[Vitalstatistiks]

Chose option 'b'. Reason's a bit more nuanced though. While I would love to be loyal to a brand, given the sense of comfort developed over time, the sameness in different cars across a brand is a deal breaker. Wouldn't pick up a Civic as upgrade from City, when it feels 90% like the old car, similar for Audis, BMWs or any other manufacturer.

Hence, while sticking to a brand that you like may make a lot of sense, lack of differentiation between their products kills the enthusiasm of a new car.

[SideView]

I am satisfied with the vehicle but not so much with brand/ASC experience.

Mostly my next purchase would not be from the same brand.

[Bibendum90949]

Originally Posted by lamborghini

Generally what makes us repeat is if the earlier ownership experience was pleasurable - as it is one of the factors I would look at when purchasing a car.

Originally Posted by Thermodynamics

I think people stick to a brand mostly because of past pleasant experiences and reluctance to experiment new things.

Lambo and Thermo, You guys have hit the nail on the head here. Having a trouble free and pleasant experience is the single most factor that makes one stick with a particular brand. Ask Toyota loyalists. It's so hard for them to come out of that brand. I know of a friend who had once agreed Ford Endeavour is a much better car than Fortuner but still opted for Fortuner while he was upgrading. Reason - a trouble free 12 year old Innova in his family.

I had the same thought in mind when I voted for "I would like to stick with same brand". Though I voted that way, i've never got stuck with one brand. It had to do with lack of options within the same brand and had to look elsewhere certain times. My rides over the years are as follows.

Maruti 800, Ford Fiesta, Maruti Celerio, Hyundai Santro, Maruti Omni, Skoda Laura and the latest addition Kia Seltos. I still own the last four in the list as I've found utility and use case for each of them. As you see, Maruti is the only brand that was repeated despite me not being a Maruti lover. It's just that other options were limited and Maruti just suited the requirements back then. When I have voted, I had Skoda in mind. Last 9 years and 185k kms i've had a trouble free experience with Laura. So naturally there's a soft corner that's developed and there's a good chance I'll consider another Skoda again when the time comes around to replace it. It works either ways. If I had a stint with Skoda that was unpleasant I would've jumped the camp at the first given opportunity

[Samba]

Not at all loyal.
At the end, I am the customer and am paying for the product. The manufacturer is not giving me any extra benefit or any kind of favour for sticking to them. Yes some companies do give a loyalty bonus, but that hardly matters while buying a car.

I love the Toyota reliability.

The connect while driving a Ford.

The resale value brought a smile on my face while I sold a Maruti.

The sturdiness of a Fiat.

A big fan of the German engineering.

The way the Koreans offer us a complete package.

A big thumbs up to the 5* safety rated new Tata & Mahindra cars.

But all of them have their own pros & cons. On the pros and cons of different brands, I even started a thread sometimes back!

https://www.team-bhp.com/forum/india...ives-only.html (Pros & cons with different car brands - Owner perspectives only)

Off-course there are brands like Toyota, Fiat, Ford whom I like a lot. But couple of years back when I was out to buy a car, none of them had a car which could suffice my need! So I settled with a Renault!

[darkLightning]

Voted for changeover. I think people sticking to same brand creates a false sense of security at brand level and leads to lackluster products from the brand.

And for the reverse question there are few brands which even if there products are competent I would always avoid be it due to lack of sales network, pathetic service quality or simply lack of after sales support.

[RedTerrano]

I go for VFM. If you want loyalty, get a dog

Jokes apart, when I decided to spend my hard earned money, I want to get exactly what I need. This includes not only the vehicle, but after sales service as well.
For many years, we have been a Maruti family. 2 WagonRs, one 800, one Estillo. All purchased from Chowgule Pune. Never had any issues with any vehicles, nor the servicing over the decades.
Unfortunately when I decided to go for a SUV, Maruti just didn't have anything to offer in their stable, except the Ertiga I suppose. But it just didn't excite me.

I would have definitely voted for change over, but ran into a snag.
Mods please note:

[Sebring]

Tata Nexon has evoked a strong sense of loyalty in me. I just completed three years and it's a solid performer. I also feel that I'm doing something for my Nation by having imposed faith in a Tata. Mr. Ratan Tata's personality and the way he has lived his life has something to do with it. My next car will be a Tata for sure. But, this wasn't so in the past. I had a Zen for 18 years, not a single breakdown or unnecessary kharcha and the service experience was brilliant. But for our next car, I wasn't loyal at all - it had to be a Hyundai purely because I got swayed with the features. Maybe, because Maruti killed the Zen brand, Or else I'd have bought the next iteration. So loyalty does get swayed by a lot of factors and the Brands have to be on their toes, at all times, to retain it. Customer engagement is a must too. (Note: I'd request the Mods to have a 'not sure' vote as well. Just because I have not been loyal to a brand in the past, doesn't mean I wont be in the future)

[NAVREVV]

Voted No!

I have driven Chevy, Honda, VW and my next one will also be a different brand. i don't restrict my choices to just one brand. Though I love VW as a brand because of sheer driving dynamics but I don't limit myself.

[lapis_lazuli]

It might actually be an Yes, but that hasn't been religiously followed. I grew up on Fiats... various avatars, since the 50s. My father, and coincidentally, my mother too. We got the Padmini next, and then a M800 the first deviation. Because there wasn't a Fiat then. Then a Punto, but after that, there wasn't anything from Fiat, 2 segments above, hence another Euro car, but not a Fiat. So..Yes'ish....!! The Punto still serves us like it is new. Ok..not so new...

PS : As a family, we never had any reason to curse Fiat or it's derivatives, ever. Always a happy ownership. Niggles and gremlins, yes...never a catastrophic failure or a "damn" moment! So I guess the choice was natural.

[justwheels]

Voted No.

For the primary reason, that with time I have tried to not just change cars but also the type. From a small hatchback (Celerio) to a crossover (Ecosport) to a pure SUV (Thar 2020 now booked). When moving across types, it's difficult to be brand loyal as each company excels in few segments, not all.

When I moved from Celerio to Ecosport, that was the best in crossovers at the time and way ahead of Brezza's quality. With Thar, no other vehicle in offer from any stable.

I don't think we will find many brand loyal customers in India in general and thats because of service centre issues. Unless you are stay put at one place, your service experience might keep changing and that is a major deal with cross brand shopping.
Most people might be brand loyal if primary consideration is resale value and/or service centre proximity.

[andafunda]

I'm not loyal to any brand. First three cars have been from different brands. However, there are brands I will never own. They just don't resonate with me in terms of design, build quality, ethos and overall experience. Looking at you, Hyundai and Fiat.

[kadanaJ]

Reliability and trouble-free ownership is a big deal to me, hence why Toyota and Honda mostly have my loyalty. I do wish they had a better line-up of cars in India though.

[KPR]

I'm definitely not brand loyal. But I'm brand disloyal towards Hyundai. All their cars loses out sheen after 3-4 years for my eyes. Something like limited period and their cars aren't timeless.

[scorpion41]

I too am not brand loyal. We have different brand of four-wheelers in our family. We buy any vehicle irrespective of the brand unless if it is VFM.

[clementw]

My first car was a Wagon R, I loved it and thought Maruthi made great cars but one terrible service experience made me sell the car. The next three cars were Tata - Vista TDI, Vista QuadraJet and now Tata Nexon.

The reason I moved to Vista earlier was the space I got and the VFM i perceived, the TDI was fun on the highway; noisy, coarse but cheap to run, the service issues were hit and miss always in Tata.

I upgraded from Vista TDI to Vista QuadraJet to much amusement of all who felt that I was silly who upgrades from Tata to Tata and the same . By then with age I wanted not just VFM I wanted safety and the Swift the other option I had was 1L higher for the 2 airbags provided.

When i moved to Nexon the same parameters of VFM, safety and style made my decision.

However service is a bugbear, no loyalty bonus or anything from Tata so far.