Buying/Leasing a Car in Delhi

shelmes

Hello There - me again!

I'm looking for advice on buying vs. leasing a car. I would hire a driver too. Any advice from those who've gone through it?

Also, what makes & Models of cars are recomended? Last time I was in India, Honda City & the older Toyota SUVs were popular. What is hot today?

SMARTGUY

Hmmmm............ even Iam planning to change my present Car(Hyundai Ascent)soon. But Iam really confused in between

Chevloret Aveo.....

Or

Hyundai Verna

Or

Maruti Sx4

Can I expect some valuable, logical, technical and friendly advice from fellow Indiamikers residing in India.

shelmes

Great recomendations. Anything bigger? Keep in mind, I'm 6'2

Nick-H

Whoa!

What sort of car do you want? What size of car do you want? What budget range car do you want? Lots of cars are popular in India; even the Ambassador still has its fans. What do you want? What sort of driving are you going to do?

Just asking for --- car is no help whatsoever.

Much as I hate to admit that IndiaMike is not the best and the only web site you could ever need in your whole life, occasionally I have to ...

For anything to do with cars and driving here, check out www.team-bhp.com. Can't be beaten!

But don't forget to come back to IM

__________________
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Just one member of the IndiaMike Mod Team

Nick-H

Shelmes, Maruti is often the winner on after-sales service and support. You are never far from someone who can service or repair a Maruti!

Also see the site I just mentioned.

SMARTGUY

Sorry Shelmes......I haven't recommended anything... thats what Iam lookin for myself and need advice for same. Anyways ! Whats your budget and I thing Pajero or Prado will be best for you and even Ford Endeavour is doing well in India. And ofcourse the Economical, Sexy n Robust SUV on Indian roads is Mahindra Scorpio

shelmes

I guess I don't want to spend a ton - so I'm thinking buying used - maybe a few years old. Also - in the US - we often lease cars vs buying. Is this common or available as an option.

PS - the scorpio is a great option!

SMARTGUY

Yeah you can do that in India too... Used Cars segment is growing day by day and in Delhi you will get a larger choice..Be careful in papers and condition of cars. Good luck

Nick-H

Used cars that I have looked at here are highly used and highly priced. If you can; buy new.

I don't understand the Indian used-car market. Paying way over the odds is not, culturally (Generalisation alert!), an Indian thing to do, but used cars seem way over-valued to me.

Ashish.K

"Buying Vs Leasing" advice is always an controversial topic for tourists Though, it's not a rocket science.

Major Question to judge the complexcity of the topic is hidden behind the a simple query "How long to Keep it ??"
If you are targeting to keep the car for touring purpose and want to keep till your visa period in India i.e. 6 months or 1 year at the max. Then financially it is good option to lease the car rather then purchasing it.

For a Luxury Sedan you will end up paying around 800-1000 INR per day, depending upon type of lease contract with a clause of free running of 80Km per day. In this scenario you'll get a chauffeur along with the Car.

However, for buying up the Luxury Sedan you must produce some Indian's Identification proof + some marginal amount say 70,000-80,000 INR to purchase the car and the rest amount will be financed by various banks. You'll also be needing to hire a chauffeur separately. You'll end up paying a monthly EMI for the loan taken and the chauffeur's salary.

Actually Speaking whole Indian Auto market is hot now-a-days though we still get those extinct model

Speaking of Sedans we have Toyota, Maruti, Tata, Honda and Chevrolet as major players in the market. In SUV segment Mahindra and Tata rules the lower end segment. Mitsubishi, Ford, Honda and Maruti rules the mid-end segment. Toyota, Nissan, BMW rules the top-end segment.

SMARTGUY

Perhaps Nick is almost correct in his observations,buying a used car carries a certain degree of risk as well. After all, with a new car you get the peace of mind that no one has driven the vehicle carelessly or failed to have it maintained on a regular basis. And, if something does go wrong, the vehicle is under warranty-at least for a period of time. These safeties are not usually included in the purchase of a used one. You might have very little chances to know what kind of a past life the car has had Although organised players like Automartindia and Maruti's True Value give guarantees on cars sold by them, which eliminates any risk element.
The whole process of buying used cars needs a lot of time and perseverance, so be prepared to do a thorough research. The best bet is to look for something almost new-two years or younger. You could get a real good deal because there are plenty of car owners who don't want to be seen in a 'yesterday's model'. Such a car needs less expenditure on repairs and maintenance as compared to older cars .Follow all the guidelines and tips before driving the car of your dreams.

Ashish.K

I would try to rate the said cars by you in the categories stated.

Value of Money (We are talking about the features)
-Maruti SX4
-Chevrolet Aveo
-Hyundai Verna

Logical (We are considering after-sales support and spares costs)
-Chevrolet Aveo
-Maruti SX4
-Hyundai Verna

Technical (We are talking about technical advancement of engines)
All are more less semi-luxury cars so one cannot expect some serious stunning running performances from said cars.

Friendly Advice
-Maruti SX4 (For Maruti's Trust and overall value for money package)
-Chevrolet Aveo (Go for "LS" version only, one with ABS as additional package. Their 3 year "Peace of mind service package" is something remarkable)
-Hyundai Verna (State of art Hyundai after-sales service support, brilliant verna interiors)

If money is not a big constraint and you are looking at Sedan Section, i would advice you to look at Toyota Corolla or Chevrolet Optra. At 8-8.5 Lakh on road these are sedans one can swear upon.


Cheers

Ashish.K

As a rule of thumb, one should not trust any after market service technician over the companies reliability even though the technician is company certified. Reason being the QC measures adopted by company are very strict and result in a quality product only. However, the QC standards at the technicians workshop is still questionable. Consumer court and online petition website are full of some of such horrible experience and still no one to take the responsibility.