[Emvi]

Which brands have you been a repeat customer of? Would you recommend the brands to others for their purchase?

Brand perception is something that many of us, both on this forum and outside of it, have. This perception extends beyond cars and encompasses various products we use in our daily lives.

Returning to the topic of cars, whenever someone comes up with a thread sharing their ownership experience(usually negative), I notice people taking sides by either bashing the particular brand or fiercely defending it. I find this quite amusing, to be honest. Owning a car(or cars) is a matter of personal choice, similar to many other things in life. If someone is happy or unhappy with their car, I don't see a reason why we end up vehemently criticizing or defending the brand. Unfortunately, it doesn't stop there, people are often called names, ridiculed, and stereotyped based on their preferences. No matter the brand of car(s) you own, the way you drive or conduct yourself on the roads takes precedence over everything else.

IMO, brand perception plays a significant role in an individual's purchasing decision. This perception can either remain true or change based on the ownership experience. Despite the multitude of online reviews available, personal experiences and word-of-mouth recommendations remain influential in shaping brand perception for many people. Reliability, safety ratings, build quality, ease of maintenance, and a few other aspects are commonly associated with different brands. These factors are subjective, and ultimately, what matters most is the peace of mind your purchase offers you or how satisfied you and your family are with the acquisition.

In a nutshell, consumers have their own set of reasons to purchase a particular car or a brand. Reasons might include- budget, use case, ease of maintenance, build quality, features on offer, fuel type, proximity of dealership (Is proximity of dealerships / service centres one of the influencing factors in car purchases?), resale value, or simply Brand Perception. On this note, let's focus on the main question:

"Which brands have you been a repeat customer of? And why?"

Note: A poll has been added where you can vote if you are a repeat customer of a particular brand(s), intend to be one, or would recommend your current brand(s) to others.

[GTO]

Honda: The brand I've bought most. 1st-gen City Vtec, Civic & a used Accord. Nothing from their current portfolio interests me, other than the City. Sucks that this hallowed brand has completely exited the premium segments.

Mahindra: Because I love Jeeps! Have two Jeeps now, the 2023 Thar & a 1997 Classic.

BMW: Will repeat again. Love their engines, gearbox tuning, suspension & top-class reliability.

Mercedes: We have had 3 of their cars. Will repeat again, especially something like an S-Class or GLS.

Maruti: Had 4 earlier (two 800s, Zen, Esteem), but the last Maruti we bought was in 1996! The lack of good options in the 20-lakh and above segments is the reason. Even their top-of-the-line 1.5L motor is too boring.

[Shreyans_Jain]

Been a repeat customer of Honda, Jazz 2012 followed by City 2014. Sadly, none of their current products excite me anymore. However, I will be happy to be a repeat customer of two other makes whose cars I own, Tata and Jeep, purely on merit of their current lineup. Also had a Scorpio for 15 years, I can definitely consider any current Mahindra.

This list will be dominated by Honda, Toyota and Maruti. The last Maruti we bought in the family was back in 2000, the original WagonR.

[tharian]

No Ford listed, so chose others.
Repeat customer by replacing my 2010 Figo with a Aspire S in 2017.

What kept me to this brand was the reasonable after sales service costs and not to forget, the enjoyable driving experience.

[Axe77]

Brands we’ve been repeat customers off, specially many years ago, are Maruti, Hyundai and Honda. Its just that they currently aren’t really active in the segments I actively consider and even if they were, there’s a high chance I wouldn’t pick offerings from Maruti at least.

Other brands I’ve owned just once are Nissan (Sunny), BMW (3GT) and Jeep (Meridian).

Based on my above experience, including perception of brands that I haven’t directly experienced, in a “2023” and forward looking context, brands I’d actively consider are as below:

BMW, Toyota and Honda (assuming Honda in particular only if it brings a product relevant to my use case - as of now I see nothing). Other brands I’d be very open to are Kia and perhaps some newer age EV brands like BYD and MG (but unsure). I doubt I would go to brands like Nissan / Renault, VAG, Jeep, JLR etc. If it comes to EVs, I may be more open to considering Tata and Mahindra as well (in that order) but I might still prefer MG / Byd in comparison.

I would be very open to Mercedes and Volvo but would be a bit concerned about upkeep cost of the Mercedes in particular and overall dealer / service footprint of Volvo. Again, this is based on second hand experiences and perceptions, not direct ownership.

[ABHI_1512]

FORD, FORD, FORD, Ah FORD !!

To see Ford not listed in the list itself is a bummer. It’s a shame that Ford doesn’t sell new cars in India anymore. Have been a user of the first generation Figo and then upgraded to Ecosports diesel and have been a happy customer ever since. The frugal engines, brilliant after sales support and very competitive pricing of spare parts have made us- the Ford owners after 2010, a very hard to please bunch of car owners. A happy repeat customer of Ford here. Wish I could continue the trend but alas !!

[INJAXN]

May be we should add another option : " Never repeated" .

We have bought 2 cars so far, 1 is Hyundai, Another one is Maruti. And the third car in my mind in neither of those.

[rrsteer]

Toyota

Till a couple of years back I had an all Toyota garage - Innova, Etios & Hiace (bought in that order). Innova was later replaced by a Kia Carnival chasing better interiors, more luxury and space.
I can still be made to think I made a wrong decision by not getting a Crysta then.


The reason I trust Toyota is because of their reliability and excellent after sales service. As I have grown older and other responsibilities have taken preference, I have come to think of cars as essential tools more than anything else. I now hate to spend anymore time looking after them than it should be required (unless a special car or bought for a special need). Hence going against popular opinion of this forum - in my books I had blacklisted: Tata, Mahindra, VW and Skoda. Recently added Kia/Hyundai to the list.

[condor]

Tata, mix of new and used. Maruti - both used. Many frown upon Tata, but it has worked for us. Will definitely consider again.

[R2D2]

For me it's Toyota..and given a choice I'd always have a T in the garage.

[Rajain]

I would any day love to buy a Ford again. Especially a SUV level. Absolutely awesome feel for driving and the robustness.

I have owned Maruti, Hyundai, Opel and Mahindra in the past. I have driven most SUVs and some luxury sedans. Of those I am impressed with the quality, fit, finish and materials of mid and high end Mercs. In SUV besides a Ford I would anyday buy something like a Jeep Rubicon and can repeat a Jeep also. Though I have never owned one.

Of these, perhaps I would like to own a Hyundai again. And Ford also.

Cheers
Rajain

[ashutoshb]

"Which brands have you been a repeat customer of? And why?"

I voted for Tata Motors.

Why?

My family has been buying Tata cars since the early 2000s.

I guess it came from my father's love for the brand. And then there were other things. In my eyes, every car in the list below, except for the Indigo, was/is a looker.

Safari Dicor x 2 (Now sold)
Safari Storme x 1 (Now sold)
Sumo Grande x 1 (Now sold)
Indigo x 1 (Now sold)
Harrier x 1 (Present)
Bolt x 1 (Present)
Tigor x 1 (Present)
Nano x 1 (Present)

Yes, I have heard so many horror stories about Tata cars, but all our cars have been ultra-reliable. None of them ever broke down, we never got stranded. They never failed us and consistently served/serving us with no headaches.

My brother in his struggling days, used to ferry everything in his Indigo. From cement bags to cutlery to appliances and whatnot.

We loved our Storme so much, that after buying the Harrier, we only sold it because we were running out of parking space.

And I still miss my Sumo Grande and regret selling it. So many good memories of road trips I had done with that car

-- --

Does not matter what was the logic behind its safer cars. Maybe they wanted to do something different, maybe they had export plans. Do note, that their Bolt and Zest were four star cars. This was way back then!

Whatever the business decision there was, atleast it gave me assurance that I am traveling in a safe car.

I have recommended Tata cars to many. Many have gone ahead and brought one home.

OEMs which can roll out safer cars, and do offer in developed countries, but chose not to offer them in India, have lost my respect.

And, over a period of time, Tata gained mine.

[DRIV3R]

Fiat.

Punto 75HP Emotion Pack
Punto 90HP Emotion Pack
Linea T Jet Emotion

[Familyguy]

Tata! We've had 4 Tata cars over the last 15 odd years. Great value for money, reliable ( we've never had reliability issues), spacious, great build quality and all of them look awesome! What's not to like!

[shankar.balan]

From the GrandDaddy’s time, over the last so many years, having owned and used a bunch of different kinds of vehicles, I can say that, we’ve really only been repeat customers of Premier Auto, Hindustan Motors, Willys, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki India Limited.

Fiat x 4
Ambassador x 4
Willys (Mahindra) x 2
Mahindra Jeeps CL500x2/CL550x 3/MM540DPx 3/ MM550x3
Maruti 800 SS80DXx1 /Maruti 1000x1/ Maruti 800 DX MPi 5 Speedx1/ Maruti Esteem x2
Mahindra Bolerox1, Mahindra Scorpiox1
Maruti Gypsy MG410 x2 , Maruti Gypsy 1.3 Mpfi King x 3.
Mahindra new Thar x1

All other vehicles so far have been singletons in the house.