[f1head]

So we are car shopping again , after deciding the ANHC is out of our budget, we have decided to go in for the SX4 , one TD in this car and trust me you forget every other car. Linea, Manza and Verna went out of the window.

Here are dealer experiences :

AAA - I live pretty close to them. On entering the showroom there were not a lot of customers but surprisingly no one approached me. Me and my dad checked out the SX4 , sitting in it, jumping in it , doing everything except ignition (since no key). After 15 minutes I got hold of a person and asked him if there were no salesmen, he then pointed to another guy and finally we had one.

We start to negotiate, I am able to squeeze more than the initial discounts he offered, an additional cash discount of 5k + some accessories like car kit, idol and perfume. Sun film , he didnt budge as the shop doesnt stock for SX4 (would have to be after market.

I asked him to check out my Maruti 800 for exchange and this is where it went downhill. The car is in my uncle's name whose surname is different so I have to get it in my name first. He got a true value person to check out the car. He gets impressed with Maruti Service Masters servicing. The true value person starts over-revving the engine and points to some white smoke that comes with each over-rev and says engine gaya hai. Then he points to some rust (thanks to mumbai's saly water) and says body gayi hai , then after looking at RC he says bahut kharcha hoga and values the car at 10k , I just got a Rs.11k servicing done on it by the way.

Anyway his logic was that the engine overhaul and Re-registration (after 7 months) would cost him 8k +8k which I am pretty sure is an exhorbitant amount. I tell him to change the quote and he increases 1k, I say ok to him and show him the door. Then starts blabbing about expensive authorised service of MSM and how I could have gotten stuff done for 1/15th of the price at local places, I show him the door again.

Rana Motors - Lots of people in the showroom when we enter (mom with us this time), receptionist asks us within 1 minute what car we want and asks us to sit. A nice chap comes in (Yash), he is smartly dressed. His Downpayment quote is more than AAA but EMIs are lesser, almost same price overall and same accessories (except steering cover , someone apparently got blind while putting it on).

He gets a vehicle for test-drive and all of us are impressed. Only thing missing the the fuel efficiency meter and trip meter. Maruti should really put these in, they make a fully loaded car and dont put these in.

Other than that the legroom and cabin space is awesome. The original seat covers look cheap and will need replacement but dont go in for factory leather, its too expensive.

The VVT engine is very refined and the cabin had almost no noise, we went over a few potholes, mom was sitting in the back, she did complain of some jerks getting directly to her. Suspension to blame I guess.

The Rana Motors guy will come to see my Maruti 800 today and I will update his verdict on the car.

Overall I am leaning towards Rana Motors guy , since he is friendly , agreed to a PDI before registration and looks more transparent. The AAA guy really put me off by finding problems in my maruti.

[f1head]

The AAA people just came a few moments ago after Maruti read this thread (power of Team BHP), anyway their Asst. sales manager came and apologized for the whole thing and promised the correct quote.

The matter is settled about that untruthful True Value evaluation. They have promised me another quote in 2 days. Will keep everyone updated.

[ankit.jhamb]

I think you should try a few more dealerships.My personal experience at AAA in 2008 with them was pathetic.(they were new and had sold a few cars at that time)
There are a few more dealerships in south delhi.
just spend some time so that you are able to get the best deal.

[f1head]

The AAA person came without appointment once , and never again after that. It seems he isn't interested anymore. I guess feedback on Team BHP is a double edged sword

I have decided to go for Rana Motors most probably, the experience till now has been good.Will most probably book the car in 10-14 days after I get my old car's registration papers signed by my uncle.

[phamilyman]

Sir,

Maruti did not come by their own - this thread was emailed to AAA, whose customer care didn't bother to read and instead replied with a CANNED answer

Clearly, Rana it has to be!

My own mom had a decent exp with Rana. Okhla or somewhere nearby, na?

[Technocrat]

The true value person starts over-revving the engine and points to some white smoke that comes with each over-rev and says engine gaya hai. Then he points to some rust (thanks to mumbai's saly water) and says body gayi hai , then after looking at RC he says bahut kharcha hoga

Yeah the valuation is quite tricky, here is an interesting story that happened with my uncle who was trading in his 7 year old Alto for a Swift D, they were doing it at the same service center's Showroom from where the Alto gets serviced

He - Sir, Clutch is gone, exhaust is rusted lot of work needed

Uncle - Really?

He - Yes Sir

Uncle - Ok, give it to me in writing & then tell me where is complaint box, my car is being serviced by your center for last so many years & even in the last few services I was never informed of these issues in my car

He got so shocked that he went quite for a few seconds & then said - Sir, I will talk to my seniors & see what can be done.

After that all issues vanished & he got a very good price for it(forgot the amount now)

[f1head]

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Sir,

Maruti did not come by their own - this thread was emailed to AAA, whose customer care didn't bother to read and instead replied with a CANNED answer

Clearly, Rana it has to be!

My own mom had a decent exp with Rana. Okhla or somewhere nearby, na?

Thanks for the support then , really appreciate it , Rana has multiple branches, the one I am going to is in Safdarjung Enclave.

The AAA person looked scared when he came home and listened patiently to all my complaints and promised action. After that nothing has been done with regards to pursuing the matter. He had some paper from Maruti which said something like I had complained about ____ and I am satisfied with the resolution. I believe some action was taken even though the email reply didnt suggest so. But it was more about saving their face than anything. Its possible that after missing an appointment he thought I wasnt interested.

Originally Posted by Technocrat

Yeah the valuation is quite tricky, here is an interesting story that happened with my uncle who was trading in his 7 year old Alto for a Swift D, they were doing it at the same service center's Showroom from where the Alto gets serviced

He - Sir, Clutch is gone, exhaust is rusted lot of work needed

Uncle - Really?

He - Yes Sir

Uncle - Ok, give it to me in writing & then tell me where is complaint box, my car is being serviced by your center for last so many years & even in the last few services I was never informed of these issues in my car

He got so shocked that he went quite for a few seconds & then said - Sir, I will talk to my seniors & see what can be done.

After that all issues vanished & he got a very good price for it(forgot the amount now)

Kind of reminds me of my experience ,except that AAA person got an opportunity to bash MSM's service (I too agree now that its overpriced and unsupervised).

The Rana motors guy gave a better valuation and was much friendlier and his evaluation wasn't centered around pointing faults in my car, so I am going for him. Plus since my uncle gave the car to me at a cheap price, I don't mind a lower cost too as long as everything is transparent. Plus this month the discount has increased a little.

[f1head]

Update : We worked out the finances again. We can go for a full cash on the SX4, now the dealer is saying it doesnt matter to him if its a full DP or a loan, is he telling the truth, isnt full DP always supposed to get the best deal ?

[rg_chn]

^ It's actually the other way. Showrooms are more interested in customers who are going in for a finance option. Reason being, they get a percentage of the loan as commission.

[f1head]

Ok, thanks for letting me know that. My experience was from the consumer electronics domain wherein full cash payments get a discount compared to EMIs. Still I will try and ask for some stuff from the dealer.

[rg_chn]

That maybe cuz your electronics dealer was the financier. Hence the discount on cash payments. Usually, the showrooms have a tie up with most banks, and also insurance companies. And they get a cut out of everything. I know this cause i was speaking to a manufacturer to open a dealership, and they told me that these are the various sources of revenue for a showroom.

[prince85]

Originally Posted by f1head

Only thing missing the the fuel efficiency meter and trip meter. Maruti should really put these in, they make a fully loaded car and dont put these in.
.

Yea FE meter/DTE display is missing in the SX4. But no trip meter?? I am sure you did not notice it. There is a trip meter (infact 2 to keep a record of seperate trips). you can use it by pressing the small stick like thingie which protrudes outside the clear casing that covers the speedometer/tacho console. The same is also used to adjust the console and dash illumination levels.

[krish3]

Very truw about the TRUE VALUE showrooms. They give the most un-truthful value. When you want to sell the car, they quote very less and when you want to buy, the quote is far higher.

I got 35k more from an outside dealer than the quote given by True Value. No wonder that private dealers are still in business.

As for discounts, in case you go for a loan, there are more chances of getting discounts as explained earlier by others. But see if you can take insurance outside, you vcan save more.

[f1head]

Originally Posted by rg_chn

That maybe cuz your electronics dealer was the financier. Hence the discount on cash payments. Usually, the showrooms have a tie up with most banks, and also insurance companies. And they get a cut out of everything. I know this cause i was speaking to a manufacturer to open a dealership, and they told me that these are the various sources of revenue for a showroom.

Yes , makes sense. The dealer told me the same thing.

Originally Posted by prince85

Yea FE meter/DTE display is missing in the SX4. But no trip meter?? I am sure you did not notice it. There is a trip meter (infact 2 to keep a record of seperate trips). you can use it by pressing the small stick like thingie which protrudes outside the clear casing that covers the speedometer/tacho console. The same is also used to adjust the console and dash illumination levels.

I must have missed it as I was looking for another meter apart from the odo. Is the trip meter inside the Odo ?

The MID missing is actually a very big flaw, hopefully by the next model they will solve it.

Originally Posted by krish3

Very truw about the TRUE VALUE showrooms. They give the most un-truthful value. When you want to sell the car, they quote very less and when you want to buy, the quote is far higher.

I got 35k more from an outside dealer than the quote given by True Value. No wonder that private dealers are still in business.

As for discounts, in case you go for a loan, there are more chances of getting discounts as explained earlier by others. But see if you can take insurance outside, you vcan save more.

Insurance free is a Maruti dealer-wide offer at this point. I will transfer our Santro insurance NCB (maximum) to this car from next year for the NCB.


The only problem with an outside dealer is reliability, True Value receipts are genuine car receipts, in case of an outside dealer, it may not be so, he may sell it to criminals for all I know.

I did visit both the dealers today, my man at Rana motors was absent, AAA motors person was better, lets see the sale is reaching the final stage now.