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WHEELER DEALER

Budget woes

Think the budget benefited small car buyers in a big way? Not really. While small car prices did come down from last month, with banks hiking the interest rate on auto loans by two percent, the total benefit to the customer has been lost. A two per cent increase for a small car on a Rs 3 lakh principal over a five-year period would increase the equated monthly instalments by about Rs 300 - an extra Rs 18,000 over a total 5-year repayment term. Needless to say, this amount will be much higher if you are planning to buy a bigger car. Some companies have also removed cash discounts and free insurance schemes, thus eroding the larger benefit to the customer.

Ashish Masih

Sweeter Swift

With increased production, the Swift has been readily available for some time now. Also with the budget offering benefit to small cars and the rival Getz becoming cheaper, Maruti has decided to offer a discount on the Swift as a pre-emptive measure. And although its only in the form of free genuine accessories, dealers are ready to slash prices in case you don't want these freebies.

The deal: Rs. 15,000 cash discount (Rs 12,000 from Maruti in the form of accessories plus Rs 3,000 from the dealer) + Rs 15,000 exchange bonus + a 5 per cent loan payoff.

Cheap Camry

This fifth generation car, which will soon be replaced with the new model is available cheaper. This means a Rs 1.5 lakh dealer discount + 5 percent off on loan amount. Dealers are readily offering discounts in excess of a lakh on the Camry. If you decide to get your current car exchanged at a dealer and do some sweet-talking, you could even get a two-lakh rupee discount on the Camry. And although it might not be in production anymore, the difference in price (with the discount) against the new model (priced almost one and a half lakh rupees higher) comes to almost three lakh rupees.

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