Prospective Car buyer's search- Bought a car that was not in contention at all!

[himanshugoswami]

Hi Folks,

I have been in the market for a new car for the past couple of weeks with a budget of about 6.5-7 L.

I had shortlisted the Aveo and Fiesta 1.4 and at a stretch, the Honda city EXI(never my favourite, but then, you never know.....).

Then, I saw an ad in the paper for a Safari Dicor (8.2 OTL Bnagalore) with 55K worth of accessories(40Kcash dicount) and I was very tempted. I have always loved the regal bearing of the Safari, and now it was tantalizingly close to my reach.

SO the Fiesta/Aveo/City went flying out of the window and I was hell bent on the Safari.

My wife needed some coaxing, and we left the final decision on the test drive.

So last weekend the exec from Manipal Motors came over ot my place with a Dicor EX 4X4. One look at the car and I was salivating!

Then came the test drive. I drove the car first.

The seating position was amazing and the view was simply brilliant. Started the engine, put hte car in first, and the smile vanished from my face! teh car fetlt nothing like 30KGM! then the tacho crossed 1500 RPM(at 90 degrees!- the damn thing redlines at 3k!!!!- it looked a bit surreal) and things improved.upon hitting third gear, teh beast took on a totally different nature, and now we were motoring. On Sarjapur ring road, with hardly any traffic, we comfortably hit 120KPH and teh beast was amazing at this speed. Sure, there were vibrations and stuff, but then, this is a 3L Push rod engine, for heaven's sake. you cant compare it with a petrol.

Then came my wife's turn to drive. She dorve the vehicle for about 1 KM, in traffic, and pulled over to the side and said" I ain't driving this thing"....Hmmm..... wrong signals! any how, while she drove over a rough patch, I noticed that sitting in the rear, I felt the car pitch and wallow quite a bit.

I asked my wife what was her impression and she said- "this feels like driving a truck! the clutch is too hard, the gear shift is horrible and the vibrations!- God! you could shake all your bones loos in a months time!"

Now, let me mention here that my wife is a prettygood driver. In fact, if I am being completely honest with myself, I would say that driving stamina apart, she is a better driver than I am (and I pride myself at being an above average driver- I hold and advanced driver's license from UK, which is pretty darn difficult to get)

So after a long conversation, the Safari was out of the contention, since my wife would also be driving the car a lot (SOB! SOB!)

Hence we were back to square one. So yesterday, while going to KOramangala, we passed by Pratham motors on Sarjapur Ring road and decided to stop by there to buy an esteem VXI- I thought, if we are not buying safari, then let us just get the best VFM sedan we can. the deal was worked out for 5.35 OTR- a total disocunt of 35K.

As I was signing the papers, a Mr. Jeevan Joh, teh Manager for "Luxury car division"(No kidding- his card said that) came over and invited me for a cup of coffee. Over coffee, he told me, "Sir, y dont you look at the Baleno?" I told him that this car is going to be discontinued so I dont want to consider it.

To his credit, he did not give me any sales Spiel and simply said,"Sir, please take a test drive, and if after that also you want to buy an esteem then I am OK with that."

So off we went, with my wife taking the wheel first.

I will put up another post on the test drive experience, but in short, all I will say is that after a longish test drive (about 6K) we came back to the showroom and promptly booked a Baleno LXI.

The damn thing is simply brilliant! Forget the looks (Which I dont mind anyways,) the engine and the drive of the car is amazing. Moreover, I was told tha tthe engine will stay the same for the new Baleno with a differnt tune to cross the psychological 100 BHP mark.

The final deal I got was a total discount of 65K plus Garware sunfilm and wheel caps free. It is costing me 6.10OTR.

I am also getting the tyres upgraded to tubeless Potenzas 185/60 since the LXI comes with 165/80 tube type.

Will post another query for the ICE. ( I already have JK Das helping me out with that one though!)

A word about Mr. Jeevan John- the guy was very knowledgable and professional- you dont see many of those these days! a pleasure dealing with him!

P.S. Sorry for the long post.

[ankit.jhamb]

himanshu
i think u did a great job by buying a baleno...
i own a baleno(oct 2005) and believe me the ownership experience has been wonderful ..
best of luck

[navdeep]

nice writeup and good choice .. good luck !

[Steeroid]

Congrats Himanshu - finally you bought a car that suits your requirements.

[benbsb29]

Congrats on ur purchase, but how come u dint even consider the Scorp, since u liked an SUV too?

[himanshugoswami]

thanks guys.

Steer- ya I guess u are right. But my heart still yearns for the Safari. Someday........

Ben- The Scorpio was 1.3L more than Safari- way beyond my budget

[hrag]

Congratulations, himanshugoswami!

Originally Posted by himanshugoswami

But my heart still yearns for the Safari. Someday........

[supremeBaleno]

himanshu, it read like a thriller with a suspense.

Of all the cars in the market, I did not expect it to be the Baleno - especially when we all know that it is due for replacement now. From the beast to the most VFM sedan to the ugly duckling, that was one heck of a selection process. And a driving experience that you will surely enjoy.

[Samurai]

Congrats, Himanshu! Good suspense, I too didn't guess your choice.

BTW, I think you are picking the wrong size here, your GC will go down by 21mm and speedo error of -7%. Too much difference. The correct upgrade at 13 inch is 185/70.

[Equus]

Congrats HG! It being a Maruti, parts wouldnt be an issue for the rest of this millenuim![SIZE=-1][/SIZE]

[Surprise]

Starting up with GM, Ford, Honda & ending up with Maruti. While in reading process I thought you finalized with ESTEEM, but a turn to BALENO. Nicely written

[typeOnegative]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

From the beast to the most VFM sedan to the ugly duckling, that was one heck of a selection process. And a driving experience that you will surely enjoy.

Even you? Why do people call the Baleno ugly? Even the owners? Or were you speaking metaphorically?

BTW, Himanshu, congrats on the new buy - it is an awesome car. Though I feel you really should have got more clarity on the replacement (read new Baleno).

[Debasischatterj]

Himanshu,
Bad look from the front. Dull look from the back. Damn it!This car is worth every penny for 6Lack ORP.Absolutely correct decision.Congrats. A quick reminder . Please go for extended warranty upto 4th year/80K km if you intend to keep the car for 4 years.The earlier you buy it from the date of booking the cheaper it is.

[iraghava]

Wow Himanshu that was one interesting read!! Glad to know you bought a car you liked & was well within your budget! Congrats & have fun!

[DCEite]

Congrats Mr. Goswami!

Now i suggest you take some hints from Mr. Samurai for spicing up the Baleno..