Resale value comparison: Used Maruti Wagon-R vs Hyundai Santro

The Maruti Wagon-R and Hyundai Santro used to compete aggressively with each other when they were launched. The Santro is a few years older to the Wagon-R, but is still selling pretty well even now. If you are looking to buy a used Maruti Wagon-R or Hyundai Santro, or planning on selling your Wagon-R or Santro, here’s a look at how the resale value of both these cars holds up.

We take a look at the prices across three cities for the Maruti Wagon-R and Hyundai Santro and average them out for each model year, to see what kind of resale value these cars fetch. Among new cars, the Maruti Wagon-R currently sells more than twice what the Hyundai Santro sells, but a few years ago, the Hyundai Santro was neck and neck with the Maruti Wagon-R, until the introduction of the Hyundai i10, which split its sales.

Prices of used Maruti Wagon-R

The Maruti Wagon-R has undergone a few facelifts over the years. It was first launched with a 1.1 litre four-cylinder petrol engine. In 2010, it was given a makeover and re-launched with a 1-litre three cylinder petrol engine and all-new design. The older Maruti Wagon-R though continues to fetch good resale value in the market. In fact, some 2002-2003 models sell for as much as models a few years later, despite having done over 100,000 km. Interestingly, the largest numbers of cars on sale, listed on the Internet, were of the 2007 and 2008 models. Buyers checklist for used Maruti Wagon-R

Maruti Wagon-R resale values

2000-2001: Rs. 88,000 – 1.01 lakh

2002-2003: Rs. 1.20 lakh – Rs. 1.30 lakh

2004-2005: Rs. 1.60 lakh – Rs. 1.70 lakh

2006-2007: Rs. 1.93 lakh – Rs. 2.30 lakh

2008-2009: Rs. 2.40 lakh – Rs. 2.76 lakh

2010-2011: Rs. 2.87 lakh – Rs. 3.53 lakh

Prices of used Hyundai Santro

The Hyundai Santro, was first launched with a 1-litre four-cylinder engine in 1998, which was replaced in 2001 with a 1.1 litre engine that continues even now, with a few tweaks to the tuning. The shape of the car too has undergone a few facelifts along the way, but the basic body shell has remained the same. The car continues to sell well in tier two cities, despite new cars from Hyundai eating into both ends of its market share – the Hyundai i10 at the top end and the Hyundai Eon at the lower end. From 2003, after the introduction of the Santro Xing facelift, the resale value of the Santro has increased considerably. Used Hyundai Santro buyers checklist

Resale value of Hyundai Santro

2000-2001: Rs. 83,000 – Rs. 96,000

2002-2003: Rs. 1.07 lakh – Rs. 1.38 lakh

2004-2005: Rs. 1.66 lakh – Rs. 1.76 lakh

2006-2007: Rs. 1.96 lakh – Rs. 2.12 lakh

2008-2009: Rs. 2.50 lakh – Rs. 2.62 lakh

2010-2011: Rs. 2.76 lakh – Rs. 3.13 lakh

The Hyundai Santro of 2004-2006 models held their resale value pretty well. In fact, those earlier models of the Hyundai Santro had a better resale value than the Maruti Wagon-R. However, post 2007 onward, the resale value of the Hyundai Santro has been lower on two counts – one, the number of models of the Santro were reduced and two, the Hyundai i10’s introduction scuttled the resale value of the Hyundai Santro. The Maruti Wagon-R of the later years has better resale value than the Santro, while among Wagon-R’s too the 2003-2004 models hold their resale value pretty well.