Does Sales Figures of a Car Matter in Your Buying Decision?

[dharmesh]

I was responding to this post.

If research is done and a result is published and a car is selling good for years and years with less probs then do you want a common man with less knowledge on cars do research to buy the best seller?

The answer is simple. NO he would not. Because he is influenced by other means. But the thread is not about the common man. Thread is about the question to you. does it matter to you or not?

And your answer is Yes.
Mine is No.

 

[alexddas]

If everyone will think like that, then who will buy the eon?

The people who do research like raja said will take a risk on Eon and will prove in due course of time whether it is a good car or not.
If good the sales figures will increase accordingly and it will reach the stage of Alto now and people will start buying blind folded.
I am waiting for that day to recommend Eon to my best friend.

 

[mukesh]

I was responding to this post.

If research is done and a result is published and a car is selling good for years and years with less probs then do you want a common man with less knowledge on cars do research to buy the best seller?

@alexddas, even if i don't have much knowledge about cars (which is a fact) I will only buy a car of my choice which i did (and there are lots of people like me). I bought Safari Storme, many people advised me not to got for Safari even a Tata car but i loved this beast since childhood and without caring for anyone. 99% of people told me to go for any mahindra car (scorpio or XUV) few gave advice for Duster but i did not like these cars (my personal opinion, i am not saying that these are not good SUVs) and went for my pearl white beast.

 

[Gurrala74]

Ok, for a buyer who is not visiting forums, may think like this(ex:like my brother in law)

He need car for family, so what he typically does

1.check the budget how much he can spend
2.Check with neighbors,friends,relatives which car is good in that budget
3.X,Y,Z people give their own decision according to experience of their rides. Here absolutely they support their rides whether it is good or bad
4.So this new buyer ask every body the very popular word "kitna deti hai", petrol or diesel
5.Based on the answers at serial no.4 and 5 he forms an opinion on a product and brand and take a decision which one to buy, here again two things work verymuch
a) The person's influence from sl.no.4 who has eaten his brain suggesting the ride he owns and impress him saying, this is good like this and like that
b) The person who influence from sl.no.4 saying some 20+ mileage of his ride where actually he gets 14 only, because he wants the new buyer to join his group and suffer with 14kmpl, I have seen this number of times.

So this new buyer go to certain show room and enquire about that particular product only and never visit any other car show room and take a look at them as he is already influenced by some body that all other cars are crap !!

So when he visit the show room, naturally our half knowledge(most of the times) SA/SEs boost with typical sales talk and show the buyer a IMAX experience of that car. That's it this new buyer ask for some discount, then SE says no sir the car is on waiting for huge demand, then the buyer forget about the discount and ask SE to get his car bit quickly and pay the money and come out.

While taking the delivery of the car he will request FE for some freebies and SE gives him cookies and tissue paper and send him out.

Now buyer comes out happily with his ride and always thinks that he bought best car in the segment and market and starts giving advises to new prospective buyers

So in whole story where the sales figures issue here. I have narrated the above based on my real time experiences with many buyers in my area.

 

[autosafari]

If good the sales figures will increase accordingly and it will reach the stage of Alto now and people will start buying blind folded.
I am waiting for that day to recommend Eon to my best friend.

At that time your best friend don't need your recommendation

 

[Raja]

Well, people like you and me who are aware of what they want, do the research. Take pain of visiting multiple sites. Few Lucky ones, post their queries on this forums and get quick answers.
But majority of the people (eg 25 K indians /month), do you think have done this extensive search? They want a small car, and they would go for the most popular car.
Well if the Agent is able to sell some other similar car at the showroom they might opt for that but its the perception which is working for majority of masses.

+100 perfectly put . So my question to Manoj is

manojodungat;267174]Just as we find out these sales figures on various online forums, there are also dedicated threads on “niggles” on most of the vehicles, especially on the successful and failed ones on the same forums.

How many people you think visit online forums to understand and read thread related to niggles on online forums ?

These sales figures, in most of the cases, could be a measurable quantity/out come indicative of certain aspect/s of that particular car which has made it a “success” or a “failure”.

Again eon is relatively a super dud compared to alto do you declare alto is a success and eon as a failure as a auto enthusiast ?

If everyone will think like that, then who will buy the eon?

Exactly do you see a vicious circle a pattern of some cars selling more inspite of having equally capable cars in the market which are ignored because of low sales ?

 

[alexddas]

At that time your best don't need your recommendation

Agree, In short i recommend the proven best sellers only, as there is no risk in doing so.

 

[hemantp]

It won't matter to me. It didn't matter even when I went for Punto over Figo last year.

But I would say it still depends on the usage one is planning.

E.g.,
1) Short term ownership - go for car which would bring good resale
2) Hobby ownership - don't care for resale, got for the one you want, enjoy
3) Extensive usage - go for the one which fits the need and saves your time
4) Mid term ownership - find a midway between 2 & 3 above
5) Long term - go for the best in class

(Just my opinion.)

 

[Raja]

@alexddas, even if i don't have much knowledge about cars (which is a fact) I will only buy a car of my choice which i did (and there are lots of people like me). I bought Safari Storme, many people advised me not to got for Safari even a Tata car but i loved this beast since childhood and without caring for anyone. 99% of people told me to go for any mahindra car (scorpio or XUV) few gave advice for Duster but i did not like these cars (my personal opinion, i am not saying that these are not good SUVs) and went for my pearl white beast.

And how much % of that 99% who suggested a mahindra car owned a mahindra car and tata car or a renault duster in real life to suggest one over the other Mukesh ?

 

[Rightnow]

Agree, In short i recommend the proven best sellers only, as there is no risk in doing so.

Why?
If (assume) you consider yourself as an experienced person in the automotive filed, why would it be difficult for you to assess the capabilities of a new car which may become a good seller in future?

 

[manojodungat]

So my question to Manoj is

How many people you think visit online forums to understand and read thread related to niggles on online forums ?

Buddy,I have no academic record and no intention to search for it also. May be one could visit those forums and compare the total number of views in the respective threads on those forum/s.

There should be quite a lot of people, like

1. people who derive pleasure in finding faults in others/ other vehicles for whatever reasons they have
2. People who visit not just only to make a list of those niggles but to learn how those niggles were solved as well.

These sales figures, in most of the cases, could be a measurable quantity/out come indicative of certain aspect/s of that particular car which has made it a “success” or a “failure”.

Again eon is relatively a super dud compared to alto do you declare alto is a success and eon as a failure as a auto enthusiast ?

A vehicle which finds around 9000 units per month need not be a failure, at least for me its not. But if it finds only say 5-50 takers a month will certainly be considered a dud.

If you find a car being sold ridiculously bad, is there anything wrong in putting in a better effort to find the root cause of it. If that helps in your decision making, don’t you give any credit to the sales chart?

what you believe happens and why there are sales of a particular model

Since you didn't get a satisfactory answer, Could you please answer it yourself?

Why is X a consistent top seller[at 4000s/month and Y a failure [at 5/month] and not the other way around?

 

[freakdude]

If a guy considers sales figures as a part of decision making then does it not a matter to be considered before buying a car?
Then how can his answer be NO?

I have voted a NO. The sales figures do not matter to me when buying a car.

Agree, In short i recommend the proven best sellers only, as there is no risk in doing so.

Now that is a highly vague statement to make buddy!!! Just because a car is selling in large numbers doesn't make it risk free. None is actually!!

Have you ever thought why Alto is selling in large numbers? It's not because it is a proven car or something like that. Half of the sales would be from Tier-2/3 cities and rest would come from bikers upgrading to car and quite a few would be using Alto as their 2nd/3rd car for misc. chores.


"So, My answer is "Love the car, live with the Love""

Now this is a true statement from Appu, I guess we'll agree to that.

freakdude.

 

[THE XOVER]

I bought Petrol Indica when everyone was either going for its diesel version or petrol Suzukis! Tells you crystal clear that I don't give a damn about sales figures as a buyer.However,as a fan of any particular brand,I like its sales numbers to be good.Example being,the recent sales plunge of TML,as a fan I really had a tough time digesting these low numbers of my favourite car company of 'em all!

 

[manojodungat]

Have you ever thought why Alto is selling in large numbers? It's not because it is a proven car or something like that. Half of the sales would be from Tier-2/3 cities and rest would come from bikers upgrading to car and quite a few would be using Alto as their 2nd/3rd car for misc. chores.

Buddy Why 'Alto' then? not any other car for the reasons you mentioned.

I haven't driven an Alto yet,thus the question.

 

[freakdude]

Buddy Why 'Alto' then? not any other car for the reasons you mentioned.

I haven't driven an Alto yet,thus the question.

Alto and Eon comparison was discussed b/w Raja and Alex a couple pages back buddy, just so.

freakdude.