Old gold: Bengalureans buying Delhi cars

Premium vehicles in the national capital nearing scrap vintage are going cheap

A growing number of Bengalureans are buying premium pre-owned cars from Delhi, attracted by lower prices.

Delhi is strictly implementing a vehicle scrapping policy, which means diesel vehicles older than 10 years and petrol vehicles older than 15 years can’t be driven there. Owners are selling cars nearing the scrappage deadline.

A network of auto consultants is facilitating the transactions. Many of them advertise on social media.

Anil Bidahas, Bengalurean movie producer, bought a Mahindra Rexton RX7, a 2013 model priced at about Rs 20 lakh when it was launched, for Rs 4.5 lakh.

He paid Rs 20,000 for transport, besides lifetime tax (18% of depreciated value of the car), all of which added up to about Rs 1.5 lakh.

Sanjith MA, a used car dealer, has invested in a fleet of second-hand Skodas and Mahindras from Delhi. He is confident about finding takers in Bengaluru. The Delhi government, grappling with extreme levels of pollution, has a zero-tolerance policy.

“Even after transportation and road tax, the total cost is much lower than what you would pay if you bought a car in Bengaluru,” says Bidahas.

Cars are being seized and scrapped in Delhi. So it is smarter for owners to sell their vehicles to places where the scrapping policy hasn’t kicked in, he explains. Prakhyat H Shirole, a Bengalurú-based used car dealer, agrees.

“Since the policy was announced in 2021, we have seen an increase in pre-owned vehicles being bought from Delhi. I know of other dealers who have bought cars cheap.”

He believes the policy will be revoked after three to four years, because “by then, all vehicles will have only petrol or BS6 engines.”

According to Sanjith, people are buying premium cars as the difference in price is higher. “When it comes to budget and non-premium models, the difference is negligible. So it is not worth all the trouble,” he says.

Ramesh V P, regional transport officer, says Delhi cars are trickling in for registration.