On exchange day you are two people at once — the seller of one car and the buyer of another. The colours below tell you which one each check is protecting.
Count them as you go: six checks are green. Only one is indigo. That is not an accident — the buying side is the one you were already going to bargain hard for. The selling side is the one nobody prepares for, and it is where the quiet money goes.
What is my car honestly worth, before anyone with a stake speaks?
DoCheck your car's fair value on AutoKnowMus — at home, tonight. It takes minutes.
Can I see the SUV's price and my car's price separately?
Say"Two prices, please." You cannot judge a price you are not shown.
Is this money from the carmaker, from the dealer — or from my own car's price?
Ask1. "Who pays this bonus — carmaker or dealer?" · 2. "Is it printed in your public advertisement, or only spoken here?" · 3. "Is it already inside the price you quoted for my car, or on top of it?" · 4. "What is the SUV's price if I do not exchange at all?"
NoteA carmaker's bonus is often genuine — they pay to keep you inside their brand and to bring your old car back into their own network. Same brand as before? Also ask: "Is there a loyalty benefit, separate from the exchange bonus? If not, why not?"
What is this convenience actually costing me?
DoWork it out in the box just below — fair value minus their price for your car.
NoteThat figure is your own note, not part of any dealer paper. It simply makes the invisible visible, so the choice stays yours.
Type both amounts. Nothing is sent anywhere — this stays on your phone.
What do I repay in total — not per month?
AskFull on-road price, total repayment across the whole loan, total interest — all three in writing.
What would selling it myself cost me in evenings and weekends?
DoGuess the hours a private sale will take — photos, calls, test drives, paperwork. Put a value on one hour of your time. The box below does the rest.
Most private sales take somewhere between 8 and 20 hours, spread over a few weekends.
Would this offer survive one night's sleep?
Spot it"Offer valid only today." · "Last unit in this colour." · "Price goes up next week." · "Another customer is coming at five."
DoSleep on it. A real offer is still real tomorrow morning.
What price do two other dealers give for the same car?
DoVisit two or three. Describe your car the same honest way each time. Ask each for the two prices separately. Write them side by side.
NoteTheir offers will differ. Your car's fair value will not. That difference teaches you, free of cost, how much of each offer is the car — and how much is the dealer.
Who moves the RC out of my name, by when — and which day do I give my car away?
Say"Who files it, by when, and what proof will I get — in writing, please."
NoteHandover = the day your car leaves you. Don't give it away weeks before your SUV arrives: you'll be without a car in between, and until the RC leaves your name, every challan is still yours.
How does the bank's name come off my RC — and where does that show in the deal?
LookOpen your RC card, or the mParivahan app. A line reading "Hypothecated to" or "Financer" with a bank's name means the loan is still attached to your car.
Ask"Who pays the remaining balance, who collects the bank's NOC and Form 35, and when does the bank's name come off the RC?" Truly closed = NOC received + Form 35 filed at the RTO + name gone.