Maruti hikes diesel car prices by up to 10,000 rupees

[rohan_iitr]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Indeed it is not perfect. But it sure seems to be the best of the available options overall, as per the target market segment.

The point you are missing is, what you so easily dismissed as 'the herd' is a group of knowledgeable customers, who analysed different choices and came to a decision. Just because their choice does not agree with yours or because they chose not to buy a Hyundai like you would, does not make them a herd. While we might pride ourselves on being informed, let us not assume that others are not doing their home-work too or worse, not capable of doing it.

Case in point the new Fiesta. When was the last time you saw one on the road ? It is not just tbhp-ians, but normal people also know that it is not value for money and hence shunned it. But the Verna is overbooked. So all those who booked one and are waiting for it, must be another herd according to you. Similarly it must be another herd that helped the XUV500 close bookings in a matter of days of the car being released.

I would no go OT by discussing Verna or XUV sales and Fiesta failure in the market.

I would only say that a car which has a known and widely reported issue with the brakes cannot be called the best option available.

Agreed that the car has a great engine and great handling. But does it have the required stopping power to work against the combo of diesel engine+good handling ?

IMHO, a car with a powerful engine and great handling with poor stopping power is just an accident waiting to happen. How would you feel if a Swift D rear ends your car for no fault of yours ? Would you still say that it is the best option available ?

IMHO, any customer who chooses to go ahead with his purchase of the car, being fully aware of the poor braking, is not a knowledgeable customer. The only home-work which such knowledgeable customer has done is that Swift D has the lowest running cost and highest resale value.

In the country of the blind, the one eyed man is the king. So Swift D is the king of the Indian market.

Rohan

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

How would you feel if a Swift D rear ends your car for no fault of yours ? Would you still say that it is the best option available ?

I have been rear-ended mostly by bikes and once by an M800, none of which are known to have poor brakes. So, isn't it more the rider/driver to blame than the car. This does not still take away from the fact that the brakes in the lower versions of Swift are lousy.

Originally Posted by rohan_iitr

IMHO, any customer who chooses to go ahead with his purchase of the car, being fully aware of the poor braking, is not a knowledgeable customer.

Depends on where he gathers info from. Price info is available with the dealer or auto-mags. I dont read auto-mags, but I would not be surprised if they gloss over the poor brakes bit. So, unless the customer is reading tbhp or such other inbiased reviews, he would not know about the brakes being bad. Even a 'normal' TD might not reveal the issue. Can't blame them, can we ?

So many people buy the i20. Are they aware of the steering and related issues we know about ? If they knew, would they buy it ?

[ExtremeTorque]

I would have done exactly the same thing if I were heading Maruti. I mean, come on, its not a charitable organization, trying to serve the masses. Its purely business and as long as the demand is there, they would definitly try to milk us, the consumers.

From a consumers point of view, potential customers should start thinking beyond the Maruti's and look at options like Ford, Fiat & others. We would definitly save a few lacks and make Maruti smell the coffee.

[Rach]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Punto MJD - Cheaper interiors, sluggish pickup, bad resale, lackluster A.S.S., Fiat's track record in supporting their cars

Vista - Centre speedo console, "Taxi" image, Tata niggles, TASS woes

Ford Figo - No match in performance, no Rear Power Windows, lots of niggles (check other threads), dated looking

Beat - Cramped interiors, Hit or Miss Styling, 3 cylinder diesel unfit for highways

Polo - 3 cylinder engine, lacklustre pre-sales, unknown ***, high service costs, low dealer network

i20 - no fun to drive, steering issues

Ritz - Styling not to many people's tastes, handling not upto Swift's mark

So is there really an option to Swift Diesel ? If only i10 came with a diesel heart. Until then just look at Swift numbers and the competition numbers.

As some one already pointed out, we can list lot negative and niggles with Swift too. To each his own. As per me, Maruti A.S.S is highly overrates vis-a-vis others. I own both Punto and Swift, and I never felt any difference. Rather, I always felt Punto was better in getting greater attention at A.S.S, with lesser crowd than Maruti. Ever tried getting a home pick up and drop for Maruti? It is also cheaper to maintain Punto with its better build, extended warranty that even covers suspension, mechanicals and electricals.

Anyway, the point I am trying to make is, as long as people has this Swift mania, Maruti can increase prices in 10k increments and see if people can take it until demand tapers off to production levels. I know many people who paid 30k over OTR (in black) to dealer for getting Swift early. There is a marketing research related to concept of 'Majority of people assume they are buying logically, but most of the times they buy purely on emotions. After making an emotional decision, they rationalize it with logic'. Swift craze is one good example of it.

[ethanhunt123]

All this hue and cry about Swift being overpriced, lets see the ex-showroom as well of diesels (only variants with ABS+Airbags) -

Beat LT (O) - 5.53 L
Ford Figo - 5.79L
Toyota Etios - 5.87L
Indica Vista ZX - 6.14L
Swift ZDi - 6.59L
Punto Emotion Pk - 6.6L
Fabia Elegance - 6.94L
Polo Highline - 7.22L
i20 Asta - 7.04L

Swift lies in the middle of the pack - cheaper than Punto (LOL), Fabia & Polo (3 pot motors) & i20 (FTD factor = 0).

Beat (3 pot cylinder) & Etios (el-cheapo interiors) are no comparison to Swift's target segment, Ritz does not come with safety features.

Not many buy Indica because of taxi image and unreliable TASS. Remaining Figo - its a good VFM car BUT full of niggles, low powered engine & lack of power windows at the rear.

So how is Swift overpriced may i know ? And if you add the resale value, Swift will turn out to be even more VFM.


@Rach - But ofcourse, i never said Swift is a perfect car. It comes with its own set of problems - rattles, too many on the road, long waiting list etc. But the fact of the matter is, according to Indian market - its the best selling hatchback in its class. In other words, most people consider it best fit for their needs. And as i mentioned pricing above - no way is it still overpriced - Fabia/Polo are the ones which can be accused of gouging customers because of Brand image.

[supremeBaleno]

@ethanhunt123, thanks for the prices. That puts things in perspective.

The Etios looks like a bargain, if one can live with the interiors.

Not driven the Fabia, but the Polo-D is plain lousy to drive. I did love its looks and the huge boot. But still 7.22lakhs for something with a 3-cyl motor ???

[Latheesh]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

Swift lies in the middle of the pack - cheaper than Punto (LOL), Fabia & Polo (3 pot motors) & i20 (FTD factor = 0)

You do not get any discount on Swift, but will get some discount if you buy others.

[shashank.nk]

Originally Posted by Latheesh

You do not get any discount on Swift, but will get some discount if you buy others.

By 'others' you mean only the Punto right ? Last i checked except Fiat, no one was offering any discount on diesel variants of their cars. All discounts were only on petrol.

IMHO, discounts should not be factored in when saying a car is true VFM, its a reaction by the manufacturer to try and increase sales due to poor demand.

[anonymous]

Originally Posted by thesilentone

When Ritz & Swift share the same engine, how come the Ritz is raised by Rs.2,000/- and the Swift is raised by Rs.10,000/-. Shameful tactics by Maruti

Originally Posted by diesel_power

Maruti says that the cost increase is due to appreciating yen and rising input costs. Raise in the cost of Ritz is Rs 2k while rest of diesels models is 10k.

As most of us have pointed out. This is nothing but milking the cow. Maruti knows that Potential Swift Owners are not going away because of this price hike of 10k. (As I saw people justifying this move on the forum itself )

At the same time they also know that Ritz is not as hot selling model as Swift so if they had hiked its price by another 10k, there would have been lesser booking. So just to justfiy that this hike is across all diesel models, they gave puny 2k hike for Ritz.

I wonder why is this only for diesel cars and not petrol cars

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by ethanhunt123

All this hue and cry about Swift being overpriced, lets see the ex-showroom as well of diesels (only variants with ABS+Airbags) -

Beat LT (O) - 5.53 L
Ford Figo - 5.79L
Toyota Etios - 5.87L
Indica Vista ZX - 6.14L
Swift ZDi - 6.59L
Punto Emotion Pk - 6.6L
Fabia Elegance - 6.94L
Polo Highline - 7.22L
i20 Asta - 7.04L

Swift lies in the middle of the pack - cheaper than Punto (LOL), Fabia & Polo (3 pot motors) & i20 (FTD factor = 0).

Beat (3 pot cylinder) & Etios (el-cheapo interiors) are no comparison to Swift's target segment, Ritz does not come with safety features.

Not many buy Indica because of taxi image and unreliable TASS. Remaining Figo - its a good VFM car BUT full of niggles, low powered engine & lack of power windows at the rear.

So how is Swift overpriced may i know ? And if you add the resale value, Swift will turn out to be even more VFM.


@Rach - But ofcourse, i never said Swift is a perfect car. It comes with its own set of problems - rattles, too many on the road, long waiting list etc. But the fact of the matter is, according to Indian market - its the best selling hatchback in its class. In other words, most people consider it best fit for their needs. And as i mentioned pricing above - no way is it still overpriced - Fabia/Polo are the ones which can be accused of gouging customers because of Brand image.

Rather than the Ex-Showroom price, we should look at the OTR prices of these cars after discounts.

In Chennai, Swift ZDI may now cost 7.7L OTR.
Where as, Punto 90HP can be bought for 7.6L OTR. 75 HP will be available for 7.3L OTR . Now, which car is more VFM?

Again, I hate to compare Swift with Punto/Polo/Fabia/i20. They are in different segment.

[diesel_power]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Rather than the Ex-Showroom price, we should look at the OTR prices of these cars after discounts.

In Chennai, Swift ZDI may now cost 7.7L OTR.
Where as, Punto 90HP can be bought for 7.6L OTR. 75 HP will be available for 7.3L OTR . Now, which car is more VFM?

Punto ..!!

But, (yes there is a BUT..!!) I wish the After sales of FIAT was as good, or atleast 50% as good as Maruti.

I know that FIAT is trying to improve, All the best FIAT.

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by diesel_power

Punto ..!!

But, (yes there is a BUT..!!) I wish the After sales of FIAT was as good, or atleast 50% as good as Maruti.

I know that FIAT is trying to improve, All the best FIAT.

But, again, have you ever owned a Fiat?
I am now owning a Linea after exchanging for a Punto . I never had any issues with the A.S.S. In fact, I am more happy with Fiat than Hyundai (Also, owned a Getz).

Again, when we talk about VFM car, it's Punto all the way. Maruti is just enjoying with the premium pricing for a product which has huge demand in the market.

[diesel_power]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

But, again, have you ever owned a Fiat?
I am now owning a Linea after exchanging for a Punto . I never had any issues with the A.S.S. In fact, I am more happy with Fiat than Hyundai (Also, owned a Getz).

Again, when we talk about VFM car, it's Punto all the way. Maruti is just enjoying with the premium pricing for a product which has huge demand in the market.

I haven't ever owned a fiat.

But, I used to work in a TATA/FIAT showroom some time back. And I know the service guys over there and their capacities, to handle the car.

(P.S. Showroom also had a service station)

[rameshnanda]

Originally Posted by diesel_power

I haven't ever owned a fiat.

But, I used to work in a TATA/FIAT showroom some time back. And I know the service guys over there and their capacities, to handle the car.

(P.S. Showroom also had a service station)

I understand. But, this is not the case only with Tata/Fiat. This is with almost all the dealers/service centers.

I have gone through the pain of Hyundai Service for almost 4 years from 2006-2010. They never solved any of my complaints. What they know about the service is to do Oil Change, Wash the Car and deliver with sweet English speaking SA's.

I think we are going OT. Swift is a good product from Maruti. No doubt about that. But, the thing is they have now started to capitalize the demand they have for this car by pricing heavily. Current Swift - 50K would have been a great VFM Diesel hatch.

[diesel_power]

Originally Posted by rameshnanda

Current Swift - 50K would have been a great VFM Diesel hatch.

.. And every car also comes with its own pros and cons..
For me, both the cars are equal.
I have drive Punto, Linea and the New Swift almost on similar conditions for almost similar distances.

If I were to pick among the Punto and Swift (as the cars they are), I would definitely go nuts, both are awesome..!!