Insurance
What is IDV in car insurance?
IDV (Insured Declared Value) is the maximum amount your insurer will pay if your car is stolen or completely written off. It's set at renewal each year — starting at roughly the ex…
How is car insurance premium calculated in India?
Your car insurance premium has two parts stitched together: a statutory third-party premium (set by IRDAI, based on engine CC, and identical across all insurers for the same CC ban…
Third-party vs comprehensive car insurance — which do you need?
Third-party-only insurance is legally mandatory in India — it covers damage or injury you cause to other people and their property, nothing else. Comprehensive (also called package…
What is NCB (No Claim Bonus) in car insurance?
NCB (No Claim Bonus) is a discount your insurer gives you on the own-damage portion of next year's premium, as a reward for not making a claim in the current year. It starts at 20%…
Pricing
Fuel
Petrol vs diesel vs CNG vs EV — which is cheapest to run in India?
At 2026 Indian pricing and typical owner usage (12,000-15,000 km/year), CNG is the cheapest fuel per kilometre (~₹3.2/km), followed by EV home-charged (~₹1.3/km), diesel (~₹5/km), …
ARAI mileage vs real-world mileage — why the gap?
ARAI (Automotive Research Association of India) mileage is the fuel-economy figure tested in a controlled lab environment under a standardised driving cycle. Real-world mileage — w…
Ownership
When should you sell your old car?
The financially optimal hold period for most Indian private car owners is 5 to 7 years — long enough to amortise the steep first-year depreciation, short enough to sell while the c…
Manual vs automatic transmission — which should you buy?
Manuals (MT) are ₹70,000-1,50,000 cheaper at purchase, give 5-10% better real-world mileage, and cost less to maintain long-term. Automatics (AMT, CVT, DCT, torque-converter) remov…
How often should you service your car?
Most Indian passenger cars should be serviced every 10,000 km or once a year, whichever comes first — this is the manufacturer-recommended baseline and is the interval required to …