The centres include Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Baroda, Calcutta, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Delhi, Ludhiana, Mumbai and other cities. The purpose of this extensive nationwide research was to understand the car dealership, customer preferences and provide an authentic point of reference for determining a suitable price while purchasing or selling a car.

A press release issued here states that till recently, if one had to buy or sell a second hand car, one would probably meet the neighborhood dealer to find a buyer. The dealer, while working on a commission basis, would try to get the best possible margin for himself. The buyer and seller would neither meet each other or be aware of the history of the car. Also, the dealer would not let either party know the actual price beingtransacted and make money on the same.

Kotak, through its efforts, plans to put the interests of the customer first. The idea is to get the possible price for the buyer and also maintain transparency in operation. Kotak, the release adds, has also felt the need for maintaining a database on second hand car prices as this has been one segment of the car financing business that has been ignored by the organised players so far, despite tremendous potential for growth in this segment. With the entry of specialised foreign players in the Indian car market, second hand car prices are expected to become attractive to customers.

In this second hand business, now dominated by grey operators, customers do not have reliable information on product prices. Organised players are just starting to show their presence in this segment. It has been difficult to penetrate this stronghold of the grey market players as putting a fair and standard price on a second hand car is a debatable issue.

Following research conductedin this area, certain standard parameters have been identified from which one can get a general idea of the value of a second hand car. Some of these include the history of the car, its condition at the time of sale/purchase, extent of use, year of manufacture, number of owners etc.