Top tips to sell your old Swift
The Maruti Swift was a game changer for the home grown car manufacturer. Launched in 2005, right on the heels of its Japanese launch, the car has been doing phenomenal business since then. The vehicle was given a facelift in 2014 although not much has been altered in the overall design. A couple of elements have been added on the outside and inside for a fresher appeal. The car has sold 1.3 million units since it was introduced in the Indian market.
The car did brisk business for a good 7-8 years since it was launched because it was the only car in its class that offered good fuel efficiency, great looks and sure performance. As a matter of fact, the vehicle was the first one to have introduced the premium hatchback segment in the Indian market. It set a benchmark for the B+ segment hatchback. Prior to 2014, the car had received major changes in 2011. On an average, Maruti Suzuki manages to sell around 15,000 Swift vehicles in a month.
The vehicle is available in both diesel and petrol trains. The petrol engine is a 1.2 litres one while the diesel one is 1.3 litres. The petrol engine produces a torque of 114Nm while the power produced is 85 bhp. The diesel train produces a torque of 190 Nm and power of 74 bhp. Both the engines are hooked to a 5 speed manual gearbox. The company has slated to introduce an AMT engine too for the Swift in 2015, which would make it highly competitive in the segment.
The car has several competitors in the market now- Nissan Micra, Renault Pulse and Hyundai Grand i10 which has made Maruti introduce better technology to stay abreast of the competition. The former two cars have been introduced with revise structures and designs as their first editions failed to make a mark.
For a new Maruti Suzuki Swift, the price payable ranges from Rs 4.42 to 6.95 lakh ex-showroom. For the top diesel train, the amount can shoot up to Rs 7.5 lakh on road. The amount is quite high and several aspirants cannot go for it. Therefore, the demand for the Maruti Swift is quite high in the secondary market. Most of the buyers opt for the vehicle because of the quality make which they know shall be retained in pre-owned models too. The cost of a Maruti Swift in the second hand market is around Rs 4.5 to 5 lakh, if it is less than 5 years old. For vehicles that have been in circulation for the past seven to eight years, the amount lowers to Rs 3.5 lakh or so. Because the car is still in circulation and is popular in the new cars market, realizing a good price for it in the second hand market is possible, even if the car has been driven around extensively.
If you want to sell your old Swift, then you can have a good amount for it. Selling your car by yourself is a better proposition because you get to retain the selling amount for yourself. Research has shown that there is a difference of 15 percent almost between the amounts realized through an individual sell and one that was conducted through a dealer.
To sell your old Swift at a good price, here are a few tips that you can try out:
- Have all papers in order. A car with all papers in order (tax payment, registration, maintenance book, smart card and pollution clearance certificate) shall attract higher buyer interest. If you do not have a pollution certificate or if yours is older than 6 months, then you can get it done at a local petrol pump.
- Pricing your car right- Quick sales are possible only when the pricing is right. While pricing your car, you should set aside your emotions and think practically, from the point of view of the buyer. You may feel the car deserves a high price, but a buyer may find faults with the vehicle and pay less. Before quoting a price, make use of Maximum Selling Price calculators available on websites like Quikr. By making use of details like numbers of years in circulation, model, engine and the kilometres travelled, the feature shall provide you the asking price of the vehicle. You can keep a margin to accommodate buyers who want to negotiate on the price.
- Posting an ad on online classifieds. These websites offer high visibility to your product and bring customers from all quarters. Uploading an ad takes minutes and can be done for free. You can select the city and locality you are from, add details about the car and upload several pictures for buyers to assess the condition of the car. Include positives about your car such as maintained well and owner driven (if you have indeed been the driver of the vehicle) and other details to attract buyers.
Being accommodating towards buyers shall bring in better response. Since buyers shall be investing a lot of money, they would want to verify the quality of the car. Some of them may want to test drive the car while others would want to get it inspected by mechanics. As a seller, it is your duty to oblige. You can be around for the test drive and while the mechanic comes around to test the car.
Accepting a small deposit of Rs 7000 to 10000 as expression of buyer’s intention to purchase the car is normal. However, you should let the buyer know that you are not liable to keep the vehicle out of public view if the buyer fails to complete the transaction in 10 days or so. Depending upon your inclination, you can refund or forfeit the deposit.
The numbers of takers for the Maruti Swift is very high and selling your car would not take much time. Provided you have priced your car right, being flooded with offers is nothing unlikely.
