[Sawyer]

I think this varies; I remember my dealer waiving the need for any deposit. Maruti isn't making the car based on deposits collected anyway - whenever they have a production run, they ship the car. I guess that is why white is the one delivered most often and with the least fuss.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

I think this varies; I remember my dealer waiving the need for any deposit. Maruti isn't making the car based on deposits collected anyway - whenever they have a production run, they ship the car. I guess that is why white is the one delivered most often and with the least fuss.

The deposit is not for Maruti. Rather it is dealer's safety net, in case the customer decides to cancel the booking, particularly post dispatch. In case of 'regular' cars it won't be as much of an issue since the car can be sold against another order but in case of a Gypsy it would pretty much be 'dead inventory' for the dealer given the super-low order volumes. In fact, in my case, the booking amount is non-refundable.

[Fortuner71]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Are you sure it's 10K. The minimum I hear from dealers here is 50K.

YES double checked twice with 2 dealers in Mysore .

[Sawyer]

In case of dead inventory, even Rs 50 k isn't cover enough.

What my dealer did was ask me to pay the full amount due, when the car was ready to leave Maruti, confirmed by a Maruti intimation of readiness. The car was delivered in a week after the payment.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Fortuner71

YES double checked twice with 2 dealers in Mysore .

Hmmm. That's interesting. I have checked with 4 dealers in Bangalore and all of them have quoted a deposit of 50K.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

In case of dead inventory, even Rs 50 k isn't cover enough.

Agreed, but it is at least a deterrent against defaulting.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

What my dealer did was ask me to pay the full amount due, when the car was ready to leave Maruti, confirmed by a Maruti intimation of readiness.

Ditto in my case.

[shankar.balan]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Are you sure it's 10K. The minimum I hear from dealers here is 50K.

Go for Harvest green. Beautiful colour!

[Vikram Arya]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

Hmmm. That's interesting. I have checked with 4 dealers in Bangalore and all of them have quoted a deposit of 50K.

Agreed, but it is at least a deterrent against defaulting.

Ditto in my case.

Originally Posted by Sawyer

In case of dead inventory, even Rs 50 k isn't cover enough.

What my dealer did was ask me to pay the full amount due, when the car was ready to leave Maruti, confirmed by a Maruti intimation of readiness. The car was delivered in a week after the payment.

It is quite interesting how different Maruti dealers have different standards all across the country.

I made the balance payment only when I took the delivery of the vehicle (this was 4 days after the vehicle was received at the dealership) and this was only six months ago.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

I understand the sales scenario. However, from a customer viewpoint, why should this be of any concern to me? This is unacceptable and not fair on the part of MSIL. How can they keep a customer waiting indefinitely just because they do not have enough orders for a particular color? As a customer, the number of orders for this color from all over India is none of my concern. I have opted for a color that is published in the brochure as an available color and I would expect it to be delivered to me within reasonable timeline. I am planning to explore the option of approaching the consumer court on this

Dear Cool Dube - you don't seem to have read the fine print "specifications are subject to change without notice"! Do something constructive, don't waste your time!

Strictly in a lighter vein, I have a crazy suggestion: if at all you are still crazy enough to want to get to the "bottom of this", please join one of the OEMs as their ASM (area sales manager) and try to satisfy the requirement of this one customer, whose name is Mr. Cool Dube, who has "some small issue of color"! If you have a north Indian background, you are allowed to say "krrrraa de yaar" in internal conversations. After some time, you will understand that talking about something carries much more weight "where it matters" (in front of the big guys), than doing something! By the way, "because you will always be in meetings, naa?", it is absolutely imperative that you will delegate the actual dealing of this customer (if at all, and compulsorily through the dealer-sales representative only), to your assistant's assistant's assistant who seems to have joined the area office about 2 months back as an intern or a trainee and who is thinking of going to Germany for further studies in any case! I repeat, this paragraph was in a lighter vein! .

I hope that somebody who calls the shots reads this and proves me wrong by giving you the color that you want. Then I would be delighted. Let's hope for the best, miracles do happen!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by shankar.balan

Go for Harvest green. Beautiful colour!

Not sure, Shankar. Had it been the forest green, that'd have been my first preference. From what I have seen in the pics, harvest green does not seem to be that appealing. It might be much better in flesh though. Sadly, there does not seem to be a way to see one before deciding.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

Do something constructive, don't waste your time!

Should I just get off this wild-goose chase and go for white? Please advise, sir.

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

I hope that somebody who calls the shots reads this and proves me wrong by giving you the color that you want. Then I would be delighted

Amen!

[Sawyer]

Go for white. If you don't like it or get bored of it, paint it over whenever. The soft top has little surface area to be painted in the first place, and paint finish requirement isn't as high as it is for other cars anyway. And this is one modification that will have no impact on long term reliability, but can be used to customise the look.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Go for white. If you don't like it or get bored of it, paint it over whenever. The soft top has little surface area to be painted in the first place, and paint finish requirement isn't as high as it is for other cars anyway. And this is one modification that will have no impact on long term reliability, but can be used to customise the look.

You read my mind. I was discussing with my family on exactly these lines. Meanwhile I have also written to the TSM for my area. Will wait to hear back from him and decide on the next course of action accordingly.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Dear Cool Dube - remember, original paint shop painted vehicle will definitely be much better than anything done afterwards. Besides cost addition, the hassle of removing and refitting everything is too much to do in the field. Your call.

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar

[Sawyer]

Behram makes a good point, and is one reason I have been too lazy to do anything with my white Gypsy. But if I was do a painting job done on any car, it would be the Gypsy for being the least troublesome.

Consider also a stickering job - I wanted to change the looks of my blue Nano, and 3M applied black film has worked brilliantly, now three years old.

[cool_dube]

Originally Posted by DHABHAR.BEHRAM

original paint shop painted vehicle will definitely be much better than anything done afterwards. Besides cost addition, the hassle of removing and refitting everything is too much to do in the field

Originally Posted by Sawyer

Behram makes a good point, and is one reason I have been too lazy to do anything with my white Gypsy.

I completely agree and this is the only reason I have held back on going ahead with a white one so far. I would any day prefer OE paint job as opposed to an after market one, however good it may be.

BTW, I have not yet heard back from the TSM, have sent him another reminder today. Not that I hope to hear anything very different than what the dealer has already told me.

I also tried contacting Maruti Customer Care but they keep pointing me back to the dealership. Practically useless!

This seems to have become a chicken n egg situation - I am okay to wait any number of months provided MSIL is ready to give me a hard date for delivery whereas MSIL says it cannot give a hard date since it all depends on the number of orders they get for this color!

All in all, my hopes of laying my hands on a blue Gypsy seem to be dwindling Let's see how much longer I can hold on.

[DHABHAR.BEHRAM]

Originally Posted by cool_dube

I have not yet heard back from the TSM, have sent him another reminder today. I also tried contacting Maruti Customer Care but they keep pointing me back to the dealership. Practically useless! This seems to have become a chicken and egg situation, I am okay to wait any number of months provided MSIL is ready to give me a hard date for delivery whereas MSIL says it cannot give a hard date since it all depends on the number of orders they get for this color! All in all, my hopes of laying my hands on a blue Gypsy seem to be dwindling Let's see how much longer I can hold on.

Dear Cool Dube - continuing from my last "in the lighter vein" post, (), you seem to have become half an ASM already! Now you know what these guys go through? Poor fellows, I empathise with them!

The complete supply chain management system that interacts with you is mostly full of created postmen, and I don't blame them at all. These are all good and well meaning people, but they are helpless! They are hemmed-in on all sides by lots of activities that they are just not allowed (or even encouraged) to do, however hard they may try. For the few activities that they are allowed to do, most of them (>90%) are presentations galore! If they don't do this, they cannot survive! Everybody talks of "Passion this and Passion that", because it has become the "in-thing" to say these things. The reality is what you are facing!

Go and show our interactive posts to the guys, tell them that "as a customer I am challenging you. If you can give a Vitara Brezza in 2-tone color, why can't you give me my Gypsy in a single color"? Get them to become a little angry at you so that they will accept the challenge, then there may be a chance that something good will happen. Finally the paint shop must get the order to make the vehicle in the color that you want. Remember, each color has a different part number. Never lose hope!

Best regards,

Behram Dhabhar