Hi,
Owning a car is every man’s dream and for a middle class person this is a once in a lifetime dream come true.
With secondhand/used cars becoming available more freely and at budget prices v/s a new car.
I started my hunt for a good used car at the car dealers available in the city(Mumbai) with a budget hovering around 1L.
I visited Visit AutomartIndia(now First Choice Wheels) Goregaon(W) showroom and saw "refurbished" cars a plenty.
The sales person "Danish" suggested that I go for the best budget car avl. with them, a "refurbished & certified" Tata Indica Lxi model @ 1.35L .
Test drive was OK & things that I found wanting were listed to be corrected before deliver, token given.
Post payment, PDI of the car was not done as the car delivery was delayed for no odd reason, I had to run to complete their paper work.
Car developed problems ever since it left their showroom apart from a shocking mileage of 5 kmpl!
The car was lying with their service dept for a good 15 days post delivery for various niggles. but in vain.
Service dept was prompt is telling me that it was a used/secondhand car and prone to failure against a new car(it was no longer refurbished or as new)!
Service warranty provided is just namesake and even escalating it to their mgmt(Nitin/Shah) did not help matters.
Infact, Mr. Shah their Service Head informed me that niggles with secondhand cars are expected as we should be prepared to spend if we need a good car & maintain it as new!
Further, the service dept. says that they DO NOT perform any mechanical denting/painting job on the cars they have, but one look at their garage and you will be amazed at the "mechanical" makeover they give to old cars.
I suggest you Do Not fall for their claims and fall prey to their gimmicks(used cars are rotated betn their showrooms across Mumnai and shown as new inventory!).
The refurbished/certified car the Co. claims during sales, becomes a secondhand/used car once you purchase it.
I ended up facing silencer, alternator, electrical wiring. horn replacement in less than 6 mnths that I bought the car, aprt from it being a fuel guzzler(a white elephant would come cheaper!).
White collar cheats would be an apt description for AutomartIndia/First Choice Wheels and are no good than other roadside used car dealers.
I suggest you refrain from falling prey to their glitzy advertisement & air cooled showrooms housing not so good cars & avoid wasting your hard earned money & peace of mind.
Buying a car from a known resource is advisable and cheaper:).
God Bless.