[RishavRBhardwaj]

Originally Posted by GTO

1. NEVER buy a fresh new model in the first year of production. Wait for 1 - 2 years. The more you wait for the model to mature, the better its reliability will be. Wait for the carmaker to sort out issues.

Waiting for a few years indeed makes a LOT of sense. We played this very risky gamble of buying a newborn model back in 2012.

It was the mighty Tata Aria.
Apart from the terrible niggles like the theft alarm going off at 2-3am, 2nd row seat tumbling on its own under hard braking, Engine loosing power every once in a while, It spent more than 60% of its time at the service station. Have to mention, Tata were kind enough to provide us with a courtesy car each time.

At 9800kms on the odo, it broke down on a highway 200kms away from home.

We had to take around a 40-45% hit to get rid of it.

[charanreddy]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

• Avoid our desi, bad boys, till they become successful in countries like the US . This is a long shot and it may result in me never buying anything from our homegrown manufacturers. I know this is against the notion of patriotism. But then I am older and have a kid now. I can't take the chance of getting stranded on road with my toddler trying to support indigenous design.
• Always prefer global models and platforms. If you have the budget, avoid India-specific developed cars. The global products and platforms are built for countries with strict standards and have a lower probability of being a lemon.

Though I agree with you on consumer protection. Laws, the above points are not supported by what we are experiencing in India.

Most of the unreliable cars are from Skoda, VW, Ford which are present internationally. Some of the watered down cars are from Hyundai and Kia again present in International markets. Barring Toyota, this does not apply to other manufacturers. Suzuki which ranks high on reliability and ASS has exited North America Market. I would prefer a Tata or Mahindra given the effort they have put into making safe cars vs so called international manufacturers.

[mazealot]

We are a first time car owners and so far the journey has been far from smooth . We were ready for some niggles along the road but the amount the problems that we've encountered in just 7 months is nothing short of an achievement from the manufacturer . Due to the dealership being 100kms away from our home , and the showroom being around 10kms apart from the dealership lot , PDI was out of question and we got to look at the car after all the papers were signed and i regret not performing the PDI.

Here are some of the problems of our new car :-
1)Boot lid has one of the worst paint job ever seen on a car , from overspray, to primer not been rubbed properly , it has got all the paint defects.

2)Bonnet is misaligned from the factory due to which , bonnet and left front quarter panel rub against each other and both of them have start to rust because of it .Not resolved yet.

3)Steering makes weird kat- kat noises while driving , hasn't been resolved yet.

4)The glovebox latch has failed numerous times and opens the glovebox even on the slightest speed bump , i asked them to fix it on the first service itself , but whatever they did lasted for only a couple of hours , the car has visited TASS 4-5 times just for this issue alone and TASS being so far away from our house , it gets annoying to take the car just for a simple latch . I have asked them to replace the assembly but they just "fix" it return the car to me .

P.s if any bhpian has the schematics for the glovebox of the altroz , please send them to me . I just cant keep up with the callousness of the TASS.

5) Apart from their callous attitude towards my problem , TASS has no respect for either the car or the customer . They use the same dirty rug to wash the wheel and the body of the car and ask 500 rupees for it . I had noticed numerous scratches on the bonnet of the car after getting the car washed from them . I let it slide because i wasn't sure if the scratches were from the wash . After few days , the glovebox problem was still there and since i was in the city where TASS is , i thought of getting it checked and also getting the anti-rust underbody coating done . When they were backing up the car to put it up on the lift for applying the coating , the driver backed up into a sumo with bull bars which resulted in a small dent on the rear bumper .

It's not the niggles spoiling our experience , its the callousness of the TASS towards them which has ruined the first few months of our car owning experience .

Jugaad to keep the glovebox closed :
Video of the glovebox :

https://youtu.be/zp8z2eUbbvw

Bonnet rust:


Paint defects on the trunk :






P.s. please forgive the formatting , since im on mobile it's difficult to format correctly , mods are welcomed to correct any mistakes on my post.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

1. The real solution to this problem is strict consumer protection laws.
2. it is better to stick to manufacturers with businesses in countries that have strict consumer protection laws.
3. Avoid our desi, bad boys, till they become successful in countries like the US .
4. The global products and platforms are built for countries with strict standards and have a lower probability of being a lemon.

1. Agree on the solution and its ETA
2. Disagree, VW, Hyundai, Kia, Ford operate in the US. They have issued numerous recalls, compensated people, bought back lemons and the infamous dieselgate by VW tops the list.
But that doesn't stop them from denying or ignoring issues in their cars in India like the ones we already have reported.
Although there are multiple and popular issues but just taking one each :
- Kia (Brake failure issues in the Kia Seltos)
- Hyundai (Hyundai India - The occasional serious quality lapse and apathetic manufacturer response!)
- Skoda (Skoda Kushaq breakdowns & problems)
- Ford (Ford India struggles with DPF problems in 1.5L TDCI | Poorly handled & utter lack of transparency)
- VW (VW's suffer from poor reliability?)

3. That won't really work since I am not expecting TML, MSIL to reach there. Mahindra does exist but won't be a significant player exactly like the US companies in India.

4. Probability of being a lemon I don't agree with unless you're buying a CBU and even overseas on the reliability and maintenance its mostly the Japanese cars that are spoken about and on being unreliable its always the Europeans!
I was surprised too but of cars I saw being flat bedded were Europeans and mainly Mercedes. Never saw a Corolla/Accord hitching a ride unless it was for registration. But my info is personal and very limited from my short stint in the UAE.
IMO even the CBUs run a risk if their target environment (India) isn't what they were designed for(like the DSG boxes).
But I do agree that some things like good high speed manners, safety and build quality which aren't dependent on external factors are better, like the VW group cars(maybe not the Kushaq) and even the S-Cross.
Not forget that it was VW which first gave us the dual airbags and ABS as standard on the Polo for 4.99 lakhs ex showroom while our desi boys were complaining of need and cost.

Originally Posted by vipul_singh

- I think the most workable solution right now is to vote with our wallets.
- Trouble is, people get emotional about their favourite brands and the whole car purchase decision as a whole.

- Exactly, this can happen now and is in our control unlike other solutions, I am calling it (The Indian Car Buyer | Struggling with problems in brand new cars)active-safety during purchase.
- Also true, matters of heart vs head is tricky but going with the head doesn't cause heartaches

Originally Posted by Sebring

An average consumer doesn't knock on those doors, because the Courts drag on for years.

An ICB with limited operational life would buy the car to go to places and talk to people but none of those places is a court of any kind and none of those people are "customer care" staff or lawyers. Most ICBs would just cut their losses, get something else and move on with life.
But we don't have to always learn the hard way, let's learn from the experiences of fellow ICBs.

Personally, I prefer this active-safety advice :

Originally Posted by GTO

Want my advice?

1. NEVER buy a fresh new model in the first year of production. Wait for 1 - 2 years. In fact, I usually buy cars from even later model years (C220 was after 5 years of model production but the fresh C180 was problematic, Civic was 4 years, 5-Series was ~4 years, Superb was 5 years). The more you wait for the model to mature, the better its reliability will be. Wait for the carmaker to sort out issues.

Manufacturers can do all the testing they want, but the real testing only happens with real-world diverse ownership experiences. No OEM can simulate actual ownership & driving conditions. All manufacturers suffer teething issues - we saw it with the mighty Toyota Innova too. Anyone who is buying a 2021 XUV700 laden with complex electronics = all I can say is, "my best wishes" to you, and "thank you" for volunteering as a beta tester for the rest of us. Ditto for all the new Skoda Kushaq owners who are having nightmares of their own.

2. Even after the model has been in production, be sure to read ownership reviews on Team-BHP. E.g. the Harrier has been around for 2+ years now, but it's still far from niggle-free (ditto for the Safari). On the other hand, there are several ownership reports of car models that have been delivering excellent reliability. Invest some time in research; every hour you spend reading ownership reports could save you 10 (hours) in the longer run.

Would also like to add to not buy anything if the dealership and service center aren't in the same city.
Its easy to get sucked into an emotional storm with the excitement of a new car purchase but like our fellow BHPian has unfortunately found the hard way, its not worth it.

Originally Posted by mazealot

Due to the dealership being 100kms away from our home , and the showroom being around 10kms apart from the dealership lot , PDI was out of question and we got to look at the car after all the papers were signed and i regret not performing the PDI.

Sorry to hear about your experience mazealot. Just saw your post so adding it as an edit.
Is this the experience TML have been offering to their "premium" hatchback customers!
Makes me sad just looking at your car. TML should be ashamed. Most likely the dealer offloaded a damaged unit.
Your dealer is useless, IMO doesn't deserve to stay in business.
Complain about the same to TML and find another workshop/dealer, don't go there again.
Checked on TML's SCs here, use the drop downs to find other centers close to you. If you've been going to Sairam in Rajnandgaon then go to National in Kanker or vice versa. But do speak with TML and send them the pics.
Keep us posted

In the matters of heart the Altroz Turbo was quite high for me but the after reading of the issues with TML and and now specifically your Altroz, the head has decisively won.

[jeetumg27]

In addition to the above listed points, I also feel the overengineering & tech-complexity adds to the woes. This is where MSIL truly shines - keeping the cars & engineering simple that’s easy to maintain & operate. Maybe that’s also the reason they get so much flak from reviewers - for not offering cutting edge tech - but as long as customers are happy, maintenance is cheap, resale value is fantastic, the brand doesn’t care.
Simple & reliable is far better than having shiny latest tech & being stranded on the road.

[johy]

I think there is too much unwanted technology in these cars. I often refer to them as "laptop on wheels." With so many gizmos, sooner or later, something is going to break down. The market is also getting skewed towards such cars, instead of good driving machines.

I don't know who is to blame. The tech-ridden times? The tech-savvy crowd? The absence of the crowd that loves drivers' cars? Given that a car is overall a machine that is supposed to drive well, and a gizmo-laden contraption as a secondary feature - I am not sure where we will end up. Does not augur well for us folks, or so I would like to think.

[abhatt]

No

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene. Thanks for sharing!

Want my advice?

1. NEVER buy a fresh new model in the first year of production. Wait for 1 - 2 years. In fact, I usually buy cars from even later model years (C220 was after 5 years of model production but the fresh C180 was problematic, Civic was 4 years, 5-Series was ~4 years, Superb was 5 years). The more you wait for the model to mature, the better its reliability will be. Wait for the carmaker to sort out issues.

Manufacturers can do all the testing they want, but the real testing only happens with real-world diverse ownership experiences. No OEM can simulate actual ownership & driving conditions. All manufacturers suffer teething issues - we saw it with the mighty Toyota Innova too. Anyone who is buying a 2021 XUV700 laden with complex electronics = all I can say is, "my best wishes" to you, and "thank you" for volunteering as a beta tester for the rest of us. Ditto for all the new Skoda Kushaq owners who are having nightmares of their own.

2. Even after the model has been in production, be sure to read ownership reviews on Team-BHP. E.g. the Harrier has been around for 2+ years now, but it's still far from niggle-free (ditto for the Safari). On the other hand, there are several ownership reports of car models that have been delivering excellent reliability. Invest some time in research; every hour you spend reading ownership reports could save you 10 (hours) in the longer run.

Will this be applicable for facelifts too? So that I understand you better.

1. Is this applicable for a Jeep Compass 2021 which mainly changed it's interiors and nothing more?

2. How about Safari which is technically inheriting a lot from Harrier?

3. What about Punch which is technically a combination of many existing TATA cars?

4. Finally, the new Amaze which I don't know if it did change anything?

I totally agree with your XUV comment. Infact i would say Never trust Tata and Mahindra with electronics. I would trust them with mechanics but not electronics for sure.

[padmrajravi]

Originally Posted by shancz

2. Disagree, VW, Hyundai, Kia, Ford operate in the US. They have issued numerous recalls, compensated people, bought back lemons and the infamous dieselgate by VW tops the list.

So which manufacturer has the higher probability of selling a lemon - A manufacturer who was forced to issuing recalls, compensating people, buying back lemons or a manufacturer who has never issued a recall, never had to compensate people or never had to fear consumer protection laws in its entire life? I think the second kind of manufacturer has a higher probability of selling you a lemon.

My point is all these bad experiences trickle down to the company culture and someone who operated only in India without having to care about any consumer protection laws has a higher probability of selling a lemon. A global model from VW, Hyundai, Kia, Ford has a much lower probability of becoming a lemon compared to the one produced by TML or Mahindra. An India specific product from any of these manufacturer is a different story.

[kadanaJ]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

Since such protection laws will not come to India in the near future, it is better to stick to manufacturers with businesses in countries that have strict consumer protection laws. Sure, they will dilute their quality according to local laws, but I feel they will still be better than other manufacturers. I have decided on the below precautions to reduce the probability of getting a lemon car in future purchases. But these can be practiced only if you have the required budget.

• Avoid our desi, bad boys, till they become successful in countries like the US . This is a long shot and it may result in me never buying anything from our homegrown manufacturers. I know this is against the notion of patriotism. But then I am older and have a kid now. I can't take the chance of getting stranded on road with my toddler trying to support indigenous design.
• Always prefer global models and platforms. If you have the budget, avoid India-specific developed cars. The global products and platforms are built for countries with strict standards and have a lower probability of being a lemon.

I know if even I follow these strictly, I may still end up with a lemon. But the probability of that happening is lower than the other cases in my opinion.

Somewhat disagree with this logic, especially if your concern is being stranded on the road with your toddler.

All global brands are not the same. The car most likely to leave you stranded in the middle of nowhere, would be a Volkswagen/Skoda. And they're as global as it gets.

From the Indian "bad-boys", Tata is definitely the most problematic brand, and that is well documented, so not going to defend them. Mahindra however, may give you bugs & issues with the infotainment system, and have weird software glitches, but is very unlikely to leave you stuck in the middle of nowhere. An XUV500 is probably one of the best all-round vehicles if you have frequent highway running.

Maruti Suzuki is a mix of Indian & Japanese, and is quite frankly, one of the most reliable car brands you can buy in India today, 2nd only to Toyota. A well serviced Maruti will last you a long time and gives very little trouble. (Don't look at poorly maintained taxi's as an example. There is a strong perception bias against Maruti's, because many are used as taxis or by first-time car owners who don't maintain their cars well. Instead, read up on Team-BHP ownership reviews of Maruti's, written by people who take good care of their cars).

European cars (even luxury brands) which adhere to global standards have a terrible track record of reliability. Just look at the number of complaints on Team-BHP alone from owners of premium Skodas, Audis, and especially Land Rovers.

European cars also don't do play well with our poor quality fuel and terrible traffic conditions, dirt, dust, etc. I've seen Jaguar CBUs with rubber beading issues around the door frame and sunroof, whereas the locally made CKD Jaguar didn't have the same problem. I guess they must have made an improvement for the India-spec version based on our climate.

Indian brands OR India-specific cars are far less likely to be a lemon than most European brands.

But if dodging a lemon is your highest priority, there is one very easy solution. Just buy a Toyota!

[shancz]

Originally Posted by padmrajravi

1. So which manufacturer has the higher probability of selling a lemon

2. A global model from VW, Hyundai, Kia, Ford has a much lower probability of becoming a lemon compared to the one produced by TML or Mahindra.

I get your point that over time they would have processes set in which will ensure a min level of quality in their products.
Selling a lemon is one part but my point focuses on the customer care part since :
- a dealer from any global manufacturer can just pass off a damaged vehicle as new to an unsuspecting buyer.
- when issues come up how are they handled, regardless of the manufacturer.
We have reported issues on both these scenarios

2. Agree, but when they start localisation issues come up unless its a CBU and they might have some constraints of their own like high octane fuel. But since they don't work in the mass market so not that significant.

Either way I get your point on reducing probabilities if affordable. While I somewhat disagree, but it can work for some too.

[Chhanda Das]

I do not know about others but here is what I did (with a little background information) as an Indian Car Buyer or ICB. I have been around cars for most of my life as far back as I can remember starting with my Grandfather's Landmaster more than half a century ago in a nondescript place in upper Assam. My previous car was a 1986 petrol Mark 4 HM Ambassador which I used for almost 2 decades primarily all over North East India before selling it off (primarily due to non-availability of parts) in 2005. I relocated to Kolkata later where Ambassador parts are still easily available (since they are still used as Taxicabs here). I could have kept my car but decided against it as it made me emotional every time I looked at it since it brought back unpleasant memories about the untimely and tragic demise of my dear husband in a M&M vehicle.

Anyway, once I moved to Kolkata, I didn't feel the need for a car since Kolkata apparently has the best public transport system in India as per the Government of India. However, the urge for the freedom of owning a car was always there but the emotional baggage prevented me from owning one. And I was often looking at cars but would get dejected by something or the other like low bonnet height, poor design, non-availability of parts, expensive parts/repairs, lack of properly-knowledgeable people, etc. And like most people, the internet was not very accessible (read cost-prohibitive) for me. I was mighty impressed by the Ford Endeavour, Mitsubishi Pajero and the Toyota Fortuner since I first saw them in magazines.

Life went on and fast forward to 2016 when some favourable circumstances meant that I could almost afford almost any car that a middle class person could realistically buy and maintain. Thus began the search for a car either preowned with only one owner (more preferable) or completely new.

I had no idea upto this point that there is something called "Team Bhp" helping car owners (past, present and future) in numerous ways. I wanted to become a member but my application was rejected twice (I have no idea why). Thankfully, we can access the contents of the website even if we are not a member. I started going through the reviews and issues of the various cars along with the mandatory Youtube videos and the individual car owners' groups on Facebook.

But which car to choose ? I started to approach the problem through a process of elimination. Tata was out of consideration because we had faced more than our fair share of issues with the Tata vehicles in our family including both cars and trucks. We didn't even think of adding Mahindra & Mahindra cars to the list because we had lost family members in them. The sizes of the Endeavour, Pajero and Fortuner meant that I couldn't use them regularly in congested city traffic and small parking spots even though they would satisfy my other requirements for car camping and highway travel. Moreover, I am averse to diesels (mainly due to their clatter) and these cars' petrol engines returned eye-watering single-digit fuel economy figures in the city. I did not even consider the Germans because I am not willing to pay exorbitant prices for the entire period of ownership with little or no chances of repairability otherwise.

Back to the drawing board then. There is no guarantee about the type of roads in India. So sedans and hatchbacks were automatically out of consideration due to their low ground clearance. This time I decided to approach it from the bottom of the rung. And did I mention that I wanted an automatic ? I did not want my son to face mobility issues due to incessant clutch use in the city. Anyway, the first car that I looked at properly in a long time was the Renault Duster (gorgeous looks ?) but it didn't have an automatic petrol option. Still, I thought that we could live with it. However, I was highly disappointed when it scored "0" stars in the NCAP tests. I was also looking at the Honda B-RV and the Hyundai Creta (1st gen.) in the meantime. I liked the B-RV but I didn't like the fact that its automatic version came with a CVT. Moreover, availability of parts and repairability may become an issue later since it wasn't getting sold much. And I absolutely hated the Creta's looks even though it ticked all the right boxes like naturally aspirated petrol engine, larger than 4 metres, torque converter, etc. In the meantime, Jeep had launched the Compass and I liked it a lot. But there was no guarantee of the availability of parts in aftermarket shops and service centres were almost non-existent. Moreover, my Grandfather always used to say "Never buy a car unless it has existed in the market in a relatively trouble-free fashion for around 3 years" and he was the smartest automobile enthusiast that I knew in spite of the fact that he was a medical doctor.

To cut a long story short, we had almost decided upon the Duster since it seemed value for money and were days away from booking it when the bombshell of "0" stars NCAP rating dropped like a bolt out of the blue. This is when the Creta started looking more and more attractive with its stupid grinning face. Due to its huge chart-busting sales figures, we were sure about its availability of parts. But we were still not sure about whether it would be easy to fix. This is when I accidentally stumbled across its service manual on a social media platform. After going through it for a few weeks, we realized that it was very easy to fix and technically very stable, unlike the HMs, Tatas and M&Ms that we had used all our lives. The Creta had already proved its build quality by scoring 5 stars in C-NCAP tests. Also, its bonnet height matches the ladder frame chassis of trucks and that is a big advantage on our highways in case of an unfortunate accident.

But we faced a big dilemma. We were seeing quite a few people complain about Creta's brakes on various social media platforms including Team Bhp and frankly speaking, we were naturally apprehensive. But there was still the fact that the Creta was getting sold like hot cakes despite such complaints. Logic says that if a car has issues in something as critical as brakes then it wouldn't get sold as much as the Creta was getting sold despite the presence of other options. Hence, we decided to ignore such complaints and move on. Moreover, my son is not an aggressive driver.

Then came the question of the Creta's unattractive looks. My son coaxed me by explaining that looks are for others to enjoy when I would be spending most of my time on the front passenger's seat of the car. I also told myself that I am not buying the car for myself since I cannot drive anymore due to eyesight issues. So what I should do is to guide him to make the best decision and not make the decision for him.

However, this was also a time of financial turmoil since GST had been launched in India. However, taxes on cars above 4 metres were reduced which kind of forced our hand or else we would have waited and researched some more. Anyway, we bought our brand new Creta 1.6 petrol with a torque converter automatic in 2017 after researching for around one and a half years mainly on social media but without a single test drive. Sadly, we couldn't find used ones or else we could have bought it for much cheaper. However, there is also the fact that new cars can be much cheaper to maintain in the long term than used ones. Our car has run for approximately 40k kms till date and touchwood, we have never faced any issue in it. The car's looks have grown on me since we bought it (Stockholm syndrome ?) and we absolutely adore it now.

Service experience at Hyundai ASCs have been rather bland but seamless. However, we were pleasantly surprised to be acquainted with very knowledgeable and competent service technicians at the second ASC compared to the pathetic ones at the first ASC which we had visited near my home here in Kolkata. These capable service technicians also have their own Youtube channels where they regularly post video guides about how to fix various issues in Hyundai cars for the benefit of both customers and aftermarket repair shops.

Moral of the story is that social media websites like Team Bhp have been an integral part of our car-buying experience

[sanchari]

The initial set of cars having niggles is not unique to manufacturers in India. Its same in US too. Check out the US car forums and you will see multiple niggles from 1st year's batch. I still remember, I had 2000 Honda civic, which was the last year of that model and was pretty well sorted. They introduced a new Civic in 2001 and that year's Civic had lots of problems. One of my friends had 2000 VW Jetta, and that car too had multiple issues.

Even in US, the companies don't issue recall that easily. I don't know how many remember the Toyota brake issue in mid-2000s that resulted in many cars getting recalled, and for a while resulted in drop in sales of Toyota cars in US. The point is, even in US, auto companies do recalls majorly for safety issues. For parts reliability, they are pretty reluctant there too, inspite of all the laws.

[shancz]

Originally Posted by Chhanda Das

1. Moreover, my Grandfather always used to say "Never buy a car unless it has existed in the market in a relatively trouble-free fashion for around 3 years"
2. Also, its bonnet height matches the ladder frame chassis of trucks and that is a big advantage on our highways in case of an unfortunate accident.
3. The car's looks have grown on me since we bought it (Stockholm syndrome ?) and we absolutely adore it now.
4. These capable service technicians also have their own Youtube channels where they regularly post video guides about how to fix various issues in Hyundai cars for the benefit of both customers and aftermarket repair shops.

Sorry about your loss.
Your research and decision making was accurate, exhaustive in considering the variables involved and the final decision was from the head resulting in a excellent experience, quite useful. Something we're trying to do here

1. Timeless Wisdom if I may. I have concluded the same, learning from other's experiences on the forum.

2. Had never thought of this, a good point.

3. IMO the first gen Creta looks pretty simple and muscular(can't find a better word) from the rear-side profile. The first time I saw the view I initially didn't realize it was the Creta. The front and rear are neural to look at.

4. This is rare and applaudable. Quite opposite to what I've come to expect.

[Hayek]

Do agree with GTO that it is best to let other early adopters pick up a new car and help the manufacturer iron out the glitches before buying one. The fact is cars are complex devices - and even cars from global companies are more often than not assembled in a local factory with workers not used to the process (for CKDs) or manufactured with localised components which can have production quality errors. We often talk about how cars are tested for lakhs of kms, and why errors don’t come up in those tests. But the fact is those cars use components that have not been mass manufactured, and even if they are tested for a million kms, that is just the distance a model which sells a thousand units will cover in the first month across different buyers.

As a local (or even a new global) component supplier scales production, there can be glitches in their processes too. As the factory moves from building prototypes to scale assembly, there can be errors in the assembly process - if you torque a component differently or misalign a pipe in mass production, you will end up with results that are different from that on the prototype. And you will have customers filling fuel in different pumps, driving the cars in different road conditions, driving the cars differently, and of course, resorting to all kinds of mods which the manufacturer may or may not have envisaged.

Apart from letting early adopters iron out flaws, you also benefit from getting discounts on your buy - I have managed fairly substantial discounts on my last two cars because I was happy to pick up relatively old stock rather than something hot off the presses.

Finally, despite all of this, some customer or the other is statistically guaranteed to have problems early on in their usage cycle. And almost every customer will have some problem during the life of the car. Accept the fact that this will happen, get it fixed and move on. I find suggestions that you sell a lemon and buy something else quite unrealistic. If you are buying a new car as a replacement, you take a depreciation hit and run the same risk you did when you bought your car the first time around. When you buy a second hand car to replace your lemon, you run the risk that the seller is doing just what you did - getting rid of a lemon and passing it on to you. Personally, I would rather live with the lemon I know and look at all the virtues that made me buy a car rather than getting flustered about what people will think if my car on occasion leaves me stranded.

[sukhbirST]

Originally Posted by GTO

Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the Indian Car Scene. Thanks for sharing!

Want my advice?

1. NEVER buy a fresh new model in the first year of production. Wait for 1 - 2 years. In fact, I usually buy cars from even later model years (C220 was after 5 years of model production but the fresh C180 was problematic, Civic was 4 years, 5-Series was ~4 years, Superb was 5 years). The more you wait for the model to mature, the better its reliability will be. Wait for the carmaker to sort out issues.

Manufacturers can do all the testing they want, but the real testing only happens with real-world diverse ownership experiences. No OEM can simulate actual ownership & driving conditions. All manufacturers suffer teething issues - we saw it with the mighty Toyota Innova too. Anyone who is buying a 2021 XUV700 laden with complex electronics = all I can say is, "my best wishes" to you, and "thank you" for volunteering as a beta tester for the rest of us. Ditto for all the new Skoda Kushaq owners who are having nightmares of their own.

2. Even after the model has been in production, be sure to read ownership reviews on Team-BHP. E.g. the Harrier has been around for 2+ years now, but it's still far from niggle-free (ditto for the Safari). On the other hand, there are several ownership reports of car models that have been delivering excellent reliability. Invest some time in research; every hour you spend reading ownership reports could save you 10 (hours) in the longer run.

Fully agree with GTO. Reading TBHP reviews can give you years of smooth running and save tons of money in the long run. This is especially true for people who have saved to buy their first car. Now a days find it a bit strange people booking cars even before launch. Caution should be excercised when so many tech features are being added for the first time.