[puneet8796]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

One more question about this part:
If the car I want to buy is 9.4 L and the company budget is only 9L (non negotiable) then will the showroom be willing to generate an invoice for 9L and let me pay the balance in direct cash? Amount is only an example, I have not yet been told what it will be.
The underlying concern is that I should not lose out on the car of choice, just because of some stupid rulebook at the workplace

I doubt if the car company would give a lower invoice than the actual price of the car (or split the invoice - one in your name and one in the company's).

But I guess, if the difference is not substantial, your company should allow you to pay the difference through cash directly to them.

[vb-saan]

Originally Posted by selfdrive

@vb-san, sorry I missed this in my earlier response. any reason why you think the Figo is more solid? Isnt the lack of proper visible bumpers a negative point? perhaps they are more reinforced, I am not sure. just something I dont know about.

When I drove the Figo, I liked the overall feel, and it behaved like an extremely solid car - did not give a small car feeling at all. And personally I don't think visible bumpers issue as a negative point. Ford guys know pretty well about safety, thanks to their long term relationship with Volvo (now divorced).

Originally Posted by selfdrive

I am being dissuaded from the petrol jazz, maybe if there was a used one in the market, it would offset the cost.

If petrol car is off the list, then Jazz goes off the window. But have to say that the 1.2 petrol is extremely fuel efficent.

Originally Posted by selfdrive

Linea Diesel should be also on the list, it was out of budget, but should be OK now with the company loan etc. the problem I see is that when I go to the showroom, the more spacious Manza is standing right there (and its more appealing for better ingress/ egress)

Manza maybe spacious, but I like the built-like-tank feel of the Fiat (aligned to the SAFE option in your thread tagline ). With your stretched budget, even Vento TDI should be in the radar.

With the timelines you mentioned, I am sure you'll have more options to decide from, come April '11

[mdsaab]

Making a choice in today's market has become tougher than ever before. I am getting to understand your requirement better now. You want something spacious, in which your whole family would be comfortable in. The manza too is a good choice. But do remember to keep in mind, that the experience doesn't end at the showroom. You have to be sure about the after sales service and support. If these are not upto the mark, then a good experience with a great vehicle may turn sour and you may end up dissappointed. Personally i was interested in the sumo grande shortly after it was launched. So i visited a tata showroom here in pune. Went in and inquired about the vehicle. Firstly it took quite sometime for someone to attend to us, felt like i had entered a govt office. After a bit a SA came and spoke to us. He did not have a brochure or price list to give us, and the grande had been around a bit so they should have had the necessary documents. I asked for a test drive and he said that we should wait outside the showroom and that he would join us. We waited a good fifteen minutes, no sign of the grande or the SA. After which he comes and cooly explains to us that the car has no diesel and would need to go to the nearby pump for diesel. He did not even ask us to go back into the showroom and have a seat. So we waited outside. The grande retured shortly. So i perked up looking at it making its way back to the showroom premises. But much to my dismay before approaching me it made a turn and went up a ramp for washing. The sales guy was least bothered that we were waiting to have atleast a look at it. He just walked right by us. When he walked past us the second time, i reminded him that we were waiting to have a look and test the grande. He said sir it is having a wash and we would have to wait. So we waited a good while, and finally they were done. They tried cranking the engine, putt putt putt no start. They tried a good 5 times. Thats when we just walked off. Dont know if the SA even saw us go. Nevertheless no one tried to stop us nor did we ever get a call from the dealer regarding our inquiry till date. So this has been my experience at tata dealerships. Others may have had good experiences, but its because of this particular experience that i may never ever buy a tata product. So please when you decide on any car make sure you do a thorough check on the big picture.

That definitely is the magic of t-bhp. Its a fantastic forum and i thank my stars that i have had the opportunity to be a part of this awesome forum. Since i joined t-bhp in 2008, i was a passive reader and would mostly only read through the different threads and not really contribute or comment much on the forum. But this new years resolution i had decided that i would make a more active contribution to t-bhp. Hope this is a start to many more resourceful posts in the future.
Would probably be back in pune by or before march, so yeah it would be nice to meet up and even take a few test drives together. My parents are planning to buy a new car and want to exchange their aging carb esteem for a honda city or corolla altis or who knows maybe something else. Would be looking at a purchase date close to yours, and test driving more cars can never be a bad thing right?

[GTO]

Self drive, we have discussed the subject enough. Plus, there are several existing threads with content & comparisons on the cars you have short-listed. Closing thread.