Trying and buying experience - New Zen

[simran]

Trying and buying experience - New Zen

After carrying out research and reading up on Team BHP and driving around in various models and cars, I had zeroed on the Santro, but ended up buying the Zen. Why? Can't explain precisely, but I think these were the

main reasons:

1. Zen was more pleasurable to drive
2. Long drives in a Santro had been quite painful, so wanted to experince something else that was more comfortable
3. Looks

apparently, this was a heart vs head matter. So to sort this out, visited the 3 Maruti showrooms in Pune and the two Hyundai ones. Overall, these were the findings:

1. Zen did not have the space
2. Zen was noisier, and the road filtered through more
3. Zen was much more fun to drive
4. Zen had better handling
5. Zen had better looks

The truth be told, Zen appealed more to my biker heart than the Santro.

Other points were more or less the same. To negate point no 2, I decided to fit in tubeless with alloys (Thanks, Satya, for your inputs re this) and hope for the best ... fortunately, the trick worked and now the ride is quite smooth compared to the 'test' cars I had driven.

Why, then, did you not consider the more powerful cars, which would have handled better, and probably given your biker heart more thump?

The cars I looked at were Getz, Palio, Petra, Ikon Flair, Esteem. Was not interested in Tatas since I wanted to keep the car for a long time. Lets see, budget was max 5 L and an absolute max of 5.5, if I really liked the package. Getz premium was high, Fiat cars were ruled out since a friend of mine had a servicing agency for Fiat in Pune, and he v. stronly suggested not to go in for a Fiat car since I was itnerested in keeping it for a long time and the servicing was not great at all. I know ppl here have had different experiences, but this is one guy i trust, so went ahead with his advice. Petra and all were Ok, but the difference in prices (and EMIs!) and with *** a suspect, ruled it out. Also, the final on-road with tyres, system and accessories was crossing 5, and my wallet was sweating, so let it go. Palio I found to be too sluggish for my tastes. Esteem's driving position was cramped for me, so did not pick it up. Did 2 test drives, but the car did not appeal to me at all.

Getting back to the point.

Head said Santro, and had decided on it, but something was niggling ... so gave myself a break and re-visited the analysis and talked to some more guys, and dug up more of team-bhp.

There was still some doubt...

So one fine day, headed out to hit the Maruti and Hyundai dealers in town, drive their respective vehicles, and try to decide.

All the test drive vehs were old, but Santro with 31000 was better than Zen at 32000. explanation was it was not serviced at all since the car had a punishing schedule of test drives. Anyway, took both the cars on different terrains, roads etc. Tried to compare both the cars on similar surfaces. In ride and handling, Zen scored; in silence and shock absorbers, Santro scored. With Zen, I could 'nip around', with Santro, the tall boy loomed up whenever you tried to do tricks on the road.

End of the day, I wanted the Zen.

More tomorrow. Have to go home now. Will put photos as well after I get them on my computer.

Cheers!
Simran

PS - dunno why but was not able to post on the other forums. If there are strict rules on posting such info on this forum, my apologies.

[DCEite]

I am surprised why you didnt consider WagonR. Its handling is better than Santro (according to ACI).. and gives around 15kmpl.. not to forget the tried and tested suzuki engine...

But anyways, congrats on your new Zen.. have fun with it!

[revtech]

hey congrats on your new zen its a nice small zippy car , just what you need in the city.have fun with it and drive safe

REv

[speedsatya]

yeah simran,
u have done the most sensible thing by sticking to 145/80r12 tires.going for tubeless and alloys must have definitely improved things .
how about some pics.


drive safe,

satya

[hot_rod]

hey simran congratulations you have just purchased one of the best cars on our roads zens have a class of their own and being under the cover of maruti you can get the best after purchase service not to forget the cheap spares what colour is your car please post some pics of your car thanks and congratulations again.

[v_s_natarajan]

congrats.
have a good time.
it is always the heart, like Loving a woman.

[simran]

About Wagon R, it is Ok till you are going in a straight line, but at speeds and moving between lanes, I felt it was oscillating which was not the case in Zen. Also, Wagon R's looks were against it.

Will post soon on the dealership experience etc when I find time today.

Thanks to all you guys for the loads of information kept on this site. Its awesome, and each time I opened it, there was something new to learn.

[jesal]

zen is a way better option than santro anyday. as u say long drives are a pain the seats are just not comfy enough. i have both but i like my zen much better.

[skidrock]

Congrats simran, enjoy your zen.
What's size of your alloys ? 12" ?

[moralfibre]

Good choice Simran.. I still prefer the old model Zen though there is nothing wrong technically with the new Zen.. The new Zen is a bit short in length and comes shod with 12" rims as to the older versions which came shod with 13" ones. By the way did you upgrade from a Bullet to the zen?

[simran]

Yeah Skidrock, the alloys are 12 inches. tyres are goodyear 145/80 R 12. Alloys are Aura. Total deal cost be Rs. 11,500, plus 700 for pump and a repair kit for tubeless tyres.

13 inchers would have cost around 13-14 grand.

Moralfibre, I too liked the old Zen's looks, but had to choose from current choice!

I had a bullet for some time, my current bike the is the CBZ.

[simran]

Buying process:

After deciding on the car, went to all the dealers in Pune twice, but could not get a good bargain anywhere. There are 3 dealers in Pune (Sai, Chowgule, Millenium), and one in Pimpri (Wonder Motors methinks). The max I got was from Sai who was willing to give Rs. 3000 worth of accessories. Also, Sai was recommended by pingme, so decided to go with him.

There was no problem of shooting the deadlines, and I even went to the stockyard to inspect the car a few days before delivery. Then the Sai wala showed you really can't trust dealers nowadays. The car when I went to pick it up, had run 133 kms, and had scratches on the bonnet. My friend in office told me Sai had this problem of running cars here and there even during service, and Chowgule had the best service in Pune. Millenium is new, so can't comment. Why the cars may have some extra mileage compared to other dealers may be because because their showroom/service centre in Pune city has a huge space crunch and they need to shift cars to their city godowns, but other Zens in the showroom had run 20-40 kms and I was really angry at those chaps for this. Anyway, couldn't do much since the car was now registered and all. Maybe the saleswaala thought lets teach a lesson since we have been pestered all along for deals etc ... but anyway, what is done is done. My problem also was that the tyre fellow had given me a deal of 11500 on alloys plus tubeless if the tyres of the new car are not more than 100 kms (alloys 11500, tubeless exchange 1000, rim buyback -1000) so asked the sales guys to get me the same deal from their tyre shop. The tyre guy was not too happy though!

Sai fellows tried to put teflon coating to cover the scratches, but didn't work, so tomorrow I go to get the bonnet changed. Someone else may get my bonnet (sagar, you listening???) and I am thinking of shooting a mail to Maruti also ... lets see, will depend on my mood. But for servicing, will go to Chowgule now.

Car is Ok otherwise. Drives well, and have been putting speed. Will update this thread after the first service is over and I've gone on some drives on the mileage etc.

Will be putting up a music system tomorrow as well. Mostly Sony ... have to check out Blaupunkt also, unfortunately there is just one shop that sells it so have to go a long way to check out the system first.

Simran

[The X Factor]

Just curious to know , whats your opinion on the ikon flair , did u have a test drive

[revtech]

isnt the ikon a bigger car when compared with the santro and especially the zen.guess simran didnt want that.and dude compared with the other too the ikon would definitly be the winner.no competition at all

[simran]

Well, I did test-drive the Ikon, and since I was at the dealership, test drove the 1.6 as well.

I could have purchased the Ikon Flair ... but putting the alloys and a good system would have moved the cost beyond 5. BTW, I put the "bahamas" from the Blaupunkt stable plus speakers. Liked the sound compared to Pioneer and Sony, so bought those. The chap at the shop was quite knowledgeable, and that partly influenced my decision. Cost me quite a packet (16500, all included) compared to what a Pioneer would have in the gray mkt (6700 for HU), but I sort of indulged myself.

You are right about the Ikon winning hands down. This will be hard to explain, but I'll try.

When I was searching for a car, I had a set of criteria that underwent changes as I did my research in the market and on the net. It was in the 'ease of driving' dept that the Ikon had problems coz my mom was not comfortable at all ... and she takes the car out on Sun for some work. She had learnt on the 800 so. The other reason was mileage and the recurring cost of insurance pa. If the car runs for 10000 kms pa, then the diff in petrol costs (assuming 10 for Ikon and 15 for Zen and petrol at 44) works out to Rs. 14500 approx. Insurance diff wld have to be paid pa. This by itself is ok, but coupled with EMIs is bad. My thinking was that if the Zen is giving me equal, or more 'josh' in the city (we must remember Flair is sluggish compared to Zen), is easier to drive, and has less noise (Flair somehow was quite noisy, dunno why), why not go for it. Both the cars had same problems with tall people, BTW. What you lose out on is status symbol, maybe safety and handling. I was able to indulge myself on the small thing in life like the music system and alloy wheels without thinking too much. Then there was the cost of spares and engine reliability. Zen's engine is v. reliable, and proven over the years.

So to answer your Q revtech, yes, the two cars cannot be compared per se, but I had to do that coz I could afford both, but wanted to be sure that they would fit my requirement, and would give me a good bang for the buck.

To answer X, Ford Ikon is a nice car, better interiors and more comfortable. If you are looking to buy it, go ahead by all means. I followed a line of thinking ... yours could be quite different. But do dig up this site properly. Lots of nice nuggets of honest information are lying about and that helps you take a more informed decision.

S