[cuboid]

Originally Posted by smilingakash

There was a full page ad on Hindustan Times on Grand Vitara. Kudos to Maruti for bringing the advertisement to newspapers days after their launch.

Wondering why Toyota has not put any such newspaper advertisement yet. Did I miss it or is Toyota's marketing team sleeping over it?

There was a Hyryder full page advert in TOI Bangalore edition. I am sure it must have been there in other cities as well.

[Gupts007]

Originally Posted by TT-S

Another point to note is that KIA/Hyundai are testing their own 1.5L hybrid power train (There was a thread in the forum regarding the same). Although it wont be as much accomplished as the Toyota hybrid system, it should be enough to spice up the competition and keep the hybrid car prices in check, I hope.

Competition in the auto world these days is not keeping prices in check but cartelization. Prices of most cars I believe is beyond what they should be which means all the manufacturers are in cahoots.

Covid - initially what was a blow to them turned out to be a money spinner eventually. With supplies dwindling and demand piling they could ask for the moon.

Now the EV / hybrid fad is what they are selling. Except for Tata, all these other EV/Hybrid sellers are touting it to be the next best thing so they can overcharge.

Let us see - I don't have any hopes for a decent pricing for the strong hybrid version.

[vvrchandra]

Originally Posted by vvrchandra

Anyone who has seen the vehicle, is there any engine protection underneath or is it similar to how it's open in XL6 vehicle. Thanks.

Anyone who has seen either Hyryder or Grand Vitara in person, can you confirm if there is any engine protection for both mild hybrid and strong hybrid vehicles. Thanks in advance.

[vagman]

Originally Posted by vvrchandra

Anyone who has seen either Hyryder or Grand Vitara in person, can you confirm if there is any engine protection for both mild hybrid and strong hybrid vehicles. Thanks in advance.

Strong hybrid has engine guard, not sure about mild as Toyota has only supplied the Strong hybrids for early display.

[tjsi]

Today I booked mine in Gaming Grey G strong hybrid variant.
Let's see if it is priced sensibly then only I will proceed with my booking. Expecting a price tag below 20L ex.

[smilingakash]

How much does the waiting period usually change if one decides to change the colour and/or variant of the vehicle?
In this age of advance bookings, there is always a chance for the buyer to make changes to their bookings.

[vijay.s]

Originally Posted by smilingakash

How much does the waiting period usually change if one decides to change the colour and/or variant of the vehicle?
In this age of advance bookings, there is always a chance for the buyer to make changes to their bookings.

When I booked the "Grand Vitara", the dealer was flexible to change the color and variant as there was no clarity on the variant distribution, color and price. I had confirmed with the dealer that this was not going to be a problem given the booking is happening prior to the launch. But I believe, this may be difficult once the vehicle is launched and we have all the details available to make a decision.

[ashwin.terminat]

Originally Posted by vijay.s

When I booked the "Grand Vitara", the dealer was flexible to change the color and variant as there was no clarity on the variant distribution, color and price. I had confirmed with the dealer that this was not going to be a problem given the booking is happening prior to the launch. But I believe, this may be difficult once the vehicle is launched and we have all the details available to make a decision.

When I was booking prior to the launch on the Nexa website, I could only choose between Mild Hybrid and Strong Hybrid. Could not choose the variant or colour (they had only one, Nexa Blue). Since then, the dealer has not reached out to confirm these details with me either - which, now that I think about it, is a little odd.

[Hickstead]

Originally Posted by ashwin.terminat

When I was booking prior to the launch on the Nexa website, I could only choose between Mild Hybrid and Strong Hybrid. Could not choose the variant or colour (they had only one, Nexa Blue). Since then, the dealer has not reached out to confirm these details with me either - which, now that I think about it, is a little odd.

Try to reach them directly. In my case, dealer called me and asked me to confirm variant and color. I opted for Alpha + hybrid variant in Red + Black dual tone. Not sure, which one I go for finally, Grand Vitara or Hyryder.

[kushagra452]

I fail to understand the rush to "pre-book" a car which has not even been launched. The price list is still a mystery. The 'introductory prices' gimmick will be used to fool the gullible Indian buyers yet again. Why lock in a deposit with a dealer ( even if it 100% refundable) only to waste precious time and energy to get it back if the price is not palatable. I hope at least the learned BHPians show some restraint and avoid rushing to pre-book a car.

[CarNerd]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

I fail to understand the rush to "pre-book" a car which has not even been launched.

People act as per if they are getting a luxury car for lower price. It's the same behaviour we see when a flight or bus come to a stop and people rush out as if they will be awarded an Olympic Medal as soon as they come out!

[neel911]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

I fail to understand the rush to "pre-book" a car which has not even been launched. The price list is still a mystery. The 'introductory prices' gimmick will be used to fool the gullible Indian buyers yet again. Why lock in a deposit with a dealer ( even if it 100% refundable) only to waste precious time and energy to get it back if the price is not palatable. I hope at least the learned BHPians show some restraint and avoid rushing to pre-book a car.

It is all to do with supply chain and chip shortage. Most of the recent hyped launches have seen huge backlog of orders. Take the Thar when it was launched or the crazy 1.5 years waiting for Mahindra XUV700. Lot of people need car within specific window and that is when these huge waiting time does not help and they have to settle for alternatives. It also helps car manufacturers to prioritise the production of specific variants and I am pretty sure they are using this data when closing on final price. This also helps consumer get their car at the introductory launch price. Paying the booking amount post official price reveal with huge backlog, lands prospective buyers in a worse situation where the money is locked again for a long time and risk of paying the higher price on car when delivery actually happens.

Though not ideal and hate to be in seller's market where we are dancing to the tune of the manufacturers, I do not see this going away anytime soon. I just hope we have more and more competing products which distributes the demand and helps to alleviate this situation to a certain extent

[Eddy]

Originally Posted by kushagra452

I fail to understand the rush to "pre-book" a car which has not even been launched. The price list is still a mystery. The 'introductory prices' gimmick will be used to fool the gullible Indian buyers yet again. Why lock in a deposit with a dealer ( even if it 100% refundable) only to waste precious time and energy to get it back if the price is not palatable. I hope at least the learned BHPians show some restraint and avoid rushing to pre-book a car.

I think that this is a very insensitive take. There are people who need a car asap, and given the waiting periods today - pre booking does make sense if you are reasonably convinced of the car and the OEM's track record. Introductory prices only sweeten the deal.

This will continue at least till the supply chain settles down and waiting periods are manageable.

[vijay.s]

Originally Posted by Eddy

I think that this is a very insensitive take. There are people who need a car asap, and given the waiting periods today - pre booking does make sense if you are reasonably convinced of the car and the OEM's track record. Introductory prices only sweeten the deal.

This will continue at least till the supply chain settles down and waiting periods are manageable.

Agree completely! Not every buyer who is in the look-out for a car has the luxury of waiting an year to purchase a car. With the added peace of mind of being able to cancel at any point of time and guarantee of 100% return, I do think that it might be wise to book the car in advance and take delivery if it indeed turns out to be a value for money product.

The 11K deposit might earn a meagre interest for the dealers but it may save huge amounts for a buyer if the waiting period turns out to be huge and manufactures just keeping increasing the price as seller has no option but to wait!

So, in short, there is no one right way to this. Everyone do it as per their choice, need and whether or not they perceive the product they want to buy as a value for money purchase!

[kushagra452]

Originally Posted by vijay.s

I do think that it might be wise to book the car in advance and take delivery if it indeed turns out to be a value for money product.

What happened to the much loved Team BHP 'never buy the first lot of a newly launched product' dictum. Does it make sense to find oneself stuck with a half baked newly launched product after prebooking? I won't be surprised if one ends up spending more time and energy trying to get the 'initial niggles' fixed than what he/she saved by grabbing the so-called 'introductory prices'.

IMO it is a terrible idea to pre-book a car before a TD and price release. In case one has an 'urgent' need for a car, he or she can always check our pre-owned cars.