[carmayogi]

Originally Posted by vsathyap

Where is the official TBHP Review of the Baleno?

To repeat this question. Mods. When can we expect the official review? Been waiting a while on this one.

[spsam]

Today, I went for my pre-delivery inspection of Maruti Baleno Alpha (P) at Bimal Nexa in Bangalore. I had pre-booked this car on 01-Oct-15 and I was allotted this car a week ago. I had paid a down-payment of Rs.1.1 lakhs at launch and till now more than half the price of the car. While inspecting the car today (couldn't visit the stockyard on the day of its arrival), I found out that the tie rods, disc brakes and the suspension arm for my car was fully rusted. One other car too showed similar rusting. A similar case (but with lesser amount of rust) was mentioned by SRK in his post http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...ml#post3836233. Also, the people at Bimal Nexa had parked the car under a tree in a corner where there was additional dirt and tree sap on the car. When I refused to take the delivery of the car, they refused providing an alternate allotment and insisted that I will be pushed to the end of the allotment list and had to wait up to 4 more months.

I would suggest you avoid Bimal Nexa in Bangalore - looking at comments on many forums, suggest avoiding all NEXA dealers until they have more competition. I must commend my Relationship Manager (Mr.Chandra) who was very helpful, honest, and always suggested what was right. His team leader and others in the place where giving me the "take it or leave it" attitude and told me that "I didn't know about cars and that all cars rust similarly at the time of delivery". I found it outrageous that they were trying to convince me that it is normal and there are people waiting to get the car, that too in the Ray Blue colour. They even refused replacement under warranty fearing that it would mean they have to admit that vehicles in their stockyard I have started escalating this to Maruti - not sure what else to do at this stage. Please take a look and please suggest the best course of action.

I sincerely wonder how this will affect the safety of the car and the passengers in due course of time. Sad to see the state of the auto industry in India - one decently engineered car and the dealers have the upper hand holding the trump card.

[Rajeevraj]

Interesting to see that the Baleno numbers for November: 9000+ units and straight to the top slot. Elite i20 sales definitely seem hit due to the Baleno. I guess it is the first time even that the i20 is losing its top slot in the premium hatchback segment.

And all this with just the limited Nexa reach? Amazing. Need to see how well it will sustain.

Guess this is why Maruti did not bother to put in a more powerful diesel or the Boosterjet petrol at launch. The majority of the folk out there don't care for all that.

[vinit.merchant]

Originally Posted by spsam

While inspecting the car today (couldn't visit the stockyard on the day of its arrival), I found out that the tie rods, disc brakes and the suspension arm for my car was fully rusted. One other car too showed similar rusting. .

This is quite a shock finding rusty parts on a brand new undelivered car in stock yard. Not really a good sign for longer term.

[viv_cal]

Called my SA to enquire about the status of delivery of my car (committed delivery date was 10th Dec). He is saying that he has no clue and will only come to know through an email when the car is officially allotted against my name at the plant. Till that time, he cannot find out by when or when exactly will the car get allotted to me!!

I guess allotment should be on a FIFO (First In First Out) sequence of car booking. I presume that they must have some internal sequencing based on the date of booking, and on any given day, MSIL can pin-point to the dealers where exactly or how below in the sequence queue is a particular customer's pending allotment. And by when is the allotment expected.

Is my SA bluffing me or am i missing something here ???

[swiftnfurious]

Originally Posted by viv_cal

...I guess allotment should be on a FIFO (First In First Out) sequence of car booking. I presume that they must have some internal sequencing based on the date of booking, and on any given day, MSIL can pin-point to the dealers where exactly or how below in the sequence queue is a particular customer's pending allotment. And by when is the allotment expected.

Is my SA bluffing me or am i missing something here ???

The SA is right; till the invoicing to the dealer is done, they can't find out whether a car has been allotted to them. And Maruti doesn't allot a car based on the bookings always; they mass produce a particular color based on the total demand and then dispatch cars to dealers. If you are first in queue for a blue car, maruti definitely need to send a blue car to the dealer, though they try and do it.

The dealer can be allotted a white car which will be given to the first person with a white car booking in the queue.

[chandra1]

Earlier my RM had refused to let me see the car before the delivery date and full payment. But today I talked to the showroom manager and he agreed to get the car to showroom tomorrow so that I can check it. I plan to make the down payment and also ask the bank to release the payment after I am satisfied with the car tomorrow.
Now the thing is that this is my first car and I know almost nothing about cars (actually still on learning licence; planning to get appointment for permanent in 8-10 days).
What are the things that a person like me can and should check in the car apart from dents, scratches, interior damages etc.? Thank you

[a4anurag]

Originally Posted by chandra1

But today I talked to the showroom manager and he agreed to get the car to showroom tomorrow so that I can check it.

Good that things have sorted out on this matter. Good decision from the manager.

Originally Posted by chandra1

What are the things that a person like me can and should check in the car apart from dents, scratches, interior damages etc.? Thank you

Please go through this thread. Will clear your doubts as well we have a PDI checklist. This will help you when you check the car tomorrow.

http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/buying...heck-list.html

All the best and congratulations on advance.

[chandra1]

Originally Posted by a4anurag

Please go through this thread. Will clear your doubts as well we have a PDI checklist. This will help you when you check the car tomorrow.

Thank you, sir. I have already checked the thread and got the PDI checklist printed but as I told I don't have much idea about engines and other internal equipment etc. So I can just check the exteriors, electric equipment, lights, door locks etc. Should that be enough or there are some other important things that I should focus on. Hope what I am asking is making some sense.

[SRK]

Originally Posted by volkman10

Baleno could get the DDiS200 (89 hp) along with the boosterjet engine for India.

This 1.3DDiS engine is currently powers the Ciaz.

Thats some good news.

Any idea by when we can expect these engine options? (may be at the AutoExpo?)

I have delayed getting the Baleno till Jan, in case Maruti is planning any updates I don't mind waiting a bit more.

Would be really great if they get the full featured version of the Baleno with BoosterJet, Cruise Control and those lovely alloys we see on the Euro spec model

[abhik897]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Interesting to see that the Baleno numbers for November: 9000+ units and straight to the top slot. Elite i20 sales definitely seem hit due to the Baleno. I guess it is the first time even that the i20 is losing its top slot in the premium hatchback segment.

And all this with just the limited Nexa reach? Amazing. Need to see how well it will sustain.
.

Number of nexa showrooms as on date : 60 to 70 odd.
Number of other Maruti showrooms : 1675 odd.
Just imagine what could have been the sales numbers if Baleno was launched via the routine Maruti network

[DieselAddikt]

Originally Posted by chandra1

Thank you, sir. I have already checked the thread and got the PDI checklist printed but as I told I don't have much idea about engines and other internal equipment etc. So I can just check the exteriors, electric equipment, lights, door locks etc. Should that be enough or there are some other important things that I should focus on. Hope what I am asking is making some sense.

Dear Sir,

Since you are going to take delivery of such a hot selling car, there is nothing much that can go wrong about it. Just check for external damages or scratches. Also check the odometer reading (not really useful as they can easily manipulate it). If the car "looks" perfect, then go ahead and take delivery. In case of Baleno, I don't think you will be allotted an old car or a car that has been damaged. The showrooms will be too busy to have time for manipulations. A thorough physical inspection should be more than enough.

Enjoy your car and drive safe !!

[adimicra]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Interesting to see that the Baleno numbers for November: 9000+ units and straight to the top slot. Elite i20 sales definitely seem hit due to the Baleno. I guess it is the first time even that the i20 is losing its top slot in the premium hatchback segment.

And all this with just the limited Nexa reach? Amazing. Need to see how well it will sustain.

Guess this is why Maruti did not bother to put in a more powerful diesel or the Boosterjet petrol at launch. The majority of the folk out there don't care for all that.

So, the Baleno takes the top spot from I20 in the premium hatchback segment with less than 100 Nexa outlets. Also, remember I20 sales includes I20 active as well. Swift is the most affected as expected as it is down from 18K to 11K. I can't remember the last time I saw Swift having such low sales.

I think at the price point which Baleno is launched, this kind of sales numbers are expected as it undercuts the competition by more than 50K and is actually priced at par or even below the Swift (if you compare the variants with comparable features). I expect a sunstantial price hike from Maruti next year and we will have to see how the premium hatchback segment shapes up after that. I expect some stability in the sales numbers by Feb-March next year.

With the current pricing, Maruti is virtually killing it's golden goose for so many years - the Swift. Also, the non-nexa dealers in the big citites will be adversely affected.

http://auto.economictimes.indiatimes...nters/50028667

[Rajeevraj]

Originally Posted by adimicra

So, the Baleno takes the top spot from I20 in the premium hatchback segment with less than 100 Nexa outlets. Also, remember I20 sales includes I20 active as well. Swift is the most affected as expected as it is down from 18K to 11K. I can't remember the last time I saw Swift having such low sales.

I think at the price point which Baleno is launched, this kind of sales numbers are expected as it undercuts the competition by more than 50K and is actually priced at par or even below the Swift (if you compare the variants with comparable features)

Right, good point on the swift. Baleno seems to have cannibalized the swift a great deal (Not surprising). Even the Grand i10 is above the Swift, that may be a first.

Overall a wee bit disappointed. Clearly shows to Maruti that they can get away with reusing the same engines and adding a lot of features and bling and get big sales numbers. May delay bring in stuff like the boosterjet and more powerful diesels.

Folks at Ford will be banging their heads in frustrations. 6 Airbags, 100+PS power, lots of features, good price and still they are just getting half decent numbers.

[WRXXX]

Originally Posted by Rajeevraj

Right, good point on the swift. Baleno seems to have cannibalized the swift a great deal (Not surprising). Even the Grand i10 is above the Swift, that may be a first.

Overall a wee bit disappointed. Clearly shows to Maruti that they can get away with reusing the same engines and adding a lot of features and bling and get big sales numbers. May delay bring in stuff like the boosterjet and more powerful diesels.

Folks at Ford will be banging their heads in frustrations. 6 Airbags, 100+PS power, lots of features, good price and still they are just getting half decent numbers.

I think [Swift + Dzire + Baleno] should be treated as One bucket, the new gain for Maruti now is in getting higher margins in the top variants of Baleno and stealing the sales from the Elite, other than that I see the overall Bucket seems very stable.

Also, based on what Suzuki seems to be aiming at they don't mind loosing Swift sales in favor of Baleno. Only a feature loaded Swift or a new Swift OR an expensive Baleno compared to Swift(??) can restore the Swift sales. Given very high part sharing across these models I don't see a problem for MS. They have literally packaged old wine in a shiny new bottle.

About the Ford story, you have to understand how Ford and other Automobile manufacturers are insensitive to the service story, so just features alone can't get the sales. And winning trust is a key factor and retaining it is even more so, lets hope this Nexa goof-up doesn't continue. I prefer humble sales people who are sincere as apposed to well dressed, insensitive and zero concern sales people. I think it is the coat that they wear doing the damage