How to drive a good bargain

Looking to change your car? Now, is a good time if you want to get a good deal and save yourself a packet. Substantial end-of-year discounts are normally on offer at this time. But you do need to consider the impact purchasing a car at the end of the calendar year can have on its resale value. What’s on offer? Since the model year comes to an end in December, dealers and manufacturers are offering substantial discounts to achieve the lowest stock by the year-end before the new models hit the market in the new year. Manufacturers also put pressure on dealers to empty their stock as the lesser the stock, the easier it becomes to make way for new models. So you must drive a hard bargain. These discounts and schemes vary according to models, market perceptions and market demand. In general, greater the stock with a dealer, the higher is the discount. Traditionally, festive seasons like Dussera and Diwali are peak periods for discounts. According to analysts, December discounts could sometimes be better than Diwali offers but it all depends on the stock carried by them. Besides discounts, buyers can also claim depreciation for 180 days, giving them tax savings to that extent. In addition to regular discounts, most dealers dole out at least 3% discounts on the ex-showroom price. These differ from city to city. Hyundai, for example, is offering a discount of Rs 12,500 combined with free insurance and a gift amount of Rs 10,000 totalling up to Rs 34,800 on Santro. It is also offering similar schemes of up to Rs 41,600 and Rs 73,200 on Getz and Accent CRDi, respectively. Some companies like Honda do not offer discounts. “As a policy, we do not give discounts on our products because they reduce the resale value of the car. This is also one of the reasons for the best resale value of Honda cars in the market,” says Honda Siel Cars India assistant manager marketing Saba Khan. Maruti and Tata Motors have also not officially introduced any schemes this year but their dealers are offering various discounts. Some major discounts offered by Maruti dealers in Mumbai include free insurance, free extended third year warranty and a gift cheque of Rs 4,501 for Maruti 800; free extended third year warranty and gift cheque of Rs 15,000 for Alto, and gift cheque of Rs 12,000 on outright payment for Swift and free extended third year warranty and gift cheque of Rs 21,000 on finance schemes for Swift. Fiat Palio dealers in Mumbai are offering a hefty discount of Rs 75,000.