Second thoughts on the Spark.

Jorge · 25th December 2007, 23:36

Another thing is that apparently GM has now gone back to giving Apollo Accelere rather than the MRF ZVTS. Initially, Nimz et. al got the Apollo Acclere, but in October, when they showed me chassis number 5665, it had MRF tyres on it. Unfortunately, the Apollo tyres on my car does not have the manufacturing date on the outer side. It says DOT XXX (I forget what the XXX is, PEY or something). But the last 4 digits which should be like 3607, for week 36, year 2007, is not present. This might be on the inner part of the tyre, but it is not realistic to try to slide under the car when it is waiting to be delivered. From what I have read on this forum,
Michelins are the best, followed by Bridgestones. It is not clear to me just how Apollo Accelere compares with the MRF ZVTS. Some people believe that the Accelere is based on a Michelin design, but others have said that there was never any collaboration between Michelin and Apollo for passenger car tyres and that Accelere is a good tyre which does not have any french ancestry.
Also, GM is giving Exide Freedom batteries with the Spark. Maruti gives Amaron I think . . .so I am very happy with that.

Jorge · 26th December 2007, 00:55

And yet another thing is the insurance. Minor issue, but I had specifically asked for Tata AIG insurance, but they gave me Royal Sundaram Alliance insurance. This forum has lots of complaints against ICICI, but nothing against Tata AIG and Bajaj Allianz. Only GM customers get Royal Sundaram Alliance insurance, so there are very few reports on Royal Sundaram Alliance insurance and all of them are positive reports.
Insured Declared Value (IDV) is 2.85L for a 3.14 lakh ex showroom priced car, because the 10% depreciation immediately after purchase is 10% which is Rs. 31000. No tricks here in my case, but it is something to be watched for when buying a new car. Generally, one is taken for a small ride when dealers advertise "Free Insurance". They advertise that the savings that the buyer gets is Rs. X where X is calculated on the IDV of the ex showroom price. However, this is not the actual savings since the IDV is based on the depreciated value. Since GM gave an across the board cut to arrive at the Rs. 45000 discount, they reduced the ex showroom price of the car. So there was savings on every category including the insurance and road tax.

25th December 2007, 23:36	#46
Jorge BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 72 Thanked: Once	Another thing is that apparently GM has now gone back to giving Apollo Accelere rather than the MRF ZVTS. Initially, Nimz et. al got the Apollo Acclere, but in October, when they showed me chassis number 5665, it had MRF tyres on it. Unfortunately, the Apollo tyres on my car does not have the manufacturing date on the outer side. It says DOT XXX (I forget what the XXX is, PEY or something). But the last 4 digits which should be like 3607, for week 36, year 2007, is not present. This might be on the inner part of the tyre, but it is not realistic to try to slide under the car when it is waiting to be delivered. From what I have read on this forum, Michelins are the best, followed by Bridgestones. It is not clear to me just how Apollo Accelere compares with the MRF ZVTS. Some people believe that the Accelere is based on a Michelin design, but others have said that there was never any collaboration between Michelin and Apollo for passenger car tyres and that Accelere is a good tyre which does not have any french ancestry. Also, GM is giving Exide Freedom batteries with the Spark. Maruti gives Amaron I think . . .so I am very happy with that.
	() Thanks

26th December 2007, 00:55	#47
Jorge BHPian Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 72 Thanked: Once	And yet another thing is the insurance. Minor issue, but I had specifically asked for Tata AIG insurance, but they gave me Royal Sundaram Alliance insurance. This forum has lots of complaints against ICICI, but nothing against Tata AIG and Bajaj Allianz. Only GM customers get Royal Sundaram Alliance insurance, so there are very few reports on Royal Sundaram Alliance insurance and all of them are positive reports. Insured Declared Value (IDV) is 2.85L for a 3.14 lakh ex showroom priced car, because the 10% depreciation immediately after purchase is 10% which is Rs. 31000. No tricks here in my case, but it is something to be watched for when buying a new car. Generally, one is taken for a small ride when dealers advertise "Free Insurance". They advertise that the savings that the buyer gets is Rs. X where X is calculated on the IDV of the ex showroom price. However, this is not the actual savings since the IDV is based on the depreciated value. Since GM gave an across the board cut to arrive at the Rs. 45000 discount, they reduced the ex showroom price of the car. So there was savings on every category including the insurance and road tax.
	() Thanks