No fuel to overage vehicles rule spurs rise in queries for buying second-hand cars from Delhi

Companies involved in the sale of second-hand cars saw a rise in queries on the first three days of the fuel ban on overage vehicles, with customers from other parts of the country inquiring about getting cars from Delhi at throwaway prices.

The 'no fuel' to end-of-life vehicles kicked in on July 1, but within three days the Delhi government urged the Centre's air quality panel to suspend the directive and said it will make "all-out efforts" to resolve issues related to restrictions on the movement of end-of-life vehicles on city roads.

Delhi Environment Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa, in a letter to Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) chairman Rajesh Verma, said the fuel ban was not feasible and could not be implemented due to technological challenges.

However, between 1 July and 3 July, companies handled multiple queries from customers looking to dispose of their vehicles.

"We observed a 25 per cent increase in leads related to such vehicles based on a three-day comparison around the ban period," said Hanish Yadav, senior vice president and business head, Spinny.

Amit Malhotra, proprietor of United Cars India in CR Park, said they received 10 times more queries regarding second-hand cars, especially from South India.

"We get three to four queries on a daily basis. But in the lead-up to the ban, we were receiving nearly 50 calls, a majority from south India, who thought they would be able to buy vehicles at cheaper prices," he added.

Last week, Chamber of Trade and Industry (CTI) said prices of second-hand cars in the national capital had witnessed a sharp fall with traders reporting a decline of 40 to 50 per cent.

CTI chairman Brijesh Goyal said the market for overage vehicles in Delhi has been severely affected, with nearly 60 lakh vehicles impacted by the sudden downturn.

Vikram Chopra, founder & CEO, CARS24, said if a diesel vehicle is over 10 years old or a petrol vehicle is over 15 years old, and its fitness certificate has expired, it will be automatically deregistered.

The legal option is to scrap it since the registration certificate cannot be transferred.