Toyota U Trust Experience: Putting your trust in used cars

We are all aware of the fact that India is a growing automotive industry. Our new car sales are at an all time high. More and more people are buying new cars today than ever before in India. At the same time, there is an used car industry, which is even larger than the new car industry. To put matters into perspective, for every 100 new cars sold, there are about 120 used cars exchanging hands in India.

The used car market in India is currently about 1.2 times the size of the new car market. And, this is expected to grow manifold in the coming years. To give you an idea, a developed market like the US, has a used car market which is 3 times the size of new car market. The same growth rate is expected of the used car market in India in coming years.

Unlike developed markets, our used car market is not an organized sector. Here, used cars are not given an equal status as a new car. Majority of our used car market is run by e-commerce sites and local dealers.

Dealers take huge commissions, and offer 100% guarantee about the car when they are selling it to a buyer. And when problems start, they are often nowhere to be seen, or difficult to reach, and you are left on your own.

But there is hope. With demand for used cars growing exponentially, there are a few brands which are working diligently in making this unorganized sector an organized one, and give used car customers a hassle free experience. One such brand is Toyota U Trust.

Launched in 2007, by Toyota Kirloskar Motors Ltd, U Trust is a certified used car program which offers good quality pre owned cars without any hassle to the customer. Currently, they are offering certified used cars, with over 90 outlets across India.

With used cars being such an integral part of the auto industry, Rushlane decided to pay a visit to a U Trust outlet to understand their operations, and how they offer the best service to customers.

At 10 AM we were at the Nippon Toyota dealership in Kochi. We soon reached the 6th floor, where the U Trust showroom is located. Toyota official Mr Jayan received us, and took us to the customer lounge where we were offered snacks and tea. After a few minutes, we got talking and Mr Jayan began explaining the functionality of Toyota U Trust.

U Trust not only sells certified used cars, but they also purchase used cars, and exchange used cars. Most importantly, they deal in all brands of cars. So at a Toyota U Trust, you can sell / buy / exchange any car.

To explain the purchase process, Mr Jayan takes us to the ‘Valuation Area.’ Here trained technicians perform a 203 checkpoint test on all the customer cars, which are sent in. The test includes checking a car for exterior damages, engine performance, any damage in vehicle frame,interiors and overall vehicle performance.

After the checkpoints test is completed, based on a thorough evaluation, a car is rated by technicians. This rating, along with data like kms done, manufacturing year, model details, engine type, etc, is fed into Toyota U Trust app. This smart app then gives an estimated value of your car. If the customer is happy, the amount is given to the customer. Yes. You do not have to worry about the hassles of paper work. U Trust will take care of required paperwork related to transferring ownership, etc. In addition to this, customers also get loyalty benefits or exchange bonus. They can use this to either buy any of their certified used cars or a new car.

Once Toyota U Trust purchases a car from a customer, this car then goes in for required repairs to make it a Toyota U Trust worthy car. At this point, I asked Mr Jayan , where do you carry out the repairs related to body damage, paint damage, etc? He smiles, and answers – All is done here itself. I was surprised. He confirms, it’s all taken care of in-house.

We soon head to the 3rd floor. Here, the company houses a state of the art workshop manned by trained Toyota technicians working on multiple bays. There are 27 such bays inside the workshop. There are special zones to speedily fix minor, and major repairs.

At the workshop, all Periodic Maintenance and General Service is carried out by experienced and trained Toyota technicians with genuine parts for Toyota vehicles.

The 2nd floor houses a body and paint shop. In here all jobs related to denting, painting and parts replacement are completed. That is how U trust maintains quality, and add more years to vehicle life. Right from fixing your car’s bumper for a minor scratch, to colouring your car new, everything is done here professionally.

By the time we were done with the tour of the body and paint shop, it was time for lunch. There is a designated lunch area where all employees sit and eat. We head here, and continue our detailed discussion over lunch.

By the time we finished lunch, it was 3 PM. Mr Jayan now takes us back to the 6th floor where he shows us the U Trust showroom. Unlike other used car showrooms, this one was maintained just like a new car showroom. It had a customer waiting area with sofas, TVs.

After viewing certified U Trust cars, it was difficult to believe that these were not new cars, and were actually old and used cars. This is the result of 203 point check and thorough work done by technicians in fixing every small detail.

In spite of being old, body and paint of the cars were in excellent condition. So were the interiors, which were polished and vacuum-cleaned. But how was it to drive, we asked Mr Jayan?

To answer our question, he offered us a key of a certified used car. The car we drove was a 2015 model Innova, which was driven for about 45,000 kms. After a short test drive, we found it difficult to believe that an used car can be just like a new car to drive as well as looks – and not to forget, is available at a fraction of a cost of a new car.

Toyota U Trust is confident of the quality of the cars they sell and do offer them with an unmatched warranty of up to 2 years or 30,000 kms. This is applicable at any of the Toyota outlet across India. Along with this they also offer upto 3 free services, and 2 free checkups.

To make the buying experience hassle free, Toyota U Trust has also tied up with various financiers to give best finance scheme options with attractive interest rates. Not only this. They will take care of all paperwork too. Right from providing a recorded full service history for Toyota vehicles you are buying to transferring the car in your name – you will have all the details.

When you compare the disadvantages of buying a regular used car with the advantages of buying a certified used car from Toyota U Trust, you will realize that the money you spend brings with complete peace of mind if anything was to go wrong with your used car purchase. This is not true when you buy a car from a local dealer or from an online site.

After spending a day at Toyota U Trust, and understanding their procedure, I am convinced that Toyota Utrust is the best place to buy, sell or exchange an used car.

If you cannot see the video above, click here to watch it on YouTube.

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