[giri1.8]

Last thing I ever cared about has been buying the same brand again, heck we bought Diesel swift TWICE one was gen 1 Ldi, other one was gen 2 Zdi.

If it fits the bill then I don't see any reason not to go for it, this is better than going for something else while making a compromise.

Brand loyalty too doesn't matter, barring the Swift, every other car has been from different brands.

[honeybee]

The only two brand new cars I have owned were from Tata, rest all preowned. So I can't say I have experienced the other brands as much as I have experienced Tata.

But it's been an interesting mix. Let's see...

Maruti
Hyundai
Tata
Honda

Going to the extended family, there's been a Ford too.

Was close to experiencing Toyota last year, but the Tata again proved a better VFM, at least initially.

Being a person of limited means actually means sometimes you can avoid all the confusion and let your wallet decide for you. What a bliss!

[condor]

Brand Fatigue is a very valid point

I have been through this, but it was more of model fatigue. We had a Tata Indica (Aug 2000 model) and later in 2004, we got a Indigo Marina. The interiors were the same. So after 4 years with the Marina, when we had to change, we moved to a Ford Ikon in 2009.

It's now been 20 years and 5 vehicles with Tata. Let's see how things go. A future change may be an Isuzu V-Cross. But that's just a thought at this time

[landcruiser123]

I think Brand Fatigue is something a rich person can have. Also known as the "problem of plenty." 3 Mercs and you don't want the 4th one? Fine. Buy an Audi or a Volvo.

But for the common man has only "brand loyalty" as long as he's got his money's worth. Most Indians are risk-averse with their car purchases. Unless a launch like Ford Ecosport or Renault Duster creates an entirely new segment, weaker brands don't get much attention and mostly go unnoticed.

There are three common brand ladders I've seen:
1. Maruti - starting from the 800/Omni/Alto/WagonR
2. Hyundai - starting from the Santro
3. Toyota - Qualis -> Innova -> Innova Crysta

[RedTerrano]

My dad's first car was a Premier Padmini. During those days one got to choose between Premier and Hindustan motors.

Later dad switched to Wagon R and we were wowed with the smooth ride and silent engine (as compared to Premier).
I used to love the Wagon R (still do) very much, mainly because of the small footprint (huge advantage in Pune traffic) tall boy design and decent power/milage.
Later on my wife went in for the Estillo. She too was impressed with the Maruti engineering as well as the excellent service from Chowgule Industries.

Brand loyalty? I don't think so. We were recurring customers mainly due to engineering reliability and after sales service. And Maruti is hardly a premier brand.

When I was planning to migrate to a SUV, sadly, the only thing Maruti had to offer in my budget was the Ertiga, which absolutely failed to excite me.
So with some apprehension, I went for the Nissan Terrano and after 5 years I am happy with the engineering as well as performance.
My only two complaints are woefully inadequate headroom and vanishing authorised service centres in Pune.

[ron178]

My parents owned the first three generations of the Honda City, and the eighth-gen Civic. Finally, in 2014, they bought a Nissan Terrano as a city car (pun not intended) instead of the fourth-gen City because they didn't want yet another Honda. Poor reliability and a terrible service experience meant that it was a decision we regret to this day. Then, we replaced that with a VW Polo which is increasingly seeming to be a repeat of the Terrano with regards to reliability and lack of service. We now wish we'd bought a Honda or a Toyota again.

Some brands are easy to get bored of, especially if they make cars that are a tad vanilla, like Toyota, for example. However, some brands that make seemingly interesting cars are matched by an equally terrible service experience which means that even good cars will not be enough to maintain brand loyalty. I wouldn't describe the second phenomenon as 'brand fatigue', but I'd like to advise people to get over whatever brand fatigue (the first phenomenon I stated) they may have. If you've had a good experience with a brand before, it makes sense to purchase that brand again. Exploring new options can be risky. That said, there are certain tried and trusted brands that may make for a logical upgrade. Just make sure you spend your hard-earned money on a brand that can keep you happy for a long time instead of switching from a trusted brand just because you're bored of it.

[sam264_2000]

Originally Posted by GTO

Anyone else ever experienced it?

Yes, we did. Between 2000 to 2018, we owned 6 Tata Cars - Indica (launch version), Indica V2, Indica Vista, Manza Club Edition, Zest & Nexon (the last 2 still serving us well). The primary reasons were - excellent VFM products, great relationship with the owner of the dealership and with service advisors too, positive experience with after-sales service and powerful diesel engines (barring the Zest). However in 2017 we consciously decided to try brands other than Tata when my wife wanted her 1st drive (she ended up with a Celerio and did not go ahead with Tiago) and my SIL buying a Hyundai Grand NIOS in 2020 (who wanted a Tiago but was okay to risk with a Hyundai). Though there was vast improvement in quality of Tata products between Indica (launch version) to Nexon, we just thought that it's time we experience other brands too.

[yd_gli]

Originally Posted by GTO

They were looking at another car, but consciously steered clear of the VW Group as it would really be more of the same thing.

Certain OEMs compound this problem further by sharing a large number components across products. VW/Skoda/Honda and some of the premium OEMs have basically the same interiors and front/rear exterior profiles across products. There is no major distinction between the Karoq/Koidaq, Vento/Polo, Jetta/Vento, City/Jazz etc. I haven't sat in a lot of BMWs, Audi vehicles but I hear similar sentiments from my relatives who feel that all models in their lineup look and feel the same from the inside.

For the feature crazy and snob value seeking customer, this becomes an issue since upgrading to a vehicle from the same OEM doesn't feel like an upgrade at all. On the contrary it feels like money wasted since there is no perceived improvement in utility, comfort or snob value.

[NevGin]

Originally Posted by GTO

Someone in my family owns a Rapid (Vento) and a Tiguan. They were looking at another car, but consciously steered clear of the VW Group as it would really be more of the same thing.

Anyone else ever experienced it?

For a few years, my line of cars were - VW - Polo TDI (first batch), GT TSI, Vento TDI (M) & Vento TDI DSG. Spot on - At the end of it i was so bored of it all that went ahead and got a Baleno (M). I then saw the T-ROC but decided against it being a CBU despite engine and suspension commonality between many of its group cars.

Brand fatigue is indeed a brilliant term and I totally identify with it.

[Raghu M]

I did experience this but could not find a term to coin my feeling. If brand fatigue is what it is, then I have the highest rating of it towards the Maruti brand. I have driven 3 back to back cars from the Maruti stable and did not want my new car to be from that stable. While poor build quality was the main reason (there is no car from MSIL that offers that bullet proof safety even now), I wanted to explore other brands and feel them as well. I wanted to avoid the Koreans at all costs. After test driving our Indian brands, was pleasantly surprised at the quality, refinement and overall build.

[batladanny]

While I can't relate to being fatigued of BMWs, Mercedes, Audis etc., a friend was recently looking for a vehicle for his father and one major criteria was "no Maruti". The gentleman had used an 800, Omni and then Versa over the last 25 years and while the experience had been nice and hassle free, the Maruti brand had no feel-good factor for them. Thus, even though the S-Cross and Brezza met their criteria, they didn't even TD them. Finally loved and bought the Honda Amaze.

[harish]

Originally Posted by GTO

Someone in my family owns a Rapid (Vento) and a Tiguan. They were looking at another car, but consciously steered clear of the VW Group as it would really be more of the same thing.

Anyone else ever experienced it?

Yes I'm experiencing it now, with having owned GT TSI, Rapid TDI and now Tiguan AllSpace. I want my next car to be non-vag. Something from the Japs would be nice I presume.

[Sudarshan42]

Strangely enough in my case, there's a sense of comfort and familiarity with sticking to the same brand. I guess it's also because the brand I've chosen to stick with is quite utilitarian and not a premium one, so predictability, reliability and peace of mind matters more than variety.

The brand? You guessed it- Maruti! Now before you groan, I must add that excitement and performance aren't 2 of my hi-pri items while buying a car. I value pocket-friendliness and peace of mind over anything else. For excitement and performance, I subtract 2 wheels.

2002- WagonR VXi
2012- Swift ZDi
2019- Baleno CVT

While the controls seem the same, the simplicity of the cars (save for the 1.3 MJD in the Swift, which started acting up towards the end) is what made me opt for the same brand. My next car however most certainly won't be within the same brand since my priority as a new father has shifted towards safety, which Maruti is absolutely not oriented towards.

[sachin2612]

Can not say on brand fatigue, but definitely i have a say on model fatigue. Seeing too many seltos and cretas on the road since last 2 years that i do not want to buy them even though they are the vehicles that suits my purpose. Maybe my eye saw more MS swifts and balenos in the city but they do not catch my eye as this polarising design of Korean brands.

[PrasannaDhana]

I have had brand fatigue only with Mahindra so far.

Used to own MM540 and Armada back in the 90s. The service quality sucked bigtime in my town and I jumped to Tata UVs (might be surprising, but Tata service here was way better than the Mahindra).

I have been more brand loyal since then.

7 consecutive Tatas and 7 consecutive Marutis. Just because of the value they offered and how they suited our needs. Between the two brands, I have developed fatigue towards Maruti, specially with their evolution with regards to build quality. I may not buy another Maruti again, but would definitely buy another Tata.

In the middle, we did have other brands like Chevrolet and Renault.