Story So Far With Swift VXI - Kalyani Motors Bangalore, Banerghatta Road

[madmonkey]

TAI,

If you have noticed my earlier posts I had booked a Swift Vxi torque Blue on 17th of January with Kalyani Motors Banerghatta Road

How it went Pre-Booking

Jan 17th
We were told to pay 10k and were promised delivery within 4-6 weeks or 30-45days and just before the vehicle is to be dispatched, dealer will get a call and then we can start the loan processing. We were happy and we had applied a loan for the down payment on my Fixed Deposit in SBI. So we pay 10K and were waiting untill last week

Between 17th Jan and 21st Feb
Sales Rep called me couple of times informing me that it has still not been dispatched and he foresees a delay and it was not still close to 45 days. I was willing to waut

Feb 21st Onwards
I called Kalyani Motors and ask the Sales rep guy about the ETA and this is how it goes
" I told you no sir blue vxi production is less and you will have to wait furthermore and that is why only I asked if you want to choose any other color, production is very less of that color and sir it is maruti's problem and not our problem"
well I hung up the call obviously frustrated and immediately called up Maruti CC and they took a complaint.

Next Day
I get a call from the sales rep and this is how it goes " Sir what have you done , you have complained against me and I can lose my job or may be given an offer letter and I kept you informed about the ETA no sir, my higher people team have asked me I will give you an email id can you please email them and tell them you will take the complaint back because of the procedures we have , we need to close the complaint within 16hours. , I agree to write an email and I am sure you guys can guess how that email would have been , would you believe me without acknowledge the complaint they have called me to question why I have raised a complaint and they want me to write back an email stating that I will accept an ETA as soon as Kalyani Motors has one.

Next Day
Because of my email reaching the some head of Kalyani, I got multiple calls from the people who now seemed concerned and asked me to visit their office to discuss it further and on the same day another shock awaited me, I received a letter from Kalayni " Due to unforeseen closure of Maurti Manesar plant which still is not producing any cars, we are unable to deliver the car as promised and their will be further delay and oh boy it drove me crazy but I waited

Next Day
I visited my cousin and to my surprise he had booked a Dzire Pacific Blue from some other dealer and had exactly the same treatment and answers about less production of that color, so he found a phone number and email of Regional Manager Vivek Anand on the board , he called him and emailed him and the next day he got a call from Maruti informing that his car is enroute to bangalore now from the plant he succeed.

Today
I Visited the dealer and spoke to Sales Manager and they already knew that it was me who was not happy with Kalyani Motors, he immediately called up some head to find out the ETA and well same answer " blue color is not manufactured as often as other colors " however we can promise delivery between march 2nd - 3rd week, he asked me if I wanted to go for ZXI blue as it is available , I declined politely and I was asked if I would consider any other colors , I was ok with " Red " they are yet to give me an ETA on Red color , now I am confused between Red and Torque blue .

Between I tried calling that Maruti RM and no answer, I will write to him later this evening.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

I think the dealer has not given you an unjustified reesponse. Car colours are indeed manufactured in batches and each manufacturer focusses its maximum attention on producing more and more colours that move fast in the market (in Maruti's case, white). That's the reason why you see so many white coloured Swifts on the road. Blue and red are slow moving colours (when was the last time you saw a blue Swift on the road?) and therefore their production assumes last priority.

I would have accepted a period of 4-5 weeks as reasonable and would have lodged a complaint only if the car was not delivered after the expiry of that period (in your case, around first week of March).

Your cousin's Dzire got shipped early probably because it was manufactured on a different production line and in any case, Pacific Blue is a different colour from Torque Blue.

My humble suggestion is, take it easy and take back your complaint. I do not see anything wrong in what was done or said by the SA. In fact, most dealers would quote a lesser delivery timeline in order to lure the customer to make a deposit for booking. This SA at least was honest in quoting a realistic delivery period.

p.s.: Torque Blue looks great but will prove to be a hell of a colour to maintain - one tiny scratch (inevitable in a city like Bangalore) will ruin the looks and it will be extremely difficult to touch up/repaint the exact shade, unless you get it done at the dealer's end. Unless you are totally bonkers about getting your Swift in Torque Blue, try to reconsider your choice of colour.

 

[madmonkey]

Re: The Story So Far with SwiftVXI Torque Blue - KalyaniMotors Bangalore Banerghatta

I agree with production issues of specific color, thanks for your suggestions, I was quite easy on them and I am not one of those cribbers untill I saw their letter about Manesar affecting the production and delaying it even further, whats your opinion about maintaining the Red Swift .

 

[julu]

Hi guys,

Same thing happened with me yesterday afternoon. I had booked Swift Dzire pacific blue VXI on Jan 16th last month.The waiting period was 3 months.Due to some issues I wanted to get the car before April so asked the sales executive to know if I can get any other model before March 20th and he said that Dzire petrol is not in demand so very less production.Better to take Swift which has waiting period of 6 week and then 2 weeks more will be taken for registration and loan.So me and my wift went to Kalyani motor Brookefield on 24th Jan and sent one application to change the model to Swift VXI torque blue. The same also coonfirmed by them.
But when I called the person to know about the dispatch , he said the waiting period has been increased to 3 months for Swift VXI torque blue color.I was speechless at that time as my wife will travel by March last week and I wanted to take delivery before that, hence canceled Dzire and booked Swift as per their suggestion.
Now I have lost complete faith on these people and not able to decide if I should cancel this booking and go for any other brand (i20 /Brio - the waiting period is 1 week only).

 

[madmonkey]

Maruti RM has replied back to my email that he will get back to me shortly , good to see that they care and acknowledged my email.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

whats your opinion about maintaining the Red Swift .

Red would be easier to maintain and touch up than Torque Blue but as with any dark colour, you will have to pay extra attention to avoid swirl marks and scratches. The good thing with red is that even if Maruti stops making Red Swifts in the future (I can bet they will stop making the Torque Blue after a couple of years), you will still get someone to touch up your Red Swift in the exact matching shade, something that won't be so easy with the Torque Blue.

Flip a coin!

 

[madmonkey]

Red would be easier to maintain and touch up than Torque Blue but as with any dark colour, you will have to pay extra attention to avoid swirl marks and scratches. The good thing with red is that even if Maruti stops making Red Swifts in the future (I can bet they will stop making the Torque Blue after a couple of years), you will still get someone to touch up your Red Swift in the exact matching shade, something that won't be so easy with the Torque Blue.

Flip a coin!

hmm Interesting ! I must say I got a call from Maruti today that they will be dispatching torque blue in couple of days . Sam after what you have told me I am too apprehensive about torque blue I must say .. I hope its not bad a color to choose

 

[amit1km]

Madmonkey, torque blue is a very beautiful color. If you like that color, then go for it. Moreover you have waited for such a long period for that color.

It is not a problem to maintain the color. With computer based matching system now a days there is no problem with the shade of the color.

I would say go for it.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

hmm Interesting ! I must say I got a call from Maruti today that they will be dispatching torque blue in couple of days . Sam after what you have told me I am too apprehensive about torque blue I must say .. I hope its not bad a color to choose

There's no doubt that Torque Blue is a lovely colour. I would in fact stick my neck out and say that this colour makes the Swift look most sporty. Go for it if you really like it. Why to think about dings and scratches even before the car is delivered?

You live only once. Go for it.

 

[madmonkey]

Madmonkey, torque blue is a very beautiful color. If you like that color, then go for it. Moreover you have waited for such a long period for that color.

It is not a problem to maintain the color. With computer based matching system now a days there is no problem with the shade of the color.

I would say go for it.

Thanks for the re-assurance, it counts

There's no doubt that Torque Blue is a lovely colour. I would in fact stick my neck out and say that this colour makes the Swift look most sporty. Go for it if you really like it. Why to think about dings and scratches even before the car is delivered?

You live only once. Go for it.

I liked what you said , why think of scratches even before it is delivered, but living in Bangalore and driving first car, God help me. Thanks for re-assuring me , I will stick to blue

 

[julu]

Guys,
Today while asking about the status of my VXI arrival , I was informed by the sales person that the vehicle will be dispatched by next month 2nd week. As I was in a hurry , I asked if I can get any other model before March 10th as I was planning to take delivery on Shivratri , he took 30 minute to check the status and to my surprize he confirmed that a ZXI torque blue is readily available.The person who has book has cancelled the booking.So I can get this in 10 days after all the loan and registration formalities. I staight away went to Kalyani showroom Brookefield.
Checked the VIN , it is Dec 2012 manufatured, the odometer showing 50.0 .Is this fine to take a Dec 2012 model.I asked about 2013 model but the sales manager said it will take 2 to 3 month to get a petrol 2013 model due to less demand of petrol vehicle.Tomorrow the sales person will come to my office and collect the documents for processing the loan. Is there any PDI I have to do before registration , when I asked about to take the car for a short drive they said it is not allowed before Registration.

 

[Sam Dinkar]

Good that you are going for ZXi. Lower models have terrible brakes that necessitate ABS plus the ZXi alloys look gorgeous on Torque Blue colour.

Ask for discounts since it is a Dec 2012 model. You will lose approx Rs 30000-50000 in depreciation the moment you take delivery of a 2012 vehicle in 2013.

Test drive not allowed before registration? Bollocks. Unless you drive the car, how will you know if there's anything amiss with it? Tell the dealer politely that you will report it to Maruti and then watch him offer you a test drive with chocolates, pastries, bar of gold, blah.

TAI PDI list is available here: http://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/automotive-library/4646-new-car-pre-delivery-inspection-exhaustive-guide.html

All the best!

 

[julu]

Thanks. I just came from Kalyani and discussed this concern. The sales manager spoke to DGM and they are not offering any cash discounts for Swift/Dzire. However there are 20-30 thousands discount on Ritz/Estilo/Omni for the December 2012 models.
I called one of my friend and after lots of bargaining they agreed to provide some free accessories like body cover,seat cover and Teflon coating during time of delivery.
Regarding test drive, they have one test drive vehicle which I have already tried before but they are not allowing to drive the new one before registration.

 

[madmonkey]

Thanks. I just came from Kalyani and discussed this concern. The sales manager spoke to DGM and they are not offering any cash discounts for Swift/Dzire. However there are 20-30 thousands discount on Ritz/Estilo/Omni for the December 2012 models.
I called one of my friend and after lots of bargaining they agreed to provide some free accessories like body cover,seat cover and Teflon coating during time of delivery.
Regarding test drive, they have one test drive vehicle which I have already tried before but they are not allowing to drive the new one before registration.

I dont want to demotivate you, but If I were you I would not accept 2012 model because of the depreciation value

 

[madmonkey]

Update : It has commendable how the complaint had been picked up and worked towards progressing the ETA , I have always heard Maruti has got some excellent customer service and this incident is an excellent example of customer service, I had told them why the car delivery is important to me as promised as I had promised someone to show around by mid-march and RM and GM for Maruti responded and have arranged me a Swift Torque Blue VXI 2013 model and I am super happy, it will be arranged in three days and I will be starting my loan process tomorrow.