about 80,000/- rupees all fixed up and on the road) a damn good choice and seen some smart tourists doing it, is the Maruti Van, so much space that you don’t know what to do with it. Peppy thing, good lights, very reliable and cheap to run. Sell it for about 40 to 50,000 or maybe even 80,000 after you’ve done with the journey. Minus is that you can’t fit an AC. However all these are petrols as against the disel boleros, scorpios and mahindra jeeps. The maintenance cost on these marutis basic models is amazingly cheap as compare to any other. Four new tyres on maruti van = 1 scorpio tyre.

agni5454

He he..i second that! def the enfield.

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