The 6E Rule of Car Purchase

For anyone purchasing a car and wanting to make a well informed decision, there are essentially ONLY 6 key parameters to look at when buying a car.

Ensure Safety

It is imperative to select the car with the right safety features, featuring airbags, crash avoidance system, traction control systems, cruise control, auto emergency braking, etc. There are close to 30 of these must haves, every buyer who values his life more than the money saved from a cheaper car should look at.

Ease of Comfort

Lets analyse a typical successful office goer in India.

Works for 8 hours, drives to & fro for 2 hours, sleeps for 7 hours, eats for 2 hours and relaxes for 5 hours for leisure.

What will you do to increase your leisure by 40%?

Change your CAR and change your perspective. Make that driving time your leisure time!

Expend less on Mileage

Go Green, not only to save the planet, but save money for yourself. The colour of money will always be green.

Evade Maintenance

Maintenance is NOT about money, it is about reliability. It is about TRUSTING your car to not let you down when you need it most and avoid the trip to the garage, the haggling with the mechanic, hailing the common man taxi for your commute!

Express your Elan

Don't just "Wear your style", "Drive it as well". Your car is a reflection of your personality and you will be judged by what carries you around.

Estimate your Smart Price

You never just buy a car, you buy the safety, you buy the comforts, and you buy the looks. If all you want is to get from Point A to Point B get an Uber.

Visit JaanCar and follow the 6E rule to purchase your next beauty.

Buying a Used Car - Do's & Checks - Part 3

Another set of checks, starts with the interiors of the car. Make sure the interiors are clean and not torn/ stained. Many people slap on a set of cheap seat covers to cover tears/burns/stains and you don’t want to have a nasty surprise once you've bought the car. Cars with their original seats are the best. Also the seat wear is another way to determine the use of the car. Overly used seats and a low mileage is another sign of odometer tampering.

While you are looking at the engine bay, here are a few other things to take a look at:

Oil stains - It could mean that a gasket is busted which could entail some expensive repairs.

Soft/cracked hose pipes, Rust are all bad signs.

Check the engine oil. It shouldn't be black and smell burnt. Especially if the car looks really great on the outside, this is another sign of the car being cosmetically done up for sale while hiding bigger problems which will surface later in your ownership.

Now take the car for the test drive. Check for weird sounds. And when you brake, there shouldn't be a grinding sound as feedback from the brakes. This means the brake pads are worn out and again, another repair is required.

If the car is spewing any smoke even just at start-up, it means there is a problem with the combustion and is usually expensive to repair. Walk away for such a car.

A trick I have noticed that car salesmen do is they turn on the music and AC immediately once you get into the car. The music covers the sounds and with the AC on, you are preoccupied by checking the cooling and almost NEVER turn it off during the test drive, (because let’s face it – it’s always so hot, why would you!!??) this helps in concealing the weird sounds. Do a couple of U-turns, at slow speeds, any sounds from the suspension is a sign of wear or worse still – repair required)

Once the car has passed these series of tests and you are satisfied with the car, it’s time to try and negotiate on the price, and that is another article altogether.

Once you've settled on the price. It’s time to pay up and take home your new car.

Finding a car that passes all these checks is or course an ordeal, and well begun is half done, and choosing the right website is just the right kind of start. Check out JaanCar, and start looking for your dream car.

Part 3 of 3.

Buying a Used Car - Do's & Checks - Part 2

Now that you know the car that you are looking for and the approximate price you should pay, it’s time to look for your future car.

In the earlier days, I would go and meet the mechanics in my neighbourhood and tell them what I was looking for and they would put the word out and try and find something for me. Today, all I need to do is go and look up on a used car website and there are usually quite a few listings of the car that you are looking for.

The next thing you do is short-list the cars that you like based on colour, usage, price etc. and get in touch with the sellers. You can send them a message through the website or call them based on how they have chosen to be contacted.

Now remember – a thorough inspection of the car is a must. Don’t simply go on looks.

The best way to go about it is to ask your local mechanic to come along and help you inspect the car.

The most basic things to check on the outside are repainted surfaces and uneven gaps in the body panels. This almost certainly means the car has had an accident as the repair garages in most cases aren't able to align the body parts exactly like how it was when it was originally fitted. The gaps on the sides of the hood or trunk are the most telltale. If the gaps on both sides are not the same. You need to be careful.

Most city cars have their bumpers repainted due to scratches from bikes, other vehicles etc so that is acceptable, a car with original paint and a few scratches is still the best option because you know this is exactly the condition of the car and not a “done up for sale car”

JaanCar

Now pop the hood and the trunk. Check the crash beams behind the bumpers. These should not be bent or dented. This would mean the car has been involved in an accident and has been repaired. Check the seals on the insides of the bonnet and trunk edge. If the seals are original, it means that the car has not had any repairs done to the bodywork, another good sign.

One of the first things is do is check the tyres and then the odometer. The tyre wear should match the mileage. For example a car which is showing 30k kms should not have new tyres because you usually change the tyres at 50k kms conversely a car which shows 30k kms shouldn’t have completely worn tyres. This is another sign of odometer tampering, which is a very common problem in used cars and another deterrent to the uninitiated. 

More checks coming soon - Part 2 of 3

Buying a Used Car - Do's & Checks

Buying a used car in India can be daunting. I should know, all the cars I have bought till date have been used ones and if I were to be totally honest, I am not at all averse to the experience.

Now I do have friends who will only, and I mean only buy new cars. I have asked them often enough why they wouldn't consider a used one and they always say – they don’t want to take the risk. Of buying a lemon and then being stuck with expensive repairs.

Now this got me thinking, I have an equal number of friends who are totally OK with buying used cars. But at some point have also bought new cars. 

On further investigation, I found that it’s not just an economical reason (although that does have a major factor to play in the decision – most of the people who only bought new cars were the ones with deep pockets – where a used car was just down market and not something they would ever consider because of their social standing) but sometimes just lack of ability to buy a good used car and fear of being cheated (most people would rather pay sticker price where they are sure they are paying the same price as everyone else rather that have to negotiate where they have no idea what the real value of the car is) that deters people from the used car market.

Today, this seems to have changed. A lot more people have a good disposable income and are craving the good life – having a car is one of those things that equate you with the status of having arrived (or at least it used to).

Now how does one go about buying a used car without making the common mistakes that those used car salesman are just waiting for.

First of all, you need to research what car you are looking for or which car fits your needs.

There should be a check-list where you put down what you want in a car, and select different variables/parameters, that you are looking for and the algorithm churns out the best option to suit you.

Things to Consider:

• Price Range
• Brand, Model & Year of Make
• Purpose of the Purchase

For example, if you drive in the city during the week but  like to go out on long weekend drives  or have a vacation home outside the city then you should consider a mini SUV s as the roads outside the city can be quite bad for at least 6 months of the year (monsoons till about spring) but if you  are looking only at a second car which is for running around the city then a hatchback might be the right buy (you have the options of the premium hatchbacks as well as the non-premium hatchback) Now if you have a chauffeur and only cruise around the city – a used luxury sedan might be something you could consider.

Once you've short listed the type of car you are in the market for, you should research what it costs used. Reference prices are available freely on used car websites, but ensure to double check these prices with your local mechanic.

Now that you know the car that you are looking for and the approximate price you should pay, it’s time to look for your future car. 

And you don't need to look too far to find a car that fits your needs, with the number of websites that are online today, all that you could possibly need can be found. All you need to do is look around and find a website that can be trusted. Check out JaanCar, to find a car that suits your needs.

www.JaanCar.com

PART 1 of 3

You are NOT the car you drive. Hell yes! However, you WILL be judged by the car you drive.

Is buying used car the new smart choice!

So if you can afford an 18L used car which will allow you to carry the look of a 30L, as compared to brand new 18L car, what is the right choice? Go for the bigger one. Make the right judgement, because others DON’T.

If you are anything like me, you will pet your car, moon over your car, ensure no scratches on your car; basically be excited about your NEW car for 3 months to 6 months; before the girlfriend starts feeling like a wife.

And again if you are anything like me, you like that spark, that feeling of newness, that feeling of excitement, gives life a new spin.

But it’s NOT just that, Research shows that people who opt for a USED Luxury Car as compared to a NEW luxury car saves on an average save INR 5.08 Cr over a lifetime! ‘Itne mein to note se bani car aa jaye!’

An average person buys around 11 cars over a lifetime from the age of 25 to 75, every 5 years. A used car on an average is 40% cheaper as compared to a brand new virgin car, and the frequency of purchase shoots up to maybe a 4 years instead of 5 years, allowing you the NEW car feel that many more times.  A 30L new car vis-à-vis an 18L used car of the same quality saves 5Cr!

Dimaag ki batti jalao! Paisa Bachao!

Lastly, for me it actually goes beyond just the excitement and the money saved.

In today’s modern day and age, would any smart person reject a really adorable and sexy woman as your partner, just because she's had another man in her life before.  Why should it be different for a car!

If you love cars, then look for your true love, a pre owned car just might be it.

Check out JaanCar and look for your true love.