Reva @ 2.49 L ....

manson · 25th April 2008, 14:11

Srishiva, seriously speaking, what costs would you really save by purchasing a Reva, say over an entry level 'CAR' like a diesel Indica.
Wouldn't the savings get demolished by the crap resale it may fetch, heck we're not even getting into maintenance, service costs, etc which i think would not be as standardised as Tata or Maruti. You would not ideally take this a 'good garage or mechanic' next door, and would be compelled to visit the Reva authorised service stations that are probably yet discovering and standardising their policies.

Even after all that drama, say you manage to save 10-20K, or lets say 50K (rally really doubt you would save so much), is it worth risking your or any of your loves ones' lives, i'm not trying to say that a hundred thousand inr would make you not mind risking safery concerns, just that at a petty saving like that i would simply rubbish the idea of buying one.

I really doubt i'd buy one of these till they got standardised and a lot cheaper, unless i bought this really huge farmhouse and i needed a cart to tug along.

Btw, f50, that honnking thrice and using wipers, LMAO!!

manson.

srishiva · 25th April 2008, 14:23

manson,

If I was driving a Reva, I would be saving Rs.150 per day with my driving to and from office. Its about 3000 rs per month, 36000 per year.

The service costs would not be big since there are not many parts. Most of the repairs can be done by a service guy visiting your house (if they have such a facility).

Here I am considering just my commuting to the office which will always be with just me driving the car, the speeds not that great (occasional high speeds that I can do with normal car may not be possible). Parking will be a breeze.

I would consider this much more safer than a two wheeler and more economical anyway.

Why do you need a resale value ? Its used only for the office. I will have a gas guzzler SUV as my other vehicle for recreation trips !! It can't be considered as a alternative to a regular car for now for non urban usage.

manson · 25th April 2008, 14:42

Srishiva, what car are you comparing the savings of the Reva against?
What is your average monthly commute?

manson.

jango · 25th April 2008, 14:52

I would never buy this !! .

srishiva · 25th April 2008, 15:37

Quote:

Originally Posted by manson

Srishiva, what car are you comparing the savings of the Reva against?
What is your average monthly commute?

manson.

You can compare against any petrol hatchback (average mileage of 13 or 12). I travel 50 kms a day. I use mostly swift sometimes Civic.

manson · 25th April 2008, 15:54

Quote:

Originally Posted by srishiva

You can compare against any petrol hatchback (average mileage of 13 or 12). I travel 50 kms a day. I use mostly swift sometimes Civic.

Compare the running costs to a suitable rival, Indica diesel comes to mind first.
And how can you even compare running costs of a C segment full fledged CAR, to a reva? Don't comfort levels, drivability, safety levels, looks and a ton of other features hold any value?

manson

cediafan · 25th April 2008, 16:01

Quote:

Originally Posted by manson

Wouldn't the savings get demolished by the crap resale it may fetch,

Do you know the resale of Rewa? I think it should fetch a pretty decent amount considering the parts do not get damaged. I recently saw an ad where this person wanted a 3-4 year old Rewa im 'any condition'.

srishiva · 25th April 2008, 16:25

Quote:

Originally Posted by manson

Compare the running costs to a suitable rival, Indica diesel comes to mind first.
And how can you even compare running costs of a C segment full fledged CAR, to a reva? Don't comfort levels, drivability, safety levels, looks and a ton of other features hold any value?

manson

I am comparing it with the hatchbacks not C segment (I shouldn't have put Civic on. I was just telling you about my drives and the money I spend for in city commuting). I am looking at city driving only.

I would not buy a Reva. I would as I said if it was available for 2 time to 2.5 times that of a two wheeler.

The problem currently with Reva is volumes are not good and they are not able to sell one at a cheaper price. Its a genuine problem for them.

To sell a basic car without batteries for 2.49 lakhs itself is costly. You need someone like TATA for electric vehicles to reach mass market in India. I hope they will sell a electric version of the Nano. Some things are done better only by guys having big resources.

manson · 25th April 2008, 16:51

Quote:

Originally Posted by srishiva

I am comparing it with the hatchbacks not C segment (I shouldn't have put Civic on. I was just telling you about my drives and the money I spend for in city commuting). I am looking at city driving only.

I am certain even the basic of hatches available, alto, indica are leap years ahead of the reva in terms of comfort, drivabilty, saferty and many other ways.

Quote:

Originally Posted by srishiva

I would not buy a Reva. I would as I said if it was available for 2 time to 2.5 times that of a two wheeler.

So would i, but that would mean the reva being available at 1,50,000 - 1,75,000.

Quote:

Originally Posted by srishiva

The problem currently with Reva is volumes are not good and they are not able to sell one at a cheaper price. Its a genuine problem for them.

To sell a basic car without batteries for 2.49 lakhs itself is costly. You need someone like TATA for electric vehicles to reach mass market in India. I hope they will sell a electric version of the Nano. Some things are done better only by guys having big resources.

I comletely agree with you, but i am not sure if Maini had its objectives rightly set in the start itself. If the vision was clear, maini could have sourced their materials in bulk orders, and lowering costs by atleast 20-25% if not more. Even if they were uncertain about the future, they could have tied up with an auto major and developed the project in a far superior way.
The immediate product is probably satisafactory, but due to improper corporate planning its been waster, or atleast hasnt been been accepeted the way it could have been.

Quote:

Originally Posted by cediafan

Do you know the resale of Rewa? I think it should fetch a pretty decent amount considering the parts do not get damaged. I recently saw an ad where this person wanted a 3-4 year old Rewa im 'any condition'.

Quite honestly, i have no idea about resale value of a reva, heck i did not know the price for a new car till this morning. Never bothered.

manson.

arunmur · 26th April 2008, 18:47

Aparently my friend knows the place here where the cars chassis manufactured. He recently won the contract for manufacturing the chassis, which accounts to about 600 units per month and the company expects it to raise upto 800 units in the next one year. Most of their sales actually happen in UK.

JFI, the chassis is given to Maini group at above Rs.90k price range. Since the numbers are not big and the chassis is space frame type, where pipes are welded together, the price of the chassis is very high. Another price point of the car is its ABS plastics. They cut down the cost of electric motor(now AC) by sourcing them locally rather than from some internationally(DC).

Originally the Reva was designed in California, it was spotted by EV fans in California in the EV1 days there. That must be around the 1995 time.

So as the numbers raise the price of this car will come down. But still the sales are small, i hope the manufacturer takes initiative in reducing price volentarily and increasing the numbers. Think of Rs.1.8l base price tag instead of Rs.2.5l

khanak · 27th April 2008, 12:01

Has anyone in Mumbai been able to TD the Reva?

speedzak · 27th April 2008, 12:55

Is the cost alone the only factor of hate for Reva? Or more?

We have a Reva in Bangalore which was gifted to my sister some years ago. (I think soon after it was launched here). It stays in the basement of my BIL's apartment most of the time and once in a while it is used for some in town commutes by our company staff or when I feel like necessity of saving the world from horrendous gases and pollution!
But to give you all a feedback of the car, it's very light on pocket after you buy it and get going. Service is very easy, less time consuming and friendly (atleast, in Bangy).
There never was a major work/repair in the car within the 40k (or so) it has done till now. The fun factor of zooming into the traffic blocks and coming out of it is priceless. So is the attraction you get from some eco conscious fairer sex. Driveability is fair for the city limits, but sucks once you get into the ring road where even scooters will zip pass by.
Now, coming to the price factor, it is too much to pay for this type of an automobile (some have the courage to call it a quadricycle). But if somebody has so much money to spare on his 3rd or 4th car, motorbike for city traffic or the feeling to SAVE THE WORLD, then it doesn't matter much if it is sold for 3.5L or 2.5L!

shortbread · 27th April 2008, 17:15

I think the ad phrase that this passes EU crash safety norms as dodgy

Suprisingly despite its hideous cost the G wiz (as what the Reva is known as in the UK) was selling in pretty decent nos. and if im right was the largest selling electric car in the world, please correct me if im wrong on that.

The G wiz escapes all safety norms by classifying itself as a quadricycle an not a car, and a recent crash test done on the car gave horrible results. (link below)

YouTube - BBC News G-Wiz Crash Test Appalling

There are a couple of interesting tests carried out by Top Gear on the car as well.

YouTube - G-Wiz (Reva) on Top Gear

YouTube - G-Wiz - Worst car of the 2007

I think Maini's budget restrictions have made the car a half baked effort with good intentions, but perhaps it paves way for much better cars in the future.

arunmur · 28th April 2008, 14:01

Don't go by top gear reviews. Jermy definitely has some thing against the cars background than the car itself. He will go all the way to prove you that its a stupid car. They some how found a much pricier Think a good car. Don't ask me why just look at the Videos.

Reva is a safe car for the speed it does, unless you are half blind or a truck finds the Reva invisible. It is by far the most practical car for city only use.

shortbread · 28th April 2008, 17:38

The reason that the Reva /G wiz cant do speed and is therefore safe enough to use is ridiculous, consider one is sitting in a stationary Reva and gets hit by a careless Bus driver at 50 kmph, claiming that my car is safe at low speeds is not going to save ones life.

Top Gear is of course very biased and is more of an entertaintment show of late, but the results of the crash test is there to see.

For something costing nearly 3 lacs on the road, ignoring safety standards is no excuse wether its a city car, quadricycle whatever..

25th April 2008, 14:11	#16
manson Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 3,934 Thanked: 4,169 Times View My Garage	Srishiva, seriously speaking, what costs would you really save by purchasing a Reva, say over an entry level 'CAR' like a diesel Indica. Wouldn't the savings get demolished by the crap resale it may fetch, heck we're not even getting into maintenance, service costs, etc which i think would not be as standardised as Tata or Maruti. You would not ideally take this a 'good garage or mechanic' next door, and would be compelled to visit the Reva authorised service stations that are probably yet discovering and standardising their policies. Even after all that drama, say you manage to save 10-20K, or lets say 50K (rally really doubt you would save so much), is it worth risking your or any of your loves ones' lives, i'm not trying to say that a hundred thousand inr would make you not mind risking safery concerns, just that at a petty saving like that i would simply rubbish the idea of buying one. I really doubt i'd buy one of these till they got standardised and a lot cheaper, unless i bought this really huge farmhouse and i needed a cart to tug along. Btw, f50, that honnking thrice and using wipers, LMAO!! manson.
	() Thanks

25th April 2008, 14:23	#17
srishiva Senior - BHPian Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Bengaluru Posts: 4,375 Thanked: 2,256 Times	manson, If I was driving a Reva, I would be saving Rs.150 per day with my driving to and from office. Its about 3000 rs per month, 36000 per year. The service costs would not be big since there are not many parts. Most of the repairs can be done by a service guy visiting your house (if they have such a facility). Here I am considering just my commuting to the office which will always be with just me driving the car, the speeds not that great (occasional high speeds that I can do with normal car may not be possible). Parking will be a breeze. I would consider this much more safer than a two wheeler and more economical anyway. Why do you need a resale value ? Its used only for the office. I will have a gas guzzler SUV as my other vehicle for recreation trips !! It can't be considered as a alternative to a regular car for now for non urban usage. Last edited by srishiva : 25th April 2008 at 14:25.
	() Thanks

25th April 2008, 14:42	#18
manson Team-BHP Support Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Bombay Posts: 3,934 Thanked: 4,169 Times View My Garage	Srishiva, what car are you comparing the savings of the Reva against? What is your average monthly commute? manson.
	() Thanks

25th April 2008, 14:52	#19
jango BHPian Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: New York & kotayam Posts: 800 Thanked: 23 Times View My Garage	I would never buy this !! .
	() Thanks

26th April 2008, 18:47	#25
arunmur BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 156 Thanked: 10 Times	Aparently my friend knows the place here where the cars chassis manufactured. He recently won the contract for manufacturing the chassis, which accounts to about 600 units per month and the company expects it to raise upto 800 units in the next one year. Most of their sales actually happen in UK. JFI, the chassis is given to Maini group at above Rs.90k price range. Since the numbers are not big and the chassis is space frame type, where pipes are welded together, the price of the chassis is very high. Another price point of the car is its ABS plastics. They cut down the cost of electric motor(now AC) by sourcing them locally rather than from some internationally(DC). Originally the Reva was designed in California, it was spotted by EV fans in California in the EV1 days there. That must be around the 1995 time. So as the numbers raise the price of this car will come down. But still the sales are small, i hope the manufacturer takes initiative in reducing price volentarily and increasing the numbers. Think of Rs.1.8l base price tag instead of Rs.2.5l
	() Thanks

27th April 2008, 12:01	#26
khanak Senior - BHPian Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Mumbai/Toronto Posts: 2,799 Thanked: 268 Times View My Garage	Has anyone in Mumbai been able to TD the Reva?
	() Thanks

27th April 2008, 12:55	#27
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	Is the cost alone the only factor of hate for Reva? Or more? We have a Reva in Bangalore which was gifted to my sister some years ago. (I think soon after it was launched here). It stays in the basement of my BIL's apartment most of the time and once in a while it is used for some in town commutes by our company staff or when I feel like necessity of saving the world from horrendous gases and pollution! But to give you all a feedback of the car, it's very light on pocket after you buy it and get going. Service is very easy, less time consuming and friendly (atleast, in Bangy). There never was a major work/repair in the car within the 40k (or so) it has done till now. The fun factor of zooming into the traffic blocks and coming out of it is priceless. So is the attraction you get from some eco conscious fairer sex. Driveability is fair for the city limits, but sucks once you get into the ring road where even scooters will zip pass by. Now, coming to the price factor, it is too much to pay for this type of an automobile (some have the courage to call it a quadricycle). But if somebody has so much money to spare on his 3rd or 4th car, motorbike for city traffic or the feeling to SAVE THE WORLD, then it doesn't matter much if it is sold for 3.5L or 2.5L!
	() Thanks

28th April 2008, 14:01	#29
arunmur BHPian Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Bangalore Posts: 156 Thanked: 10 Times	Don't go by top gear reviews. Jermy definitely has some thing against the cars background than the car itself. He will go all the way to prove you that its a stupid car. They some how found a much pricier Think a good car. Don't ask me why just look at the Videos. Reva is a safe car for the speed it does, unless you are half blind or a truck finds the Reva invisible. It is by far the most practical car for city only use.
	() Thanks

28th April 2008, 17:38	#30
shortbread Senior - BHPian Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: KL 7 Posts: 2,394 Thanked: 6,313 Times	The reason that the Reva /G wiz cant do speed and is therefore safe enough to use is ridiculous, consider one is sitting in a stationary Reva and gets hit by a careless Bus driver at 50 kmph, claiming that my car is safe at low speeds is not going to save ones life. Top Gear is of course very biased and is more of an entertaintment show of late, but the results of the crash test is there to see. For something costing nearly 3 lacs on the road, ignoring safety standards is no excuse wether its a city car, quadricycle whatever..
	() Thanks