Why is Car Buying Still so Stressful in India?
A car is not just your partner on the roads, but is your companion on journeys undertaken and the memories made therein. In fact, philosophical as it may sound, there is a car for every age- beginning from your first job to the one that is part of the post-retirement plans! However, before we can get all romantic about cars, you have to first tend to the very practical need of buying one.
While buying a car can be an enriching and fulfilling experience, it is by default a complex one. Consider this- in the pre-liberalization era the maximum choices that car buyers were faced with included Ambassador and Fiat, and yes, Maruti 800 during the later years. And as the things stood back then, these automobile giants didn’t really have much to offer in terms of innovation. Fast forward to 2018, well, you know how crazy it is! Long story cut short, you have to wade your way through multiple automobile giants, ever increasing tech innovations, varied price ranges etc. before you decide to buy The (most) Suitable Car for you.
Buying a car in the Indian context becomes even more stressful as a car here usually entails emotional value. So, along with tending to the practical issues of price range, fuel economy and performance, resale value, etc., you have to give due consideration to your and your family’s aspirations.
Perils of Buying Your Car from Showrooms:
The car buying exercise can become much more taxing if you decide to follow the traditional route and opt for a physical showroom. For one, visiting showrooms is an extremely time consuming exercise as compared to browsing through the online stores. Furthermore, at the car showroom, you are completely at the mercy of the dealer and his knowledge about the products. This severely limits your capacity to make an informed decision. You see, Ignorance is NO bliss here! To make matters worse, at showrooms, you have to indulge in price haggling and face the typical “let me talk to my manager’ games by the salespersons.
Please understand there is seriously no point in sticking to the BSNL landline, hoping for Game of Thrones to be premiered on Doordarshan, and still buying cars from physical showrooms!
Online Car Stores: The Way to Go
Contrary to the showrooms, buying cars online offers a hassle- free experience. Shopping for a car online allows you to gather and compare information regarding various models from multiple sources. You get to compare the prices, features, technology, performance etc. of different car models from the comfort of your home. Furthermore, the online medium also helps you to go through the “expert reviews” of all the cars that are available in the market. Reading these can prove to be a pretty useful trick in helping you choose the best car for you.
Additionally, online car stores often provide discount deals which are better than the showroom prices. In fact, online stores cater to your car buying needs with a 360 degree approach. Their ‘end to end solution’ model ensures that you not only get your car at the best price, but also get adequate assistance in related services like car finance, leasing and insurance. In a nutshell, buying a car online not only saves your time, but it offers you convenience, better prices and a great deal of variety to choose from.
In fact, due to its inherent advantages, online car buying has caught up with the Indian public in a big way. In a survey conducted by Accenture, 84 percent of the respondents said they preferred to buy their cars from online stores.
While a car may manifest ease, it conveys achievements, accomplishments, adventure and much more. That Indians love their cars is borne by the fact that we have become the fourth largest automobile market in the world outpacing Germany- the great cathedral of the automobile industry! Since buying a car is both an emotional and calculative decision, we’d suggest you chose the intelligent way to make it and shop online.
