[Raghuwire]

Voted Yes! I am brand loyal to Tata! Made my brother buy the dimunitve Tiago, and it has proved its strength and no nonsense performance in the last three years. I am waiting on my booking of Nexon EV which will replace father's 10 year old hand me down i10.

Why loyality to Tata, I have been asked this many times by a lot of people. For me, in the past few years, their products have truly impressed me with their focus on safety, design and performance. But do they really make the best cars? Maybe, maybe not. My loyalty to them goes beyond their cars. IMHO they have done more for the country than all political parties combined.

From TISS, IISC, TIFR to Tata memorial hospitals. From putting India on thte global map with JLR and Corus to the absolutely amazing CSR they do. This is the reason I would want to take my business again and again to them! On a side note, yes their cars have upped the desirability quotient, but service centers have a lot of cathcing up to do.

But I would rather own a car which I love for a year than giving it up for a day of pain during service!

[chaudh2s]

Not brand loyal as such but some brands do have certain traits which interests me so I limit myself to those. I have had bad experiences with some, so they have been been put out of contention.

1.) Maruti, Hyundai, Toyota, Ford, Honda cars I'd buy if they offer cars in the segment am looking at. Have owned cars from these brands in the past and they have provided pleasant ownership experience.

2.) Tata, Fiat, Skoda I would skip for previous unpleasant experiences.

3.) M&M, VW, Renault cars I have never owned but am open to try them if they offer an exceptional model in my search list, but I will keep in mind the experiences of others bhpians in mind while they owned those brands, and will weigh the pros and cons of buying one as against the brands in point 1 above.

[groom]

As long as the needs have remained same and those needs are full filled by reputed brands that are time tested, i stay loyal to a brand. I tried to shift from Hyundai to Honda but then switched back.

Currently not focusing to change from Maruti (Priority 2) or Hyundai (Priority 1), and also needs have not changed.

[rrsteer]

My relationship with cars has evolved to become one, where i look at them more as objects of utility, than as objects of desire. Today we are living such busy lives, that putting up with unnecessary car related problems and issues appear a super waste of time to me. In that sense reliability and ease of ownership are top draw items for me. It is widely established that Toyota ranks very high on these factors. Hence i would always prefer to buy a Toyota first, even if it is pricy, lacks features and car to car may not be the best in the segment. So, in that sense i am brand loyal. But you will never find me eulogizing them.

[TAHR]

Absolutely not. At least, not in the context of automotive products.

At best, I may have bought into what the brand stood for, with a view to validate my choice, but that was only till the next interesting product from another brand came along. (Of course, I say all this in the past tense because I'm now wedded to the one ultimate vehicle for life - again product, not brand, and am not in the market for an upgrade anymore.)

As much as automobile companies desire and work towards generating brand loyalty amongst their customers, the fact is most people are not, as vehicles are high value investments and demand critical evaluation on their own merit rather than being tied in to a mother brand.

Again, brand loyalty may work to some extent with a segment of consumers that see things from a functional perspective. I know a friend who literally graduated from a Hyundai Santro to a Verna and then to a Creta, as both his family and career grew. But one certainly can't expect this with petrol heads for whom each model, from whatever brand, satisfies a certain need. Which is why, it's not surprising to see the way this forum has voted.

[JayKavadi]

Voted Yes based on the record so far. Over last 10 years, I’ve bought 3 Hondas (2 City’s and 1 CRV). I was (am?) a big fan of the Honda engine and my experience with overall reliability has been exceptional (touchwood). But that’s all history now. I do not know which my next car will be but I do know that it won’t be a Honda. Undoubtedly the worst managed mainstream car brand in India in terms of strategy, products and even service off late. That said, even globally I don’t think they have any standout model (except maybe the Type R). So yeah this is as far as my loyalty towards Honda goes.

I really do hope more car makers enter the Indian market with an all out approach the way Kia has.

[AutoConsultant]

I feel the brand selecting decision for a large percentage of our car-buying population is simply dependent on the availability of the showroom/service center of that particular brand in the proximity of their location. That's why we have 2 brands dominating the sales charts due to their widespread service network.

For the customers, living in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities, who actually have the luxury of selecting from a number of brands, it does not make sense to vehemently stick to a particular brand (as the poll results show). There are 2 primary reasons :-

1. As you go through this circus of life, your requirements keep changing and it is not always possible that your favourite brand has a competitive vehicle in that particular segment

2. The brand philosophy and priorities keep changing over time and you may no longer resonate with them - for eg there was a recent discussion around Honda's declining standards of ASS and we could see a lot of loyal Honda members declaring that they are not willing to go for a Honda today

The brand loyalty should come into picture only when you have to select from a number of closely matching models. Going out of your way for a brand and compromising on your own needs does not make sense.

[Durango Dude]

Brand loyal or not, it pays to stick with the crowd. The cars that sell do so for a reason, it's better to row with the tide instead of against. If you want your money's worth stay with the what mass market buys.

[sodapop]

Originally Posted by Durango Dude

Brand loyal or not, it pays to stick with the crowd. The cars that sell do so for a reason, it's better to row with the tide instead of against. If you want your money's worth stay with the what mass market buys.

With due respects sir, this isn't the case every time. I can name so many cars which are "popular" but aren't the best in any parameter in the segment.

I would really like to know why you think that going against the tide will not get you your money's worth

[kalyan_hyd]

I answered No. While, based on my experience, I do think Honda is a reliable brand and has great cars. Being a true-blood TBHPian, every time I change my car, I have an itch to try out a new Brand/ Car just for the sheer experience of the drive, Sales and ASS experience. I feel it would be boring to be driving different upgraded versions of the same/ similar car from the same company over a long time. To me, it's akin to having a set of 5 white shirts from the same brand so that one can always be in the whites.

Here were my choices in the past:
Hyundai Santro
Honda City
BMW X1 (used)
Hyundai Creta (used) - Got it more for the VFM it was for a short period
Ford Aspire

Next up? Volkswagen/ Skoda, likely.

Yet to try out Toyota and Kia.

Maruti/ Nissan/ Renault may never happen at all.

--Kalyan

[supremeBaleno]

Totally brand loyal - we have bought only Suzukis since the first one in 1985 & unless I am looking at a segment in which Suzuki doesn't have a presence, this ain't changing. Currently looking at an AT for wife and the choices are as varied as the Celerio, Baleno, SCross & Brezza.

When we bought the M800 in 1985, there was barely one service centre per state. But that wasn't an issue because this little thing didn't need anything other than routine services. Unlike the Ambys and Fiats that needed coolant to be checked every other day, didn't start when needed etc. We had it for 19 years.

Next was a '99 M800 DX - sold to a friend at 15years & now in it's 21st year and 1.5lakh kms. Followed by a 2005 Baleno (my first car), done 1L kms & re-registered for another 5 years and a 2007 Swift being used by my Dad.

Plus the cars in immediate family, in whose purchase I was actively involved - FIL's 2010 AStar_AT, elder sister's 2003Alto, Ciaz, another sister's AStar (sold) & Dzire.

- Reliability is the most important factor for me in a car & with just routine scheduled services, I don't expect to be stranded in the first 5 years of a new car.
- Next up is minimal maintenance & service centre visits - unless there is an accident, I expect only oil/filter change to be the yearly maintenance for a car. And other parts listed in the service schedule
- Decent fuel efficiency is the 3rd factor.

From 35years of using Suzuki cars, these criteria are ably met, which forms the basis for my loyalty. Other brands might meet one or more of these factors, but unless a Suzuki doesn't exist in the segment I am looking at, they don't interest me.

P.S.: Btw, this brand loyalty is only with cars. I don't stick to any brand w.r.t consumer durables or even 2-wheelers. Eg, I have bought scooters/bikes from HeroHonda, TVS, Yamaha & Honda. From my experience :
- my HeroHonda CD100 (15years, 1.5L kms) was the best experience in terms of reliability, minimal maintenance & FE.
- The Honda CBR250 (6years, 16K kms) is also good, but that's too low a running to make a conclusion.
- The TVS experience (Scooty & Pep+) has been pathetic in terms of reliability & issues. I will never buy a TVS again.
- The Yamaha (Ray Z) was more or less OK. But not issue-free. Speedo/odometer cable going bad, accelerator cable gone bad thrice in 5 years etc.

[viscosity]

Not at all. This is a tricky topic and there are many reasons one can put on either side of the equation here on why to be loyal or why not. I personally prefer not to be loyal to brands because I want to give someone else a chance if they offer me a better proposition i.e. have a better product, more value for my money etc. In general this creates more competition in the system which is good for the consumers like us.

Also, unless loyal customers are shown or provided with a tangible difference in service quality, cost etc why should I be loyal to the brand ? If they think they just did a business transaction of selling something to me, then so should be the treatment from my side.

Basically I can be loyal to a brand if they also reciprocate the same in some tangible manner. So simply put, I follow : Loyalty begets loyalty

[IP_Man]

Yes, I'm loyal to Honda for the motorcycles.

Reason: Unmatched reliability. My CD 100, age thirty years, stock clutch still working fine, covered more than lakh of kilo-meters and zero rattle. This is what I call engineering.

[dragonfire]

Not exactly loyalty, but there are brands that I trust so much that I'd be willing to buy something from that brand even if there are a few drawbacks. Like a Honda or a Toyota. Brand trust does not matter much in the motoring world as most of the car buying decisions are made after careful research. Unlike that, say if I want to buy a television, and I don't have a lot of time to do research, I'd walk into a store and buy any Sony that is within my reach.

Having said that there are brands that I would avoid. Like Mahindra. Or Maruti. Unless the car is proven to be that good (say a XUV300 or a S-Cross), I wouldn't touch these brands.

[car_guy1998]

Not much loyal to the same brand but we used to have couple of Maruti 800's as well as 2010 Swift Diesel, which was our last Maruti car purchase, and later on, we got shifted to brands like VW(Vento)from 2013-2017, Toyota(had a Qualis till 2010 and later, we bought couple of Innovas- one of them is 2005 model, which was bought in 2012 from our company and sold in 2014 while another one was a 2011 Innova, which was bought in 2016 and still running) and Honda(City)since 2017 till present.

My dad is more loyal towards the Innova as it offers best in class rear seat space and comfort.

However, we are planning to change the brands and this time, gonna try out Kia/Hyundai as the replacement of Innova or if these both brands doesn't work, will be coming back to Toyota and purchase another Innova, this time an Innova Crysta.

And, we had Ford iKon as well, which was bought pre-owned in 2004 and sold it in 2006 due to some issues.

Except Swift, which was bought brand new, all were bought pre-owned.