Changing The Car-is It The Right Thing To Do

ankit.jhamb · 19th August 2007, 00:17

mods i m not sure if this is the right place to discuss this topic,so kindly move it to the relevant section..

The main idea of starting this thread is to get views of fellow BHPIANS on whether there should be a frequent change in the models of the cars or not.I personally feel that by changing the model of the car every year is not the right thing,,the WAGON-R for example was given a facelift recently <nov 2006> and there are rumours that it will be soon replaced by the SUZUKI SPLASH
the zen(old shape) was a huge success and THE ESTILO has not been able to create its impact in the market..
others include BALENO(PRODUCTION STOPPED),ACCENT(ONLY 1 MODEL GLE ),AVEO(given a facelift recently).HONDA CITY<ZX>..
Thanks

BUSA · 19th August 2007, 01:19

They should leave no scope for newer models on the same platform.

Like MUL does cosmetic upgrades on its car, the Swift comes with these stupid non clear lens tail lamps, i am sure MUL will put the clear lens one and call it "The All New Swift - Your the Fool"

ashutoshb · 19th August 2007, 01:53

maruti, it seems, is going for a brand makeover. and wants to be known as the one with the latest designs in the market. obviously they didn't expect the estilo to be a flop. and i don't think it a flop.. it seems to churn out good numbers (trying to find the no. of cars sold in the last month.. will post as soon as i get hold of the data). in my opinion the car is not bad at all. maybe its the design which is a little extreme for the common man's taste.
zen, baleno, accent, OHC were good cars but their designs were too old to stand against the competition.

About facelifts.. i'll say.. are just like the bumps in a thread just to keep it active. and in cars' case just to keep buyers interested. and in my opinion is necessary.

rohan_fonseca · 19th August 2007, 05:46

Yup the facelifts are marketing gimmicks. At the moment in the indian market they seem to work! As far as maruti is concerned i wish they would upgrade engines along with the face lifts. The very modern swift still uses the g series engine which is almost 20years old!

Ram_NP · 19th August 2007, 10:29

The so called face-lifts are only cosmetic. Major car companies in India never upgrade the enigne for five to six years. Even the new models comes with old version of enigines.

ankit.jhamb · 19th August 2007, 15:31

IMO just changing the tail-light to clear one`s will nt make any difference..as owner of a car it hurts when the manufacturer stops the production or changes the model of the car to a new one

dadu · 19th August 2007, 18:23

Unless its a complete makeover from its previous version (including the engine), ot doesnt make sense, it should be called only as a variant.

Santro came with a 1.0 ltr engine when launched and then the 1.1ltr. Although they gave santro a new front and back, but the overall looks remained the same.

IMO, they should pahse out older models completely after 6-7 years, provide support for them for next 5 years, though.

hrishig · 20th August 2007, 11:51

Changing car only makes sence if the total new version of the car is launched means the change should be in the engine + in the car body.

Maruti keeps launching the all new cars every six months with the same model. So it does not make sence to buy / sell only for the facelift.

from 2007 indian car market has started becoming equivalent to mobile market.

Sell withing 1- 2 year if you have deep pockets / else wait for new features to come and stabilise. If you find features worth for new price then go for the new model.

theMAG · 20th August 2007, 13:45

Good topic. Its not a simple black and white decision as it seems, though. Theorectically, if a car is doing well, there's no reason to change it in any form. Obviously this doesnt work practically. Car cos balance the need to change vs the mandate to change (usually govt. induced) vs duration between changes in a way as to maximize their profits margins

benbsb29 · 20th August 2007, 15:02

Irfanmon, i dont know if you have owned a vehicle whose manufacturer follows this principle. You would bang your head on a wall upon seeing a newer version of the same, possibly within a short time frame of you buying the older version.

Something similar happened to me when Bajaj released the DTSi version of the Pulsar within 3 months of me buying the non-DTSi version.

Not that i am strongly against it,but i dont support this.

ankit.jhamb · 21st August 2007, 12:58

i would also like add that by changing the name of the car//or keeping the same name ....does it matter

like the honda city model launched in 2004 didnt resemble its earlier model,but the brand name remained the same ""HONDA CITY"".
now in case of baleno ..there was aradical change in the shape of the car but still the name was not retained..

phamilyman · 21st August 2007, 13:39

Everyone wants to marry the latest hot star on the scene, be it aish, mallika sherawat or now nisha kothari. Problem begins when they want it to stay that way

Change (uplift/facelift/upgrades) are the name of the game

speedzak · 21st August 2007, 13:46

I don't know why one should bang his head just because a new cosmetically changed version of your vehicle has been launched. And also, if a person keeps in touch with team-BHP, then he will be aware of all upcoming launches.

I am also of the opinion that cars (& bikes) has to be freshened up every year or 2. It has a lot of positive aspects and negatives. Resale value will drop for the older model though.

ankit.jhamb · 21st August 2007, 14:21

@speedzak
i started this thread only because i found that suzuki splash will replace wagonr (on TEAM BHP)...and was little surprised because the wagon r was given a facelift last year only....

apart from that the i really dont knw when exactly was the HONDA CITY ZX t launched,but still we are getting a new model this diwali thanks to the info on teambhp...

mithun · 21st August 2007, 17:10

Quote:

Originally Posted by phamilyman

Everyone wants to marry the latest hot star on the scene, be it aish, mallika sherawat or now nisha kothari. Problem begins when they want it to stay that way

Change (uplift/facelift/upgrades) are the name of the game

Your name is phamilyman and you are saying that everyone wants to marry a starlet ! What a paradox ?

19th August 2007, 00:17	#1
ankit.jhamb BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: new delhi Posts: 573 Thanked: Once	Changing The Car-is It The Right Thing To Do mods i m not sure if this is the right place to discuss this topic,so kindly move it to the relevant section.. The main idea of starting this thread is to get views of fellow BHPIANS on whether there should be a frequent change in the models of the cars or not.I personally feel that by changing the model of the car every year is not the right thing,,the WAGON-R for example was given a facelift recently <nov 2006> and there are rumours that it will be soon replaced by the SUZUKI SPLASH the zen(old shape) was a huge success and THE ESTILO has not been able to create its impact in the market.. others include BALENO(PRODUCTION STOPPED),ACCENT(ONLY 1 MODEL GLE ),AVEO(given a facelift recently).HONDA CITY<ZX>.. Thanks
	() Thanks

19th August 2007, 01:19	#2
BUSA Senior - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Bombay Posts: 5,130 Thanked: 20 Times View My Garage	They should leave no scope for newer models on the same platform. Like MUL does cosmetic upgrades on its car, the Swift comes with these stupid non clear lens tail lamps, i am sure MUL will put the clear lens one and call it "The All New Swift - Your the Fool"
	() Thanks

19th August 2007, 01:53	#3
ashutoshb Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: NOIDA Posts: 1,760 Thanked: 4,291 Times View My Garage	maruti, it seems, is going for a brand makeover. and wants to be known as the one with the latest designs in the market. obviously they didn't expect the estilo to be a flop. and i don't think it a flop.. it seems to churn out good numbers (trying to find the no. of cars sold in the last month.. will post as soon as i get hold of the data). in my opinion the car is not bad at all. maybe its the design which is a little extreme for the common man's taste. zen, baleno, accent, OHC were good cars but their designs were too old to stand against the competition. About facelifts.. i'll say.. are just like the bumps in a thread just to keep it active. and in cars' case just to keep buyers interested. and in my opinion is necessary.
	() Thanks

19th August 2007, 05:46	#4
rohan_fonseca BHPian Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Panaji Posts: 984 Thanked: 8 Times View My Garage	Yup the facelifts are marketing gimmicks. At the moment in the indian market they seem to work! As far as maruti is concerned i wish they would upgrade engines along with the face lifts. The very modern swift still uses the g series engine which is almost 20years old!
	() Thanks

19th August 2007, 10:29	#5
Ram_NP BHPian Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Kolkata Posts: 354 Thanked: 23 Times	The so called face-lifts are only cosmetic. Major car companies in India never upgrade the enigne for five to six years. Even the new models comes with old version of enigines.
	() Thanks

19th August 2007, 15:31	#6
ankit.jhamb BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: new delhi Posts: 573 Thanked: Once	IMO just changing the tail-light to clear one`s will nt make any difference..as owner of a car it hurts when the manufacturer stops the production or changes the model of the car to a new one
	() Thanks

19th August 2007, 18:23	#7
dadu Senior - BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 3,803 Thanked: 462 Times View My Garage	Unless its a complete makeover from its previous version (including the engine), ot doesnt make sense, it should be called only as a variant. Santro came with a 1.0 ltr engine when launched and then the 1.1ltr. Although they gave santro a new front and back, but the overall looks remained the same. IMO, they should pahse out older models completely after 6-7 years, provide support for them for next 5 years, though. Last edited by dadu : 19th August 2007 at 18:24.
	() Thanks

20th August 2007, 11:51	#8
hrishig BHPian Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Pune Posts: 466 Thanked: 180 Times	Changing car only makes sence if the total new version of the car is launched means the change should be in the engine + in the car body. Maruti keeps launching the all new cars every six months with the same model. So it does not make sence to buy / sell only for the facelift. from 2007 indian car market has started becoming equivalent to mobile market. Sell withing 1- 2 year if you have deep pockets / else wait for new features to come and stabilise. If you find features worth for new price then go for the new model.
	() Thanks

20th August 2007, 13:45	#9
theMAG Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Avon, CT Posts: 7,217 Thanked: 1,807 Times View My Garage	Good topic. Its not a simple black and white decision as it seems, though. Theorectically, if a car is doing well, there's no reason to change it in any form. Obviously this doesnt work practically. Car cos balance the need to change vs the mandate to change (usually govt. induced) vs duration between changes in a way as to maximize their profits margins
	() Thanks

20th August 2007, 15:02	#10
benbsb29 Team-BHP Support Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Brisbane Posts: 9,969 Thanked: 13,228 Times View My Garage	Irfanmon, i dont know if you have owned a vehicle whose manufacturer follows this principle. You would bang your head on a wall upon seeing a newer version of the same, possibly within a short time frame of you buying the older version. Something similar happened to me when Bajaj released the DTSi version of the Pulsar within 3 months of me buying the non-DTSi version. Not that i am strongly against it,but i dont support this.
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 12:58	#11
ankit.jhamb BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: new delhi Posts: 573 Thanked: Once	i would also like add that by changing the name of the car//or keeping the same name ....does it matter like the honda city model launched in 2004 didnt resemble its earlier model,but the brand name remained the same ""HONDA CITY"". now in case of baleno ..there was aradical change in the shape of the car but still the name was not retained..
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 13:39	#12
phamilyman Senior - BHPian Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Gurgaon Posts: 5,968 Thanked: 4,642 Times	Everyone wants to marry the latest hot star on the scene, be it aish, mallika sherawat or now nisha kothari. Problem begins when they want it to stay that way Change (uplift/facelift/upgrades) are the name of the game
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 13:46	#13
speedzak BANNED Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: India Posts: 4,347 Thanked: 27 Times	I don't know why one should bang his head just because a new cosmetically changed version of your vehicle has been launched. And also, if a person keeps in touch with team-BHP, then he will be aware of all upcoming launches. I am also of the opinion that cars (& bikes) has to be freshened up every year or 2. It has a lot of positive aspects and negatives. Resale value will drop for the older model though.
	() Thanks

21st August 2007, 14:21	#14
ankit.jhamb BHPian Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: new delhi Posts: 573 Thanked: Once	@speedzak i started this thread only because i found that suzuki splash will replace wagonr (on TEAM BHP)...and was little surprised because the wagon r was given a facelift last year only.... apart from that the i really dont knw when exactly was the HONDA CITY ZX t launched,but still we are getting a new model this diwali thanks to the info on teambhp... Last edited by ankit.jhamb : 21st August 2007 at 14:23.
	() Thanks