[Emvi]

Excellent thread!
Voted NO.
Flopped cars doesn't always necessarily mean bad cars. They are labelled flopped cars not without reasons, and the primary reason is the sales figures which may be due to a variety of factors. As posted by quite a few BHPians, the cars might have given them trouble free ownership and thousands of kilometres of happiness. It can also be seen that not everyone is worried about the resale value or the image as long the vehicle serves them well.

The major problem with these kind of vehicles is in the case of breakdowns or repetitive faults/repairs. Spares are either not available or when available, they are too expensive. The mechanics/workshops who deal with such vehicles are generally few and far. I am writing this from my own experience of owning and maintaining a Fiat Palio 1.6 GTX. In the initial years when the car was new, it was extreme fun driving it. Later on, the experience of maintaining the car was nothing but terrible to say the least.

[Altocumulus]

Whenever buying or recommending Maruti Cars I follow a simple rule, buy the one which doesn't sell according to Maruti sales numbers. They will be fantastic products.

Examples:
Baleno sedan, Old Alto 1.1L, Kizashi, Grand Vitara, A-Star, Ritz, Ignis, S-Cross, Etc.

[torquecurve]

Buying a ‘flop’ car in some cases makes great sense esp if you know spares and service will be easily available. A few examples
- Tata Manza
- Fiat Linea (shared mechanicals/ drivetrains)
- Mahindra TUV(shared mechanicals / drivetrains)
- Ford Fusion (shared mechanicals)

Would you label the Manza as a flop car or a sales success? It was probably a moderate flop. If you were to buy a 2011-12 top end Manza petrol or diesel with moderate running (30-70k kms) you could get it for 2.2-2.5 lakhs. - A spacious, comfortable sedan at that price. Spares are easy for example the engine - the diesel was the erstwhile ‘national engine’ and the petrol was shared with multiple cars!, body parts are shared with Vista (front) which makes parts readily available. And spares are not too expensive!
A MS Dzire of the same vintage will cost you at least 50k to a lakh more. Even better if you get a Fiesta - same vintage costs less than the Manza!

I believe some great cars are flops from a market perspective but enthusiasts like us who care for the cars would love it. Just earlier today I saw a Chevrolet (Subaru) Forester - the chap had bought it last year for a pittance (less than a 150 cc motorbike).

It depends upon your garage as well - if you need a car which will mostly be used for commuting and the occasional long drive - go ahead with a flop - esp if you have a good FNG. Whenever you plan a long trip - get a checkup done by the FNG before you leave. A flop makes even more sense in a multi car garage

[hrishig]

Originally Posted by Guite

I bought a 'flop' car - Hyundai Getz, more than ten years back. We knew it was not popular. We really liked the looks. We did not find anything wrong with it. It was spacious. It was sturdy (not flimsy like some of its competitors).

We are quite satisfied with our ownership. There is no image problem, at least we don't have. Our friend circle also liked it. Of course in later years there is problem of resale value and spare parts.

Getz 1.1 prime is a perfect example of how you can find extreme value by paying peanuts compared to engineering efforts that went into the car. The Getz 1.1 prime was offered a little above the price bracket of wagon r / ritz. Except for the engine, almost all other components were far superior ( suspension, space, flexibility ) to the competition.

I could spot Getz almost globally ( UK, Australia, Turkey, Africa, SEAsia ) till 2019 in a perfect operational condition almost 9 years after the production halt.

[Small Bot]

We have an i20 Active in the family. While the car might not have sold so low numbers to be exactly considered a flop car, it was absolutely nowhere near the Elite i20. It might have been the least popular car of the crossover hatch era.
Also, we got the probably (?) underpowered Petrol SX version too, based on our low usage. Till date, I have seen maybe 10 petrol i20 Actives in the last 4 years. Most of the i20 Actives I have seen had the much peppier CRDi engine's badge.
Still, till date, we have not had any major issue (~67K kms in just under 5 years). Also, knowing that there are sufficient service centres around me gives me mental peace.

[kartavya]

Would like to chip in here. I bought a Volvo S80 D5 in 2014-15. S80 did not do any numbers in India (then or even after) and neither was Volvo a really known or as trusted a brand back then. Thing was since it was a slow mover/flopped car, I got a great deal, got it at a 35% discount in our preferred colour. We have bought a very successful product 2 years later (BMW 320d).

While the S80 is nowhere close to the 320d in terms of handling, its build quality just seems a lot better than the 320 (Maybe CBU vs CKD). S80 ofcourse has the plushier ride If I had to pick a car for the highway, it would be the S80. It still looks and feels as good as new, while the BMW does feel a bit aged in comparison.

The other reason to go for the S80 (except the price) was having a relatively exclusive product (because of it being a flop). I never really gave too much importance of the failure of components etc as being part of decision when buying a car, unless it something extremely major.

[Mar21]

Voted Yes

I have bought more than one vehicle/car that is not well received by the market. Done so when there was a very strong pull from the heart. Have been 'fortunate' enough to be amidst people that have done so and thus had the chance to drive more than one of these. (Ford Fusion+ for example)

There have been occasions when i've shied away from this as well - Mahindra Mojo was one such example.

Yes, there are issues in going down that path - I'm facing that.

I'm not exactly savvy with the mechanicals / workings. Had I been more hands one / mechanically aware with a good connection with FNGs, This would have been a much easier decision

Regards
M

[Mach_1590]

Voted Yes.

Bought a flop car "A-star" in 2009. There was absolutely nothing wrong with the car. Being a Maruti, the spares were never a problem. The overall quality was excellent for the time and this car felt "different" from the usual Maruti. It was a proper urban mini and I feel, for the Indian market, it was ahead of its time or wasn't marketed well enough. In today's market, I really like the Tucson, again it being a flop, I will buy it without thinking much about the sales numbers.