: Phase-II of the odd-even scheme and the AAP government’s proposal to make it permanent, appears to have provided a fillip to the used car market in the Capital as many try to find loopholes to bypass the scheme’s restrictions. .
Nitin Arora, a 28-year-old resident of Noida, which neighbours “odd-even Delhi”, says that when he went to pick up his new car — which had a temporary odd-numbered plate — he was told of a way to side-step the road-rationing scheme if he was willing to spend an extra Rs. 8,000
“They asked me how often I visited Delhi. I said everyday because I work there,” the private executive said.
The dealer then told Mr. Arora that he wanted him to “be able to make full use” of his new car. The dealer told Mr. Arora that for a little over Rs. 7,000, he could get him in touch with “a guy” who knew “people at the authority”.
As long as he wasn’t picky about “anything else other than an even number” for his number plate, Mr. Arora was told that for an additional Rs. 100 he could get a pair of new plates bearing “official vehicular registration”.
“If I went ahead, I would have two technically bona fide registration numbers with official documentation for both; all I needed was to calmly produce these in the event I got stopped,” Mr. Arora said.
The Noida resident was, however, also told that this couldn’t be a permanent solution since the temporary number was only valid for a month. If you believe used car dealers, there have been a distinct spike in the sale of used cars.
“We have seen an increase of about 15 per cent in sale of used cars in the last one week or so. People enquire about the availability of cars with particular licence plates that they want,” said Sanjeev Juneja, owner of Car Bazar in Phase III, Ashok Vihar.
Although many, it seems, are planning to buy a used car to beat the odd-even scheme, they are not particularly going for the cheapest ones available in the market for a solution.
“The average price of cars that people are going for is Rs. two lakh. This is because they are not purchasing it just for a period of 15 days and in case the odd-even scheme doesn't become a permanent feature, they could get a decent resale value on the car also,” said Rahul Rawat, owner of Auto Home, Karol Bagh.
“The demand has gone up by about 20 per cent and the people who are purchasing used cars now are doing so because of the odd-even scheme. Those who can afford a second car are doing so because they want the convenience of a car,” Mr. Rawat said.
