A Guide to Buy the Best CSD Car In 2022

A CSD or a canteen stores department has designated stores for people working in the country's defence sector. These stores offer all kinds of goods, including cars, to defence personnel at a subsidised rate.

These stores sell:

• Liquor
• Medicines
• Groceries
• Other common goods

Currently, there are 34 CSD depots in India, and they sell most of the goods that defence personnel might need. If you are eligible to purchase goods from these stores, you can visit the nearest store and make the purchases. These stores also sell four-wheelers at subsidised rates.

Once you buy the car from any CSDs, you can register them in your home location. However, do not forget to buy  car insurance policy after purchasing a model, as you will be insured against potential damages and so on. Read on to learn everything about buying a car from a CSD in India.

Understanding the Eligibility

Before buying a car from your nearest CSD, you must know if you are eligible to make a purchase. Individuals who are part of the country's Defense sector and receive their salaries directly from the Government of India are qualified to buy a car through CSD.

You must fulfil both criteria to become eligible for a CSD purchase.

Retired service members and commissioned officers can also purchase a CSD. The individual's rank does not play any role in deciding eligibility. As per the rule, a defence employee up to level 9 can buy a car during his job via CSD.

Also, they are eligible to buy another car via CSD post their retirement. However, there must be an 8-year gap between two consecutive purchases.

On the other hand, defence personnel above level 9 can buy a car every eight years, even when they retire from their services. There are limits to the engine capacity when purchasing a vehicle through CSD.

Employees up to level 9 cannot buy a car with a capacity greater than 1400 cc. The maximum engine capacity for employees above level 9 is set at 2500 cc. Therefore, defence personnel planning to buy a high-end model like a Ford Endeavour cannot purchase a car via CSD.

The list below will give you a fair idea of the limitations of engine capacity and the frequency of car purchases for different defence employees:

Now that you know the eligibility and the limit on the frequency of these purchases, let's look at the prices of the popular cars offered by a CSD compared to the actual on-road prices:

1. Maruti Suzuki

Most of the cars by Maruti Suzuki can be bought via a CSD if you are eligible for the purchase. While comparing the on-road prices with those that a CSD offers, you will realize that the prices are much lower for the CSD.

For instance, if you buy Swift Dzire from a regular retailer, the price will be above INR 6 lakhs. However, the price goes down to INR 5 lakhs if you buy the exact vehicle through a CSD, courtesy of the discount you get.

Let's have a look at the prices of all the Maruti cars you can buy through a CSD:

2. Hyundai

Hyundai is the second largest automotive player in India after Maruti Suzuki. Apart from the discount, the best thing about buying a Hyundai car via CSD is the easy instalments.

Some models come with great discounts in Hyundai. For example, the CSD price of the Hyundai i20 starts from INR 3.62 lakhs. However, the regular ex-showroom price of the model starts from INR 6.98 lakhs. Let's look at CSD and on-road prices of Hyundai cars.

Honda

Honda cars are considered pricier than their counterparts. However, the CSD price for some Honda models is relatively low. For instance, Honda Amaze is the best-selling model Honda.

The ex-showroom price of the model starts from Rs. 7.22 lakhs. However, the CSD price for the model starts from INR 5.99 lakhs.

Listed below are the CSD rates of the popular Honda cars:

Toyota

Toyota is a Japanese carmaker, and its cars are widely popular among Indian audiences.

Innova is the best-selling model by Toyota as it is considered a family car. Models like Corolla Altis, etc., do not meet the criteria of CSD. Hence, they are not sold via CSDs. The list shows other popular cars by Toyota and their CSD rates.

Ford

Though the CSD price and the on-road price for Ford cars are not that different, you can save a few additional thousands by taking the CSD routes. The CSD rates of popular Ford cars include:

Mahindra

People prefer buying Mahindra cars via CSD as they get huge discounts. The CSD prices of some popular Mahindra variants are:

In Review 

Now that you know the CSD prices of all the popular cars from different automobile manufacturers, you can compare your options and make the purchase. However, you must ensure that you are eligible for the purchases as these offers are not available to the general public.