My first car ! My biggest spend since I started working about 15 months ago !
A Silky Silver Swift VDI with ABS.
I have just come back from the pre-delivery and registration check up of the car at the dealer godown. Let me just summarize on how I went about deciding, choosing and finally buying the car.
The journey begins...........
Decision 1 : Do I need a car ?
This was the biggest decision that I had to take. Since we already have an Ikon flair in the family and I get to use it thrice a week generally, I was managing pretty well with a car pool. So even though I wanted an exclusive car for myself for the independence it provides, I kind of kept delaying the decision since I did not want to spend on it.
However, my job profile changed and I was required to shuttle between a couple of offices in Gurgaon and Okhla. Plus my younger brother also started using the Flair a little more frequently. That was when I decided that I needed a car. I thought that I had made the toughest decision. Littlt did I know that there was more confusion to come...........
Decision 2 : What do I want out of my car ?
This was the phase that was the longest, most confusing and ultimately the most important. I simply did not know what I wanted to get out of my car. Do I need a vehicle that can take me from place A to B ? Or do I need a vehicle that is power packed and take me from A to B in the shortest time? Or do I need a car that is a jack of all trades and a master of none which every Tom, Dick and Harry Potter on the road would have ? Do I need a car only with economy in mind ? Or shall I buy one that looks very good even at the cost of FE ?
I simply did not have the answer to any of the above questions.
Decision 3 : Which car ?
Still no answers but I started on my search anyways. Classified my cars in the following categories:
--Pure Economy and no pleasure :
- Alto: Great VFM but too cramped for a family having 6 footers. Ruled out almost instantaneously.
- XETA CNG: Good economy but too many niggles. Ruled out.
--Alternate Fuel :
I wanted to get myself a CNG car but was scared of warranty issues. Waited quite a bit for Santro CNG to come out. Also spoke to a couple of dealers who promised to convert a WagonR into CNG and still honor the warranty but with too many riders. Sounded very fishy so dropped the idea. Drove a couple of CNG cars and did not like the sluggishness at all. "Hell, I am not going to compromise so much on the riding comfort for econmy ", a brave me decided. The queues outside CNG pumps were another deterrent.
-- Jack of all trade cars: Santro and Wagon R. Both good cars and I would have bought any one of them but for the news of their phase out and newer models coming up.
-- Total no-no: All Ford cars due to high maintenance. All fiat cars due to A.S.S experiences of friends and neighbors. (Markiv on this forum is a friend)
Then came the big day when I test drove the Swift VDI and I was in love. Looked like a perfect car to me. I love the Swift styling and this gave me good economy too albeit at a slightly higher initial cost. But I am the kind of a person who values the daily happiness derived from a visit to the fuel bunker. A run of 2000 km per month also meant that diesel would make more sense. So it was decided. A swift VDI.
If you guys think that I am too confused, let me tell you one think that was never in doubt - the color. My car, irrespective of which one, would be silver.
Small Hiccups:
Should I go for ABS ? I decided that 20k will be a small price to pay for safety if this feature helps. Since I do travel on the highway, though for only 20 odd km a day, I decided to go for it. But then came the bombshell.... VDI with ABS had a waiting period for 3 - 4 months. VDI without ABS was available in 3- 4 weeks. Some dealers even refused to book the ABS version and had many tales to tell.
" Sir, Swift has booster brakes. They are so powerful. Why the hell do you need ABS ? Wo to sirf paise kamane ka tareeka hai. Chonchlebaazi hai "
In parallel, came the HC order to evaluate phasing out diesel cars. I thought, what the heck !! But by now, I was in love and could not think of any other car so decided to go ahead.
The problem of waiting was also solved. Digged out a friend in MUL. He promised delivery of the car within 3-4 days for a non-ABS and 7-10 days for the ABS version. True to his word, I booked the car with Fair Deal Cars on 12 September and I did the pre-delivery inspection today. The delivery is expected to happen on Sunday.
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During the Decision 1 & 2 time period, I came across Team Bhp. Wonderful and addictive. But there was a concern. In time, I got a feeling that the majority of the people here were different from me; had different views about cars and had different expectations from a car than I would have. I thought the average profile of a member would be someone in their thirties, professionally very well settled and had lots of money to spend on cars, ICE & modifications. People here owned Mercs. I wondered if their views would be applicable to me. In short, I was apprehensive if Team Bhp guys were as cost conscious as I am.
But during my stay here, I realized that you guys are capable of wearing different hats. GTO with a merc in his garage would advice someone not to buy a car that has high maintenance costs. I realised that this forum provided inputs that were much more informative and genuine that any car magazine would give me. Thanks Team BHP.
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I am taking the delivery of the car on Sunday when I will come back with pics, dealership experience and then a long term ownership report.
And yes, I am still confused as to what kind of ICE to go for
