[dark.knight]

I'd say follow your heart and buy whenever you want or need a new car. I'd assume that 80% of the buyers do their homework when it comes to financial advantages of owning a car. A car makes terrific financial sense but only when bought at the right time and price, as one can fully exploit depreciation and claim rightful expenses for fuel, insurance, incidental expenses etc, we can use every legal edge possible at a time when we're literally getting hammered by the government on collection.. a car to me is one major way. Here's how our previous car buying experiences went over the past decade :

Santro - Almost new (3500 km run) used car with expensive music system and seat cover bought when the first owner had to leave the country. Bought for Rs.340,000/-, used it sparingly for 3.5 years (hardly 12k kms) and exchanged it for an unbelievable Rs.260,000/-, one of the cheapest ownership experiences I've seen bringing the cost almost down to zero if one factors in savings and potential private transport costs.

Getz - Bought brand new for Rs.520,000/- with nil discount but the cost was cut in half thanks to the exchange. Eight years on and with a possibility of recovering close to 80% of the original outlay (Rs.260,000/-) upon resale I'd say this was well worth every km of its 60,000+. I haven't checked the mileage of any car till date, it simply doesn't matter.

Discounts may come and go and that's sheer luck but I don't think one can wait in perpetuity for them to possibly appear. If that's the case then the best time to buy is between Dec 15th to Jan 15th of any given year. As for niggles, I'd assume that's why companies test their cars under disguise for tens of thousands of kilometres so that they are ironed out in time for sales, and that's why its a good idea to take extended warranty out of the showroom. While I'm very particular about a fill-drive-shut experience myself, we cant get too paranoid about technical failures as that points only to the incompetence of the manufacturer.

In summary :

- If you love a particular car and did your homework about it, no time better than to buy at launch.

- If you love a deal then no time better than auspicious months/year end.

[lamborghini]

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 would probably be one of the points I disagree with - at least in the higher segments.
Today (it was a practice in the past, but is no longer followed by mass market vehicles), most launches upto a certain price (say Superb level) are assembled in India from launch itself. Those that typically see the CBU route are the Audis/BMWs/Mercedes etc.
IMO - A german car, a few months down the line will be a whole lot more reliable IMO, as it's been localised keeping indian conditions in mind - especially with regards to the AC and other features. Quality is a constant for these manufacturers as it is a matter of brand repute.

Our E270 CDI was a CBU, followed shortly by the locally assembled one that ended up with more features (within a few months of launch).

Our 525D was locally assembled and has performed flawlessly for 8 years and counting!

Our A6 2.0TDi is a CBU - ended up waiting over 2 months for delivery, and there have been small niggles in the first couple of years of ownership - such as the AC packing up. The replacement AC has been working flawlessly since the replacement.
Similarly, a lot of the first batch of Skodas had AC complaints which were resolved in the later batches.

Lastly, the CBU will have higher taxes + no discounts. A few months down the line, one can expect significant discounts that would offset any perceived quality differences.
The only exception to this being the launch edition Mercedes which have slightly better kit and are typically imported - but then again, they are priced higher as well.

[Screwdriva]

Even on more humble cars like the Polo and Yeti, many parts were imported on the first batch (even the plastic and rubber components were made in EU and Mexico). To your point, the higher up the class of vehicle, the more time it may take for localization to happen.

You raise a good point about VAG (Audi, Skoda and VW) air-conditioning system problems on imported cars. I have also experienced this but believe this to be an outlier vs. the norm.

Finally, manufacturers pay the higher taxes to import the initial batch of vehicles but sell them at the same price as locally assembled vehicles, a common practice during the planned sales period. This makes them good value, assuming everything works.

[raaj.bhalla]

In my opinion, if you want to have the latest thing in your garage, go at the launch. I think that is what many people do so book new launch cars even before the price is revealed or car not being available for even test drive.

Then there are like me who wait and watch, test drive more than once, check feedback from various sources and then make an informed decision.

I won't mind buying a car between 15th December and 15th January if I am getting high discount as I plan to use my cars way beyond 5 years so buying a car or previous year manufacturing date is of no importance.

[lamborghini]

Originally Posted by Screwdriva

Even on more humble cars like the Polo and Yeti, many parts were imported on the first batch (even the plastic and rubber components were made in EU and Mexico). To your point, the higher up the class of vehicle, the more time it may take for localization to happen.

Finally, manufacturers pay the higher taxes to import the initial batch of vehicles but sell them at the same price as locally assembled vehicles, a common practice during the planned sales period. This makes them good value, assuming everything works.

That is true - but generally, these mass market vehicles would be around 70-75% localized by the time they are launched in today's day and age - especially given they have already got a stable supplier base today (which wasn't the case when they just entered our markets).

Regarding higher taxes - they are generally offset by the discounts on these vehicles a few months in.
Just as an example, we paid 55L OTR for our CBU A6 (on which we could not opt for any customizations such as LED headlights, Bose audio, etc. - simply because these cars were already kitted out and any customisations would result in double the waiting period), which after localization and discounts was retailing in the high 40's a few months down the line.

[JKBKS]

But Tata Hexa, derived from Aria platform, should have very high localization on Day 1. Right?

And also lot of learning from Aria/Safari should be inbuilt too. So it is not like a new car being launched altogether.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Here are some emerging trends

Interesting thread to bump up!

My bits:

1. Maruti: No surprises on quality, added features etc. Good option to buy at launch. Only the S-Cross pricing debacle moves away from this norm but then they did try to make up for it to whatever extent they could vis-à-vis say Ford.

2. Hyundai: Again a good option to buy at launch because they typically increase prices along the way. Also, they don't change versions much so no regrets there.

3. Toyota: Surely buy at launch because they are gonna double the price in 3-5 years! Prime examples are the old Innova and Fortuner.

4. Mahindra: DON'T buy at launch unless you want to be a guinea pig for a half baked product. Stark example is the TUV and to an extent the XUV.

5. Ford: If they have competition, they will surely reduce prices and hence don't buy at launch (e.g. Figo, Aspire, EcoSport). I expect the Endeavor pricing to drop once (and IF) Toyota prices new Fortuner aggressively at launch.

6. Honda: With the new quality breed, I wouldn’t buy at launch. I bought the current City at launch but would have probably rethought my decision if I had gotten the chance to read the niggles thread. Would probably wait for the mid-life facelift version.

7. VW: This is a bit of a hit and miss. You never know what will happen to the car over endless “all-new” versions.

8. Tata: Wait to see whether this car will be introduced to the cab segment or not. Of recent launches, the Bolt has gone the cab way but the Tiago mostly shouldn’t go that route.

[ashis89]

Originally Posted by ashis89

Sorry for going OT, but this move by Ford had me thinking for the past two days: which is the time to buy a car?

a. Pre-book a new model
Pros:
1. Enjoy a lot of attention in the initial few months.
2. Get benefits of launch price.
3. Resale value rises if the model does well and the Company decides to increase the prices.

Cons:
1. You are the guinea pig and have to suffer the initial defects in the products. ( even one of the Toyota products, Fortuner suffered from poor brakes)
2. If the model fails in the market, Company might reduce prices. Your resale goes for a toss.
3. If the model is total dud, you might be left behind with a 'liability'.

b.Wait for a year and then buy any car
Pros:
1. The initial niggles will be ironed out.
2. You are sure of the market success of the model and take an informed decision.

Cons:
1. You might have to pay much higher if the OEM decides to cash in on the demand and raise the prices (eg. Baleno, Brezza,Creta).
2. You have wait for a really long time to get your hands on one (eg: 6-9 months waiting for Baleno, 3-6 months for Tiago etc).
3. The attitude of the dealership guys change if they are dealing in a successful model.

I know the second option might look better but if you love a Brezza and yet, you have asked to wait 6 months, you might curse your decision to wait and watch. So what to do?

PS: I'm not in market for a new car but two of friends bought a Baleno each after waiting for 4 months and 5.5 months respectively.

I posted this a few days back on the Figo price cut thread. My emphasis was on the price cuts of unsuccessful models and jacked prices of successful ones. Ford has both: Figo twins and the new Endeavour.

[balajisv]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

8. Tata: Wait to see whether this car will be introduced to the cab segment or not. Of recent launches, the Bolt has gone the cab way but the Tiago mostly shouldn't go that route.

Hyundai, Maruti, Toyota and Ford too have many models for cab segment!

[jetsetgo08]

Originally Posted by VeyronSuperSprt

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.

10 Years.. It's more than the life cycle of a product. One would rather not buy a vehicle from the brand that he/she does not trust.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by balajisv

Hyundai, Maruti, Toyota and Ford too have many models for cab segment!

Yeah - but look at the image of the brand. It's so synonymous with a cab that people just don't wanna touch it with a barge pole! Tata is one brand which has probably each and every car selling in the cab segment.

The above brands have now been inducted as cabs esp due to Ola / Uber. But were quite rare prior, obv with the exception of the Innova.