A new segment of 7-seaters could  change public transport

Veeresh Malik

Every month, a seven-seater in the below four-metre vehicles appears to be launched. The latest is the Mahindra Quanto, preceded by the Maruti Suzuki Ertiga and a few others—all look like hatchbacks with raised suspensions and slightly bigger wheels.

While the issue of the last row of seats is open to debate on the subject of safety, the fact is that these movers can qualify as quasi-public transport for people, especially in parts of the country not well served by public transport. The commuters will be willing to shell out a little extra, especially when the only other modes of transport are crowded buses or over-crowded mini-vans converted to double-deck passenger applications.
This is good thinking on the part of some manufacturers who seem to have their finger on the pulse of what people want rather than what they would like to design and sell. Put it this way—the cost of owning and operating is almost the same as that of a driver+ three or four passenger taxi, but the earning capability is driver+ six passengers.

If only a motor-cycle manufacturer could improve on the design of the three-wheeler motorcycle-based ‘vans’, seen in eastern India and work on making that product for India, too, especially for areas where bigger wheel sizes are required and where mini-vans with their four small wheels don’t do a good job of tackling the uneven terrain!

High Security Number Plates: Number plates

High security number plates (HSNP), or rather the lack of cogent progress on them, in many parts of the country, are back in the news. Here, in Delhi and Haryana, buyers of new vehicles are facing a triple whammy.

Firstly, consumers pay anything from Rs400 onwards, for an old-style ‘ordinary’ number plate. Secondly, they pay for the HSNP which then does not arrive for weeks. Thirdly, as if this were not enough, the authorities then hold the threat of prosecution for not fixing the HSNP.

Simple question: Why release a motor vehicle from a dealer’s premises if it has not been fitted with the HSNP, in the first case?

Incidentally, according to someone who did manage an HSNP registration plate (in Uttarakhand) the ‘indestructible’ hologram literally vanished after a few weeks of the car being parked in the open, as a possible result of the combined effect of the monsoon, sun and cleaning.

Second-Hand Market: Overpriced cars

This was always known and spoken about, but the numbers are now really becoming extremely significant. Second-hand cars, bought in metro cities usually for a pittance, are touched up and resold at much higher prices in smaller towns. A 50% differential in basic cars—of 6- to 10-year kind—was considered fair.

But this is changing rapidly as there are reports of sellers achieving double or even more. One example is of a 10-year old Ford Ikon, bought for Rs35,000, in Delhi earlier this year, fetching Rs1,10,000 in Goa a few months later, after all the formalities were completed.
It may make a lot of sense to plan your holidays, especially to your ‘native place’, taking an older car along, ensuring that all documentation is in order, placing the car on any of the free websites dealing in such transactions and then selling it.

Or, this could be a business model for the used car section which many manufacturers are now looking at for salvation. Every which way, arbitrage on second-hand car prices is an art form and is in vogue.

Corruption: Inter-state vehicle transfers

The transaction costs and complicated documentation for inter-state transfers of personal motor vehicles have become even more absurd of late, with reports of people in transit to other states being asked to prove their vehicle’s bona fides else they would have their original registration certificates or documents seized. The bigger issue is corruption on our roads. The simple truth is that most people would prefer to settle matters instead of going into litigation, especially when away from home.

Those who are actually using out-of-state registration vehicles will happily contest issues, because they are already living there. While those who are really in transit will have no option but to either ‘negotiate’ their way out, or spend valuable time and energy slogging it out with the authorities.

It is not as though transferring a vehicle from one state to the other is a simple affair. For starters, you can say goodbye to the ‘lifetime tax’ paid in the original state of registration, unless you have very strong ‘connections’ there. Secondly, there are all these ‘no objection certificates’ (NOCs) which need to be secured and there is no clarity on their validity and the issue of the regional language they are printed in. Finally, as though all this were not enough, there are the confusing Bharat Stage (pollution) requirements.
Nothing is going to change unless we as consumers make a noise about this.

Auto Maintenance: Savvy independent garages

There is a very rapid change taking place in the Indian world of automobile maintenance and much of this is happening away from metro cities. This involves a spurt in the skill sets and deliverables from independent garages, ranging from a small set-up working from under a tree or in a backyard, to proper garages maintained by entrepreneurs.

This column has already written about how spare parts, genuine and otherwise, domestic and imported, are easily sourced by these independent garages at prices well below those charged by the authorised garages. It is rumoured that vehicle manufacturers are quietly leaking the software for diagnostics, upgrades and ongoing tweaks, without any charge, which is a good thing. Advanced manuals have been available on the Internet for some time coupled with discussion groups on issues providing all the information required. An Internet-savvy and self-driven mechanic, working on his own, will perform way better than any company-trained employee.

If your vehicle is out of warranty then it is certainly a very good idea to look around for entrepreneur-owned independent garages and make friends with them. This is any day better than the attitude and huge bills you will get from the so-called ‘authorised’ workshops. This has been said before, but has never been more urgent, the way repair prices are going up. It is also important to figure out which manufacturers are encouraging independent garages —and the latest sales figures give a solid hint. The next logical step will be increased ‘Do-it–Yourself’ (DIY) work from home.

With post-sales service and other issues cropping up with regular frequency, manufacturer-dealer relationships appear to be going for a bit of a toss lately; and the sufferer is the customer, generally. Mercedes-Benz—Cama Motors in Ahmedabad, Porsche (VW group)—Shreyans Motors in Mumbai and, now, a similar issue between BMW and one of their major dealers with multi-locations too.

It is high time high-value transactions, often exceeding a crore of rupees, were made directly between manufacturers and customers. Would we pay a dealer for real estate, or would we pay the builder or previous owner?  If legislation does not step in here with necessary action, then buyers will remember the episode of Maruti Udyog Ltd and Classic Motors in the mid-1980s.

Veeresh Malik started and sold a couple of companies, is now back to his first love—writing. He is also involved actively in helping small and midsize family-run businesses re-invent themselves.