New Delhi, April 18: Walk in with Rs 6.75 lakh and drive away in this Merc.

Rustle up another one hundred and twenty-five thousand, and this BMW can be yours.

For those more prudent with their purse, a Mahindra Scorpio waits - just for Rs 1 lakh.

The mother of all sales has begun in Delhi, thanks to an April 7 order passed by the National Green Tribunal that banned diesel cars more than 10 years old from the streets of the national capital.

Five days later, the tribunal had stayed the order for two weeks but a sense of panic among car owners has spurred distress sales.

Result: the 2004 Mercedes-Benz C-Class is on offer for Rs 6.75 lakh.

Before April 7, it would have sold for Rs 17 lakh - a respectable second-hand bargain for a model whose showroom price is anything between Rs 39 lakh and Rs 42 lakh.

When destiny intervenes, through temporal orders of tribunals, even a Merc is not immune.

True, says Gurinder Singh, although his Innova has still a year left before the proposed ban kicks in. "I bought a 2006-model Innova last year for Rs 7 lakh and I have told a car dealer to sell it for Rs 3 lakh if he can. He told me it's difficult. I am now considering offers between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 2 lakh," said Singh, who bought the vehicle to ferry goods for the catering business he runs in Delhi. "What's the point of holding on to something which will sell as scrap later?"

It's the same logic behind putting up the 2008 BMW 320d Highline for sale for Rs 8 lakh. Before April 7, it would have sold for Rs 14 lakh, around 40 per cent of what a brand-new model costs (Rs 35 lakh to Rs 44 lakh).

The 2003 Mahindra Scorpio, which has a showroom price of Rs 8-12 lakh, would have sold for Rs 3.50-3.85 lakh before the tribunal's order.

The sale prices are an average of the prices mentioned by dealers and owners and might change depending on the condition of the cars. But the bottom line is clear: people owning diesel cars are hurrying to get rid of them.

Dealers The Telegraph spoke to say owners of high-end diesel cars would have the maximum difficulty in selling their cars, as these vehicles need more maintenance. Plus, in many cases, even spare parts are not available for old cars.

"There is a 30-50 per cent dip in the used-car market for diesel cars, more so for high-end cars, which are high-maintenance vehicles," said Pramod Yadav, a dealer in Noida, which falls in the National Capital Region.

"People are scared because the perception is that the new rule has already come into effect since Delhi police started impounding vehicles soon after the order was out. Old models of SUVs and hatchbacks registered in Delhi are being sold for anywhere between Rs 40,000 and Rs 1.5 lakh. If the order comes in, the demand for such cars would also come down and the prices will plummet further," Yadav added.

Ayaz Khan, who owns a used car dealership in Agra, where many of these Delhi-registered cars have been travelling to since the April 7 order, says there is a huge demand for used diesel cars in Delhi's neighbourhood states, like Uttar Pradesh and Haryana, where the order is not valid.

"In Haryana, the bigger the car, the better it is. So they opt for SUVs. In UP, they are happy with hatchbacks. Our customers want diesel vehicles for better pick-up and mileage over petrol variants," Khan, who had come to Delhi to buy a high-end car for himself, added. "It's a dream deal. Second-hand private cars are usually in good shape and will have at least five years of life left in them, even if they are 10-year-old cars."

To buy such cars, one needs a no-objection certificate from the Delhi RTO. The buyer would then have to register it with the relevant authority in the state where he plans to drive the car.

Some dealers like Amit Soni says there is no need to panic just yet. "There are almost two lakh such (diesel) cars in Delhi. Does the government have scrap yards for these cars?" said Soni, who runs a dealership in Noida and has been advising clients not to sell in a hurry.

Shahid Ali Khan, who owns a 2003 Tata Safari model, seems to have taken Soni's advice.

"I am in panic, I can't deny that. However, after enquiry I have found out that I will not get much for my car, so I will use it till I can and then either sell it as scrap for Rs 50,000 or drive it to some city in UP and sell it for Rs 1-1.5 lakh," Khan said.

"But the order is a death knell for those who have bought diesel vehicles to run small-time businesses. We can always save up and buy another car. But they will be ruined."

Ramesh Verma agrees. Verma, who owns a grocery store, had bought a 2006-manufactured second-hand Indica last year for Rs 85,000.

"We have struggled a lot and were looking forward to using the car to meet relatives and friends who stayed far away. It's a symbol of how far we have come in our lives. Now, the government says we can't drive it."