A log of how I bought Cedia

[santhosh_kumard]

Well the whole story began way back in 2007, when the little thought of owning a car began as a tiny seed in my mind. This was my first car, but somehow I desired only sedans. I wanted something of a statement. I also would like no compromise on safety which means a car without "ABS + AirBags" was a no-no. I wanted power too. And with power comes responsibility and well I needed a good handler.

Somewhere in mid-2007 SX4 came in, I was blown away with the specs, took a test drive, booked the car!. And then it happened, our company stocks plummeted!. And since the interest rates then was an awesome 16-ish I just pushed the booking on and on till the time calls from dealer stopped. And I too realised, that I did not really crave/love the car. And then there was this wierd idea of doing an MBA, and the car dream just was shelved.

Sometime in APR, I realised that my Mgmt college interview (via CAT), did not get me a seat and my Waiting List number was optimistically pathetic. And well, the shelved idea came to life, and thanks to salary adjustments , I thought, Why not try for something 9 < CarPrice <10.5 ?. The advantage being I can get a car above the Sx4 band and snob-value definitely helps in making people envious .

The cars shortlisted were
(i) Corolla - No-nonsense car. period.
(ii) Optra Magnum - I just loved the look of it. And the legendary rocket engine.
(iii) Cedia - T-Bhp-ians darling car. good to look. Features at a good price.

Firstly it was cedia which came for test-drive (From Lathangi, BLR). What a car!!!. The cabin was huge and i liked the layout of it. The visibility was stupendous!. Accelaration ok ok. But yes i liked the turning radius. Wife just loved it!. The test drive was first over a narrow road which has some S-curves, then a reverse T turn. Then a patch with some potholes. A patch where we have lots of humps of various sizes. A straight stretch and then a U-turn. The cedia performed matching all my expectations and above. It did not hit a single speed-breaker.

Second came the optra. Oh mi mi, it indeed proved right about what i heard. Its a rocket once turbo sets in. But it almost touched (and hit some) speed breakers. With all features it was around 11.5 and the dealer not really interested in giving discounts too. ARRGHHH i hated the way the lady salespersons tone was, as if she is doing some kind of 'ehsaan'(hindi).

Third I got the corolla. A no-nonsense car indeed. Eventhough it was fast, it did not excite me with the looks. The dealer was ready to give me 1 L discount without any bargains. I kind of liked the attitude of the sales team. They really treat you like a king. One more thing I found lacking in corolla was the A-pillar was hiding my view in a corner of the S curve. Not really much, but I could feel the difference after driving a cedia.

So now I got 'what car'. Now I come to know that Lathangi was closing down!. Oh Sheesh!. And I suspect that they were pushing me showroom pieces albeit at a good discount (35K). I call the southern-motors guys. The sales person who came in was courteous and professional. I was amazed since from what I heard I expected something sloppy.

And well without much hiccups I managed to get a 30K discount, get my fav red colour ( named french claret ), and selected 'Cedia Select'.

Its been a week since I bought it and I feel that excitement everyday when I see her smiling at me and hope that it continues forever.

The weekend we bought it we went somewhat into the Sarjapur road and clicked some pics which I am posting here. Enjoy the pics and comments are welcome

[djay99]

Congrats santhosh. Thats a nice looking car.

What is the OTR in Bangalore?

[vkochar]

Santhosh - Nice writeup. Lovely car this is. Colour looks good.

Still a stunner IMO.

[HappyWheels]

Congrats Santhosh.

So what was the final price you paid? And what all discounts?

[finneyp]

Congrats Santhosh! Nice choice of Car & Color!

Have fun & drive safe!

[CorsaLove]

Nice Write up. Congrats on the new car. It looks amazing and i hope she always gets you excited when you see her

Please post some interior pics also.

[kris905]

congrats! Cedia is a lovely car.
I almost booked a cedia for its performance, but the practicality came into play and i went for a diesel car.
Having said that its a great buy at 9.5 OTR fully loaded and a 2.0 Ltr engine.

Is the car sluggish in low gears? I thought i felt so during the TD

[Jaggu]

Congratz she looks neat, enjoy the drive and do update your experiences. Not many Cedia reports will be really valuable.

[AbhiJ]

Beautiful Car Dude.

Break her in gently ..

[anurag_p80]

Good choice dude, the car and the color. Looks awesome.
OT: Did the stock bounce back??:P

[anandtheleo]

Very nice car, the color is great. Enjoy the ride.

[shazikon]

Nice car Santosh, I liked your narration more so cos i have been sailing in the same boat

[sj_koova]

Congrats dude.
And welcome to the Cedia club.

[kutlee]

Good write up mate. Nice color.

[santhosh_kumard]

Thanks All for the wishes.
The OTR for me was 9.5 L including sun-films + body-cover(though dealer hasnt still deliverd it).

I am breaking in nicely. Last night I was running in the Outer Ring Road (Hebbal->K.R Puram section/ BLR) and many a times I had to contain my urge to rip it up. But once on a corner i just did not leave the axlrtr nor the lane and the feeling of being planted to the road is awesome!

The