Used cars gone in a Nano second

People are so smitten with the Tata Nano that several are paying more than the original price to buy a second hand car

Used cars gone in a Nano second

People are so smitten with the Tata Nano that several are u00a0u00a0paying more than the original price to buy a second hand car

Buying a second hand car is always a cheaper option. But that doesn't hold true any more in these days of the Tata Nano.

Several people who were allotted the car in a lucky draw in August have been demanding much higher rates for the car and there are others who are willing to pay more.

G Dasgupta from New Delhi was allotted a mid-level version of the Nano in August at a cost of Rs 1.67 lakh.

The car's charm wore off soon enough and Dasgupta found a willing and generous buyer in Gurgaon-based car dealer Sandeep Sachdeva, who bought it for Rs 1.72 lakh.
u00a0
"Mujhe gaadi acchi nahin lagi," said Dasgupta.

Sachdeva, meanwhile, has already found a new buyer, who'll pay Rs 1.8 lakh for the Nano. "I got a better
deal because I am a car dealer. It took me no time to sell it," he said.

Selling allotments

Another resident of Delhi, Mamta Jarwal, wants to sell her high-end Nano that she purchased for Rs 1.8 lakh. "People have been regularly coming to my house asking if I want to sell my car.
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There are plenty of offers that will ensure I make a profit, but I want to sell my Nano for nothing less than Rs 2.5 lakh," said Jarwal, who already has four cars.

Umang Kumar from Gaadi.com, a website that deals in used cars, believes people are taking advantage of the fact that the Nano is in demand.

"Once the market is flooded with Nanos, the novelty factor won't be there any more and so people will not agree to pay so much for a second hand car," he said.

The demand is so high that Kolkata resident Manish Poddar wants to sell his allotment, which is due in October 2010. "I have paid Rs 1.4 lakh for the allotment and already have an offer of Rs 1.9 lakh," he said.

Jan 2010
First set of 1,00,000 owners in the final list of 2,06,703 applicants will have possession of the car by this time

The Other Side

Debashish Ray, Tata Motors spokesperson, said, "This has nothing to do with Tata Motors. After the allotment, the car is a personal property and they are free to sell it at any rate.

Tata Motors has already given allotment of one lakh cars. After they are all delivered, the car will be available in the showroom where it can be bought directly."

Remember Maruti 800?

The Maruti 800, costing around Rs 45,000 when it was launched in 1984, created records for car sales in India. The first year it sold 22,000 units and within four years it had crossed the one lakh mark.

Ranchi resident Anil Kumar, who purchased a second hand Maruti 800 in 1984, said, "I paid Rs 5,000 more to buy a used car, as its owner didn't want it anymore."

Rs 45,000
The cost of Maruti 800 when it was launched in 1984