[gururajrv]

Well, firstly I feel your pain and the anger you wanted to exhale it out in one way or the other, which is totally fine.

But, it would’ve been better if you’d not stickered the car that way, brother! It’s totally disrespecting the efforts, time & money you put on it. It’s fine if you’ve gone wrong once. Next time, you wouldn’t do it, because your selection process has been revisited. But, to me honestly, you shouldn’t have stickered the car with some disrespectful words for everyone on the road to catch the attention.

We BHPians, are enthusiasts and we should respect the cars for what they are & I do agree with you, safety is anyone’s prime importance.

But, if you’d bought a car about 8-10 years back, I don’t think you’d have liked anything on offer apart from the costlier Germans!

Be it any car, City, Baleno, Esteem, they were all enthusiast friendly cars. But when you talk about safety, that’s where things started dipping south for anyone for that matter.

I do not think the current Baleno is so bad that it can’t be termed reliable. Like our fellow bhpians have advised;

1) go for some damping on the doors
2) get good set of tires and alloys
3) if you don’t think the above 2 would work, best is to sell the car since Baleno has a good resale value, and pick a Polo for the build quality it offers

[Palaver]

Really sorry to hear about you regretting your purchase. That's a classic buyer's remorse situation. We all have been there at some point t in our lives - whether it's an automotive decision or a simple clothing decision. But having said that, we humans are a very adaptive lot. Given enough time, we make peace with the situation that is presented to us. As the saying goes, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade 🍋🍹. You would in time become more defensive driver to compensate for the car's shortcomings and to be honest given our road conditions that's not such a bad thing.
However if you truly believe that driving around in it compromises your or your family's safety in any way, shape or form - then wait no more and swallow that bitter pill by selling it and getting something that you feel more safe and secure in. After all, safety is paramount and should not be taken lightly. But I would suggest if you thinking of swapping cars, then please try and go for an extended test drive before making the final decision - preferably find someone in your social circle who owns that car and take it for a spin along with asking for their ownership experience.
Hope that you can take the right call by your family.

And one last suggestion, as mentioned by so many people already -- Please and I say again please remove those stickers from your car. And I don't mean from a sales perspective but a psychological one. Those stickers constantly remind you that you don't like your car and would have an adverse effect on your general well being. And therefore prevent you from being objective about it in the near future. There is nothing worst than surrounding yourself with negativity. So as a humble suggestion please just get rid of those.

[gunsho]

Originally Posted by 2000rpm

Hey, I think he is just sharing his feelings on the forum where he expects to be understood not necessarily agreed with. If people can buy expensive crowns for cars they love (read accessories) he can definitely put up stickers.

Everyone has their own way of expressing.

The situation he is in as a first time buyer is understandable, agree that more test drives should have been done prior to purchase. Buts thats how we learn the world of cars, dont we?

True. Probably this is more into expressing everyone, what he has concluded about it and the dislike/frustration he has with the car. While everyone are trying to provide a solution, may be that is not what required here. Probably time to listen to his frustration or support it, than give a solution to it. Every workaround/solution given in this thread has been poured over in other threads too, and yet this topic/stickers keeps coming up across threads.

[FrodoOfTheShire]

Originally Posted by gunsho

While everyone are trying to provide a solution, may be that is not what required here. Probably time to listen to his frustration or support it, than give a solution to it.

My thoughts exactly! Usually people get aggressively defensive about their beliefs and decisions, but here is a person who's openly admitting to making a wrong decision not only on a public forum like this but also daily out on the streets! And strangely, others are reprimanding him for not researching properly before buying and for not understanding the physics/engineering behind vehicular safety!

On one hand we all admire how sturdy cars like VW and Ford feel when you close the doors with that solid reassuring thud, while on the other hand we are saying that rattles are part and parcel of every Maruti, which somehow makes it fine/acceptable!

Why should he need to spend extra money to dampen the doors and upgrade to better tyres after already spending ₹8-10lakhs on the car? Shouldn't the manufacturer already take care of that? Maybe the platform is lightweight but stronger than before, but the sheet metal is obviously thin, leading to frequent bumps as admitted by other members here. So the car might be safe but doesn't "feel" safe, which is what his actual criticism is.

Selling off the car is definitely the practical and easier thing to do, but I salute his guts for creatively/aesthetically criticizing Maruti and venting his anger at the same time!

We here at Team BHP should rightly demand better products from our car manufacturers instead of supporting those manufacturers with "chalta hai" attitude. And its not just Maruti Suzuki, we have a thread criticizing Ford for cheapening Endeavour's chassis. So no company is above reproach.

[invidious]

We have both - the Elite i20 and the Baleno; so it's not as if I am biased. The decision to acquire the Baleno was that of the wife. I too am aghast at the build quality and prefer it if the toddler doesn't travel in it. Dimples and dents are aplenty.

I've realized the safest and sturdiest cars are the VWs. Even the Linea I earlier had was built like a tank. I wonder if you can switch the Baleno for an Ameo.

While the Elite i20 is not in the same class as the Europeans, it does feel significantly safer and better built.

[PrasannaDhana]

Oh come on, is it even necessary to shame the poor car like that with those stickers?

If you really don't like it, sell it. What's the point in insulting the poor car like that? And as someone said earlier, mask the number, else you will have a hard time getting a decent price for it.

If I were in your place, I would get more and more pissed off seeing those stickers every day I use that car. Not worth the peace of mind buddy. Make peace with your heart, either learn to live with it or just sell it away.

[revvharder]

There are only two ways in your situation either live with it or part ways with it. If money is no problem then just sell the car and go on a car hunt. I was too in same situation some time back even we were thinking to sell our year old WagonR due to poor build quality. Well it has covered over 80000kms there is not a single rattle but yeah like you stated even a small touch or nudge by cyclist or biker and it will result into a dimple but we decided against it as it was a city car and was running on CNG so the overall costs were comparable to a two wheeler. The main reason reason of these dimples is thin metal sheets and they are there for two reasons : 1) It costs cheaper. 2) It reduces overall weight which results in the class leading FE numbers. And besides that when money is no concern you will be selling the car, and the beauty touches you have added will only lower your resale value because Baleno is a hit car in the market and even today waiting periods are high for this car. You see the stickers you've put will only result people thinking that your car is the only car that is suffering from issues and people will think it's a lemon so either you remove the lemon from life or you just crush them and make lemonade. Just remove the stickers as it will result into nothing and you will just end up ruining your mood till the day you drive it.

[avdhesh15]

I honestly don't like what's been done by the OP. Are 15k+ Indians on a monthly basis fools for buying this car ( leave alone the other Maruti cars )?

If you don't like the car, just sell it and cut your losses and move on. That's what I did when I bought the i10.

[tushky]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

I honestly don't like what's been done by the OP. Are 15k+ Indians on a monthly basis fools for buying this car ( leave alone the other Maruti cars )?

If you don't like the car, just sell it and cut your losses and move on. That's what I did when I bought the i10.

They are not fools however most of them are like Sheep. Without understanding thair needs or comparing without other models, people blindly buy Maruti cars. There are better cars than maruti.

[ROG_AK]

They say time changes everything. Perhaps as the days go by you will accept it and appreciate it's better qualities, on the other hand you might hate it even more. Either ways make a decision that will suit you best.

I never in my wildest dreams though I would get a Baleno, but when the RS came out I had to make peace with the shortcomings and enjoy the car for what it is.

Whenever I use the Fiesta it feels to me like one of its doors weighs more than than all the doors of the Baleno, but I can't hate it for that. I was also worried about getting dents / dimples reported my many members here but it's over a year since I got the car and I have had no such issues, the car is in great condition (touch wood). It's not like I pay extra attention to the car with the fear of getting dings and dents, I just take care of it as I would any other product and it's holding up really well.

[revvharder]

Originally Posted by tushky

They are not fools however most of them are like Sheep. Without understanding thair needs or comparing without other models, people blindly buy Maruti cars. There are better cars than maruti.

Well I would say they are not sheeps but have a basic requirement for Maruti Badge, comfortable 5 seater, spacious car with usable boot, and great FE. That's what a car buyer today thinks of. It covers most of the basic aspects.

[avdhesh15]

Originally Posted by tushky

They are not fools however most of them are like Sheep. Without understanding thair needs or comparing without other models, people blindly buy Maruti cars. There are better cars than maruti.

There's a reason people buy Maruti, being sheep or wolves. They've been around for 30+ years and only consolidate their position on a monthly basis. Anyway, enough OT on this topic in this thread.

[itsashishsharma]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

I honestly don't like what's been done by the OP. Are 15k+ Indians on a monthly basis fools for buying this car ( leave alone the other Maruti cars )?

If you don't like the car, just sell it and cut your losses and move on. That's what I did when I bought the i10.

Somebody is regretting their decision of buying a car with poor build quality. It's a big investment buying a car in India. How heartbroken would OP be feeling. Yes, he should sell it off but he will loose money and overall that is not a situation anybody should be in.
Rather than emphathizing with him, you are empathetic towards the stupid car.
The root of the problem is that people buy cars citing those 15k cars that come on road each month, and a Maruti badge, and their FE figure. This attitude that if 15k people are buying it, they all won't be fools, so the car must be not that bad, this very attitude is the root of this problem. While it's ok to hear this from a guy in your office corridor, it's not OK coming from a teamBHP member. It's OK to bash a manufacturer for making sub-standard products. We are paying for it. And it's not that it takes an expert to get the difference between Balenos or Swifts of today and Polos or Freestyles.

[PrasannaDhana]

Originally Posted by itsashishsharma

Rather than emphathizing with him, you are empathetic towards the stupid car.


And it's not that it takes an expert to get the difference between Balenos or Swifts of today and Polos or Freestyles.

Well, if I was the OP, I would want people to empathize only if I was "forced" to buy a baleno. Else hey I had the options, I am a member of TeamBHP and I know the pros and cons of all cars. It is like buying a classic 350 knowing well it is a slow bike, and expecting it to do a sub 6 second 0-100 time, and when it doesn't do it, pasting sticker on it stating "this sh*t is slow". It was obvious before the time of purchase, isn't it?
Anyways no offense to OP. It is his courage and right to admit his mistake and show his frustration. My humble opinion is that he might be going overboard with those public display of hate towards the car through those stickers.

Coming to talking about ford freestyle in the same reference as a Volkswagen Polo, I don't think it can be justifiable. Polo is a legit sturdy car while freestyle is still another lightly built car(not only my opinion, even the official review says so).

[tushky]

Originally Posted by avdhesh15

There's a reason people buy Maruti, being sheep or wolves. They've been around for 30+ years and only consolidate their position on a monthly basis. Anyway, enough OT on this topic in this thread.

In old days there was no choice, yes back then Maruti was a only better option than Amby and premier and few other local car makers. . However now we have more options available. Most of the cars in the market have better FE, space, features, quality same or better than Maruti but our people are not ready to accept that other cars also exist in India.

Thats why our market is becoming boring these days.same brand is seen everywhere. No new exciting launches by other manufacturers because we are not willing to buy those.