December Car Discounts! Are they any good?

There are many a times that a car dealer will all of a sudden offer you a great deal. If in November, he was offering you a deal for worth Rs 10,000 on a particular model and if he jumps the amount to about Rs 1 lakh or close, then you need to happy and cautious. It can be a genuine sale and the dealer might be wanting to get ride of his stock. But there are probabilities that the dealer could have goofed up somewhere. We will go on it case by case and then come to conclusions.

It has old date of manufacturing

The first case is that the model you are looking for isn’t in much demand. Something like a Linea or even a Chevrolet Cruze, then the chances of it being that the vehicle hasn’t been sold and the dealer is looking at clearing his stock. In this case, it is advisable to push the dealer for a further discount if he isn’t flexible with colour or variant options. Check on the year of manufacturing of the vehicle, most of the times it would have been six to 10 months old stock at least. If its older, push for a higher discount — if you are serious of the model.

If the vehicle has been in demand like the new DZire, Ecosport 2017 or even the Nexon, then you need to check on some aspects. Usually in these case, what you can at the most get is free insurance, or lower interest rates or something around that. There could be some car colours or variants that aren’t sold and the dealer might want you to buy it and liquidate this cash. But these instances are limited and the discount isn’t very high. If the dealer is giving a major discount on a high selling model, then there could be something fishy.

If the vehicle has been in stock for a long time, like 8-10 months at least. The lubricants, rubbers and bearing need service to make them fresh and new again.

Also Read: How to save your car in Rains

Inspect The Vehicle

The biggest ground rule is: Never accept the delivery in the late evening. Check the vehicle’s month and manufacturing year. Take a close look at the vehicle. If the vehicle is in stock ask for an inspection from the dealer. Check if the model will get a facelift or any upgrade anytime soon.

Check the following:

Exteriors

• Body – paint mismatches, dimples, waviness in panel surface, uneven panel gaps, repaint marks/stains on rubber biddings, etc., any kind of bulges on the rubber biddings, rust marks on the panel edges
• Paint – loss of gloss due to clear coat deterioration
• Rubber parts – wiper blades, door biddings & window sills
• Tyres – should be fresh without any signs of usage, no thin crack lines
• Battery condition – check for too many scratch marks or any salt deposits on the terminals
• Cabling in the engine bay – cracks/brittle? Marks of a rat nibble
• Foam insulations under the bonnet – hard or powdery?
• Fluid levels – engine oil, coolant, power steering oil, etc.

Interiors

• Odometer reading, should be under 50km usually, but shouldn’t be in hundreds as that can mean a possibility of car been used for Test Drive purpose in the past
• Check for stains on the seat fabrics, driver side carpet condition
• Particularly for coastal cities – remove the mats & check carpet condition for any sort of dampness/signs of water logging in the past
• No tell-tale warning sign like check engine light should be there. Display of regular oil & battery lights is nothing to worry about
• Crank the engine to check for smooth starting
• Check AC cooling – to rule out a possibility of gas leakage

Always verify the month and year of manufacturing of the vehicle. Warranty needs to be on from the date of delivery of the vehicle only. As an advise, get a first full service done for your vehicle before prescribed schedule to be safer. If any doubts, do not refrain to check from the dealer.

Will it affect you in resale?

Let’s assume if you buy a 2017 model of a model that in high demand, then in that case it will not really affect as there will be a good demand in the market for resale too. If its an old model. For instance, say X is the product that isn’t in good demand in the market and is priced at Rs 10 lakhs. Every year the depreciation is about 10-20% for cars. So, the new price for this vehicle should be about Rs 8-9 lakhs. So, ideally you should ask the dealer to offer you at this price or wait for the new model year. In most cases, dealers will not budge initially but later on they will if you stick to it.

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