Ex-showroom vs on-road price: what you actually pay
The number on the brochure is not the number you'll pay. The gap between ex-showroom and on-road can be well over a lakh — here's every line in it, and which parts you can question.
The lines that make up on-road
On-road price is ex-showroom plus four things: road tax (a percentage set by your state, often the biggest add-on), registration and the RTO fee, motor insurance for the first year, and dealer charges such as handling or a fastag. Some dealers also slip in accessories or an 'extended warranty' as if they were compulsory. They aren't.
The first two — road tax and registration — are genuinely fixed. The rest is where your attention earns its keep.
Where dealers make their margin
Insurance is the big one. A dealer earns commission on the policy they sell you, so they'll quote the most expensive comprehensive cover with every add-on switched on. You're free to buy insurance elsewhere, or to strip the add-ons you don't need — ask for the policy's breakup and decide line by line.
'Handling' or 'logistics' charges are the other soft spot. Ask what the charge is for; often it evaporates, or becomes negotiable, the moment you question it in writing.
How to get an honest number
Ask for the full on-road breakup, in writing, before you pay the booking amount. A clean quote lists ex-showroom, road tax, registration, insurance (itemised) and any dealer charges separately. If a dealer gives you only a single 'on-road' figure and resists itemising it, that's your signal to push.
Compare that written quote against what the car costs on-road in a neighbouring city or dealership — the ex-showroom is the same, so any difference is in the add-ons.
What we'd do
We'd take the written breakup, accept road tax and registration as fixed, shop the insurance separately or strip its add-ons, and question every 'handling' line. On a car near ₹10 lakh ex-showroom, that discipline routinely saves ₹15,000-30,000 for ten minutes of reading.
Send us the quote you've been given and we'll tell you which lines are real, which are soft, and what the honest on-road number should be in your city.
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