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Old 24th December 2010, 14:47   #301
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

I am a happy Maurti owner for the past 8 years. I own a 2005 SWIFT VXi and am very happy with my ride. The listed perceptions were the ones I had on the other brands like Tata, Fiat and Hyundai.
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Old 24th December 2010, 15:38   #302
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

OMG.

I see on this forum that people (Other than Maruti owners) just like to bash up Maruti cars.

Quality according to me is the whole experience I have with a car. i will break it down into following -

1. Pre-Booking/ Booking experience and the sales support from Maruti and its dealers - Here I am sure Maruti scores high in the segment they are playing in (Compared to Tatas, Hyundai, Fiat etc.).

2.The reliability of the car - Highly reliable. We don't hear about many Maruti car owners on this forum ranting about quality issues. Assuming Maruti being the top seller of cars we should have had proportionate issue threads of Maruti cars on this forum. which is not the case.

3. Relatively low TCO - Servicing, repair costs are fairly low in the segment Maruti operates.

4. Great Peace of mind - This is priceless and can't be expalined. Need to be experienced. I can go anywhere in India, any corner and not worry about taking a Maruti car. It has a decent GC and can withstand most indian broken roads, It is highly reliable and hence has lesser chance of breaking down. In an unlikely event of a breakdown you would find a Maruti Authorised SS with almost all the frequently used spares in any town within 10-15 kms of the breakdown hence help is available ASAP.

5. Post sales Customer Relationship Management - This is way beyond its competitors in terms of addressing customer issues. Maruti addresses any manufacturing issue with uncomparable swiftness. Best example I can give is ECU recall of Swift DDIS. Maruti contacted each and evey customer and ECU was replaced for the first batch of DDIS cars within 2 months of noticing the problem.

Quality I think is the overall experience in long term ownership of the car and can't be attributed towards the mechanicals alone. If it was so then we would not have had FIAT making losses in India.

I have read people commenting Maruti can't make high end cars. Then I would say BMW and Merc can't make Sub 10L competitive cars.

Last edited by DieselFan : 24th December 2010 at 15:43.
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Old 24th December 2010, 16:01   #303
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

Quote:
Originally Posted by DieselFan View Post
3. Relatively low TCO - Servicing, repair costs are fairly low in the segment Maruti operates.
I pay 4500+ for each major service for my Swift Petrol - each 20000 km.
How much does servicing a comparable car cost - Vista, Getz, i20, Figo, UVA etc?

Quote:
Originally Posted by DieselFan View Post
I have read people commenting Maruti can't make high end cars. Then I would say BMW and Merc can't make Sub 10L competitive cars.
We don't know that.
However, I would say the BMW & Merc cannot make expensive cars which are as reliable as a 5 Lakh Maruti car. Check the thread started by GTO - http://www.team-bhp.com/forum/indian...rman-cars.html
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Old 24th December 2010, 19:21   #304
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

I have just purchased a Swift ZXI for my parents yesterday (replacing their 2001 Indica DLS) and driven from Ranchi to Patna. I own a SX4 VXI since Feb this year. I had owned a M800 for 11 years before that.
The 'Maruti rattler posts' on the forum have actually made me stretch every aural nerve to detect the rattles in my car! After months of trepidation I have concluded that the rattles, if any, are perhaps a function of the firm suspensions of these cars coupled with 'chalta hai' attitude of some owners.

I can't stand rattles and i'll be damned if don't remove them promptly.

My SX4 does not rattle.
I really loved the plastics' quality of the Swift. It handles even better than the SX4.
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Old 24th December 2010, 19:38   #305
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

I still wonder if suzuki was so good as above posts select , how come i never see a Suzuki in European countries ? Are those customers immature or they do not know vfm of suzuki but the why does Hyundai is able to beat Suzuki there .

Perhaps it is the love of people to Maruit like love of a father to a son :-)
Turn blind eye to shortcoming and be happy with what we have .

And unfortunately i made the mistake of buying a Maruti , a tin can full , a rattle box ,
poor quality except the engine .My experience is if you wanna cut costs , leave luxury , need a four wheel can maruti will be our choice .

Else the whole world move away and even in india with reducing maruti share we will see .

Regards

The above are my views .No offence to people voting for Maruti .
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Old 24th December 2010, 21:06   #306
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

To me, a Maruti is bought more for the trouble free experience and trust in the brand than anything else. If we compare product to product there are many better offerings, especially the Hyundai's with their top notch quality. If you enjoy your driving, other than the swift i dont think there is any other Maruti that will bring a smile to your face everytime you drive it.

I seriously do not understand how a product like the Dezire is being lapped up the way it is. The vehicle is as spacious as a swift, looks terrible from all sides except from the front and is nothing great on quality. Its all about the Maruti brand. But credit to them for building the brand the way they have done.
It would be interesting to see the market 10 years from now with even the average buyer being more aware of what else is available and not following the herd.

Last edited by fiat_tarun : 24th December 2010 at 21:08.
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Old 25th December 2010, 14:01   #307
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

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Originally Posted by Trust_In_Thrust View Post
I still wonder if suzuki was so good as above posts select , how come i never see a Suzuki in European countries ? Are those customers immature or they do not know vfm of suzuki but the why does Hyundai is able to beat Suzuki there .

Perhaps it is the love of people to Maruit like love of a father to a son :-)
Turn blind eye to shortcoming and be happy with what we have .

And unfortunately i made the mistake of buying a Maruti , a tin can full , a rattle box ,
poor quality except the engine .My experience is if you wanna cut costs , leave luxury , need a four wheel can maruti will be our choice .

Else the whole world move away and even in india with reducing maruti share we will see .

Regards

The above are my views .No offence to people voting for Maruti .

How good is the Suzuki sales and service network in Europe? Suzuki invested in India over 25 years back and MSIL understands the needs of the Indian customer.

I recently bought a Ford Figo, but I will rate MSIL dealerships a lot higher than Ford . They are cleaner and bigger, sales and service people are better trained and most of all "they listen to the customers" even though they service the maximum no of cars, they do a better job of it.This is what makes MSIL click.

I believe they will do well in Europe if they design products suited to the European tastes nd back it up with good sales and service .


I have a SX4 ZXI that I bought in April 2008> It has done 29 K Km. There are no rattles, everything works well ( Original battery and tyres) and I get a 11kmpl.

Am I a satisfied SX4 owner well ? WELL YES, Will I recommend it to others ? YES.

Can the car be better? Certainly & what I would like to have in this car:

1) Lower hump ( transmission tunnel) will make 3 people comfortable on long journeys.
2) Thinner A pillars
3) Better rear visibility ( have to be cautious while reversing)
4) A MID
5) Cooled Glove Box.
6) Better quality ICE
7) Better quality paint ( Tata has the best quality paint in this segment)
8) I good quality Diesel Motor ( Approx 110 BHP & 150 NM of torque)

What I like:

1) Well equipped. ( ACC, ABS, Airbags, 16 Inch 205 mm alloys including the spare wheel)
2) Great ground clearance 190 mm on Zxi.
3) Good high seating position.
4) Huge boot-space.
5) Imposing presence. Looks masculine.
6) Steering wheel mounted controls.
7) Great dealer and A** Network with reasonable prices spares.
8) Reliability

At the cost of repetition, I would like tostate most of the people who have accused the SX4 of rattling and being a fuel guzzler DO NOT OWN THE CAR
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Old 25th December 2010, 14:17   #308
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

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Originally Posted by rajneeesh View Post
2) Great ground clearance 190 mm on Zxi.
Zxi GC is 180mm. Vxi is 170mm.

http://www.marutisx4.com/LowBand_Sit...ification.aspx
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Old 25th December 2010, 18:23   #309
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

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Originally Posted by COUNSEL View Post
When the VVT was added into the SX4's motor, a few changes were made. After the minor upgradation, the ground clearence reduced. Before the upgradation, ground clearence was 180 and 190mm for vxi and zxi respectively.

If I am wrong, I would like to get updated.
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Old 25th December 2010, 19:32   #310
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

I got my first Maruti in 1990, and since then have gone through 3 M800. I now have a 2000 MPFI Esteem, and just bought Alto K10 in August. My son had a Baleno. My ownership experience has been excellent, the maintenance cost very low, even spares are dirt cheap, compared to other brands.

Fifteen years ago when my kids were small we used to travel in the M800 at a moments notice to the hills and never thought of breakdown. Our favourite jaunt was to take a ride from South Delhi to Chakravarty Lake, Karnal and back. The M800 would give 20+ at 80-90.

My 2000 Esteem is still going strong, but a few niggles have crept up in the last two years, primarily power windows and AC. I just spent 17K in changing the AC from R12 to modern one, and it is brilliant. My total cost of spares - 2 sets of tyres, 3 batteries, AC, Silencer pipes and some minor work. All told 50K + oil changes, just 5K/year for 75K km. I don't think you can have lower TCO.

I got the K10 for going to crowded markets and short distance travel (<1.5km each way). In 1400km since August I have got 12+ km/l mainly with 2nd and 3rd gear travel.

What surprised me is the MUL on-road service which responded promptly when my battery discharged one night.

The funny thing is that when I bought my Esteem, all my friends who had graduated to "better/bigger" cars commented that they would have still got the Esteem, but wanted a change.

Every time friends complain of problems and maintenance costs of their premium brands, I am very happy with my choice of VFM brand.

There is a saying, that an Elephant is cheap to buy, it is the maintenance that kills you. I still have a long way to go before I need an elephant to announce my "arrival".
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Old 25th December 2010, 19:47   #311
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

Saw a Swift from the inside for the second time, but the first time in some years. What immediately became apparent is that the panel on the door is very poorly built and the plastic hand rest on the front passenger side looked like a glue job with apparent gaps. The plastic was not cut properly and one could see that the dimensions did not match.
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Old 25th December 2010, 21:30   #312
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

My wife recently bought a Swift for her dad.
After reading a whole lot of reviews here, i was expecting rattles to appear in the Swift as well. What I dint expect was....we picked up the car at 3:30 PM from Mandovi, Bangalore, drove to a temple for the Pooja. I got out of the car and closed the door (i dint slam the door), and i got a brrr brr sound, i looked back at the car and I had a smile. The Rattler
Then I just opened the door, and closed it again and the Glass would just vibrate. I could also see the rubber padding sticking out near the front window. I was like awesome, the Rattler has arrived.
Mind you this was on the first day, and within first couple of hours of owning the car.
But everyone still loves the car though

Last edited by Amartya : 26th December 2010 at 00:12. Reason: Edited out the extra smiley
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Old 25th December 2010, 22:42   #313
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

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Originally Posted by COUNSEL View Post
My Pre VVT SX4 ZXi GC is 190mm

41K km, One gruesome Ladakh Trip and this car is still rocking,

Last edited by rkbharat : 25th December 2010 at 22:45.
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Old 26th December 2010, 06:33   #314
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

Anyone here bashing a maruti up should know that they are the one's who tuned a 'FIAT' DDIS engine a million times better than the people who build that engine could. It is 100 times more successful in a Maruti then it is in their OWN CAR.

Selling since 4 years a Swift Diesel and still a waiting list of 3 months says something about 'Maruti'. No wonder their market share is 50% +

Man's here are on about Swift's and Sx4's being rattlers but hey I can list a million flaws in every other competitor of both of the cars I mentioned above. Should I ?

I have owned a Swift Diesel since 2nd years now and 37 thousand pedal to the metal kilometers. Except the engine and AC, everything has been replaced because of faults.
Still I would say the Swift is the best hatch around. My car had defects in it and maruti rectified it. I am happy, the after sales service has million options in Mumbai. I can write to Maruti and except and know they will take the dealer to task if he has messed around with my car or me. Which company does any of the above ? Heck most of them don't even care to respond to mail's most of the times.

Maruti has build that trust over years with its customers, Its not about dad passing the buck to the son. For any Tata, Birla, Hyundai to build this level of trust, they have to spend years being exceptional and consistent to even reach somewhere near Maruti.

For sure my next car will be a Maruti and so on. A car is a complete package only when its accompanied by a peace of mind read trust build over the years aftersales.
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Old 26th December 2010, 08:25   #315
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Re: The SX4 / Swift Effect on Perceptions

I can for sure say that low maintenance cost of Maruti cannot be supported by facts, Its just a mirage , and old age perceptions.

Just run thru bills at any M.A.S.S from Maruti 800 to swifts.
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