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A long awaited story for the past 3 months i have been compiling and i hardly found time to do it.
This would have been the toughest decision that i would have taken, even tougher than marriage...... and to take this decision i took almost 5months.. OH.... i was Confused... with what to buy ..
To put some light
My first car was a Maruti 800Dx i must say i still love the low ground clearance and the way i could navigate through Mumbai city, i still remember when my office was in fort i had a call from my client at 6.45pm to reach him for a urgent meeting in thane the other end of the city by 7.20pm, oh the peak hour and crossing masjid Bunder meant..... But i could make to his office sharp at 7.25pm that’s what its known for and 0 maintenance though i had bought it second hand i hardly spent on it except for an oil change every 8000 to 9000 km.
My second car was a 1hour decision with my wife and an instant love for the ability Wagon R Type III i.e. the late 2005 model will cover that up sometime later. Three cheers to the dealer Ratan Motors chembur. Though they have closed shop now but buying through them was an amazing experience even though people talk about their service till date i personally have found no issues with billing or any other things. (We are still emotionally attached to that car even though she is not with us, I hope whoever is using it keeps her the same way I used to :))
My choice for the new car was a sedan
What i was looking at is cheap to run, low maintenance, good looking, value for money .. sorry if that hurts someone but i am a typical Indian.
So my choice where narrowed down to
1) Maruti Dezire
2) Honda City
3) Maruti SX4
4) Ford Fiesta Classic
5) Hyundai fluidic verna
6) Tata Manza
7) Fiat Linea
8) WV Vento
MARUTI DESIRE : Good Car, Value for money, But the boot was not a match for the body -- HOLD
Tested: Petrol Vxi (At Spectra Chembur)
Why Dropped: Had to budget for bigger car.
Didnt like the shape looks similar to SWIFT
No Great Features.
Honda City: Superb Car, Great Value for money, Superb Quality but only Petrol and while i was booking no stock due to factory issues – Disappointment I was also sold out on the dealer the way this guy took interest and he had 1 car ready White Color Base version no frills but again i was not happy.
Tested: Sorry no test drive was available. (At Appex Honda)
Why Dropped: Pricing for my old car was toooo low which was offered
Ground Clearance.
Delivery of my choice & Model would take 2 months min
MARUTI SX4 : Great Car, Super Handling, Superb Pickup, Responsive steering, Great Ground Clearance, Manly Looks -- fell in love
Tested: Zxi Petrol Automatic (At Spectra)
Ford Classic : Drivers Car, Good Handling, Good Interiors
Tested: sxI Petrol 1.6 Duratec
Why Dropped: Value for the car after 5years
Maintenance Cost, Mileage
Great Dealer in my area (Wasan) don’t even dare to go here for service..
Hyundai Verna (New): Good Car, Nice to drive, Lacks initial picup, good controls -- Fell in love
Tested : 1.6 VTVT Sx
Why Dropped: After Sales was not available in my area was far.
Car would take 2 months
No discount, at Shreenath Hyundai
Tata Manza : Great value for money to what they offer, but sorry i am not a fan.
Tested: Manza Safire Elan BSIV (Wasan Motors)
Why Dropped: Make a search Tata Motors you get to know
Huge extra-large Backside
Plastic Quality
Cheap Interiors
Service Issues
Fiat Linea : Superb Car, Great Interiors, Fiat Value & trust, Great Handling except for Ground clearance -- Fell In Love
Tested: Tjet Plus Petrol (At Balaji Cars Separate Showroom for Fiat)
Why Dropped: Low Ground clearance (When i was looking)
After sales from TATA
Low Mileage
Vento: No Car for testing was avilable delivery time 2 1/2 months minimum said would arrange a test drive till date no calls.
Dealer Mumbai East
So Now i had three cars
1) Suzuki Sx4
2) Hyundai Verna (New)
3) Fiat Linea
And my Story Begins...........
First the dealer...
We knew someone from the Automotive Maruti (New Mumbai) they are the big names from New Mumbai area. So their GM Sales comes down to meet, i will not list the names cause i dont want this guys to be in problem tomorrow for some other job if he looks for, and he proposes me 2 option the Sx4 Petrol zxi and the Diesel zdi and hands over all the brochure, quote etc, and as usual i start with my negotiation. The ans was simple no sir this is the best price check from anywhere we shall offer you only the mud flaps if you want etc. (Till last booking date of my new car I called and told about the rate I was getting and the color, he was no this color has been closed from company etc etc the guys at AUTOMOTIVE should learn that selling cars to certain clients requires Logical Reasoning.)
The next day i went around shopping first the Honda Showroom with my wife. The ambiance was quiet good as there was hardly anybody in the showroom, we meet this guy a good sales chap who was very polite and very good, and we were sold off. My wife was daamm sure the car was Honda and was excited so i toook the price for my old Wagonr and was so disappointed they offered me just 75000.00 bucks. + no freebies and 1 std color was available WHITE that’s it, But my wife was okie with the white color and i was not.
We went next for the Maruti Sx4 test drive at spectra Motors chembur, the showroom was crowded full of sales & people it was like a small market, we meet with our sales executive who had a thorough look at my old car paper and arranged for a Maruti true value guy, who inspected the car and offered me 1L + Maruti Bonus of 20k so here it was 1.20 but still not happy for the price this guys where offering, and i asked for a test drive, while i was asked to wait for 10mins so that they could make the car ready, I say small board Sx4 now in CNG and was quiet trilled why not if its company fitted and it also said 24 KMpl that was well noted. So we took a test drive of sx4 Zxi petrol it was super quick and super charged and very light. We took the quote handed over my card for a soft copy of the quote and asked if there was anything free for which the ans was very simple sorry sir we offer the best service we don’t offer anything else.
Our next stop was the wasan motors showroom of FIAT & TATA, opps no car . i mean it was there but it was confusion to where the Fiat sales executive was, i was told that it would take them at least 45mins for the test car because its gone for a road test, so we just the quote and left from here. It was 12.00 now.
The next stop was hyundai at chembur, amar mahal, for the Verna test the looks where good and stunning completely loaded they offered me a test drive on the petrol version zoooom it was light and quick but the problem as clear they were running out of stock, it would take them atleat 2.15months for the delivery as it was overbooked and the sales guy was clear “Kuch nahi kaar sakthe hai saab naya gadi hai aur dec ka mahina hai try karunga ki 2 mahine mein dee do app ajj hi booking amount ka cheque de doo and color main kuch kaartha houn”. I said okie let me get back to my office collect the cheque and will be back and i left the showroom as i was not ready for any wait etc.
So while i got back to the office i had 4 quotes 2 from Maruti Guy, 1 from Honda, 1 from fiat guy, In the meantime my neighbour was also looking to buy a vehicle and replace his old ALTO which had done almost 85K and the best part was he had not renewed his insurance, so 2 cars to be bought. We planned a group buy called a couple of friends and clients who were also interested and finally our no stood at 4 cars.
We where looking for 4 cars.
But here i was stuck, car with Diesel engine or with petrol and CNG, my running was around 800 to 900 KMs a month with occasional i.e 3 to 4 montsh say 100 to 200 km extra outstation.
I found everywhere on the net people suggesting to stick to petrol if your avg km per month is below 1200 to 1400KM i.e avg 50 to 60Km but mine was hardly 3 to 4Km a day.
By the way forgot to mention that my WIFY is a expert in insurance ... so we went back to spectra motors chembur, and asked them about the old cars insurance no claim to be shifted, it was a heated argument and they were little taken back with the tech knowledge my wife showed, finally he agreed that something can be done.
So i was sure now i am getting at least 10,000 off.
Now it was time for me to make up my mind Only petrol or Petrol + CNG, so i called up the Hyundai guys to check if the verna was available in CNG mode for which the ans was no but you can buy the accent with Aftermarket CNG which they would fit and give. The ideas was bad and i was not interested and i knew HONDA was surely not available in CNG.
And a couple of google search for the next 2 days on CNG.. and was okie with the details that i got, thats the time when i found TAI, and information.
But still there was a fear... cause this was a new thing i was going to do in my life something new which no one i knew had ever tried or driven, on my way back from office had a word with a few taxi & rickshaw drivers and they said "maruti main cng chatkar hai koi problem nahi hai saheb 5 to 6 saal akkein band kaarlo". But still i was talking to non techie guys but real practical people one of my friend has converted his Indica V2 to cng and fish the car has gone from BAD to Worse because here it also depends on from where you get this aftermarket CNG done as most of this GUYs do RND on your car and kill the performance of the car.
As the day’s where passing it was building pressure when will the new car arrive, or again the same old story.... I had to the guys with whom we had made a group, and one of them had already opted out because of some other reason, the others were getting curious and one of my
Neighbour got in touch with someone in Pune "MahaLaxmi Automobiles" and mentioned about the group buy for which the GM there promised to offer a great discount on the buy and also offer freebies etc.
The month was Dec 2011. When most of the auto dealer gets curious to clear the stock.
Here we had the Quote from MahaLaxmi Automobile Pune
Maruti Sx4 : On Road Price for Mumbai :
Price of the car 798317.00
Registration 55000.00
Extended Warrnty 3990.00 (+2years extra for the price of 1 year)
TOTAL 857307.00
Less Dec Bonus 20000.00
Landing Price 837307.00
And my negotiation starts with this guy, i get to know this cool sales rep called: Ayush through my neighbour, trust me if you have sales guy like him you will feel excited to buy any car even a TATA NANO (no hard feelings).
Finally he agrees to increase the discount with the following.
Less 10000.00 Special Discount
Mud Flaps
Rubber matting
Reverse Parking Sensor
My old car in mumbai was valued at only 1.20 MAX by spectra maruti chembur
This guy was offering me 1.30L
Again the Insurance discount of : 12000.00
So My Final Price was coming to : 6,85,000.00 INR and i was sure after this he would have asked me to take the car free why bargain. As i was not speaking to him he finally offered me with Extended warranty freeeee + i was getting the freebies might be around 5000.00 INR this was the best offer I would have ever got from anyone. Finally Iwas ready to book my car.
Contd...
This would have been the toughest decision that i would have taken, even tougher than marriage...... and to take this decision i took almost 5months.. OH.... i was Confused... with what to buy ..
To put some light
My first car was a Maruti 800Dx i must say i still love the low ground clearance and the way i could navigate through Mumbai city, i still remember when my office was in fort i had a call from my client at 6.45pm to reach him for a urgent meeting in thane the other end of the city by 7.20pm, oh the peak hour and crossing masjid Bunder meant..... But i could make to his office sharp at 7.25pm that’s what its known for and 0 maintenance though i had bought it second hand i hardly spent on it except for an oil change every 8000 to 9000 km.
My second car was a 1hour decision with my wife and an instant love for the ability Wagon R Type III i.e. the late 2005 model will cover that up sometime later. Three cheers to the dealer Ratan Motors chembur. Though they have closed shop now but buying through them was an amazing experience even though people talk about their service till date i personally have found no issues with billing or any other things. (We are still emotionally attached to that car even though she is not with us, I hope whoever is using it keeps her the same way I used to :))
My choice for the new car was a sedan
What i was looking at is cheap to run, low maintenance, good looking, value for money .. sorry if that hurts someone but i am a typical Indian.
So my choice where narrowed down to
1) Maruti Dezire
2) Honda City
3) Maruti SX4
4) Ford Fiesta Classic
5) Hyundai fluidic verna
6) Tata Manza
7) Fiat Linea
8) WV Vento
MARUTI DESIRE : Good Car, Value for money, But the boot was not a match for the body -- HOLD
Tested: Petrol Vxi (At Spectra Chembur)
Why Dropped: Had to budget for bigger car.
Didnt like the shape looks similar to SWIFT
No Great Features.
Honda City: Superb Car, Great Value for money, Superb Quality but only Petrol and while i was booking no stock due to factory issues – Disappointment I was also sold out on the dealer the way this guy took interest and he had 1 car ready White Color Base version no frills but again i was not happy.
Tested: Sorry no test drive was available. (At Appex Honda)
Why Dropped: Pricing for my old car was toooo low which was offered
Ground Clearance.
Delivery of my choice & Model would take 2 months min
MARUTI SX4 : Great Car, Super Handling, Superb Pickup, Responsive steering, Great Ground Clearance, Manly Looks -- fell in love
Tested: Zxi Petrol Automatic (At Spectra)
Ford Classic : Drivers Car, Good Handling, Good Interiors
Tested: sxI Petrol 1.6 Duratec
Why Dropped: Value for the car after 5years
Maintenance Cost, Mileage
Great Dealer in my area (Wasan) don’t even dare to go here for service..
Hyundai Verna (New): Good Car, Nice to drive, Lacks initial picup, good controls -- Fell in love
Tested : 1.6 VTVT Sx
Why Dropped: After Sales was not available in my area was far.
Car would take 2 months
No discount, at Shreenath Hyundai
Tata Manza : Great value for money to what they offer, but sorry i am not a fan.
Tested: Manza Safire Elan BSIV (Wasan Motors)
Why Dropped: Make a search Tata Motors you get to know
Huge extra-large Backside
Plastic Quality
Cheap Interiors
Service Issues
Fiat Linea : Superb Car, Great Interiors, Fiat Value & trust, Great Handling except for Ground clearance -- Fell In Love
Tested: Tjet Plus Petrol (At Balaji Cars Separate Showroom for Fiat)
Why Dropped: Low Ground clearance (When i was looking)
After sales from TATA
Low Mileage
Vento: No Car for testing was avilable delivery time 2 1/2 months minimum said would arrange a test drive till date no calls.
Dealer Mumbai East
So Now i had three cars
1) Suzuki Sx4
2) Hyundai Verna (New)
3) Fiat Linea
And my Story Begins...........
First the dealer...
We knew someone from the Automotive Maruti (New Mumbai) they are the big names from New Mumbai area. So their GM Sales comes down to meet, i will not list the names cause i dont want this guys to be in problem tomorrow for some other job if he looks for, and he proposes me 2 option the Sx4 Petrol zxi and the Diesel zdi and hands over all the brochure, quote etc, and as usual i start with my negotiation. The ans was simple no sir this is the best price check from anywhere we shall offer you only the mud flaps if you want etc. (Till last booking date of my new car I called and told about the rate I was getting and the color, he was no this color has been closed from company etc etc the guys at AUTOMOTIVE should learn that selling cars to certain clients requires Logical Reasoning.)
The next day i went around shopping first the Honda Showroom with my wife. The ambiance was quiet good as there was hardly anybody in the showroom, we meet this guy a good sales chap who was very polite and very good, and we were sold off. My wife was daamm sure the car was Honda and was excited so i toook the price for my old Wagonr and was so disappointed they offered me just 75000.00 bucks. + no freebies and 1 std color was available WHITE that’s it, But my wife was okie with the white color and i was not.
We went next for the Maruti Sx4 test drive at spectra Motors chembur, the showroom was crowded full of sales & people it was like a small market, we meet with our sales executive who had a thorough look at my old car paper and arranged for a Maruti true value guy, who inspected the car and offered me 1L + Maruti Bonus of 20k so here it was 1.20 but still not happy for the price this guys where offering, and i asked for a test drive, while i was asked to wait for 10mins so that they could make the car ready, I say small board Sx4 now in CNG and was quiet trilled why not if its company fitted and it also said 24 KMpl that was well noted. So we took a test drive of sx4 Zxi petrol it was super quick and super charged and very light. We took the quote handed over my card for a soft copy of the quote and asked if there was anything free for which the ans was very simple sorry sir we offer the best service we don’t offer anything else.
Our next stop was the wasan motors showroom of FIAT & TATA, opps no car . i mean it was there but it was confusion to where the Fiat sales executive was, i was told that it would take them at least 45mins for the test car because its gone for a road test, so we just the quote and left from here. It was 12.00 now.
The next stop was hyundai at chembur, amar mahal, for the Verna test the looks where good and stunning completely loaded they offered me a test drive on the petrol version zoooom it was light and quick but the problem as clear they were running out of stock, it would take them atleat 2.15months for the delivery as it was overbooked and the sales guy was clear “Kuch nahi kaar sakthe hai saab naya gadi hai aur dec ka mahina hai try karunga ki 2 mahine mein dee do app ajj hi booking amount ka cheque de doo and color main kuch kaartha houn”. I said okie let me get back to my office collect the cheque and will be back and i left the showroom as i was not ready for any wait etc.
So while i got back to the office i had 4 quotes 2 from Maruti Guy, 1 from Honda, 1 from fiat guy, In the meantime my neighbour was also looking to buy a vehicle and replace his old ALTO which had done almost 85K and the best part was he had not renewed his insurance, so 2 cars to be bought. We planned a group buy called a couple of friends and clients who were also interested and finally our no stood at 4 cars.
We where looking for 4 cars.
But here i was stuck, car with Diesel engine or with petrol and CNG, my running was around 800 to 900 KMs a month with occasional i.e 3 to 4 montsh say 100 to 200 km extra outstation.
I found everywhere on the net people suggesting to stick to petrol if your avg km per month is below 1200 to 1400KM i.e avg 50 to 60Km but mine was hardly 3 to 4Km a day.
By the way forgot to mention that my WIFY is a expert in insurance ... so we went back to spectra motors chembur, and asked them about the old cars insurance no claim to be shifted, it was a heated argument and they were little taken back with the tech knowledge my wife showed, finally he agreed that something can be done.
So i was sure now i am getting at least 10,000 off.
Now it was time for me to make up my mind Only petrol or Petrol + CNG, so i called up the Hyundai guys to check if the verna was available in CNG mode for which the ans was no but you can buy the accent with Aftermarket CNG which they would fit and give. The ideas was bad and i was not interested and i knew HONDA was surely not available in CNG.
And a couple of google search for the next 2 days on CNG.. and was okie with the details that i got, thats the time when i found TAI, and information.
But still there was a fear... cause this was a new thing i was going to do in my life something new which no one i knew had ever tried or driven, on my way back from office had a word with a few taxi & rickshaw drivers and they said "maruti main cng chatkar hai koi problem nahi hai saheb 5 to 6 saal akkein band kaarlo". But still i was talking to non techie guys but real practical people one of my friend has converted his Indica V2 to cng and fish the car has gone from BAD to Worse because here it also depends on from where you get this aftermarket CNG done as most of this GUYs do RND on your car and kill the performance of the car.
As the day’s where passing it was building pressure when will the new car arrive, or again the same old story.... I had to the guys with whom we had made a group, and one of them had already opted out because of some other reason, the others were getting curious and one of my
Neighbour got in touch with someone in Pune "MahaLaxmi Automobiles" and mentioned about the group buy for which the GM there promised to offer a great discount on the buy and also offer freebies etc.
The month was Dec 2011. When most of the auto dealer gets curious to clear the stock.
Here we had the Quote from MahaLaxmi Automobile Pune
Maruti Sx4 : On Road Price for Mumbai :
Price of the car 798317.00
Registration 55000.00
Extended Warrnty 3990.00 (+2years extra for the price of 1 year)
TOTAL 857307.00
Less Dec Bonus 20000.00
Landing Price 837307.00
And my negotiation starts with this guy, i get to know this cool sales rep called: Ayush through my neighbour, trust me if you have sales guy like him you will feel excited to buy any car even a TATA NANO (no hard feelings).
Finally he agrees to increase the discount with the following.
Less 10000.00 Special Discount
Mud Flaps
Rubber matting
Reverse Parking Sensor
My old car in mumbai was valued at only 1.20 MAX by spectra maruti chembur
This guy was offering me 1.30L
Again the Insurance discount of : 12000.00
So My Final Price was coming to : 6,85,000.00 INR and i was sure after this he would have asked me to take the car free why bargain. As i was not speaking to him he finally offered me with Extended warranty freeeee + i was getting the freebies might be around 5000.00 INR this was the best offer I would have ever got from anyone. Finally Iwas ready to book my car.
Contd...
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