[n.devdath]

There cannot be one generic reply to this question. When it comes to most Japanese brands like Toyota and Honda, buying vehicles at the launch will most probably get you a thoroughly engineered product however, when it comes to Indian brands, it is always advisable to wait for at least an year of the vehicle's launch before buying it and then analyse if any niggles have been identified with the vehicle before signing the dotted line.

Coming to extended warranty, it is always advisable to buy it when buying the vehicle irrespective of the brand and the class of vehicle. It is like an insurance policy which translates to more peace of mind than monetary gain, yet nice to have.

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by GTO

-- good option to wait for a while until the manufacturer sorts out initial niggles---(e.g. Fiat).

Another dimension to the risk when buying at launch (as seen and discussed at length!), you would buy a car at the launch price, but then you must be immune when the prices are slashed a few months after its launch. ( eg. Maruti Suzuki's S Cross)

You are at a risk of not only buying the car at a higher price, and if budget is a constraint, you would lose out on the higher variant.

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by GTO

Great topic!

If you are fanatic about reliability, it's probably a good option to wait for a while until the manufacturer sorts out initial niggles. While Tata & Mahindra are the worst culprits here, even reliability legends like Toyota & Honda have faced problems with fresh launches in India. Early Innovas suffered big time from excessive smoking problems, while many a Honda Accord (previous gen) were stranded due to dislocated fuel pumps.

Also, look at the brand's track record in reliability. Some brands just can't make reliable cars (e.g. Mercedes) while others are plagued with niggles (e.g. Fiat).

This I think is the best take on the issue. Most of the blue chip brands - BMW, Mercedes, Porsche(yes Porsche!), Audi & in general, the EU lot) - had poor reputations for reliability and it was accepted that canny buyers (as reported long back then in TG about the Ford launches) always waited a while for the "teething" issues to be sorted out! In plain language, mfrs. just did not carry out full development (zero defect & just-in-time inventory control was still in the future) before a launch. They rather waited for market feedback & rectified defects as time went on, rather like M&M has been doing since the time of the Scorpio launch!

It was only when the Japanese onslaught almost brought Detroit (the European auto market was still largely a closely guarded enclave, this barrier being led - as expected - by the Italians & the French!) to its knees, that the rest of the industry (not India, naturally!) acknowledged the fact that reliability was a major factor for the car buyer.
Manufacturing & fabrication tolerances/quality control for Indian mfrs is still not up there with the Japanese & more recently, the Koreans, though, of course, there has been a sea-change. This is apparent from the recent launches by the domestic majors. Conversely, the overseas brigade is showing distinct signs of complacency - while laughing all the way to the bank (I like this phrase - it catches the nuance & ambiance so well!)
So, yes, I shall certainly wait a while before plunging in!

[shashanka]

Originally Posted by GTO

Great topic!

If you are fanatic about reliability, it's probably a good option to wait for a while until the manufacturer sorts out initial niggles. While Tata & Mahindra are the worst culprits here, even reliability legends like Toyota & Honda have faced problems with fresh launches in India. Early Innovas suffered big time from excessive smoking problems, while many a Honda Accord (previous gen) were stranded due to dislocated fuel pumps.

Also, look at the brand's track record in reliability. Some brands just can't make reliable cars (e.g. Mercedes) while others are plagued with niggles (e.g. Fiat).

This I think is the best take on the issue. Most of the blue chip brands - BMW, Mercedes, Porsche(yes Porsche!), Audi & in general, the EU lot) - had indifferent reputations for reliability (Rolls-Bentley too did not escape this cloud) and it was accepted that canny buyers (as reported long back in TG about the Ford launches) always waited a while for the "teething" issues to be sorted out! In plain language, mfrs. just did not carry out full development (zero defect & just-in-time inventory control was still in the future) before a launch. They waited for market feedback & rectified defects as time went on, rather like M&M has been doing since the time of the Scorpio launch!

It was only when the Japanese onslaught almost brought Detroit (the European auto market was still largely a closely guarded enclave, this barrier being led - as expected - by the Italians & the French!) to its knees, that the rest of the industry (not India, of course!) acknowledged the fact that reliability was a major factor for the car buyer.
Manufacturing & fabrication tolerances/quality control for Indian mfrs is still not up there with the Japanese & more recently, the Koreans. Though, of course, there has been a sea-change over the past few years. This is apparent from the recent launches by the domestic majors. Conversely, the overseas brigade is showing distinct signs of complacency - while laughing all the way to the bank (I like this phrase - it catches the nuance & and the nub so well!)
So, yes, I shall certainly wait a while before plunging in!

[Dry Ice]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Another dimension to the risk when buying at launch (as seen and discussed at length!), you would buy a car at the launch price, but then you must be immune when the prices are slashed a few months after its launch. ( eg. Maruti Suzuki's S Cross)

You are at a risk of not only buying the car at a higher price, and if budget is a constraint, you would lose out on the higher variant.

Very true, Suzuki and earlier, Jazz pricing disaster must be fresh on everyone's minds. Pricing has another dimension though. Launch prices of XUV/Ecosport made them VFM, and that's what created the huge craze for them. After an year of so, the prices were already around 30-40% more - not so VFM.

I guess the 2 most important variables in this equation are

- Reliability (Maybe a hit with brands like Honda, Toyota, Suzuki etc, Miss with TML, M&M etc.)
- Price rise (Maybe true with TML, M&M, Ford, Toyota etc, false with Suzuki, Honda etc.)

Personally, I wouldn't mind waiting for a year to let the new model settle. Might even go for an older gen outgoing model if the mechanical changes in the new gen aren't much.

[msk_kapoor]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Very true, Suzuki and earlier, Jazz pricing disaster must be fresh on everyone's minds. Pricing has another dimension though. Launch prices of XUV/Ecosport made them VFM, and that's what created the huge craze for them. After an year of so, the prices were already around 30-40% more - not so VFM.

I guess the 2 most important variables in this equation are

- Reliability (Maybe a hit with brands like Honda, Toyota, Suzuki etc, Miss with TML, M&M etc.)
- Price rise (Maybe true with TML, M&M, Ford, Toyota etc, false with Suzuki, Honda etc.)

Personally, I wouldn't mind waiting for a year to let the new model settle. Might even go for an older gen outgoing model if the mechanical changes in the new gen aren't much.

Good discussion reinitiated here. I was thinking of going for KUV100. I feel this is a VFM vehicle and pricewise my expectations are that it wont be reduce further than this. I can live with the intial niggles though. But what are your thoughts on this. Do all feel KUV100 is VFM or the chances of discounts may come after 6 months. I am looking for k4+ Petrol 6 seater which comes to 5.93 L OTR chennai.

[TheStranger]

Originally Posted by Dry Ice

Very true, Suzuki and earlier, Jazz pricing disaster must be fresh on everyone's minds. Pricing has another dimension though. Launch prices of XUV/Ecosport made them VFM, and that's what created the huge craze for them. After an year of so, the prices were already around 30-40% more - not so VFM.

I guess the 2 most important variables in this equation are

- Reliability (Maybe a hit with brands like Honda, Toyota, Suzuki etc, Miss with TML, M&M etc.)
- Price rise (Maybe true with TML, M&M, Ford, Toyota etc, false with Suzuki, Honda etc.)

Personally, I wouldn't mind waiting for a year to let the new model settle. Might even go for an older gen outgoing model if the mechanical changes in the new gen aren't much.

Absolutely agree with the above. I personally feel that it is wise to wait for 6 - 8 months after any new launch and get a vibe as to how a product is doing in the market, to find out if any niggles get highlighted, before taking the plunge. Cars being high-value purchases, the less 'benefit of doubt' involved, the better.

[volkman10]

Here are some emerging trends

Mahindra- Niggles at launch vehicles),expect delay in solutions and unpreparedness of aftermarket organization. ( TUV/KUV)

Tata- Niggles and unpreparedness of after sales organization. If you are concerned of driving a car from the taxi segment then this could be a reality.

Maruti Suzuki/Honda cars- Expect price correction, new variants in higher trim and You could land by buying a lower variant at launch when you could have brought a higher after price correction.( S Cross/ Jazz)

Hyundai – De-feature could happen after launch, so in this case it is better to buy at launch ( i20)

Volkswagen – Spartan features at launch, car could soon be few generation older as facelifts are the order of VW-India ( most of their cars)

[JKBKS]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Tata- Niggles and unpreparedness of after sales organization. If you are concerned of driving a car from the taxi segment then this could be a reality.

I have decided on an XUV but some friends are asking to wait for Tata Hexa saying Tata's quality has improved over the years and the learnings from Aria, Safari and Land Rover will be used in Hexa, thereby making it a better product at launch, whenever it happens.

Considering above, my question is would it make sense to buy Hexa at launch ? If not then how long should one wait typically to buy a car like Hexa?

[volkman10]

Originally Posted by JKBKS

Considering above, my question is would it make sense to buy Hexa at launch ? If not then how long should one wait typically to buy a car like Hexa?

IMO, suggest you to wait 6 months after launch for a car like Hexa.

[Screwdriva]

It's really quite simple:

1) For an Indian car like Tata, Maruti etc. always wait 6 months before buying, no matter how many discounts or seasonal offers they throw at you. IN car companies have the worst component supplier quality control mechanisms across the planet and usually take 6 months to fix the issue, at the expense of the eager customers who flocked in early.

2) For a German car, always buy immediately, as the first batch is almost always fully imported and use 90%+ imported components (exceptions include tires etc.) which are domestically sourced to cut costs in later models (and quality suffers as a result).

3) For a Japanese/ Korean car, it makes no difference as most Honda/ Toyota parts are sourced from Thailand and Malaysia, which are as cheap as IN sourced components, in every sense of the word.

[21Archer84]

Originally Posted by Screwdriva

2) For a German car, always buy immediately, as the first batch is almost always fully imported and use 90%+ imported components (exceptions include tires etc.) which are domestically sourced to cut costs in later models (and quality suffers as a result).

This point is very true, atleast from what I've personally observed. I own the first gen Skoda Fabia for India , which in simple terms was Imported. When I compared it with the facelifted Fabia , it's a completely different car. Few things missing in the facelifted Fabia were the rear split seats, rear wiper,seat height adjustment and something I really wish was standard, 3point seat belt for the rear center passenger. Don't remember the cooled glove box though.

[harishpr]

Originally Posted by JKBKS

I have decided on an XUV but some friends are asking to wait for Tata Hexa saying Tata's quality has improved over the years and the learnings from Aria, Safari and Land Rover will be used in Hexa, thereby making it a better product at launch, whenever it happens.

Considering above, my question is would it make sense to buy Hexa at launch ? If not then how long should one wait typically to buy a car like Hexa?

Hexa is atleast a year away, if not less. There is no firm launch date, and everything depends on the pricing. I too like Hexa (from what I have read seen online), but Tata has a long way to go to gain customer trust to plonk money on their first batch of vehicles.

[VeyronSuperSprt]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Another dimension to the risk when buying at launch (as seen and discussed at length!), you would buy a car at the launch price, but then you must be immune when the prices are slashed a few months after its launch. ( eg. Maruti Suzuki's S Cross)

Not always the case. The converse can also happen as in the new Octavia that is up by 3 lakhs over its original launch price.

In the case of Tata, I would advise you to wait 10 years after launch so that breakdowns are not more than once a day.

[Vikvkv]

In the case of Tata, I would advise you to wait 10 years after launch so that breakdowns are not more than once a day.

Don't you think your statement is a bit exaggerating. Yes TATA cars may not be as reliable as Maruthi or Toyota thanks to it's poor chain of service centres. But it's USP lies in it being cheap to maintain and fuel efficient. Still most cabbies use the Indica.