My would-be drive- Safari 2.2L VTT EX Pearl White!! – Arrived 25/05/08 - Pics on Pg 3

[bhagathmp]

Originally Posted by GTO

Glad we could be of help, Bhagat. It is your turn to start assisting newbies now, or once you get your Safari.

Congratulations on the beast!

You are always of help GTO. same is with other members too. and rightly said . this form has given me so much and i'll be glad if i can may be answer one qurey from a newbie ...
Bugs

[harjeev]

Thats a very good writeup, summarized and to the point.

Congrats bhagat on being on the path of Making Your Own Road

and just on a lighter note do remember to check for cardboard sheets near the radiator grille.. i missed that one out and was an experience I would never forget

[bhagathmp]

Originally Posted by harjeev

Thats a very good writeup, summarized and to the point.

Congrats bhagat on being on the path of Making Your Own Road

Thanks Harjeev.

Originally Posted by harjeev

and just on a lighter note do remember to check for cardboard sheets near the radiator grille.. i missed that one out and was an experience I would never forget

how can anyone who has read your post ever forget this!!! and lose battery plugs etc. i'll take extra care during the inspection. have noted down all those wonderful points listed out in this forum.

Regards
Bugs.

[stefanm]

Congarts man, the Safari is a damn fine ride, definatly worth the wait and your taking delivery on my birthday, i'll be having a drink for you, whilst being jealous.

enjoy

stefan

[bhagathmp]

Originally Posted by stefanm

Congarts man, the Safari is a damn fine ride, definatly worth the wait and your taking delivery on my birthday, i'll be having a drink for you, whilst being jealous.

enjoy

stefan

Thanks Stefan and advance B'Day wishes.

I might get an early delivery. i really cant wait till the 6th. so its now planned for 28th May. going to the dealer this afternoon to discuss more on the offer front.

Regards
Bugs

PS : Can any one help me on how to edit the Title of this Thread. I browsed through the FAQ and it was mentioned to go to the thread and hit edit button. but i could not find the edit button. Please help!!!

[hmishra83]

Hearty Congratulations. I just wished the same to another 2.2 owner on a diff thread. It sure is raining safaris

[bhagathmp]

Hi TBPH,
Sorry been away from the forum for a while. Been busy with family and work .Have got few things to update this thread.

First Drive of my Truck - Friday 23rd May

By afternoon , I had been to the stock yard to check and choose my Truck. For the very 1st time I got to see my truck face to face. There was couple of 2.2s parked there. The 1st one I looked at had about 1.5K on the odo. I looked at the dealer and said "No way, I don’t want a truck that’s run more than 100 on the odo." So we looked at the other one. It had only 60 on the board. I then went around checking the body for any dents or scratches. I found a little bit of rubber shaved off from the left foot pad. I have asked the dealer to replace it before the delivery which he has promised to do.

Having sorted the selection of my truck making sure there are no other visible imperfections on the outside, I went on to check the stuff under the hood. It was dirty to say the least - dust and a heap of dried out leaves, but was assured this will all be cleaned during the PDI. There was no visible oil leakage or spills. Then took her for a small drive on the NH, not more than 1 KM though. :(. Came back took note of the chassis number and was pretty sure this is going to be my truck.

With everything sorted out, I headed back for work.

The Registration - Saturday 24th May.
I got my entire finance ready on Saturday from Canara Bank. We (my wife and I) went to see the dealer and check out final details of the offer before the final deal.

Offer so far agreed upon.
1) Rs 10,000/- cash discount - Done
2) Floor Mats and Mud flaps (I guess Safari comes with Mud flaps for front) - would be put in before delivery
3) Perfume - would be put in before delivery
4) 3M SunFilm (opted for a light shade) - will get it done aftermarket
5) Upgrade for seats from Fabric to VX type Art leather (beige is what is being promised) - - would be put in before delivery

I also checked the Art Leather they are offering. Even though not great looking, they seem to be good; will have to see how it all comes together though. Pretty happy with the overall sales procedure, no major delays.
Since the vehicle was going straight to the Registration office as soon as I finished my process with the dealer, I asked if I could join the ride to and from the registration office. They gladly accepted and allowed me to ride (not drive :( ) my truck. I took the front passenger seat, my wife and her bro the middle row. I took this opportunity to see how good it would be as a passenger and how others would get a feel of the truck. I was constantly asking for feedbacks from the middle row passengers .over all I’m pleased with the truck. I could not hear any squeaks or loose nuts inside the cabin. The engine sound was sweet.

Registration did not take much time. We were there and in about 5 min the guy came inspected the vehicle and did some paper work. I took my wife and her bro around the truck and asked them to look for any damages I might have missed noticing. As someone said in this forum, 4 eyes are better than 2, I had 6 with me on that day. Nothing out of the ordinary was spotted and finally all of us were in the truck and back to the showroom. Incidentally my house was on the way back to the showroom. We drove to my place as I wanted to show my parents "The Beast" their son has just bought. Needless to say, they were a bit skeptical at the beginning when I shared the idea of buying a Safari. But the moment they saw the truck in our drive way, I could sense they too wanted to jump in and go for a drive. All it takes in just one look at the beast and you want to own him..

We went back to the showroom and were treated with warm cups of tea. There I was enquiring about the Hood deflector and was asked to meet a guy who takes care of ordering the spare parts and things. So there I'm talking to the guy explaining how this thing looks!!!He has absolutely no idea about this product and I explained to him the propose of the device.
Latest update is that they have ordered this from BLR and should get it by Thu or Friday. Not going to make it before the delivery of my truck on 28th though.

Just got over the phone with the dealer, and the truck is already under going PDI. Not sure if this is too early or too late as I’m getting delivery on Wed 28th May by 10 AM. My next update will contain the pictures of my truck with aftermarket alloys that I would be fitting on day one itself.

Just can’t wait till 28th. Ho boy the day is going so so sloooowwww!!!

Regards
Bugs

[drsk]

Originally Posted by SumitB

I have heard a few stories (of my dealership in Shillong) that leads me to believe that dealerships in small towns and cities use their customer's vehicles as test mules and abuse them.

My opinion is that, its not just in the small towns/cities. Even in big cities like Bangalore they do that. Else, I don't understand why the speedo and odo of the vehicles I took test drive are not functional. Infact other than Maruti vehicles I have not seen a functional speedo and odo. Infact I feel that chances for this is more in larger cities as the demand for test drives might be more than the number of demo cars the dealer has.

[drsk]

Hi Bugs congrats.

This has been my dream vehicle ever since I saw it first sometime in late 1998 or 1999.

Wish u a Happy ownership experience

[CrAzY dRiVeR]

Congrats. So, finally the dream has come true?

Are you entirely sure of the idea of the hood deflector?

And the tyre dealer (New bharath)- Please get a qoute from him before committing for the work. This is because i have a friend who was related to him someway, was pretty confident he would give a good deal on tyres+ alloys- and he ended up paying very high amount for cheap Nexen tyres (for Swift) that lose grip at the slightest hint of rain.

[bhagathmp]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Congrats. So, finally the dream has come true?

Yes buddy. finally the dream is coming true- in about 36 hrs from now .
10 yrs in the waiting.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Are you entirely sure of the idea of the hood deflector?

Yup 100%. I've seen it on SUVs in UK and in Canada and also in Srini's truck and they look gr8. not just the looks but they function too.

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

And the tyre dealer (New bharath)- Please get a qoute from him before committing for the work. This is because i have a friend who was related to him someway, was pretty confident he would give a good deal on tyres+ alloys- and he ended up paying very high amount for cheap Nexen tyres (for Swift) that lose grip at the slightest hint of rain.

Well I did ask around for couple of dealers but non seem to be in the good books of my friends here. More over the guy at New Bharath Mr Prasad, is a friend of my Sales guy and seem to be genuine. Has offered to sell 5 alloys for about 25k. need to work out on the buy back of my stock rims. I'm not changing my tyres as i think the stock Bridgestone would do the job for me.
Bugs

Originally Posted by drsk

Hi Bugs congrats.

This has been my dream vehicle ever since I saw it first sometime in late 1998 or 1999.

Wish u a Happy ownership experience

Thanks drsk. its been a dream come true for me .

Bugs

[greenhorn]

and as always, remember not to fill in and give back the customer satisfaction form until you've gotten your ride . If they screw up and forget something , you can always threaten to put it in the feedback forum - tata monitors it very strictly. This is from my experience of having taken delivery of two indicas

[bglsrini]

Hi,
Welcome to the club.

I am very happy that my thread's helped you a lot.

Almost all the safari owners own their beast out of passion and the decision that they have taken long back when safari was launched.So,they put in all their efforts to get the best out of their beast and enjoy owning it.

Enjoy your beast .

Best of Luck.

[kb100]

Originally Posted by CrAzY dRiVeR

Congrats. So, finally the dream has come true?

Are you entirely sure of the idea of the hood deflector?

And the tyre dealer (New bharath)- Please get a qoute from him before committing for the work. This is because i have a friend who was related to him someway, was pretty confident he would give a good deal on tyres+ alloys- and he ended up paying very high amount for cheap Nexen tyres (for Swift) that lose grip at the slightest hint of rain.

Please be careful - They are outright CHEATS! I know this is a very strong statement but I am speaking from personal experience - and that of many many others who have suffered at their hands. What is stated here is the least of their antics.

NO ONE in the know ever goes to them.

And CONGRATULATIONS!!

[bhagathmp]

Originally Posted by greenhorn

and as always, remember not to fill in and give back the customer satisfaction form until you've gotten your ride . If they screw up and forget something , you can always threaten to put it in the feedback forum - tata monitors it very strictly. This is from my experience of having taken delivery of two indicas

Point Noted

Originally Posted by bglsrini

Hi,
Welcome to the club.

I am very happy that my thread's helped you a lot.

Almost all the safari owners own their beast out of passion and the decision that they have taken long back when safari was launched.So,they put in all their efforts to get the best out of their beast and enjoy owning it.

Enjoy your beast .

Best of Luck.

Hi Srini, thanks,

Every one who is the owner of the beast has bought it out of sheer passion. We all accept that this might not be build to the perfect quality, but hey whos complaining, after all they are the owner of Land Rover and Jaguar Brands !!!!

Bugs