The Deal That Was...

Twenty years back I bought a Maruti 800CC which adorned our place for almost ten years. Some day, I decided to sell it off to upgrade my vehicle by buying a 1000CC car. The plan was to simultaneously sell my existing car and buy the desired one. There was nothing like an online portal to support me to execute this transaction, back then. I was confined to my locality's people, local car brokers and probably a small advertisement in the city newspaper. I started announcing my plan to everyone I was meeting those days – in the market, at my wokplace, on the way and wherever possible. The purpose was to know if someone was interested in buying my car, with the specs it offered or if someone was interested in selling his existing car matching my requirements. This did not help much.

Talking to local car brokers raised my hope to some extent. The guys were, though, more interested in the model I wanted to buy rather than showing a similar enthusiasm for selling my car. I realized they were boasting of a one-sided zeal in their business. Most of them offered lucrative deals for selling one of the cars they had with them by indicating that those were the best cars they had. Well maintained, single person driven, offering the best price and mileage, thereby turning out to be the best deal for me, on the overall. It was also said that these best vehicles would not remain with them for long, as they were selling lioke hot cakes. I was prompted to decide quickly and buy one of those cars by paying them the best price, which they were supposedly offering exclusively for me.

In lieu, I could transfer my existing vehicle in their custody, and as and when it was sold off, I would be paid the quoted amount as per mutual decisions. Nobody was sure by when, and also if I would be able to get the exact amount which I had quoted. All of it looked dicey and fake to me. The third option of placing a advertisement in the local newspaper fetched not even a single response. Finally, it turned out to be a very unsatisfying deal when I had to buy the car I wanted, at an exorbitantly extrapolated price and my existing car was sold at a much lower price than what I had in mind. Overall it was a win – lose game where the broker won by making money from both the deals, and I lost, as I paid higher prices in buying and received a very low price in selling the vehicle. Later, I identified that the car I had bought was not what I was promised, inside out. There were many shortfalls in the car, which were very smartly hidden at the time of the final deal, may be because I trusted the seller and broker.

How I wished for a neat and fair place where people like me could personally meet people with similar interests and make the deal without an intermediary like a dealer, minting money from both ends! Probably, the Almighty granted my wish and materialised it though, a bit late, in the shape of Quikr NXT. This is an online portal where I am now going to sell my existing hatchback and go for a sedan. I am hundred percent sure that it will be best of the deals, where both

sides will be winning.

~~~ 

This post has been written as a part of Indi Happy Hours' #QuikrNXT in association with Quikr and IndiBlogger.