Team-BHP - Article : Give me something I can actually buy!

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Originally Posted by lurker

This is the age of the internet and it doesn't take a lot for the average punter to seek out the price of say a Honda Accord in say Middle East or North America and then check out if he is getting VFM here in India.

For most people, if they feel they aren't getting VFM, they back out of the deal.

That leaves out a select few buyers who will go ahead with a purchase anyway. And that is what translates into 1000/2000 car sales for some companies.

Dude.. if everyone in India as per your " Age of the Internet" start to look at VFM and compare the models available in another country then there will be no car sales in India at all.. Stop being so crabby about it.. Be happy with what you have got...

You are staying in India.. you want the car.. you buy it.. you dont want it then dont.. stop talking about VFM.. when you go in for a top end model like a accord or any other C+ model tell me which accord / merc / bmw / mondeo / sonata / Octavia has a resale...

If a punter can see the price diff in Middle east or anywhere on the planet
add the import duty to it... then see the difference.. and if you still go ahead and import a model go through that painful process for a car which is available in India then people would only call you a F**L..

Godfather

Just cant understand what all this about.. Why are we ranting with two different kind of economies and bringing in a car to fight?

If you really want to do a apple-apple comparison, let us compare the the car prices or meal prices in countries with similar economy. How about Brazil, Mexico, or any central African countries for example?

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You are staying in India.. you want the car.. you buy it.. you dont want it then dont.. stop talking about VFM..

That is the very definition of the desperate buyer. He/she will buy the car at any cost.

But only translates into 2000 units/avg car sales for the Companies like MB/BMW and higher end models of other brands. Considering the potential of India's economy we should be buying many more of these full-size cars no ?

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How about Brazil, Mexico, or any central African countries for example?

that's a very good idea.

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Originally Posted by GTO

ABSOLUTELY!! The United States is just so expensive for daily essentials. Like I said, its just become a habit for most to bash India for no reason. Sure, every place has its pros and cons but I am sick and tired of these west-obsessed types who are obviously so mis-informed and complexed.

I love India, and am extremely proud of this country.

Exactly. i cant believe it. people who have slept & studied in one room houses & studied hard & got cushy jobs in the US, come back & bash India. i cant believe they are the same people who left india. are they blind ?

look, first we have to be proud of being ourselves, wherever we are. there is no point in cursing the place you belong to, rather take joy in working to make it a better place, that is the only way that india can grow. :)

I am seeing that some of the posts here are becoming US Bashing suddenly..seems like the OP was based out of the Middle East anyways.

Coming back to the original post..One could take an issue with the current tax structure. I don't think the companies or dealers are bilking the public as made out in the original post though. There is upto a 180% tax on CBUs coming in and aout 70% on SKDs..which translates to the prices we are seeing on the roads in India.

The situation could improve if the taxable base (people) includes more than just the salaried class.

A better comparison would be with some countries that have a nascent automobile industry like India's. Compare this to South Africa/Nigeria or Malaysia. The govt is trying to protect the local auto sourcer industry (or so it would seem), hence the large taxes.

America bashing is easy..

Americans are rich becuase they used their brains , made interesting products / services and marketed them well to the rest of the world.

They did not occupy / rule other countries for centuries and bled them like Europeans did.

If things were so great in pre 1991 India, our government did not have to pledge its gold with FIs to pay interest then..and India used to beg for aid / food from all over the world in those red days..

IMO . learning from their successes is more beneficial than cribbing about the strength of their economy.. ( nobody is stopping Chidambaram / RBI to make the rupee harden against the dollar..)

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Originally Posted by w 12

America bashing is easy..
........
( nobody is stopping Chidambaram / RBI to make the rupee harden against the dollar..)

Well no one is bashing ameriaca!!!
Plus you think hardening of the rupee will actually benefit us indians???? I dont think so... Only thing its going to do is to increase our imports and worsen our trade balance....
BTW i think this is going waaaaayyyyy off topic.....