[SoumenD]

No I wont. My rationale is simple. Forget about first lot, I am not buying a newly launched car at least for first 6-12 months in order to check out initial niggles. Almost all cars have it. Heck, even the almighty Toyota couldn’t provide a niggle-free crysta in the beginning.

And lately with all the complex electronics in place it has become that much more susceptible to initial issues plus our lack of strong recall law means OEM’s can get away with it. Don’t wanna end up being a beta-tester after spending hard earned (& taxed) money.

[RedTerrano]

I voted no.
Majority of purchase decisions are driven by the cost and value for money. So without knowing the price, I would not commit to the purchase.

[skpprabhu]

I have pre booked the Citroen C3. It depends on the need, if you are seriously looking out for a car you can prebook. I understand there might be some initial glitches but I think it should be managable. Of course if the prices are not convincing I would cancel the booking and look out for some other options. Waiting and watching the product is good but the prices keep soaring and if the car is really good you will have to wait for longer duration.

[GForceEnjoyer]

Buying a car is a major decision, and one that cannot be made without knowing the price, so I've voted no. For the average person, purchasing a car takes a sizeable proportion of their income, meaning that the demand for the average individual model isn't inelastic, making knowing the price all the more important.

I can only think of one situation where one might book without knowing the price. It would be wealthy, loyal customers of a high end brand. For example a CEO just booking a new generation of the S-Class before its price reveal to upgrade from their existing S-Class. For someone that well-off, this would be like upgrading your smartphone after 4 years. However, CEOs aren't the average Joe, making this case a minority.

I think a chunk of bookings would be cancelled after the price reveal; the ones who are unpleasantly surprised to discover that they cannot actually afford the car.

[sharan_si]

Voted No, I wouldn't buy the car in its 1st year of production, wait for issues to fixed in next version and decide. Also I dont care much about the fancy features, I will by the car which has decent features and mechanically accomplished.

[rishi.roger]

Originally Posted by ajayc123

Interesting inputs. What I am getting from quite a few folks is that if there is no significant risk (fully refundable booking amount), there's no signigicant cost in backing out, in case the price, when revealed is nor appealing enough.
=========
Let me ask a direct question. How do these guys use the booking data ? There's no point collecting it, if they can't put it to good use?

Given that most of that booking effort is on the digital platform and most paperwork too is digital even in showrooms so it doesn't cause significant resource damage as such.
Efforts of sales team are wasted ? Well, not really. During pre-booking most customers themselves initiate the sales proces and the sales team don't even have sample cars available to give a demo, talk about etc. All that happens from sales person in my understanding is taking an order and having a friendly chit about possible expectations/pricing etc.

For manufacturers, it gives an edge.
-The buyer might consider waiting instead of buying a car from competitor. This steals an opportunity or causes delays for competitor sales figure.
-Manufacturer might be able to get a crude prediction on market sentiments.
-Nothing to loose practically.
-They do keep that money for few weeks in banks, right ? Not sure if they are allowed to earn interest on that or not but its like they're borrowing it from you for that duration, anyways..eh ?

Then there are some neutral customers who wouldn't have gone forward with the purchase but they eventually go forward because they will get the car available earlier in their hands thanks to queuing.
In addition, some people just like to be among the first few so this again helps.

There is nothing significant as such, but if you add up small things then it kind of works out on the bigger picture for sales folks and companies.

[vijay.s]

I have voted Yes.

Given that most of the companies/dealers offer full refund of the booking amount and you get to hold / defer your booking till the time you are satisified with the product, I believe there is no harm in going ahead with a booking.

This gives customers the peace of mind to get their vehicle of choice at the earliest given the unprecedented waiting times we have noticed for most of the cars sold today. Of course, I do agree that there is an element of risk as we may end up being the guinea pig to identify issues reported on a newly launched car and take a beating.

Further, in the times that we are living, there is ample amount of information available to customers even before the product is launched (in terms of engines, transmissions, features - to a fair bit). So, you can definitely make up your mind on whether the product matches up to your expectations or not. The only element that remains a surprise / shock is the price and you can always cancel it if you don't think it adds up as value for money purchase.

[Hawk]

Just a simple example , We booked our XUV 700 on Day 1 and got it after 8 months . Just think if we would have booked it on day 2 .

If a person has an idea of the price of the car then they should go ahead and get it because on these days it is really hard to get hold of a car and the earlier you book the better it is . The car's which are not creating any buzz should be booked after the price reveal because they won't have a higher waitting period ( mostly) .

[SanjayW]

No, I never buy a car at launch, wait for 2 years, for the initial niggles to get sort out.
Even if there are several price hikes in those periods.

[smilingakash]

In the current crazy scenario of long wait times, price differential with late deliveries (with no price protection)- Yes, its a no-brainer for someone like me who has eyes set to buy a new car soon.
In an ideal world you would buy the car after a while, but it is no more just about finding excruciating details about each aspect of the car.
A lot of us these days just pre-book, wait for Team BHP reviews , take a TD and then decide whether to continue with the advanced booking or cancel the booking.

Unless we have unrealistic price expectations, the initial price reveal should not surprise much. Even, if they do, one can always cancel the booking.

[chandrda]

Voted No

I will never book a car without knowing the price and full specifications/features.

Booked XUV700 on day 2 and car was allocated in May end, but had to cancel the booking.

But I am not at all surprised that booking are in 1000s for vehicle before its price is revealed. Saw this phenomenal in US as well last year for used cars. Prices shot up because of unavailability of new cars and people were ready to pay and were even booking the used car before hand.

Regards

[Jaggu]

Current market with crazy pricing and blown out of proportion hypes, I would not. I will wait for the launch, test drive the vehicle for myself and then make that booking. First day first show deliveries are just not worth it, unless you are desperate to get rid of your current vehicle and jump into what you are waiting for.

[ajay_satpute]

Yes, I would book before knowing the price, knowing that I will get 100% refund.

As people mentioned above, waiting times for new cars are insane right now. Nexon has 6 months waiting, XUV7OO has 1 year waiting, Kia Sonet has 6-8 months waiting and so on.

My trusted and friendly Nexa manager called me yesterday to ask me if I want to book the new SUV being launched on July 20. We have bought 3 cars from the same showroom from the same manager, so he always keeps me informed well.

However, we just bought the new Scross, so not planning to spend money on a car right away.

[car-go]

It is a No for me. May be having a conservative mindset, but I love looking around the car, typically in at least its 2nd avatar, check on the internet (definitely, TBHp), do test drives, negotiate what is the likely price I will be paying - even before I book - and then go ahead. I still feel that whatever I pay (typically in Rs.11K to 50K range, for the cars I bought till now) is blocked with opportunity lost for a given amount of time, more so if waiting times are high.

I followed this approach for my preowned Maruti 800 (time tested model and something I started with; bought in 2001, sold off 1.5 yrs later), Indica DLS in V2 avatar, Maruti Suzuki SX4 (petrol; time tested ZXI variant, though Maruti could not sell much; it was a long termer for me for 13 years), and now Jeep Compass (Sport; latest facelift that came with TPMS).

May be I did not yet go for a model that has very long wait times. Not sure how it would hold for my future purchases, if any.

[swunkjyn]

Even If I would fallen in love with the car I'll not buy it without checking the prices. Some life decisions are Brain over Heart. I would wait till the product has been tried, tested and been in the market for at least 2 years ( here the reference is not cooking but with the issues being ironed out ).