Almost decided on 'SPARK' -- need some more advise

[manish_symc]

Friends,

I have almost decided on Spark after TDing so many cars like SWIFT Patrol/Diesel, Palio Stile 1.1, Palio 1.3JTD, U-VA, Spark, i10, Santro, WagonR.
I found Spark is fun to drive and VFM after SWIFT diesel. Spark drives well in city as well as in highways.
I will go for 1.1PS version since I am looking only for Power Steering and AC. On road price in Pune is Rs/- 3.51 Lakhs (Including 10k for 3Yrs GM maintenance scheme).

Dealer is ready to give below accessories for free
- Floor mates
- Mud Flaps
- Sun film

I will ask him to provide Steering cover too.

Could you please tell me what other accessories should I purchase for my car?


Regarding Loans-
- I asked Bank of Baroda for loan and they are providing 11% interest rate for 5 years, 0.5 processing fee and no pre-payment charges. (Per lakh EMI 2176)
- Dealer has tie-up with HDFC and they are giving 10.5% interest rate for 5 years with 2600Rs processing fee.(Per lakh EMI 2131). I am not concerned about pre-payment charges.

I am confused above two. Which loan should I chose.

[sukiwa]

Loans: Please check actual outgo for both HDFC & BoB for loan tenure & then compare it against actual loan amount. Opt for the cheaper one. Don't judge only on EMI/interest rate.

Accessories: Music system, front windscreen film (optional)

[an10]

Probably you can get the power windows for your car. I use to take this as a luxury feature earlier but then sometimes you really need it badly - imagine a situation where-in you have stopped the car for taking directions from someone and most of the time he will be on the left side and you will have to bend all over and roll the windows down to talk to him...power windows do come handy that time....may be a rare case...

Loan - look at the total payout during the loan period and IMO zero pre-payment charges are always better. You never know you may hit a jackpot tomo !!!

[manish_symc]

Originally Posted by sukiwa

Accessories: Music system, front windscreen film (optional)

Is front windscreen film okay with night driving?

Originally Posted by an10

Probably you can get the power windows for your car. I use to take this as a luxury feature earlier but then sometimes you really need it badly - imagine a situation where-in you have stopped the car for taking directions from someone and most of the time he will be on the left side and you will have to bend all over and roll the windows down to talk to him...power windows do come handy that time....may be a rare case...

Thanks mate for suggesting power windows. Should I go for higher spark version to get power windows or is it good to get these power windows from outside?

[CaAT]

I have almost decided on Spark after TDing so many cars like SWIFT Patrol/Diesel, Palio Stile 1.1, Palio 1.3JTD, U-VA, Spark, i10, Santro, WagonR.

Spark scores well in comaprison to it's competitors and petrol counterparts like Wagon R, Santro, i10 or Estillo. Not sure about the diesel comparison, though. Its like comparing apples with oranges, IMO.

I found Spark is fun to drive and VFM after SWIFT diesel. Spark drives well in city as well as in highways.

It is indeed fun to drive in city and I was pleasantly surprised by the way it drove on highways too.

I will go for 1.1PS version since I am looking only for Power Steering and AC. On road price in Pune is Rs/- 3.51 Lakhs (Including 10k for 3Yrs GM maintenance scheme).

Sorry for being pedantic, but there is no 1.1 version. Spark is a 1000 CC car.

As an10 said, why don't you go for the top end model i.e. 1.0 LT? Since you are anyways going for loan the additional 50k will translate into approximately 1100/- extra per month, not much considering the added goodies that you get in LT.

Dealer is ready to give below accessories for free
- Floor mates
- Mud Flaps
- Sun film

I will ask him to provide Steering cover too.

Could you please tell me what other accessories should I purchase for my car?

That is a good offer from dealer. Btw, which dealer are you buying the car from? My experience tells Pashankar Auto is the best.

As for additional accessories, there are many including under body treatment for rusting, wax polishing, leather seats and most importantly the ICE, depending upon your need and budget.

I asked Bank of Baroda for loan and they are providing 11% interest rate for 5 years, 0.5 processing fee and no pre-payment charges. (Per lakh EMI 2176)
- Dealer has tie-up with HDFC and they are giving 10.5% interest rate for 5 years with 2600Rs processing fee.(Per lakh EMI 2131). I am not concerned about pre-payment charges.

I am confused above two. Which loan should I chose.

I would advice checking up with few Cooperative banks too. I got my loan from Janseva Sahakari Bank only becasue they were offering 10% loan as against 11 to 11.5% offered by PSU and private banks, six months ago.

Hope that helps. In case you need any more info feel free to ask or PM me.

[sukiwa]

have been using 'clear front windscreen films' for more than 1.5 years without any problems & being 'clear' in nature doesn't pose a problem for night driving. It helps to reduce strain on eyes & improves AC effectiveness a bit.

Power Windows: Didn't suggest as you have already zeroed down a variant of Spark. But, if you looking for having front power windows, it's better to go for variant having it as standard fitment. Fitting power windows from accessories shop might not be that well in terms of fit & finish.

[sreenidhibr]

An useful accessory would be seat covers. Take a look at cost and material (fabric, art. leather, leather or composite) before you decide.

What about security system? Is it included in the package?

[ram_hyundai]

Originally Posted by sreenidhibr

An useful accessory would be seat covers. Take a look at cost and material (fabric, art. leather, leather or composite) before you decide.

What about security system? Is it included in the package?

Pu leather from Stanley is good.But they would be in the range of 6000-9000.If you plan to do any security system go for the genuine accessory from GM.
Any kind of electrical fitments can be done up at the dealer point to avoid warranty issues.
ram

[chiclets]

I also have similar requirements for my Spark LS.

I've finalized for following:
Seat Covers
ICE (still not decided about brand and make)
Central Locking
Reverse horn
Gear Lock
Steering cover
Teflon coating (Not sure if I should go about it now)

What else guys?
-Vishal

[manish_symc]

Please see my replies in bold-

Originally Posted by CaAT

As an10 said, why don't you go for the top end model i.e. 1.0 LT? Since you are anyways going for loan the additional 50k will translate into approximately 1100/- extra per month, not much considering the added goodies that you get in LT.
Paying Home Loan too

That is a good offer from dealer. Btw, which dealer are you buying the car from? My experience tells Pashankar Auto is the best.
Yes, Pashankar. He is ready to give steering cover too.

As for additional accessories, there are many including under body treatment for rusting, wax polishing, leather seats and most importantly the ICE, depending upon your need and budget.
I will get in touch with you once I finalize my loan and car booking.


I would advice checking up with few Cooperative banks too. I got my loan from Janseva Sahakari Bank only becasue they were offering 10% loan as against 11 to 11.5% offered by PSU and private banks, six months ago.
Hope that helps. In case you need any more info feel free to ask or PM me.

Today, Bank of Baroda told me that they need one guarantor since I am not having any business with them. So, I think same will be case with Co-operative banks. Now, I am checking with AXIS bank.

Originally Posted by sukiwa

have been using 'clear front windscreen films' for more than 1.5 years without any problems & being 'clear' in nature doesn't pose a problem for night driving. It helps to reduce strain on eyes & improves AC effectiveness a bit.

Dealer has told me to give wind screen films but not sure about clear front windscreen film.

Power Windows: Didn't suggest as you have already zeroed down a variant of Spark. But, if you looking for having front power windows, it's better to go for variant having it as standard fitment. Fitting power windows from accessories shop might not be that well in terms of fit & finish.
Okay, I will not go outside to fit power windows. I will try to live without these.

Originally Posted by sreenidhibr

What about security system? Is it included in the package?
no, security system is not included in package. Could you please tell me which one is best?
Is it sufficient, if I go only for Rear Gear Lock.

[BurningHeart]

We bought a Spark LS last month. Fiery Red is the color. The front power windows is a useful feature while asking for directions. OTR Trivandrum was INR 3.65. We got floor mats for free, steering wheel cover and 2.5k discount on GM's central locking. But after the car was delivered, the dealership returned INR 10.8k back to us!! (Due to excise rate changes, though it was done for us post-production and post sales).

It is a good car in the city and it is also decent on the high way. Very comfy ride for front and rear passengers. I think the FE is quite good at about 15 kmpl on highways (ours has only done 1100 kms so far).

Though we paid cash for this, I think you need to think about the pre-payment charges. Pre-payment charges are important IMO because for most people, they will want to buy a bigger car when situations permit (read: a bigger bonus couple of years from now). The best part is you can negotiate this with many of the banks. Please shop around a bit more. Have you tried Canara Bank or Bank of Rajasthan or Corporation Bank yet? Even SBI has put up some good deals in news papers. Even if you can knock 0.25% off, it works out to some good savings.

Also, when I bought a car long time back, I picked up the 3 year payback option as I wanted to get rid of the debt as early as we could (and pay less to the banks coffers!).

BH.

[Lord Lucan]

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

2.5k discount on GM's central locking.

When I inquired with TVS about central locking, their communication was GM does not have a genuine Central Locking accessory .

BurningHeart can you please elaborate more on "GM's central locking" and it's price. Is it a Central Locking or remote locking? Is it from GM or Autocop?

[NetfreakBombay]

Originally Posted by BurningHeart

Pre-payment charges are important IMO because for most people, they will want to buy a bigger car when situations permit (read: a bigger bonus couple of years from now).

He mentioned about a home loan.. it makes more sense to pre-pay that then car loan since home loan will usually be for a longer term and higher value loan (so, IMHO savings from interest will be higher if interest component is higher then 1.5 L per year)


I am in the same boat (Running home and car loan EMIs at the same time)

[manish_symc]

Originally Posted by NetfreakBombay

He mentioned about a home loan.. it makes more sense to pre-pay that then car loan since home loan will usually be for a longer term and higher value loan (so, IMHO savings from interest will be higher if interest component is higher then 1.5 L per year)

I am in the same boat (Running home and car loan EMIs at the same time)

Yes, you are right. If I pre-pay one lalk rupees home loan, i will save more money.

[chiclets]

I went to an autocop dealer today. He showed me Autocop 8250 (?) fully loaded for 3500. It had "made for spark" sticker!

After doing a quick market survey, I realized that dealers charge way extra money for the same thing. Duh!

Re: loan, I got it done from SBI (11.75%) and apparently it costed me 220 per month extra for 36 months then what ICICI guy told me. But since they don't have any pre-payment penalty (they say 2%) but this very friendly guy at SBI (very very rare find I can tell you ) told that he has not seen anybody getting charged even the 2 percent. I'm very optimistic about paying my karza (debt for non-hindi guys) within an year, pre-payment was very important factor for me. But mind you, government jobs take their own time and you need to be bothered more than what you would want on any given day!

I expect to take delivery tomorrow. Hope everything works out as planned!

-Cheers,
Vishal