2 min readChandigarhMay 5, 2014 04:48 AM IST
First published on: May 5, 2014 at 04:48 AM IST
High-end cars at Car Bazaar in Sector 7, Chandigarh, on Sunday. (Jasbir Malhi)
Shyna Kalra
It is the mid-segment cars that find ready buyers in the second-hand car market in the city. On average, 200 to 250 second-hand cars are sold every Sunday. Due to its good quality roads and comparatively better infrastructure than neighbouring states, Chandigarh serves as a wider market for the car buyers from Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh.
Dealers maintain that 40 per cent buyers are from Punjab, and 25 each from Haryana and Himachal. Only 10 per cent are from the city.
Gulshan Kumar, president of the Car Dealers’ Association, said, “Customers from Punjab are the biggest buyers the city dealers have.
Chandigarh residents prefer new cars and hence constitute a smaller market. People in the city prefer small cars because of safety and security, and Maruti is still the most trusted brand. We have cars starting from Rs 1 lakh, and the price goes up to Rs 8 to 9 lakh for the bigger cars.”
Rupinder Bir Singh, chairman, Chandigarh Car Bazaar Association, said: “People prefer cars which fall in the range of Rs 3-4 lakh. There are less buyers who opt for luxury cars due to excessive expenditure on their maintenance.”
Within the range of Rs 1 to 1.5 lakh, one can get Alto, Maruti 800, or Santro, while for Rs 2 lakh, one can buy a Maruti Swift. But buyers from Punjab prefer bigger vehicles like Cruze, Desire, Verna and Honda City.
“Since diesel cars suffer more wear and tear, petrol cars are preferred in the second-hand car market,” said Kumar.
He said that sales were negligible on weekdays and picked up on Sunday when the market was set up in Sector 7. “We are 43 dealers and on average each of us sells four or five cars on Sundays,” Kumar said.
The second-hand scooter market, however, is selling 60 to 70 vehciles weekly. Bullet and Activa remain evergreen while R15, Yamaha FZ and 100 cc Splendor are also doing good business. The two-wheeled rides range from Rs 15,000 to Rs 1 lakh per vehicle.
High-end cars at Car Bazaar in Sector 7, Chandigarh, on Sunday. (Jasbir Malhi)
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