Ajay Wali
The national green tribunal woke up one fine morning in 2017 and banned all the ten year old diesel and 15 year old petrol vehicles in New Delhi and adjoining cities, the car makers’ lobby seemed to be the usual suspect behind the macabre decision. Cut back to 2018 now and with fuel prices rising plus a new launch every month by the car manufacturers who are desperately trying to out do each other with some new model launches every month, it is time to buy a pre-owned car and there is no better time than right now.
I am a big advocate of used cars because of the sheer variety , whatever the budget you have for a pre owned car the choice of models will be at least thrice that of new cars at the same price point.
Used cars are not only cheaper to buy but they are also cheaper to own as you already bought a depreciating asset , irrespective of the price brand a pre owned car at the same price as that of a new one would be bigger , faster, safer have more add kit and technology simply because a used car is generally from a segment or two higher than a new car at the same price point , compare a 2018 Rapid to a 2013 Skoda Octavia or a 2016 Toyota Etios to a 2013 Toyota Corolla, or a 2018 Scorpio to a much beefier 2013 Scorpio and you will get what I am talking about
Now if you are in the market for a family car with a budget of 3.5 lacs all you can do is to dream on , however you can buy a 2011 Honda City with 2 airbags or a pre-owned i20 with six airbags, a 9 lac new swift desire won’t protect you much in a crash but your odds of getting away unharmed greatly increase in a pre-owned 7 lac VW Jetta which has an impeccable safety record in comparison.
Another example would be that of the Civic 2012 model and the Verna 2015. Both of these are still quite safe and spacious if we go by the current standards in comparison to the slew of new sedans that are available in the market at this time.
Used cars are better today than they have ever been . The competence levels , quality and durability of new cars is ever increasing and this has a direct affect on the used car market. A 3 year old fluidic Verna is far more an impressive sedan and gives you better value for your money.
When you buy a new car you are paying 100 percent of the price of a car that has 100 percent of its life left , sounds like an even deal to me, on the other hand when I bought my Pajero I paid 50 percent for a Mitsubishi that had 95 percent of it’s life left. Now who is wiser , in other words 50 percent of the price got me 90 percent of the utility.
In the end you can buy a safer pre owned car or a untested ‘Tin Can’ with a higher budget , the choice is yours.
(The writer can be reached on waliajay1@gmail.com and news@paigaam.in )
