Thread Starter
#1
You must read my introduction to complete this reading (no, I am not driving traffic to my introduction page!)
As promised, a few glimpses of my life experiences. To start with, why the hell did I buy such large a vehicle (rather a boat, just kidding), being my first car.
In fact I used to loathe people who went in those large vehicles (for that matter, any car) with only one/two occupant(s). Since I have given so much (scoldings), time to be in the receiving end, I guess. Guilty, as charged.
Long before buying decisions, I (who, me?) had already decided on Mahindra Scorpio. I was sold long ago (when the 'walk into a car' ad came). But I (rational, 40+ years old me) had to look for reasons for justifying the decision (to myself, then others).
So the story began with researching information, reading reviews, watching countless videos on YouTube and visiting / reading (only!) in forums. Most difficult was watching YouTube car reviews. They tell so many things in just 8-10 mins. I had to pause, understand one sentence, pause again & repeat this in cycles. FYI, I have by-hearted almost all reviews of Mahindra Scorpio in YouTube.
Learnt a few punch statements such as 'it tends to grow on you', 'pedal to the metal', 'ruling the roost for a long time'. I found Renuka Kirpalani's review very useful, very direct & to the point. I also found Ashish Masih's 'classic headroom, knee room test' funny. He does this on all car reviews, very diligently. Whether I remember my daughter's height or not, I will remember his height, 5' 10".
I had collected all information about Scorpio, XUV 5OO, Terrano, Duster, Ecosport and Ertiga. Started in Jun 2015. This phase ended in mid-Sept. Please do note that I wasn't considering any new launches.
Remember (from introduction. Yes, I indeed wanted to check if you have read my intro thread!) that I am still a rookie driver, just got my license 2 months ago. Hence test drives were very limited (except for Scorpio). What was I doing test drives for? I am just collecting information to justify myself! That is me, many contradictions & getting too deeply involved. By the by, excepting Ford / Mahindra, none of the sales guys ever called me back. So not much hard feelings, except for the Ford lady.
Stop, stop, stop. This is supposed to be an ownership review. CS, please get back on track. But, allow me for just one pit stop.
This happened to me when I was test driving Scorpio (of all vehicles).
I open the door. Insert the keys. Press the clutch pedal, change to neutral. Hold the brakes. Press the clutch pedal + ignition. Engine starts. Press clutch pedal again + first gear. Slowly release the clutch pedal + slow accelerator. Jerk. Engine stops.
One more time the same routine. Press the clutch pedal + ignition. Engine starts. Press clutch pedal again + first gear. Slowly release the clutch pedal + slow accelerator. Jerk. Engine stops.
Now again, again, and again. About 10 times. By this time, I was frantically explaining that I was a new driver, etc. And the sales guy (got out of the car, seeing the hungama) went to bring in another sales guy (who knew driving!). The other sales guy entered in the 2nd row. And I turned back to greet him.
Oh, damn! The handbrake is ON. I burst out laughing & at the exact moment, he (the new sales guy) also said 'Sir, release the handbrake'!
The question of choice of Scorpio wasn't too difficult to justify. All I had to do was to come up some explanation which was logical. And that's it. And being in IT field, you are so used to determining patterns. With the new launches of Creta, S Cross and other options such as Xylo, Innova, Safari Storme, Lodgy, all I had to do was to come up with a divide & rule strategy. Like the British, so cleverly did capture the whole country.
First category was seating options. 7/8 seater is a must (Am I a taxi or what!). This rules out Ecosport, Terrano, Duster, S Cross, Creta. In any case, even in my original list, the Creta / S Cross were not there. By the by, I had trouble differentiating i20 (new one, is it Active?) & Creta when viewed from the back. I had to look at the labels to see which car it was.
Second category was Bold appeal / Road presence (I do like it). This ruled out Ertiga, Xylo, Innova, and Lodgy.
Third category was money. Not more than 15L (it was slightly higher though). This ruled out XUV (W10 especially, 19L++, others were not in contention) & Safari Storme (OTR was 16.5L++). You have to make an exception somewhere for Scorpio. All said & done, I do envy the Safari Storme owners. A very very proud bunch.
Excellent, now I have shortlisted a car. Wow, finally. Hurray. I had compared only top-end models (or did I?). So naturally it was S10.
After all hard work done, then I watched this movie 'Moneyball', when I was flipping channels. These sequences of dialogues made me wonder what I was doing (Ah man!).
Very impressive dialogues (although a completely different context).
"Billy Beane: I don’t think we’re asking the right question. I think the question we should be asking is, do you believe in this thing or not?
Peter Brand: I do.
Billy Beane: It’s a problem you think we need to explain ourselves. Don’t. To anyone.
Peter Brand: Okay. "
No, definitely, no. I am not going delete the post I had just written. It took me time & countless revisions, man.
CS, please get back on track. This is in the edge of acceptance of ownership reviews. OKAY, moving on.
Now, to the dealership experience.
During the period of Jun - Sept 2015, I had developed contacts with 3-4 guys in Anant Cars, Mysore Road, Bangalore. A bit enthusiastic guys. Very young, impulsive, energetic bunch.
Test drives were arranged in a jiffy. Quotes given in a jiffy. Accessories cost took them 2 weeks to finalise. They pulled all strings to show seat cover designs, materials, reverse cam, speakers, etc. They gave me all costs in the 1st week of Sept. I took about 3-4 weeks to finally decide to jump in (waiting for license. Why? It is another life experience worth sharing, may be another thread).
I booked the vehicle on 23rd Sept. I had submitted all documents on 23rd Sept morning (along with advance). Remember that the next 2-3 days were part of long weekends.
But on 28th Sept itself (actually, Monday, the next working day), my loan was sanctioned & all paperwork done (SBI). Lightning fast. Who was complaining about nationalized banks?
I was also informed that for my special number request (license plate) I needed to give a DD to them. That was also arranged on 28th Sept. So all formalities of booking done.
There were 5 guys (in all) whom I had to interact with. 1st one for car & quotes. 2nd for test drives. 3rd for loan. 4th for accessories. 5th for going to stockyard (to choose the colour). All of them, very eager to help. And forget about you once you are out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind (except for the team lead though).
Interestingly, in the forums, there is no statistics on the amount of time spent / calls made during the purchase of the car. Here it is.
25th Jun - 26th Oct: 32 calls (each between 30 sec - 10 min), total talk time of about 120 mins
25th Jun - 26th Oct: 7 visits (each spanning between 30 min - 2 hrs), total time spent of about 12 hrs
I was overseas when the sales guy called me. He told me that the vehicle is manufactured. It is being dispatched. It will take 4-5 days for the car to come to the stockyard. And that since Pooja holidays are coming, he asked whether I could take the delivery on 21st Oct. Due to my travel restrictions, I couldn't.
In the meanwhile, I had asked for the VIN No & got it the next day. When I did the calculations, I was in for a shock. It was a Jun 15 manufactured vehicle. Thanks to Akash, it was indeed an Oct 15 manufactured vehicle. My bad (too much tension / excitement!)
So the PDI was planned for 26th Oct. Delivery on 27th Oct. Did it happen?
Now, the Pre Delivery Inspection / Delivery
I had taken a detailed list (along with the TAI's PDI-ALL.xls). Took about 1.5 hrs for me to do the full inspection. Sun was beating down like hell on that day morning. The sales guy told me, if the accessories were to be fitted later (or never?), he can arrange for the delivery that evening itself.
I took the delivery on 26th Oct evening. 27th Oct being Valmiki Jayanthi (school holiday) & planned for a long drive in Mysore Road to test myself / the car with family.
PDI ODO: 6.2 kms
Delivery ODO: 24.3 kms
Free diesel: Rs 500 worth
Free accessories: Mats, Ganesha Idol (to be replaced by rain wisers, an atheist).
Other discounts given: 18K standard discount, 4K discount on handling charges, reduced insurance cost (comp off with their commission, I suppose).
Gift given (I gave): 5 coffee cups (gift wrapped), Grey Goose 1 liter (especially for the team lead, wonderful fellow)
Overall experience: 8 out of 10. They could have been easily at 9, but for the accessories goof-up.
A few photos from the PDI for your feasting!
Stay tuned for my initial impressions.
As promised, a few glimpses of my life experiences. To start with, why the hell did I buy such large a vehicle (rather a boat, just kidding), being my first car.
In fact I used to loathe people who went in those large vehicles (for that matter, any car) with only one/two occupant(s). Since I have given so much (scoldings), time to be in the receiving end, I guess. Guilty, as charged.
Long before buying decisions, I (who, me?) had already decided on Mahindra Scorpio. I was sold long ago (when the 'walk into a car' ad came). But I (rational, 40+ years old me) had to look for reasons for justifying the decision (to myself, then others).
So the story began with researching information, reading reviews, watching countless videos on YouTube and visiting / reading (only!) in forums. Most difficult was watching YouTube car reviews. They tell so many things in just 8-10 mins. I had to pause, understand one sentence, pause again & repeat this in cycles. FYI, I have by-hearted almost all reviews of Mahindra Scorpio in YouTube.
Learnt a few punch statements such as 'it tends to grow on you', 'pedal to the metal', 'ruling the roost for a long time'. I found Renuka Kirpalani's review very useful, very direct & to the point. I also found Ashish Masih's 'classic headroom, knee room test' funny. He does this on all car reviews, very diligently. Whether I remember my daughter's height or not, I will remember his height, 5' 10".
I had collected all information about Scorpio, XUV 5OO, Terrano, Duster, Ecosport and Ertiga. Started in Jun 2015. This phase ended in mid-Sept. Please do note that I wasn't considering any new launches.
Remember (from introduction. Yes, I indeed wanted to check if you have read my intro thread!) that I am still a rookie driver, just got my license 2 months ago. Hence test drives were very limited (except for Scorpio). What was I doing test drives for? I am just collecting information to justify myself! That is me, many contradictions & getting too deeply involved. By the by, excepting Ford / Mahindra, none of the sales guys ever called me back. So not much hard feelings, except for the Ford lady.
Stop, stop, stop. This is supposed to be an ownership review. CS, please get back on track. But, allow me for just one pit stop.
This happened to me when I was test driving Scorpio (of all vehicles).
I open the door. Insert the keys. Press the clutch pedal, change to neutral. Hold the brakes. Press the clutch pedal + ignition. Engine starts. Press clutch pedal again + first gear. Slowly release the clutch pedal + slow accelerator. Jerk. Engine stops.
One more time the same routine. Press the clutch pedal + ignition. Engine starts. Press clutch pedal again + first gear. Slowly release the clutch pedal + slow accelerator. Jerk. Engine stops.
Now again, again, and again. About 10 times. By this time, I was frantically explaining that I was a new driver, etc. And the sales guy (got out of the car, seeing the hungama) went to bring in another sales guy (who knew driving!). The other sales guy entered in the 2nd row. And I turned back to greet him.
Oh, damn! The handbrake is ON. I burst out laughing & at the exact moment, he (the new sales guy) also said 'Sir, release the handbrake'!
The question of choice of Scorpio wasn't too difficult to justify. All I had to do was to come up some explanation which was logical. And that's it. And being in IT field, you are so used to determining patterns. With the new launches of Creta, S Cross and other options such as Xylo, Innova, Safari Storme, Lodgy, all I had to do was to come up with a divide & rule strategy. Like the British, so cleverly did capture the whole country.
First category was seating options. 7/8 seater is a must (Am I a taxi or what!). This rules out Ecosport, Terrano, Duster, S Cross, Creta. In any case, even in my original list, the Creta / S Cross were not there. By the by, I had trouble differentiating i20 (new one, is it Active?) & Creta when viewed from the back. I had to look at the labels to see which car it was.
Second category was Bold appeal / Road presence (I do like it). This ruled out Ertiga, Xylo, Innova, and Lodgy.
Third category was money. Not more than 15L (it was slightly higher though). This ruled out XUV (W10 especially, 19L++, others were not in contention) & Safari Storme (OTR was 16.5L++). You have to make an exception somewhere for Scorpio. All said & done, I do envy the Safari Storme owners. A very very proud bunch.
Excellent, now I have shortlisted a car. Wow, finally. Hurray. I had compared only top-end models (or did I?). So naturally it was S10.
After all hard work done, then I watched this movie 'Moneyball', when I was flipping channels. These sequences of dialogues made me wonder what I was doing (Ah man!).
Very impressive dialogues (although a completely different context).
"Billy Beane: I don’t think we’re asking the right question. I think the question we should be asking is, do you believe in this thing or not?
Peter Brand: I do.
Billy Beane: It’s a problem you think we need to explain ourselves. Don’t. To anyone.
Peter Brand: Okay. "
No, definitely, no. I am not going delete the post I had just written. It took me time & countless revisions, man.
CS, please get back on track. This is in the edge of acceptance of ownership reviews. OKAY, moving on.
Now, to the dealership experience.
During the period of Jun - Sept 2015, I had developed contacts with 3-4 guys in Anant Cars, Mysore Road, Bangalore. A bit enthusiastic guys. Very young, impulsive, energetic bunch.
Test drives were arranged in a jiffy. Quotes given in a jiffy. Accessories cost took them 2 weeks to finalise. They pulled all strings to show seat cover designs, materials, reverse cam, speakers, etc. They gave me all costs in the 1st week of Sept. I took about 3-4 weeks to finally decide to jump in (waiting for license. Why? It is another life experience worth sharing, may be another thread).
I booked the vehicle on 23rd Sept. I had submitted all documents on 23rd Sept morning (along with advance). Remember that the next 2-3 days were part of long weekends.
But on 28th Sept itself (actually, Monday, the next working day), my loan was sanctioned & all paperwork done (SBI). Lightning fast. Who was complaining about nationalized banks?
I was also informed that for my special number request (license plate) I needed to give a DD to them. That was also arranged on 28th Sept. So all formalities of booking done.
There were 5 guys (in all) whom I had to interact with. 1st one for car & quotes. 2nd for test drives. 3rd for loan. 4th for accessories. 5th for going to stockyard (to choose the colour). All of them, very eager to help. And forget about you once you are out of sight. Out of sight, out of mind (except for the team lead though).
Interestingly, in the forums, there is no statistics on the amount of time spent / calls made during the purchase of the car. Here it is.
25th Jun - 26th Oct: 32 calls (each between 30 sec - 10 min), total talk time of about 120 mins
25th Jun - 26th Oct: 7 visits (each spanning between 30 min - 2 hrs), total time spent of about 12 hrs
I was overseas when the sales guy called me. He told me that the vehicle is manufactured. It is being dispatched. It will take 4-5 days for the car to come to the stockyard. And that since Pooja holidays are coming, he asked whether I could take the delivery on 21st Oct. Due to my travel restrictions, I couldn't.
In the meanwhile, I had asked for the VIN No & got it the next day. When I did the calculations, I was in for a shock. It was a Jun 15 manufactured vehicle. Thanks to Akash, it was indeed an Oct 15 manufactured vehicle. My bad (too much tension / excitement!)
So the PDI was planned for 26th Oct. Delivery on 27th Oct. Did it happen?
Now, the Pre Delivery Inspection / Delivery
I had taken a detailed list (along with the TAI's PDI-ALL.xls). Took about 1.5 hrs for me to do the full inspection. Sun was beating down like hell on that day morning. The sales guy told me, if the accessories were to be fitted later (or never?), he can arrange for the delivery that evening itself.
I took the delivery on 26th Oct evening. 27th Oct being Valmiki Jayanthi (school holiday) & planned for a long drive in Mysore Road to test myself / the car with family.
PDI ODO: 6.2 kms
Delivery ODO: 24.3 kms
Free diesel: Rs 500 worth
Free accessories: Mats, Ganesha Idol (to be replaced by rain wisers, an atheist).
Other discounts given: 18K standard discount, 4K discount on handling charges, reduced insurance cost (comp off with their commission, I suppose).
Gift given (I gave): 5 coffee cups (gift wrapped), Grey Goose 1 liter (especially for the team lead, wonderful fellow)
Overall experience: 8 out of 10. They could have been easily at 9, but for the accessories goof-up.
A few photos from the PDI for your feasting!
Stay tuned for my initial impressions.
![[:)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Smile.gif "Smile [:)]")
![[:D]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Big%20Smile.gif "Big Smile [:D]")
), used to allow him to overtake so that nothing dangerous happens and then start following him with a wicked smile awaiting the bad stretch to come ![[evil]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Evil.gif "Evil [evil]")
Once the bad stretch is arrived, he was eating our dust and we slingshot ahead of every single vehicle. I was actually taken aback by how rugged and well bolted together were the suspension and drive train components which simply never gave up. 
![[lol]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Laugh.gif "Laugh [lol]")
. yes as TSI Vipul Said you have the mustache like of Surya in some tamil Movie suits you as well as it logical with the kind of vehicle you have. Looking for more pics though. BTW you havent mentioned why you chose this color in Scorpio.
![[;)]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Wink.gif "Wink [;)]")
![[embarass]](https://www.theautomotiveindia.com/forums/images/smilies/Embarass.gif "Embarass [embarass]")