Chennai: Sulekha.com, one of India’s leading players in Local and Social Commerce, Online and on Mobile, today announced the results of a study undertaken on the Used Car Market in India. This study—a first-of-its-kind analysis of Used Car Buyer behaviour—has been conducted using Sulekha.com’s database of over 94,000+ automobiles listed on its site between January and October 2010.

The focus of the study has been restricted to small cars. The study covers the Used Car Market in New Delhi/NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Cochin and Kolkata.

Key interesting findings:

•             Buying a 3-year old Maruti Alto/Hyundai Santro/Tata Indica and selling it two years later results in an average cost of just Rs 50,000, across all cities.

•             Used Car Buyers are saving between 25% and 50% by buying 3-year old models.

•             Buying from individual car owners as opposed to dealers, results in an additional 5% to 10% savings for Used Car Buyers.

•             Delhi/NCR buyers get good prices across most small car models, while other cities pay a minor premium of 3% to 5%.

While the savings obtained by Used Car Buyers is fairly uniform across all major metropolitan cities, there are some minor differences in the local market dynamics:

•             Altos are least priced in Delhi and Gurgaon

•             Santros are least priced in Kolkata and Chennai

•             Indicas are least priced in Mumbai and Delhi/NCR

A comparison across these 3 popular entry-level models of Maruti, Hyundai and Tata shows that:

•             2-year old models yield a cost saving of 18% to 35%.

•             4-year old models yield a cost saving of 33% to 55%.

•             6-year old models yield a cost saving of 45% to 62%.

Commenting on the study and analysis, Satya Prabhakar, CEO, Sulekha.com, said, “There has been a tremendous increase in Used Car listings by individuals and dealers, this year. Today, roughly 10-12% of all used cars in any city are listed by users and dealers on Sulekha.com. This rich and growing database inspired us to undertake this study on the Used Car Market across India. Sulekha.com is intensely focusing on providing hyperlocal services and studying such local and social commerce trends helps us get closer to our customers. Going by pointers in this study, Used Car Buyers can easily save Rs 50,000 to 2.5 lakh.”
Going forward, Sulekha.com plans to study the niche market domains of pre-owned bikes, premium cars and rare model antique cars.