Mercedes SUV, Bought At 84 Lakh, Sold At 2.5 Lakh Due To Delhi's Old Vehicle Policy!
Delhi is tightening its policy grips on vehicle owners. The government is determined to wipe off old vehicles from the city. The new rule that came into effect on July 1, 2025, forces residents to sell off their old cars and SUVs, irrespective of how treasured these vehicles are, making many owners suffer huge losses in such trades. The other option is to scrap these.
What Is The New Rule?
The rule states that diesel vehicles which are ten years of age or older and petrol vehicle which are atleast 15 years old, will no longer be provided fuel from fuel stations across Delhi. This leaves owners with no choice but to sell these off at extremely low prices.
With this move, the government aims to bring down the place's vehicular pollution. It follows an order by the Air Quality Management Commission (CAQM). It has rendered thousands of vehicles unusable and unsellable.
Owner Sells Mercedes ML350 At 2.5 Lakh
A Mercedes Benz owner has now revealed that he was forced to sell his prized possession- an ML350 which he had bought for 84 lakh rupees in 2015- for as little as Rs 2.5 lakh in 2025! The affected in this case is Varun Vij, a resident of Delhi. He also mentions that parting with the car took an emotional toll on him and his family.
Vij says that the Mercedes Benz SUV was in excellent condition and had over 1.35 lakh kilometres on its odometer. The family had been using it extensively for their commutes.
He says that despite being a luxury SUV, the ML250 demanded minimal maintenance- mostly tyre replacement and periodic services. He even recounts all the sweet memories the family had with the vehicle.
Vij said that despite its dirt-cheap price, he struggled to sell the ML 250. He half-jokingly says that nobody was willing to spend even 2.5 lakh rupees on it. Clearly, the new policy has spread panic among Delhi-ites looking to sell their vehicles.
More About The ML250
Mercedes Benz launched the ML 250 CDi in India on October 10, 2012. Back then, it had an ex-showroom price of Rs 46.5 lakh, and was the first M-Class to be assembled here. It was 10+ lakh cheaper than the 350 CDI variant. Its key rivals here included the BMW X3 and Audi Q5.
The ML250 had a 204bhp 2.2L twin-turbo diesel engine, under its hood. This turbo-four cylinder came from the E250 CDI and C250 CDI which were already on sale.
Vij Bought An EV!
Vij has decided to stick to the government's sustainability vision and has invested Rs 62 lakh in a new electric vehicle (EV). He intends to future-proof his mobility with this move. "This time, I want to drive the car for at least 20 years—unless another policy change comes,” he said with a smile.
Vij further says that he has received a lot of calls from other car owners after the rule came into effect. They sought his advice on selling their now-unusable vehicles, including luxury cars and SUVs.
Distress selling is now soaring and the pre-owned luxury car market across the country is expected to witness the effects of this soon.
Source: News 18
Delhi Man: 'Forced To Sell Range Rover For Peanuts'
Here's another case of distress-selling from Delhi. Ritesh Gandotra says he had to sell his Range Rover Evoque at an unfairly low price, due to Delhi's new "end of life" (EoL) vehicle policy. His SUV was 8-year-old and had a diesel engine.
It, he says, was parked for around two years during Covid, and had just 74,000 km on its odometer. Gandotra says that the SUV was well-maintained. He had bought it for Rs 55 lakh in 2018, and ended up selling it to buyers outside, at a throwaway price due to the fuel ban.