Ten cars accounted for over 1.8 lakh sales in a single month. If you are taking delivery of one of them, these are the checks I would not skip.
This is not a list of faults these cars have. It is a list of where I would spend my time on each one, and why.
How to read this page
I want to be straight about what this is built on, because it changes how much weight you should put on it.
The inspection notes below come from two places. The first is what our own customers tell us after they have run a PDI on their car. The second is time we have spent with these vehicles ourselves. It is a small base, not a statistical study, and I am not going to dress it up as one.
It is not a defect rate. Nobody publishes that data and anybody claiming to have it for the Indian market is guessing.
What it is: a shortlist of where attention pays off on each model, so you spend your twenty minutes in the delivery bay well.
One more thing worth saying plainly, because no page selling an inspection product ever says it. Most new cars are fine. The majority of people who buy our blueprint find nothing serious. They still tell us it was worth the money, and the reason is not that they caught a defect. It is that they signed the papers knowing rather than hoping.
And about Maruti Suzuki appearing six times
Six of the ten cars below are Maruti Suzuki. That is because Maruti sells six of the ten best-selling cars in India, not because Maruti builds worse ones. Reports track volume. A brand that delivers three times as many cars will generate three times as many reports of anything, good or bad.
If you read this page as a league table of build quality, you have read it wrong, and I would rather say so up front than let the arithmetic do something unfair.
India’s ten best-selling cars, August 2026
| # | Model | Units | Where I’d look first |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tata Punch | 21,320 | Panel gaps, paint, stock age, VIN match |
| 2 | Maruti Suzuki Wagon R | 20,180 | Paint scratches, surface corrosion |
| 3 | Maruti Suzuki Swift | 19,832 | Interior trim scuffs, paint |
| 4 | Maruti Suzuki Fronx | 18,730 | Air conditioning performance |
| 5 | Maruti Suzuki Ertiga | 18,516 | Paint shade across panels |
| 6 | Tata Nexon | 18,431 | Panel gaps, infotainment, interior fitment |
| 7 | Maruti Suzuki Dzire | 18,418 | Tyres, including the spare |
| 8 | Hyundai Creta | 16,288 | Body scratches, surface corrosion |
| 9 | Maruti Suzuki Baleno | 15,746 | Swirl marks in the clear coat |
| 10 | Mahindra Scorpio N and Classic | 15,576 | Fluid levels, engine bay hoses |
Tata Punch PDI: what to check
The Punch is now India’s best-selling car, and its volume nearly doubled year on year. That growth is the reason it heads this list, and it is also the reason a few of these checks matter more than they would on a slower-selling model.
When a factory and a dealer network scale that fast, cars spend longer in stockyards waiting for allocation and get moved around more. So on a Punch PDI I would start with stock age. Read the manufacture date off the driver’s door jamb sticker and compare it to today. Then read the four-digit DOT code on the tyre sidewalls, where the first two digits are the week and the last two the year. A small gap is normal. A large one tells you the car has been sitting.
Panel gaps are the second thing. The test is not whether a gap exists, because every car has tolerances. It is whether the gap on one side matches the same gap on the other. Bonnet to fender, both sides. Tailgate to quarter panel, both sides. Asymmetry is the signal, not the gap itself.
Third, paint, in daylight and at an angle rather than under showroom lighting. And fourth, the one that is quick and non-negotiable: check the chassis number stamped on the car against the tax invoice, Form 21, Form 22 and the insurance policy. All four. A mismatch on any of them is a delivery blocker, and it is far easier to solve before registration than after.
Our Tata PDI Master Blueprint covers the Punch and Nexon with the checkpoints specific to both.
Maruti Suzuki Wagon R PDI: what to check
The Wagon R sells in enormous numbers to buyers who are often taking delivery of their first new car, which is exactly the situation where a rushed handover goes unchallenged.
Focus on paint. Walk the car in daylight, crouch to sight along each panel, and use the fingernail test on anything you find. If your nail catches the mark, it is through the clear coat and it needs the body shop, not a polish. If it does not catch, it is almost certainly swirl marks from a dirty wash cloth and it will buff out.
On corrosion, be careful about what you are actually looking at, because this is where buyers panic unnecessarily. A light orange film on the brake discs is completely normal on any car that has sat outdoors after rain, and it wears off within a few kilometres of driving. That is not rust in the sense that matters.
What does matter is surface corrosion on unpainted brackets under the bonnet, along the underbody, on the exhaust hangers, or anywhere inside the door shuts. That points to the car having sat outside for a long time, and it is worth raising before you sign rather than after.
Maruti Suzuki Swift PDI: what to check
The Swift is the one where I would spend disproportionate time inside the car rather than around it.
Interior trim scuffs happen during PDI prep and accessory fitment at the dealership, not at the factory. Someone installs a reverse camera, a seat cover, floor mats or a music system, and a screwdriver or a belt buckle catches a door card or a pillar trim on the way out. It is nobody’s malice, and it is very easy to miss because your eyes are on the paint.
Check the door card surfaces at knee height, the B-pillar trims, the sill scuff plates, and the plastic around the gear lever. Sit in every seat, including the rear. Run a hand along the headliner edges.
Then do the paint walk as above. And check that everything you were billed for is actually fitted and is the part you paid for, not a cheaper equivalent.
Our Maruti Suzuki PDI Master Blueprint covers the Swift, Wagon R, Fronx, Ertiga, Dzire and Baleno.
Maruti Suzuki Fronx PDI: what to check
The Fronx is the one where I would insist on a proper air conditioning test, and I would insist on doing it badly on purpose.
Most delivery bays are shaded, cool and indoors, which is the easiest possible environment for an AC system and tells you almost nothing. Ask to have the car moved into the sun. Let it sit closed for ten minutes. Then start it and run the AC at idle, not while driving, because airflow at speed masks a weak system.
What you are looking for: how long until the centre vents blow properly cold, whether all vents cool evenly, whether the rear vents work if the variant has them, and whether cooling holds at idle in traffic rather than only at speed.
Clear water dripping under the passenger side afterwards is condensate and is entirely normal. Anything coloured or oily is not.
If cooling is weak, do not accept a promise to check it at first service. AC diagnosis needs gauges and a technician, and that means the service department, not the sales floor.
Maruti Suzuki Ertiga PDI: what to check
The Ertiga is a family car bought by people who will keep it a long time, which makes paint consistency worth more than it sounds.
Look at paint shade across panels in daylight, at an angle, sighting along the length of the car rather than square on. Compare each door to the one behind it, and both front fenders to the bonnet. Metallic and pearl finishes are where a mismatch will show, and a body panel that has been refinished after transit damage will rarely be a perfect match.
A mismatch does not automatically mean something is wrong. It does mean you should ask the question, and ask for the answer in writing whichever way it goes. Section 2(11) of the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 expressly includes deliberately withholding relevant information from a consumer within the definition of deficiency in service.
Given the Ertiga’s job, also check all three rows properly. Fold and unfold the third row. Check every seatbelt including the middle ones. Confirm the rear AC vents blow.
Tata Nexon PDI: what to check
The Nexon needs both an exterior pass and a proper electronics pass, which most buyers skip because it takes patience.
On the outside, panel gaps using the symmetry test described under the Punch. Inside, interior panel fitment: press along the dashboard edges, the door card seams and the centre console for anything that flexes, creaks or sits proud of the panel beside it.
Then give the infotainment real time, because a two-minute look will not find anything. Pair your phone properly and make a call. Play audio through Bluetooth and through the cable. Test Android Auto or CarPlay with your own cable, not the showroom’s. Reverse the car and watch the camera, checking for lag, flicker or dropout. Cycle through every screen. Then switch the car off, lock it, wait, and start it again to see whether the system boots cleanly.
An infotainment fault at delivery is worth taking seriously because software issues are the hardest thing to prove later. A unit that misbehaved once in the delivery bay and behaves perfectly at the service centre is a frustrating dispute to be in.
Maruti Suzuki Dzire PDI: what to check
Tyres, and all five of them.
Check each sidewall for cuts, gouges or bulges. A bulge means internal structural damage and it cannot be repaired. Kerbing damage from a stockyard shunt often shows on one wheel only, so look at all four rather than assuming.
Read the DOT code on each tyre and check they roughly match each other and the car’s manufacture date. Tyres from noticeably different weeks on the same new car suggests one has already been swapped.
Then open the boot and check the spare, which almost nobody does. Confirm it is there, confirm it is inflated, and read its DOT code too. Also confirm the jack and wheel spanner are present, because discovering they are missing on a highway at night is a bad way to find out.
Tyre pressure being low across the board is normal and not worth a fuss. Sidewall damage is a different category and needs replacement before you take the car, with the new tyre fitted while you watch.
Hyundai Creta PDI: what to check
The Creta has been the default midsize SUV in India for years, and high demand means units get moved between stockyards and sometimes between dealers to fill an allocation. More movement means more handling.
So: paint, thoroughly and in daylight, with the fingernail test on anything you find. Pay attention to the lower door edges, the bumper corners and the roof, which are the areas that pick up marks during loading and unloading and the areas buyers forget to look at.
On corrosion, the same distinction as the Wagon R. Surface film on brake discs is normal and irrelevant. Corrosion on unpainted brackets, in door shuts, under the bonnet lip or along the underbody is a sign the car has been standing outdoors for a while, and it is worth asking how long.
Given the Creta’s feature count, also budget time for the sunroof, the ADAS warnings if your variant has them, and every button on the steering wheel.
Our Hyundai PDI Master Blueprint covers the Creta along with the rest of the Hyundai range.
Maruti Suzuki Baleno PDI: what to check
The Baleno is the model where I would tell you to relax slightly, and that is a useful thing to know before you walk in.
Swirl marks are the most common thing reported on it, and swirl marks are a washing problem, not a manufacturing one. They come from a dirty cloth or a rotary buffer being used at the dealership during pre-delivery preparation. Under the showroom’s overhead lights they look alarming, like a spiderweb across the paint.
They almost always polish out. Use the fingernail test: if your nail does not catch, it is in the top layer of clear coat and a proper machine polish will clear it.
What I would do is get it noted, agree a date for the correction, and take the car. What I would not do is refuse delivery over it, or accept a touch-up pen being produced, or let it be talked about as though it were permanent. It is neither serious nor nothing, and treating it as either is a mistake.
Mahindra Scorpio N and Classic PDI: what to check
The Scorpio is the one on this list where the engine bay deserves the most attention, and it is the check people are least equipped to do.
Open the bonnet and go through fluid levels against their marked ranges: engine oil on the dipstick, coolant in the expansion tank, brake fluid, washer fluid, and power steering fluid if the variant uses it. A level sitting below minimum on a car that has done under fifty kilometres is a question that deserves an answer, not a top-up in silence.
Then look at the hoses and wiring, and this is worth explaining because it surprises people. Vehicles that sit in open stockyards for extended periods sometimes get rodent damage. Rats and squirrels chew coolant hoses, vacuum lines and wiring insulation, and the damage is easy to spot once you know to look. Trace each visible hose along its length. Look for nicks, flattened sections, exposed copper, or debris and nesting material tucked into corners of the bay.
Also look underneath the car for any fresh drip. Clear water is AC condensate. Anything coloured is not, and on a Scorpio with a bonnet you have already opened, you have the chance to trace it.
Our Mahindra PDI Master Blueprint covers the Scorpio N and Classic.
What applies to all ten
Whichever of these you are buying, four things are worth doing regardless of model.
And if you do find something, the conversation matters as much as the finding. Our guide on what to say to the dealer covers who at the dealership can actually approve a fix, which is usually not the person handing you the keys.
Frequently asked questions
What should I check on a Tata Punch PDI?
Start with stock age, because the Punch is selling in very high volume and fast-moving allocations mean cars spend time in stockyards. Read the manufacture date on the driver’s door jamb sticker and the four digit DOT codes on the tyres. Then check panel gap symmetry side to side, walk the paint in daylight, and match the chassis number on the car against the invoice, Form 21, Form 22 and the insurance policy.
Does rust on a new car always mean a problem?
No, and this is where buyers panic unnecessarily. A light orange film on the brake discs is normal on any car that has stood outdoors after rain and wears off within a few kilometres of driving. What does matter is surface corrosion on unpainted brackets, inside door shuts, on exhaust hangers or along the underbody, because that suggests the car has been standing outside for a long period.
How do I test the air conditioning properly at delivery?
Not in the delivery bay, which is shaded and cool and makes any system look good. Ask for the car to be moved into the sun, let it sit closed for around ten minutes, then run the air conditioning at idle rather than while driving. Check how long the centre vents take to blow properly cold, whether all vents cool evenly, whether rear vents work, and whether cooling holds at idle rather than only at speed.
Are swirl marks on a new car a serious defect?
Usually not. Swirl marks come from a dirty wash cloth or a rotary buffer during pre delivery preparation at the dealership, not from the factory. Run a fingernail across the mark. If it does not catch, it sits in the top layer of clear coat and a proper machine polish will clear it. Get it noted with a date for the correction and take the car. Do not accept a touch up pen as the answer.
How do I read the age of my new car’s tyres?
Every tyre carries a four digit DOT code on the sidewall. The first two digits are the week of manufacture and the last two are the year, so 2226 means the twenty second week of 2026. Compare that against the car’s manufacture date on the driver’s door jamb sticker. A small gap is normal, since tyres are made before the car is assembled. A large gap suggests the tyres or the car sat somewhere for a while, and rubber ages whether the car is driven or not.
Why do six Maruti Suzuki models appear on this list?
Because Maruti Suzuki sells six of the ten best selling cars in India, not because Maruti builds worse cars. Any report of any kind tracks volume. A brand delivering three times as many cars will generate three times as many reports, good and bad. This page is a guide to where attention pays off on each model, not a comparison of build quality between brands.
Should I check the spare tyre at delivery?
Yes, and almost nobody does. Open the boot, confirm the spare is present and inflated, and read its DOT code the same way you read the others. Also confirm the jack and wheel spanner are there. Discovering any of this is missing on a highway at night is a bad way to find out.
Can rodents damage a new car sitting at the stockyard?
It happens, particularly with vehicles that sit in open stockyards for extended periods. Rats and squirrels chew coolant hoses, vacuum lines and wiring insulation. Open the bonnet and trace each visible hose along its length looking for nicks, flattened sections or exposed copper, and check the corners of the engine bay for debris or nesting material.
Are these the known defects of these ten cars?
No, and it is worth being clear about that. These notes come from what our own customers report after running a PDI, plus our own time with these cars. It is a small base rather than a statistical study, and no defect rate data is published for the Indian market by anyone. Treat this as a shortlist of where to spend your attention on each model. Most new cars are fine, and the majority of people who run a full inspection find nothing serious.
The TNT PDI Master Blueprint is an interactive tool you open on your phone in the delivery bay. 70+ checkpoints built for your specific brand, with the things owners of that model actually report, and photo capture for anything you want resolved before you sign.
