Hyderabad: Some drivers who have defaulted on repayments to private cab companies Ola and Uber have replaced major parts from their cars before they are seized by the companies. Both companies have taken back more than 10,000 vehicles in the last six months and found that the parts in the cars have been replaced.

Ola and Uber provided motor cabs to drivers under its driver-cum-owner scheme on the understanding that they would repay the loan without fail. Defaulters get notices to clear the dues and then their vehicles are seized by the company. The car is released if the driver clears his dues.

Mechanical engineers who inspect the seized vehicles have found recently that major parts like batteries and tyres were replaced by either old parts or China-made parts.

A driver, who is not willing to disclose his identity, said that car batteries cost between Rs 4,500 and Rs 5,500 and the company-fitted batteries are top end models. “Second-hand batteries are available for Rs 500-1,000. Drivers sell their good batteries for Rs 3,000-Rs 3,500, deriving a benefit of Rs 2,000-Rs 2,500. There is a demand for company-fitted batteries in the second-hand market.”

Same is the case with car tyres. A new tyre costs Rs 2,400 to Rs 3,000 and has a lifetime of 40,000 km. Second-hand tyres are available for Rs 600 to Rs 1,000 and China-made new tyres are available for Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,200 which will have a lifetime of 15,000 to 20,000 km. The benefit to the driver is Rs 4,000 to Rs 6,000. Other spares are not worth,” he said.

To foil such practices, Uber and Ola have introduced a new system of surprise inspections of 101 points of a car.

A source from Ola said that vehicles are inspected randomly. “About 5,000 vehicles are kept in reserve every day and we select them for the inspections. It is not only for checking of replacements of spares but also to alert drivers to the condition of the vehicles,” the source said.