[H3LIOS]

Hi All,

Bought a T.Red Xylo E8+ABS in Sept and clocked almost 5000km on the odo. Want to share my impressions about the Mahindra dealer - Automotive Manufacturers Limited (AML), Visakhapatnam. Apparently AML is has dealerships in several other cities as well (website). Here is the short version for those who do not want to read my long story.

Showroom - Average (3/5)
Space - Below Average (2/5)
Location - Good (4/5)
People - Excellent (5/5)
Overall Experience - Excellent (5/5)
Conclusion - Highly Recommended

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After my less than ideal experience with the local Toyota dealer (see here), I was wary about approaching the Mahindra dealer. The showroom itself was very small and congested. The AC and half the lights were turned off (electricity saving - I think). They had a Bolero Camper, a Scorpio and a Xylo on display. Overall not a very good impression walking into this space.

We were received well (pre-sales is usually OK, everywhere - right?). Our sales rep was not fully knowledgable about the Xylo, but she didn't fake it and when I asked something she didn't know, she would say that she would find out and get back to me. This was a nice change from the usual 'car-salesman' tendency to tell whatever nonsense that comes to their mind at that point of time. A couple of sales girls who were not busy entertained my kids and gave a bunch of helium balloons to play with while we were checking out the cars.

I asked for a test-drive and immediately got one in their demo car. But it was a short one as it was getting dark and we had some place to go. So I asked her to provide the price details and asked for any available offers. She gave the price sheet and said that there were no offers from Mahindra, but I can talk to the sales manager for any freebies.

Two days later I called her and asked for a more extensive test ride. The vehicle arrived at my office after two hours. We went to my house, picked up my wife and went on a 30-min drive. I was comparing it with Innova which was my first choice and bench-mark. At the end of the 30-mins, my wife and I both thought that the Xylo was a possible "buy". Then we checked the numbers and realized that the Xylo E8 with ABS is a full Rs 3.55 lakhs cheaper on-road compared to the Innova VX. That settled it for us.

The next day I went to the dealership to meet the sales manager. He was a pleasant guy and met with me immediately (unlike the Toyota showroom who made me wait 2 hours and still didn't show-up). I asked for a bunch of freebies, and without any hesitation he said what he could give and what he couldn't. I didn't push on that. Then I asked about the insurance. The showroom quote was about Rs 27,500 while the quote I got directly was Rs 19,800. I asked him if I could buy insurance directly - he said sure, not a problem. And then picked up the phone and talked to their insurance guy for a couple of minutes and then said that the best he could do on the showroom insurance was Rs 21,400 - if I decided to go with it after all. I immediately liked this guy - no beating around the bush, no telling tall-tales, just business to the point.

We then decided on a Java-Brown Xylo, but were disappointed when we found out that it came only with black interiors - we wanted something brighter, preferably in beige. I then saw a Java-Brown on the lot with a beige interior. The sales rep said it was only for the E2 & E4 models and that the E6 & E8 came with black. I wasn't convinced, and I suspected that they have a Java-Brown with Black innards readily available and want to push it on me. So I told her I will call up Mahindra and confirm before booking.

That afternoon the sales manager called me and tried to explain Mahindra's sense-less matching of exterior and interior colours for different variants. I was still not convinced, so he sent a car with an executive and took me to a customer's house who recently bought a Java-Brown E8 and showed me the vehicle. Now, that is making a real effort. And then they took me back to the dealership where the sales manager showed me a document that had the various booking codes for the different Xylo variants and options. And there was no E8 with Java-Brown exterior and the so-called "Walnut" interior combination. I was feeling rather embarassed by this point that they may have realized what my suspicion was. But they were pretty cool about it.

So, I found out that the "Walnut" interior is only available with the Black, White and Red exterior color E8s. The next choice was my wife's - Black with Silver bumpers. But they said the Black-Silver combo is only for E6, and that the E8 comes all Black. This time I took their word for it. My wife was still ok with the all Black Xylo, but my dad vetoed it (black iron machinery is baaad!!). I liked the White - I think the Xylo looked its best in white, but my wife felt it would look like either a Govt Vehicle or a Taxi. So we ended up with the Red, which was our kids choice from the beginning.

Next sticking point was the ABS option. The dealer didn't have any avaiable, neither did anyone else in the state. So the sales manager called the factory and they had a Red E8+ABS on the way to Hyderabad. So he then talked to the guys in Hyd (which was also an AML dealership) and booked it for me. Now, I was given two choices (a) I could go and take delivery of the vehicle at Hyderabad or (b) they can drive it down to Vizag for me at no extra cost, but it would have about 700KM on the odo (the distance from Hyd to Vzg) and the PDI would be done at Hyderabad without my presence.

Needless to say, neither option was acceptable to me. I insisted that I wanted the car delivered here with under 20KM on the odo. The sales manager said that he would make a fresh booking for me and it would take not more than two weeks to get the vehicle. But we wanted the vehicle on that crazy date 9/9/9 and it was already 4/9/9 - so I didn't want to wait another two weeks either. Seeing my dilemma the sales manager was very understanding, and told me to book the vehicle and he will get it from Hyd under TC (dealer reg, not TR) driven by a good driver with strict instructions not to exceed 60kmph. Then once the vehicle arrives I can check it out and they would do the TR only after I am fully satisfied. If I am not happy for any reason, he said I can either cancel my booking and book a fresh order. I thought that was really nice of him, and after thinking about it over-night, agreed and booked it the next day (5/9/9).

The car was delivered at Hyd on the 6th evening. After PDI and whatever else it is that they do, the car started for Vizag on the 8th morning and reached the dealership here on 9th afternoon. It had 657km on the odo when I first saw it. I spoke to the driver who drove it over and he said that it took so long because (a) they are not allowed to drive after dark and (b) he was warned by three different people to be extra cautious with this vehicle and not to exceed 60kmph under any circumstance. I must say I am impressed with the attention they gave to my purchase.

I inspected the car very closely - took nearly an hour, but nobody rushed me. A Xylo service team leader explained the features of the car. I wondered why there was no ABS badging, and he said they don't come with that. He opened the hood and showed the ABS unit, and also pointed out the ABS & EBD lights in the dashboard console. I checked the tires, paint, carpets, windows, all electrical and power items, fluids etc etc - thanks to TeamBHP (I took a printout of the checklist), I covered all aspects. The Xylo service guy saw the checklist and asked where I got it from - he said it was more thorough than their PDI list. Everything was perfect. No paint chips or scratches, no smudges, nothing - it was just dusty from the drive, and only the driver's side floor was a bit soiled - but even the carpet was covered with the plastic cover. I was satisfied and gave the green signal and they took it to washing and cleaning.

Meanwhile it was starting to get dark and we wanted to get the puja done that day itself. But the sales rep said it would take a couple of hours before they could finish the tax payment, insurance and TR. And I cannot take it on-road without the TR. Once again the sales manager came to the rescue. He allowed me to take the car with the TC to perform the puja and come back to finish the rest of the formalities. The puja went very nice and then we had a joy-ride. I returned to the dealership a little after 7PM and finished the remaining formalities.

I am very satisfied with the purchase experience, I liked how they responded to my queries & concerns and also the personal attention that they showed me. A couple of days later I sent the sales team a big packet of sweets with a letter of appreciation. They were quite happy about it.

The next day there was an ad in the paper that Mahindra was offering free extended warranty on the Xylo - I had paid Rs 11,000 for this. So I planned to go and ask them about it and see if that offer is applicable to me and I could get a refund. Before I could act on it, I got an SMS from the sales manager that the money I paid for the extended warranty would be refunded as Mahindra is offering it free on the Xylo. And three days later I visited the dealership and collected the cheque.

I heartily recommend the AML Mahindra dealer in Visakhapatnam. Though the show-room is not as glitzy and sophisticated as some of the bigger brands, I found the people polite, honest and straight-forward to deal with. Around the same time as I was considering purchasing the Xylo, a cousin purchased a Scorpio SLE from the same dealer and had good things to say about the dealership - which was what encouraged me to go ahead, so word-of-mouth publicity works.

Cheers.

[MileCruncher]

I agree wholly with you that the buying process at M&M is at par if not better than most other brands in India. While looking for a vehicle for myself, we had tentatively decided on the Bolero. I was given the TD immediately of the DI Turbo and then the CRDe. The sales person who was dealing with me told me that I should first decide on which variant to buy before even talking available deals. And never did they push me in the whole process. I really liked the experience and the after sales experience has also been good till date in general.

I guess that is why they are no.1 M&M dealers in India

[GTO]

Always good to hear a positive dealer review! And what stands out is that the experience was better than at Toyota. Thanks for sharing, I'll be sure to recommend AML to other BHPians from Vizag.

[harimakesh]

When I visited India garage the M&M dealer in chennai to have a look at Xylo the sales guy was ready to give a test drive instantly.

On the safety point of Xylo whether it has side impact beams on all side doors or not.

The sales guy was telling about crumple zone when I insisted on side impact protecion beams he said he will check and inform me. However it is 6 months now and none from Dealer or from M&M bothers to clear me on this point.

Any real infor on side impact protection on Xylo doors??