[aravind511]

Dear T-bhpians,

I have started a distribution company for packaged food products and need advise in buying a covered commercial carrier. Daily routes are approximately 80-140kms and will have mostly 30-40 stops to be covered within 10 hours.

These are the vehicles I considered

1.Tata Ace Zip :

Pros
*Suitable for Bangalore city traffic
*claimed FE of 30+ on diesel
*price (~2.5Lakhs OTR with custom made cargo box)
Cons
*11bhp engine is underpowered and might delay delivery schedules

2.Tata Ace HT

Pros
*Large cargo bay
*Claimed FE of 20-25 on diesel
Cons
*I felt it is a bit over priced at ~3.5 lakhs OTR(with cargo box)
*16bhp engine is still underpowered when loaded

3.Maruthi Omni Cargo

Pros
*Car like drivability
*Sliding side doors give easy access to the cargo bay when parked in tight spaces
*32hp engine is powerful with full load
*Low maintenance cost
*Reasonable Price (<3Lakhs on the road with non-OEM LPG kit)
Cons
*Petrol engine means increased running costs (A non-OEM LPG kit can be fitted for an extra 20k but running costs will still be approx Rs.4-5 per km)

I will need to cover 30-40 shops in a day with approximately 15-20 minutes delay in each shop. Routes are typically 80-120km long and usually it takes 10-12 hours to cover these routes.

My mind goes for an Omni as I feel it being more powerful can help us save at least on hour daily by covering the distance more quickly. Also I feel Maruti service will any day be cheaper and reliable as compared to the Tatas. But I cannot make a decision as yet. Hence waiting for your valuable inputs.

Aravind

[turbospooler]

Wishing great success for your venture Aravind!
My question is: Are you going to deliver the package yourself or hire a driver?
If you will hire a driver, get the ACE ZIP, else get the OMNI.
Also, power to weight ratio will be the correct metric for your calculations of being speedy or slow.
Personally, I am not a big fan of the OMNI as it was our first vehicle and I remember how unstable it used to be at high speeds.
Also, check if the boxes you are going to deliver will be carefully dropped on the loading bay or just whirled on the deck.
If the use is going to be rough, I suggest a proper commercial vehicle rather than the OMNI as its loading bay will crack and corrosion will start.
Do inform us about your decision when made.

[rajeev k]

The ideal choice for your purpose would be the Super Ace. Though it is costlier by another Rs 90K over the Ace HT, the higher carrying capacity and the loading area would help in a lesser transporting cost and hence a shorter payback period. Think over before making a final choice.

[aravind511]

Originally Posted by turbospooler

Wishing great success for your venture Aravind!
My question is: Are you going to deliver the package yourself or hire a driver?
If you will hire a driver, get the ACE ZIP, else get the OMNI.
Also, power to weight ratio will be the correct metric for your calculations of being speedy or slow.
Personally, I am not a big fan of the OMNI as it was our first vehicle and I remember how unstable it used to be at high speeds.
Also, check if the boxes you are going to deliver will be carefully dropped on the loading bay or just whirled on the deck.
If the use is going to be rough, I suggest a proper commercial vehicle rather than the OMNI as its loading bay will crack and corrosion will start.
Do inform us about your decision when made.

Thanks a lot turbospooler
I have a driver. Ace zip is a good option but i was terribly let down by its power.. too slow to pick up even a speed of 20kmph.. otherwise it is a good vehicle i felt.
Items are of medium weight and are very well packed. Handling wont be rough as some items come in glass bottles.

Originally Posted by rajeev k

The ideal choice for your purpose would be the Super Ace. Though it is costlier by another Rs 90K over the Ace HT, the higher carrying capacity and the loading area would help in a lesser transporting cost and hence a shorter payback period. Think over before making a final choice.

Thanks rajeev, As you said super ace is a gem of a cargo vehicle with lots of power and easily does well over 100kmph. But it way outside my budget. It cost 4.9lakhs on road. As I said this is my first commercial vehicle for this venture. As volume picks up i will need to increase the fleet. Hopefully i will need a second vehicle in another six months if all goes well. That time it will be a super ace without doubt

[sreedotk]

Could you also check the Mahindra maximo, Supposed to be more powerful than the Ace range . Don't know the price points though

[aravind511]

Mod Note : There are several spelling & grammatical errors in your posts. This negatively affects the forum experience for other readers.

Kindly ensure that you proof-read your posts prior to submission. Also, it would be a good idea to use spell-checkers.

[moralfibre]

When I was shifting to a new house, I hired a Tata ACE. I was talking about the benefits of using an ACE against competition with the driver. As per him, the Maxximo cannot be loaded well (read overloaded) since it has a wishbone suspension upfront as against leaf springs in the ACE. You might want to keep that in mind.

[Ashley2]

You can rely upon Ace over and above Omni Cargo / Maxximo.
There are many reasons and in simple terms - close your eyes and invest in Ace. It will never cheat you.

[amrisharm]

I would vote for one of the diesel powered Duos squarely because your running is going to be quite high. With 140 kms per day you are looking at over 4200kms per mth.

A maruti van will give you approx 14 kmpl with your load. (Speaking from personal experience)
4200/1 4 =300 lts x 70Rs (avg) = Rs 21,000 p.m on petrol

A TATA Ace HT will give you 19kmpl with your load
4200/19= 221lts x 50rs(avg) = Rs 11,050 on diesel

Saving you approx Rs. 10,000 per month hard cash.

[TheARUN]

You should go for the OMNI, it's tailor made for the application you have in mind. The TATA products are more for heavy-duty applications. You should be able to get a good condition second hand OMNI too, they go for very cheap and being petrol, not much of maintenance is required

[teamveevee]

If i were you, will not consider Maruti at all. Being a petrol vehicle and with frequent stops operating cost will be more. As far as maintenance goes, ACE is a very low maintenance vehicle. Main advantage for ACE, you can over load it. Depending on volume vs weight of the food product you like to distribute (snacks vs powders), you could fabricate the body to accommodate your need. In my town, 90% of the delivery vehicles are ACEs, so every body cannot be wrong at the same time. Please go with the proven one (ACE) and focus on business...Congrats.

[a4anurag]

Without any hesitation please invest in an Tata Ace. It is a proved vehicle for commercial purpose and that too with a diesel engine in it which will reduce your overall running costs.

We both are of the same field buddy. I too work in an FMCG company and bulk of the small deliveries that we send are on a Tata Ace. The company and the C&F Agents have purchased around 6 Ace for the daily delivery within Hyderabad.

Since you have a driver for this job and not that you have any race the pick up must not matter much as what you must concentrate is load pulling capability and as you may not be overloading it there should not be an issue of underpowered.

Regards,
Anurag.

[SAE40 in veins]

If i assume packaged food products to be voluminous cargo than dense cargo, you do not need a Super Ace for that operation. Within the Ace family, Ex has bigger tyres, HT has deeper ratios and hence gradability is better. In both cases, a facelift is now available in the market which has small improvements but better looks.

I suggest you go to a good body builder as you may want a closed body which is lockable. If you are raising the height way beyond the cabin, do not forget to put a wind deflector as it might help in saving a bit of fuel. Also i suggest that you do necessary research about who builds lighter bodies in your area as corrosion may not be a big problem in Indore and lower gauge galvanized sheet should do a decent job if primered well. The closed container should weigh something in the region of 220 to 250 kgs depending on the builder.

[crazyfordriving]

Tata Ace will give you much more loading bay, way more cost efficient, stiffer leaf spring suspensions, and regarding speed, both can do around 70kmph easily.
Its better to go for Tata Ace then Omni, and fit a well built cage from any renowned dealer.

[ImprezaFan]

140kms & 30-40 stops translates to average of 3-4kms between stops. So, I assume, top speed need not be a priority.
I am also assuming most of the transportation involves level roads (no climbing hills / steep parking ramps etc). If that is the case, Ace seems to be a better option.
Owing to the narrow road to my house, Ace is usually used for shifting of construction materials / furniture to my house. None of these times, there was any difficulty to climb the small ramp to our plot (2m / 30cm gradient approx), fully loaded and in reverse (of course, with lots of clutch slipping).
Good luck with your new venture!!